>>41342137 >>41344386 First to five...? Now you're just not being fair.
>That was a boring victory condition, but if those were the terms, those were the terms. Mortdecai shuffled in place atop a small rock that jutted out of the ground, staring across at Lothar with a curious expression.
>He had to admit, while he didn't expect much it wasn't as though he knew what the man was capable of. It'd be interesting to see just how he intended to fight, and perhaps he might be pleasantly surprised.
>For now, however, he would simply watch with doubt.
I'll let him have the first move. It'd be boring otherwise.
>Despite saying that, the boy didn't move. Either he was supremely confident in his own abilities or completely underestimated Lothar's - in this case it was probably both. Perhaps this was a good chance to teach that attitude of his a lesson?
>>41344386 >>41346273 >As if to mirror Mort's complaints, Lothar smirks and shrugs whilst replying to the terms.
Only five, hm? Very well...
>Stepping forward, the Half-Elf cracked his neck loudly, grabbing hold of both handles on his hips, before finally drawing both of his specially-made swords: Each were a vibrant, shining blue steel, extremely ornamented with crests and designs in silver and other shades of blue. The edges, however, didn't seem to be steel at all, but a transparent, azure crystal, cut magnificently sharp.
>Stopping only a few yards away from Mortdecai, the Templar leaves his left blade to his side while raising the right one vertically in front of his face. While Mortdecai was unceremoniously ready to fight, Lothar takes a moment to close his eyes and tilt his head downwards... as he began to utter a small prayer.
With her Vibrant Holiness's divine blessing, may I be granted the strength and conviction to defeat my foes today and banish the encroaching darkness. By the Holy Flame, I swear to indulge in this violence in Her name and Her name only.
>Opening his eyes, he levels his stony gaze with Mort's eyes, looking completely calm and concentrated in contrast to his doubtful and overconfident expression himself.
So may it be.
>Following Mortdecai's wishes, the Templar suddenly darts forward with surprising speed, dropping his sword to his side and sprinting at his opponent in a curve from his right. Leaping into the air, he swings both the blade's blunt edges at Mort in a cross-like manner.
>At first, the guy only seemed to be talking nonsense. Who sat there and made a speech before fighting? Even according to Ragnar it was stupid not to just punch a guy, so this guy must've been an idiot or something. Or so he thought. The attack came in so fast that he wasn't even concentrating properly.
>It was the first time he'd ever felt what it was like to be hit by a blade, even if it was only the blunt side. Explosions were different, they were a force that pounded against the body; this was a sharp, sudden pain of flesh being torn, rended apart, yet none of that quite happened - leaving more of a bruise and a strange friction burn. Thankfully his surprise only lasted a few seconds before it was replaced by a blinding anger, and Lothar would find his very actions repelled by a seemingly invisible force - but not before he got the first hit in across Mort's arm.
>Staggering back off the rock, he only managed to land properly thanks to his innate magical ability and the fury he was now feeling. First the shitty redhead, and now this blue bastard? No, he was lucky... there was no way this would stand!
I'll break you into pieces!
>Clearly the boy didn't have his head on straight, but he'd been odd from the beginning.
>Attempting to concentrate his magical power, the techniques he had thought up were thrown out of the window, with Mortdecai reverting back to his usual method of applying raw power to problems. Altering the direction gravity directly beneath Lothar, the mage attempted to throw the Templar up into the air before causing him to crash into the ground below. It was a spell that took some effort, but was one that felt more instinctual to cast.
>>41346505 >At the sudden, mad screaming coming from the boy, Lothar instinctively backed off from attacking, backstepping a few feet away as he did so. His previously stone-cold expression was replaced by a small glare, as if his emotions were beginning to leak through. As someone who's job was to take care of dangerous mages, it made sense.
>As he skidded to a stop, he began to feel something under his feet move. Eyes widening in surprise, he immediately fell into an evasive roll out of the way, the spell just causing the dirt where Lothar once stood to shoot into the air.
<"What kind of magic-... Wind? Is he part Elf?"
>Lothar was curious, but he quickly rid his thoughts of useless distractions as he got back to his feet, immediately running back at Mort again, this time swinging both swords at his separately in two different attacks.
>It was all happening to fast. The entire battle had occurred in around 6 seconds at most thus far, and in that time the man in front of him had darted forward to beat him with a blade, dodged outside of the threat range of his spell before he could fire it off only to follow up with two strikes!
>His directional repulsor field had sent one of the attacks off course - Lothar would've felt his blade be forced in a different direction by an unknown source, and whilst the other sword had also been affected by the same power it had still stayed on course, colliding with Mort's shoulder and causing the mage to once again stagger backwards, knocking him off-balance.
>That made two hits to zero, but Mortdecai wasn't even thinking about that. This made two. Of all the people he'd managed to effortlessly destroy, now there were two who were breaking him apart. One would've been an exception to the rule, but a second? This correlating data was worrying, not to even mention the fact that it all seemed to effortless.
>It was time to end it. No-one this threatening could be allowed to exist. The assaults had left him feeling drained, but he summoned up what remained of his strength. Air pressure, gravity, as well as the general forces of momentum that were affecting Lothar's body - he would direct it all inward to crush his bones from the outside!
>Lothar was pleased with the results of the battle so far. He always relished taking mages down a notch, especially ones as skilled as his current opponent. However, there was something missing from the fight, something that was present in most fights prior. However, he couldn't put his hand on it right away as he backed off from Mortdecai once more.
>But as he felt the pressure begin to form around his body, he remembered exactly it was that the fight was missing. The one thing that made it all worthwhile in his eyes. The ultimate weapon to pit against a mage.
>Fear.
>As Mort cast his extremely powerful spell, Lothar, for whatever reason, makes absolutely no effort to dodge. In fact... He seems to not only stay still, but completely lower his guard to the mad mage, dropping both of his weapons to his sides as the pressure around him continues to intensify... Until disappearing completely, the directional magic doing little other than blowing about his coat for a moment.
>Sighing, the anti-mage tips his chin upwards to the mage, glaring at him with the intensity of the Holy Flame itself, his bright cyan eyes almost glowing in the light.
... Are you done yet?
>There wasn't a single scratch to his body. Not even his voice indicated any modicum of pain he was feeling. He was completely untouched... And his guard was still lowered, as if he was inviting Mortdecai to throw everything he had at him.
>The pressure was there, sinking in on his opponent - Mort didn't even care that he seemed to drop his posture, thinking that he'd simply given up against the raw power he was presenting. But when it suddenly vanished, the forces dissipating into their natural states and releasing themselves of his control, the boy become flabbergasted.
What...!? No... no, something went wrong!
>It couldn't be anything that the man had done, no, this was his own failure, it had to be! The strikes performed against him had dulled his senses or something, thrown him off course, or perhaps the drain his deflection field had on his abilities had caused them to drop suddenly.
Fly, you asshole!
>Instead of sending all the forces crushing inwards, Mortdecai opted for a much simpler tactic. If Lothar was going to leave himself open like this, it would be easy to take advantage of it.
>Using the forces of gravity acting upon him, his arms, legs and his body, instead of the general force around him, the mage attempted alter them directly, pointing them in such a way that the Templar would fly backwards into a nearby building as though he'd been tossed up by the world itself.
>>41348323 >Lothar raised an eyebrow to Mort. He didn't seem to have lost much hope or grown very fearful at all, despite his expectations. However, he did seem to be growing desperate. Could it be that he was growing tired from his use of magic?
>Staying silent for now, Lothar responds to Mort's shouting and attacking calmly and confidently. Thanks to his preemptive scream, Lothar saw the attack coming from a mile away, easily detecting the pressure from under his feet change once again, immediately causing him to side-step out of its range a few yards away.
>As the dirt flew up into the air once more, signalling the spell going off, he resumed his assault on the mage, breaking into a sprint. Taking a battle-ready stance once more, he ducked low and spun around, both his blades held close to his body as he attempted to batter Mort with the blunt edges once more.
>Four hits, it wasn't even brought up to the staged limit. As he tried to bring up the barrier, he could feel it fade from him - there wasn't enough strength left to let it fully form. Had the strikes drained him this much? It was too fast, too many successive shots against his psyche.
>Ragnar's shouting reminded him of his other option, physically moving out of the way, but as he tried to dive to the side both blades caught him in the back, and though they didn't cut into him it was enough force to send him to the ground.
>There wasn't even enough time to think before his face hit the dirt, his vision blacking out. Mortdecai lay in a heap on the grass, his chest rising and falling slowly, but otherwise unmoving.
>>41348365 >Lothar hears the boy's body as it falls into the grass, keeping his back turned for a moment. Those last two hits felt like they hit rather hard, but he wasn't used to holding back like that. He hoped he didn't hurt him too much.
>Calmly sheathing his blades, he turns towards the unconscious mage, staring down at him for a moment before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. There was something wrong with the boy, that was obvious. However, he had to respect him for putting up such a good fight, even if he didn't manage to touch him.
>However, before he could honor the boy any more, there was something he had to attend to. Suddenly, he began squinting, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as he seemed to struggle against something for a short moment. Letting out a grunt, what appeared to be a small shockwave burst forth from his body, rippling through the grass around him and kicking up some dirt as he purged the Void Array of the magical energy stored within.
>Taking a series of small breaths, he sighed again before immediately crouching beside Mortdecai, making sure he was safe and stable. The last thing he wanted was for there to be any lasting injuries on the boy, especially since he might need him in top condition during their mission together.
<Ragnar practically bolts over to his unconscious friend, a look of shock and worry covering his face as he looks down at his form.
<It was one thing to harass him when he hadn't seen what happened, like with explosion girl. But this...this had barely been a fight. This had just been a beatdown, plain and simple.
<Ragnar looks over at Lothar with a mixture of awe and fear at just how quick and effective the whole thing had been.
Don't worry, Mr Whitsun. He will be looked after.
>The loping strides of Dr Valus brought him over to his unconscious charge. Valus couldn't hide a smidgen of disappointment. He had intended the hit limit to prevent someone from becoming unconscious, but clearly Mortdecai was more fragile than he thought...There would be more investigations into this weakness, that was for sure.
>Dr Valus delicately picks up the young man and holds him carefully as he scrutinises Lothar. The man certainly could make an impression, at least he wouldn't have to worry about being slowed down.
We'll go back and wait for Mortdecai to wake up, take our things and then we'll set on our way.
>Very measured, very calm. That was Dr Valus all over. He starts walking back to the insides of the town, brow furrowed in thought.
<Ragnar, meanwhile, shot another glance at Lothar before falling into pace behind the good doctor. That was the power of the Red Templars, huh?
>>41348394 >The anti-mage, detecting Ragnar's gaze, meets it with his own cold stare. He could tell he was somewhat fearful of him after seeing his display of power, eliciting a small smirk from Lothar's lips.
He's going to need a friend after he wakes up. A proud person is very fragile after having dealt with someone stronger than them.
>Giving him a small nod, he too begins to walk with Valus, occasionally glancing down at Mort's unconscious body. He was making it no secret that he was slightly worried about him - A fact that was somewhat surprising to even himself, due to him being a mage. Perhaps it was because he saw himself in him.
>Regardless, he continues on without words, craving a small rest himself after the battle.