LIGHTNOVELONLINE Fight of the Century! (Kinda)
To restate an earlier point, demons loved fighting.
Armchair philosophers and amateur historians tend to link this trend to the feudal origins of demonic society, the Bad Old Days when thousands of separate demonic nations battled for supremacy. They posit this me-first culture only began to change when the Demon Realm was unified under the first Demon Lord, Skusea Aedes, who brought the ethos of collectivism to the rest of demonkind through equal parts conquest and diplomacy.
The truth, as always, is far more nuanced and complex.
Whatever the mists of history may hide as to the casus belli of demonic belligerence, the fact remains that martial strength was the cornerstone, capstone and keystone of their society. This was tempered by the demonic impulse to seek the common good, the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and other accoutrements of socialist civilization. However, the urge to engage in a knock-down drag-out brawl, a sweaty and sometimes erotic clash between good-faith rivals, remained the core of the demonic psyche.
What demons did not enjoy, however, was an unfair fight. There was no honor, no enjoyment in beating up a weaker or disadvantaged opponent. Indeed, demons went to great lengths to ensure their fights were fair… which brings us to Metokai’s concerns about a battle between Nilah and Nyze.
“I’m fully in favor of you two fighting to work out your differences,” Metokai said enthusiastically. “However, I’m concerned Nilah might be at a disadvantage.”
The room fell silent, and Nilah’s eyes made their best effort to melt Metokai’s flesh. “Excuse me?”
“I meant no disparagement,” Metokai added hastily, as her own eyes flashed teal. “However, according to my healthsight, you are presently suffering from a number of conditions associated with senescence.”
“So I’m fucking old,” Nilah spat. “Doesn’t fucking matter. Nyze has never managed to beat me in over two hundred matches.”
“With all due respect to your formidable martial prowess,” Metokai continued, “that was a decade ago, and Nyze has made great strides training under me since then. Additionally, you are presently suffering from osteoporosis, joint effusion, acute and widespread rhabdomyolysis, arrhythmia and hypertension.”
Nilah blinked. “You wanna start speaking fucking Saimonican?”
“Bone damage, joint damage, muscle damage, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure,” Metokai explained. “While I do admit only a passing familiarity with human anatomy, I think your symptoms are far beyond what would normally be expected of a sexagenarian.”
Nilah turned to Nyze, teeth clenched. “Is she always like this?”
Nyze nodded. “Yup, always. I think she memorizes thesauruses for fun.”
Nilah shook her head. “You have my pity.”
Metokai grumpily clapped her paws together to draw attention back to herself. “If we can stay on topic, please? To summarize: Nilah, your active lifestyle has resulted in wear and tear on your body far in excess of normal, which would place you at a disadvantage in a fight against Nyze.”
Nilah stormed forwards, fixing to yell right in Metokai’s face, only for Xennia to intercept. “She’s right, Mom. You can’t carry on acting like you’re still young. Last time you got into a fight, you were bedridden for three weeks after.”
Nilah threw back her head, angry eyes fixed on the ceiling, and raged. “ARGH! Is EVERYONE conspiring to deny me this?!”
The ceiling, an earthen affair supported by oak beams and decorated with twenty small glass orbs containing balls of magelight, remained silent on the matter.
“Quite the contrary,” Metokai said, poking her head out from behind Xennia’s waist. “I am merely offering to repair the damage to your body so you may fight Nyze on equal terms.”
Silence descended, so complete you could have heard a pixie cough. Nilah stared at Metokai disbelievingly, realization slowly dawning. “You mean… like you did for Baryoniz?”
“Who’s Baryoniz?”
“The homeless man whose leg you healed,” Nilah said. “He’s… he’s an old friend of mine.”
Metokai’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait a moment. Is that the reason you’ve been chasing us? Because I healed your friend?”
Nilah was about to respond when she heard a very loud rapping coming from beneath. Looking down, she saw Xennia’s foot tapping very rapidly on the wooden floor, throwing up tiny spurts of dust with each impact.
“THAT’S THE REASON YOU DIDN’T COME HOME?!” Xennia screamed, showing the pearly whites of her teeth with each syllable. “Because she healed a HOMELESS MAN?! You were trying to sell this as some sort of horrific demonic invasion, even putting our good friend Nyze on the hot seat, because she HEALED A HOMELESS MAN?!”
As Nilah squirmed uncomfortably, Xennia clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and bellowed out a shout so loud Nilah’s hair flew backwards at the sheer wind force of it.
“YOU! FUCKING! DUMBASS!”
******
Thirty minutes later, when Xennia finally cooled off, Nilah shamefully shuffled over to Nyze and company, her eyes experiencing an excess of gravity.
“Mmsrry,” she mumbled, studying the floorboards intently.
“Louder, Mom. Enunciate your words,” Xennia tutted. “And look at them, for gods’ sake. You’re not apologizing to the floor.”
Nilah lifted her eyes sheepishly. “imsorry”
“LOUDER!”
“I’M SORRY, OKAY? I shouldn’t have suspected you of malfeasance because of your good deed,” Nilah said, chewing on every word as if it were long-expired thede jerky.
“It’s quite alright,” Metokai responded magnanimously. “Were I wearing shoes, I’d be suspicious of me too.”
“Uh… did you mean ‘were I in your shoes?’” Nilah asked, before looking down at Metokai’s hooves. “Oh, I suppose not. Anyway, if your earlier offer still stands…”
“It does.”
“And if Nyze still wants to duel me…”
“Sure thing!” Nyze said enthusiastically. As a demon and a generally martial person, she wasn’t going to pass up a good fight.
Nilah twiddled her fingers bashfully. “Then I’d very much like a friendly match with you… even if all the tension seems to have been sucked out of the moment.”
That last snippy remark drew a ‘hmph’ from Xennia, but she backed off and watched the proceedings from the side with hawkish eyes, ready to pounce at the first sign of malfeasance. Metokai stared at her suspiciously for a moment, then stepped forwards and once more activated her healthsight.
“Sit down, please,” she directed Nilah. “I will now begin repair of your body. You may feel a tingling sensation.” Her paws glowed teal as she began to incant the healing spells.
“Hang on a second,” Nilah interrupted, and Metokai discharged the spell’s mana into the air with an annoyed look.
“Yes?”
“Th-This won’t turn me into a demon, right?” Nilah asked nervously.
Metokai shook her head. “Not unless I employ a spell with a spiritualism component. I would never turn anyone into a demon without their consent.”
Valex fake-coughed loudly, and Metokai shot her a withering glare.
“Not intentionally, anyway,” she continued. “The unhoused man… Baryoniz, I believe you called him… is still fully human, is he not?”
“I suppose…” Nilah conceded, remembering the joy she’d seen on her friend’s face last night.
“No spontaneous manifestations of horns, spaded tails or pointy elf ears?” Metokai pressed.
Nilah, feeling quite silly all of a sudden, responded quietly. “No, none of those…”
“Then you can trust this magic will do no more than heal your body,” Metokai concluded. “You have my word.”
Despite Metokai’s reassurances, Nilah’s many long years of living on the edge of society had not encouraged her to be particularly trusting. She looked over to Nyze. “Is her word good?”
“Beyond reproach,” Nyze answered with conviction. “I trust Metokai with my life.”
Nilah took a deep breath and swallowed. If Nyze trusted this tiny goat-girl, then she would too, despite her paranoid instincts screaming otherwise. “Alright. Go ahead.”
Metokai’s hands glowed once more, and she began to incant. Nilah bit her lip as Metokai cast five separate spells, all of them complex four or five-line affairs. Each burst of mana sent a strong tingling through her body, and she was overcome with a pervasive itchiness.
Then the itching and magic receded, and it was over. Nilah looked at Metokai expectantly, and the baphomet responded with a single nod.
“You are now restored to full health. Please engage in a standard series of warm-up stretches, and let me know if you feel any discomfort.”
Nilah gingerly rose to her feet, eyes widening as she did so. She flexed her knees, then raised both arms above her head… and immediately just realized how thorough Metokai’s healing magic had been.
“I-Incredible!” she stammered as she twisted her torso this way and that. “There’s… there’s no pain whatsoever! No aches, no creaks…”
“Mom?” Xennia asked nervously, rushing over to Nilah’s side. “Are you okay?”
Nilah responded by kicking off the ground and doing a full flip in midair, before landing on her feet with the grace of an Arkaelian razor cat. “I’m great! I feel fucking amazing! Holy shit, Xen, I haven’t been able to move like this since I was in my forties!” She flipped on her side and cartwheeled into a handstand, triumphantly grinning as she stared at her audience from an upside-down position.
“That’s a standard series of warm-up stretches?” Metokai asked Nyze in a low, exasperated voice.
“Oh, hush. Let her have the moment,” Nyze responded, her grin matching Nilah’s.
Nilah bounced and flipped around the room for a few more minutes, whooping triumphantly, before finally settling down after a particularly stern glare from Xennia.
“Holy shit!” Nilah gushed. “Demonic healing magic is… shit, it’s amazing! I feel so young!”
“Your satisfaction pleases me,” Metokai said flatly. “Have we proven that we are not malevolent?”
Nilah reached into hammerspace and pulled out her sword. “We’ll see,” she said with a delighted, bloodthirsty smile.
******
The Crucible, naturally, had a number of training arenas that bore magitech shields designed to intercept offensive spells and prevent combatants from accidentally vaporizing the audience, the school’s buildings or the surrounding city. Nilah lead the three demons and two humans to one such arena, located on the school’s backlot and rarely used. As she powered up the arena’s shield, Metokai pattered over to Nyze with a stern expression.
“Serpent…”
Nyze rolled her eyes. “I know, Metokai.”
“Lest you forget, I cannot use resurrection magic on her without transforming her into a demon, as we discovered with Valex.”
“I know, Metokai.”
“So take great care that you do not fatally injure her, no matter how intense the battle may become.”
“I KNOW, METOKAI,” Nyze said, placing her hand on the baphomet’s shoulder reassuringly. “Relax. I won’t kill her. Hell, I’m not even sure if I can beat her. You really supercharged her with that healing spell.”
Metokai shook her head firmly. “I have no doubts about your ultimate victory, serpent.”
Nyze was somewhat taken aback by that. “May I ask why? Nilah’s a powerhouse; I’ve never managed to beat her before.”
“Because you’ve had a decade’s additional combat experience since you last fought her, and because you’ve been training under me,” Metokai replied, gently placing her paw over Nyze’s hand. “More to the point, you’ve managed to claim victory against me four out of twelve times.”
“One out of three isn’t a fantastic record,” Nyze objected.
“One out of…” Metokai counted out the fraction on her claws for a moment before continuing. “That’s, uh, one-third, right?”
“Yes, because twelve divided by four is three,” Nyze responded, her voice softening a bit.
Metokai furrowed her brow. “Ah, yes. I never could get the hang of that. To digress, serpent, I am the High General of the demonic armies and my strength is second only to that of the Demon Lord. The fact that you managed to clinch victory against me one out of three times speaks volumes about your own power. Have confidence, Nyze, you will emerge victorious from this match.”
Nyze nodded. “Right, I’ll give it my best… without killing her, of course.”
“Yes, please don’t do that.” Metokai said emphatically. “It would be a huge headache, and this mission has gone sideways enough already.”
As Metokai gave Nyze her skewed version of a pep talk, Valex and Rixu headed for the bleachers just outside the magitech shield.
“So, we’re doing color commentary, right?” Valex asked as she took her seat.
Rixu turned to her with a sour expression. Shenanigans were coming; he could smell them a mile off, and he was not in the mood. “What on Goezia are you talking about, Valex?”
“You know, like those announcers at the battleball games! We can comment on their fight as it happens!” Valex continued enthusiastically, her tail swishing around frantically. Either she was unable to read Rixu’s frustrations, or she didn’t care.
“Valex, you can’t just-“ Rixu futilely began, before being rudely interrupted by a loud crack and bright flash as Metokai shot off a blast of lightning towards the zenith of the shield dome.
“And that signals the start of the match!” Valex announced with energetic flourish, doing her best impression of an announcer’s voice. “Let’s take a look at our contestants. On the right is Nyze, lamia spellblade representing the Demon Realm. Rumor has it Nyze journeyed with the Hero for years before dumping his sorry ass for the sultry charms of the Demon Lord! During her travels, she’s honed her martial skills to a sharp edge, and her power only magnified following her transformation into a demon! Nyze is a fearsome opponent to be sure, but will her relative unfamiliarity with her freshly transformed lamia body prove a critical weakness?”
“Oh my gods, we are not doing this,” Rixu complained, planting his face in his palms.
“And on the left we have Nilah, legendary Adventurer of some forty years! A specialist in assassinations, Nilah’s mastery of invisibility, subterfuge and quick, lethal strikes makes her a difficult opponent for even the most skilled fighter… and she’s buzzed up on a fresh batch of healing magic to boot! Will she win the day for humanity, or will Nyze score one for demonkind? The fight of the century begins HERE, NOW! Don’t miss a single second, fans!”
“There’s nobody watching besides us…” Rixu mumbled.
Metokai teleported into the bleachers beside them, standing on the bench instead of sitting so she could see the action better. She looked at Valex curiously. “What are you doing, fox?”
“Color commentary! Like I’m a sports announcer, yeah?” Valex replied happily, doing a little bounce to emphasize the point.
Metokai’s eyes briefly flicked to Valex’s jiggling assets before she responded. “Oh, what a fun idea. In that case, I shall provide analysis to supplement.”
“Not you too!” Rixu wailed.
Valex continued to give Rixu’s objections no quarter. “So how is our matchup looking today, Metokai? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each contestant?”
Metokai harrumphed haughtily, then switched effortlessly to her practiced lecture-mode. “Simply put, Nilah has the advantage in speed, for both footwork and strikes; as an assassin, these qualities served her well over her long and illustrious career. However, Nyze trained as a light-armor magic knight, therefore she is a more hardened combatant with greater muscularity, durability, endurance and a larger primary weapon. What we’re looking at here is a speedster versus a powerhouse.”
Rixu, having given up on his objections for the moment, simply pulled his hair and groaned wordlessly. Valex and Metokai ignored him with practiced alacrity.
“So who wins, Metokai? The human speedster or the demon powerhouse?” Valex asked, peering at the pensive baphomet.
“It’s anybody’s game, Valex,” Metokai replied, studying the contestants while scratching one of her horns. “Nilah might be able to hit Nyze with ease, but given her choice of knives for her primary weapon the power of her strikes may come up short, especially against Nyze’s longsword. At the same time, Nyze’s own strikes will be slower, and Nilah will dodge them easily. Speaking from my own personal experience, I think this fight will come down to magical skill. We already know Nyze has powerful attack magic in her arsenal… but does Nilah have anything similar to even the odds, like a secret special technique?”
Valex’s ears perked up at that prospect. “Now that sounds super interesting! Here’s hoping we see at least one hidden technique revealed at a dramatically appropriate moment! Returning to something you mentioned before, you’ve fought Nyze many times, correct? Were those always friendly matches?”
Regret crept into Metokai’s voice. “Not always, I regret to say. The reason I have confidence in the serpent’s magical skill deciding this match is because I’ve experienced her spellcasting ingenuity before, to deadly effect.”
As Metokai and Valex leaned into their sports announcer roleplay, Nilah turned to face Nyze with an incredulous expression on her face.
“Nyze… your friends are really weird.”
Nyze smiled brightly. “I know! Aren’t they great?”
“They’re…” Nilah began to object, but couldn’t find anything worth objecting about; weirdness did not automatically equate to badness, as she knew well. “Yeah, I suppose they are, from a certain perspective. Are all demons like that?”
Nyze shrugged. “More or less. Demons are… way less restrained than humans, I guess. Without the baggage of the Church weighing us down, we’re free to express ourselves more openly and honestly.”
“You said ‘we’ there, I noticed,” Nilah said with a complicated mix of emotions on her face.
Nyze’s smile faded as she tried to read Nilah’s mood. “Yeah, I guess I did. I fit in there, Nilah, in the Demon Realm. Moreso than I ever did here. I finally found somewhere I can call home.”
Nilah’s expression twisted further into incomprehensibility. “In that case, show me your resolve. Show me what demon Nyze is capable of.” She pointed her knives directly at Nyze’s throat.
“Happily,” Nyze responded, her smile returning as she extended her own longsword in the same fashion.
There was a brief interlude of silence, and then the air shuddered with the cacophony of steel against steel.
******
Xennia left the cafeteria, balancing a tray of drinks in one hand and holding her other up to her ear. Her eyes flashed blue with psychic mana as she sent a telepathic message to an unseen party.
Yeah, I found her at work. It was something stupid, just like we thought.
Uh-huh. I’ll explain more later, okay?
Yeah, I know. I’ll keep an eye on it. Would you mind rustling up something for dinner? We’re gonna have company over later. Four guests total. Don’t worry, they passed the smell test… plus one is an old friend.
Yup. Uh-huh. Cool, I really appreciate it. Thanks Mom, see you soon!
Love you too!
Xennia’s hand dropped away from her ear as she disconnected the spell and entered the arena where Nilah and Nyze were having their match. As she shuffled over to the spot in the bleachers where the small audience of assorted humans and demons sat, she noticed Valex and Metokai talking animatedly while Rixu buried his head in his hands.
“Oh, and that’s a bad miss!” Valex cried out with an attempt at pathos that was entirely undercut by her bubbly personality.
“You’re not wrong there, Valex,” Metokai added, comfortably wearing the role of commentator like a pair of broken-in trousers. “It seems Nilah might have underestimated Nyze’s ability to dodge her strikes. That serpent can really move quickly when she puts her mind to it.”
Xennia sat her tray down on the bench, extracting one self-chilling cup with a frosty-cold orange juice and handing it to Rixu, who took it gratefully and began to sip. Xennia immediately noticed the despondent, tired expression on his face.
“What’s going on?” she pried.
“They’re doing color commentary, like a couple of battleball announcers,” Rixu groaned.
“Oh! That sounds like fun!” Xennia said while handing Metokai and Valex their drinks. “Mind if I join?”
“Not at all!” Valex said happily as she took a sip of iced tea. “We’d love to have you!”
“Since you’re most familiar with Nilah out of all of us, perhaps you can provide analysis of her fighting style?” Metokai asked, deliberately talking over Rixu’s despairing wail.
Xennia set the remaining drinks down on the bench beside her and slapped her thighs vigorously. “Sure thing! As you can see, Nilah is favoring mobility and quick strikes, which seems to have Nyze mostly on the defensive. As an assassin, she’s very much playing to her strengths right now.”
Almost as if obliging Xennia’s commentary, Nilah charged her body up with warrior magic and unleashed a flurry of precisely aimed blows… all of which Nyze easily blocked with her longsword, gyrating about on her tail like a bobbleheaded doll on a bumpy dirt road.
“Nyze is no slouch either, however,” Metokai added. “Despite her disadvantage in both mobility and speed, she’s having little difficulty parrying.”
Valex grinned and balled her fists, mashing them together in front of her face in a strange little self-fistbump. “Different styles yet evenly matched! Who will take the lead as this battle heats up?” There was a brief pause, then she yelled towards the arena, “Hey, you two! Heat up this battle for us, okay? The fans are looking for an exciting fight!”
“Your friends are really fucking weird,” Nilah said half-jokingly as she drove her blades towards Nyze’s heart.
“And your daughter is being weird right alongside them,” Nyze retorted with a grin as she flipped to the side and whirled around on her tail, bringing her sword up to a defensive position. “If there’s one thing that defines demons, Nilah, it’s that we love a good fight.”
“Common ground, I suppose,” Nilah said, smirking. “I’d better get my shit together and show you what I can really do. Wouldn’t want to put in a poor showing for humanity." Her body crackled with violet energy as she incanted a spell, and Nyze’s eyes narrowed as she watched. She coiled up like a spring, ready to either strike or flee depending on what Nilah did next.
“Oh boy, here it comes!” Xennia said, her pride in her mother filling her voice with glee.
Nilah, her body now glowing bright violet, finished the spell and vanished from sight. A moment later, there was a loud ripping sound as her invisible strike carved a gash in Nyze’s leather breastplate. The lamia reacted instantly, slithering several yards backwards and holding her sword close to her chest to defend against another strike.
“Incredible!” Valex gushed, her ears flicking back and forth frantically. “She’s using another of her specialties… invisibility! Now Nyze has to fight an opponent she can’t see!”
“I know, isn’t it great?” Xennia gushed.
“A classic technique of assassins,” Metokai said, tapping her chin with her forefinger. “Harder to block an enemy you can’t see.”
“There you have it!” Valex exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “Looks like Nilah’s got Nyze on the back foot… er, back tail?”
Nyze quickly released a precast spell, forming a small dome-shaped barrier around her body. As Nilah’s invisible strikes impacted against it, causing the shield to flicker, she coiled up once more, closed her eyes and assumed a serene expression.
“If you’re trying to sense my mana,” Nilah’s voice echoed from nowhere in particular, “I’m maintaining much finer control of it than before. You won’t pick up any leakage. Nice try, though!”
Nyze didn’t responded, simply opened her mouth slightly and flicked out her forked tongue. A moment later, she released her shield, charged her body with warrior magic and sprang forwards like a striking cobra, swinging her sword down in a large arc. The blade caught something in midair, and there was a loud CLANG as Nilah became visible for a fraction of a second, her spellcasting momentarily disrupted as she strained to block Nyze’s powerful strike with both of her daggers.
“How…” Xennia asked in pure shock.
“Smell,” Metokai responded, half-smiling. “Snakes have extremely sensitive olfactory organs in the back of their mouth. Nyze used her tongue to taste the air molecules, detected Nilah’s scent, and used that to locate her.”
“Amazing! Nyze’s serpentine abilities counter Nilah’s invisibility!” Valex leaned forwards, her eyes wide and her tail wagging frantically.
Xennia was begrudgingly impressed. “The smell test, martial application? Impressive, Nyze…”
Nyze pressed her attack, swinging her sword around as she chased the invisible Nilah, but she didn’t manage to connect again. Nilah’s laughter rang out as she danced around the arena.
“So you can smell me, huh? Nice trick, Nyze. But you’re still too slow to hit me!” she taunted, her words echoing off the walls.
“Guess I just have to change the battlefield conditions then,” Nyze said, her confidence never wavering. “Release Magic: GRAVITY FIELD!”
There was an ominous bassy hum and miniature earthquake, and the entire arena darkened as if all the magelights were suddenly subjected to miniature eclipses. Purple-wreathed black lightning danced around, and the shield containing the area shuddered and strained under the load, throwing off bright maroon sparks.
“What…” Xennia began to ask, only to gasp in shock as Nilah’s invisibility spell failed and she reappeared, dropping to one knee as if shouldering a great weight.
“SHIT!” Nilah cursed, struggling to stay upright.
Valex turned to Metokai, eyes and pupils wide. “What is THAT?!”
Metokai folded her arms, and flashed a grin filled with unrestrained pride. “That is Gravity Field, a four-line space manipulation spell of some difficulty. Nyze precast it this morning, as she does every morning, in case she needed to use it on the fly.”
“Gravity Field? But what does that do?” Valex asked, tilting her head as her ears flicked back and forth between Metokai at her side and Nyze in the arena.
“It increases the gravity in a localized area, usually 100 feet in diameter. In this case, the variant Nyze deployed increased the gravity in the arena by approximately four times Goezia-normal.”
“FOUR TIMES?” Xennia shrieked, suddenly worried for her mother. “Can humans even SURVIVE that much gravity?”
“While I am no expert on human anatomy, demons can typically survive between four and five times increased gravity for short periods of time, provided they are athletic and muscular enough to withstand the increased weight of their bodies,” Metokai replied calmly. “I might note that both Nyze and Nilah are in extremely good shape… however, Nyze is clearly more muscular, has a lower center-of-gravity and has more stable footing thanks to the surface area of her tail being greater than the soles of Nilah’s boots.”
Nyze had coiled up once more and squatted low to the ground, focusing most of her tail’s muscles on supporting her torso. Hunkered down against the gravitational strain, she flashed a shit-eating grin. “What now, Nilah?”
Nilah shakily rose to her feet, her muscles visibly tensing, and sheathed her daggers. “Alright, you little shithead, don’t get cocky. You hampered my mobility, but maintaining that spell’s gotta be taking all your juice, so I’ll just strike while the iron’s hot.” She raised her hand and incanted a series of elemental spells, blasting fireballs in Nyze’s direction. The first few fell short, pulled down into the ground by the increased gravity, but Nilah aimed her hand higher to better arc them and, soon enough, the steep parabola of the fireballs carried them directly towards Nyze’s face.
They didn’t hit her, however, instead bouncing off an angled, hardened maroon shield a few feet from her face. Nyze’s grin widened.
“H-How?” Nilah gasped, her composure failing. “How the FUCK are you maintaining an active four-line gravity spell and a four-line warrior magic shield at the SAME TIME?!”
Valex and Xennia turned to Metokai with questioning eyes. The baphomet stood as tall as she could manage and puffed out her chest, manifesting the braggadocious energy she reserved for talking about her closest rival. “Because she’s been training under me, naturally. I would expect at least this level of simultaneous spellcasting from any of my students.”
“But how?!” Xennia pressed. “In order to cast both four-line spells simultaneously, she’d have to be actively channeling massive amounts of both black and maroon mana! It’s one thing to access hammerspace while under a glamour, but this is beyond the ability of Moons magic… completely impossible!”
Understanding dawned on Valex, and she inhaled sharply. “She’s not using Moons magic.”
“What?!” Xennia asked incredulously.
“She’s using demonic spellcasting,” Metokai explained, “which bypasses the Moons entirely. Nyze is refracting mana inside her body, using her soul ribbon as a prism, and producing both black and maroon mana for use in her spell. That’s how she’s able to keep both spells up simultaneously, despite their massive mana cost.”
“A demonic trick, huh?” Nilah growled as she stopped firing fireballs. “Well played, Nyze. Looks like I don’t have any choice but to use my trump card.”
“Oh!” Valex cried out, her eyes snapping back to the arena. “Here it comes! Nilah’s long-awaited secret special technique!” Xennia giggled mischievously in response, unable to hide her anticipation.
Nilah widened her stance and planted her feet firmly on the ground, bracing against the oppressive gravity, then clasped her hands together, wrists parallel and fingers splayed out, and pointed her palms directly at Nyze. “Release Magic… PHOTONIC CANNON!”
A huge brilliant beam of pink light blasted from her palms, causing everyone present (except Metokai) to clamp their eyes shut. Valex’s ears folded flat against her head.
“Behold!” Xennia said, cracking her eyes open slightly as she shielded them her arm. “Nilah’s ultimate attack… the deadly five-line laser magic spell, Photonic Cannon!”
“I’ve heard it’s capable of decimating entire armies!” Valex added, still coving her face with both her hands. “Why does an assassin know a spell like THAT?!”
“Simple diversification,” Metokai said, staring at the blindingly bright blast full-bore as if the intense light didn’t bother her in the least. “She called it her trump card, a secret technique only used when she finds herself in the direst circumstances. Photonic Cannon is too powerful to be blocked by anything but a ritual-cast or relic-cast shield.”
The light began to flicker and fade, and Nilah stood up triumphantly as Nyze’s Gravity Field faded and the arena returned to normal. There was no sign of the lamia, not even a scrap of flesh or a puff of vaporized dust.
“This battle is over,” Metokai said, folding her arms.
“N-Nyze lost?” Valex said, her eyes welling up with tears. “Was she completely vaporized?”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Metokai said. “Watch closely.”
Just then, there was a torrent of black lightning accompanied by a double thunderclap. Before Nilah could react, she found the tip of Nyze’s blade pressed against her throat.
“Gotcha,” Nyze said with a triumphant grin.
Nilah gasped and raised both her hands to indicate surrender. “How…”
“How?!” Xennia echoed.
“HOW?!” Valex added. “I was certain she died!”
Metokai chuckled. “Have more faith in her. When I said this battle was over, I meant it was Nyze’s complete victory.”
“Teleportation magic,” Rixu piped up, finally deigning to join the commentary. “The black lightning and double thunderclap are indicative of a teleport spell.”
“Precisely,” Metokai confirmed while Valex and Xennia stared at her with mouths agape. “The moment Nilah over-committed to Photonic Cannon, sacrificing all her mobility for a single powerful attack, Nyze won the battle. She teleported out of the way of the attack, specifically setting her teleport to a ten-second delay so she didn’t re-materialize until the Photonic Cannon was exhausted. Then she surprised an exhausted Nilah with a point-blank attack.”
“Holy SHIT,” Xennia said, her awe towards the lamia no longer begrudging.
“Creative use of surprise teleportation is something of a specialty for Nyze, as I learned myself at great cost,” Metokai added, dissipating the arena’s magitech shield with a wave of her hand. “The serpent excels at thinking on her feet… metaphorically speaking.”
Valex began to applaud loudly, while Metokai, Rixu and Xennia stared at her. “Woohoo! Our serpent emerges triumphant in the fight of the century! Well done, Nyze!”
“Well done indeed,” Nilah muttered, her voice beginning to choke up. “You’ve grown a lot in this past decade, Nyze. I don’t remember you being anywhere that good at space manipulation magic. And your demonic techniques took me totally by surprise.”
Nyze sheathed her sword in hammerspace and placed her hand on Nilah’s shoulder. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without the firm foundation of your training, Nilah. I’ll never forget everything you did for me while I studied at the Crucible.”
“Nyze, I…” Nilah began, before her voice cracked entirely and she began to sob loudly. Xennia, Metokai Valex and Rixu rushed out of the bleachers and into the arena.
“Mom? Are you okay?” Xennia asked worriedly.
“Does it hurt anywhere? Do you require healing?” Metokai said as her eyes flashed teal once more.
“Was the gravity attack too tough on your body? Did you break anything?” Nyze asked, looking a bit guilty.
Rixu rubbed his temples and sighed, wishing his companions would shelve their usual rambunctious antics in favor of reading the room. “Oy, you lot, give her some space. She’s not crying because she’s hurt or sad.”
“She’s not?” Valex asked, one of her ears flicking.
Rixu shook his head. “No. Nilah is a teacher, which means she pours her entire being into educating her students and preparing them for success in the world at large,” Rixu explained. “Now she’s seen one of her most prized pupils has attained enough strength to surpass her, which is a bittersweet experience for any mentor. She’s crying tears of joy.”
Everyone looked over to Nilah, who smiled through her tears and nodded. “I’m… I’m happy to see you’ve grown into such a fine woman, Nyze,” she managed to say.
Nyze slithered directly next to Nilah and embraced her in a tight hug, patting her hair gently. “Thank you very much, Nilah. I’m happy I made you proud,” she said softly.
Nilah wiped her eyes. “I spent my whole life killing people, making the world a worse place… When I abandoned that life, raising my daughter became the most important part of my life, and my work as a teacher the second-most important. It gave me a chance to help the next generation be a better person than I was. And seeing you… I…” She broke down sobbing again for a moment, then swallowed. “I’m so proud of you, Nyze. I really am.”
Everyone else backed away from master and student, allowing them the privacy of their tender moment, and huddled at the edge of the arena.
“Well, Nilah no longer seems antagonistic towards us, so I consider this diversion worthwhile,” Metokai said. “The demonic philosophy of confronting interpersonal conflicts through mortal combat has been vindicated once more.”
Xennia rolled her eyes with her usual vigor. “So Nilah was being a dumbass. I’m not sure how fighting solved that, though?”
“She’s being less of a ‘dumb-ass’ now, as you can see. She’s reconnected with Nyze on a deep, emotional level. Fighting solves everything.” Metokai emphasized with supreme confidence.
Xennia let out a derisive ‘hmph.’ “I’ll agree to disagree on that point. If I could make Mom behave by slapping some sense into her, my life would have been a lot less stressful up to this point, trust me.”
Metokai squinted as she looked up at the redheaded firebrand. “You know, you’re awfully flippant towards your own mother.”
Xennia snorted, her freckled nose wrinkling up, and flipped her hair with practiced ease. “That’s because I’m in my rebellious teenage phase, obviously. Besides, somebody has to keep her in check.”
“As you say,” Metokai responded, and left it at that. “More to the point, once Nyze and Nilah are finished having their moment, we should resume our journey. We’ve already wasted far too much time on this diversion.”
Before Rixu or Valex could agree with Metokai, Xennia interrupted with a loud clap of her hands. “Regarding that! I have a question to ask you, and bear in mind I will not take no for an answer.”
“Then I shall endeavor mightily to not answer in the negative,” Metokai said with only the slightest amount of sarcasm.
“Good to know. As an apology for Mom’s outrageous behavior today, and as an opportunity for us to catch up with our old friend Nyze and really get to know her new friends… how would you three like to come over to our house for dinner?”
Metokai looked over to Valex, whose tail was wagging up a storm as she made doe-eyes, then Rixu, who shrugged nonchalantly. Finally she looked over to Nyze and Nilah, who were still sharing a platonic hug and soft words.
Her gaze snapped back to Xennia. “We’d love to.”
“I’m so glad to hear it!” Xennia replied, raising her right hand to her ear. “I’ll send a message ahead that you’re coming.”
“In exchange,” Metokai interjected, effortlessly countering the teenager’s frightening enthusiasm with her own practiced stoicism. “I’d like to ask a favor of you and Nilah.”
Xennia crossed her arms and started down grumpily at the baphomet, a bit miffed this little gremlin of a woman was able to so effectively parry her. “And that would be?”
“I’d like you both to help us conquer Lyzikanth, in the name of the Demon Lord.”
Xennia’s eyebrows shot up to the ceiling, even as she felt excitement stir in her gut. Of all the things she’d been expecting when she’d set out to reign in her wayward mother, a demonic bargain was not among them. But the concept intrigued her, especially since the three demons she’d met so far seemed to be decent enough folk, despite their brash personalities and inherent weirdness.
She decided to take the plunge. “Tell me more.”
