The scythe moved ever so slightly in Galahad's hands, but Vestargo jumped away in terror. In fact, he barely managed to dodge the attack that would certainly kill his body. Killing a Dungeon Core like that was impossible but it was a first step in killing him. The Empresses stayed behind while the Praetorians took positions to shield their Ladies from any harm. Vestargo looked around in shock, clearly surprised that anyone was able to stop him. Galahad dashed and cut again with the scythe forcing Vestargo to jump off the airship. With his most imperative duty fulfilled, keeping the Empresses safe, he followed the Dungeon Core. Galahad's black robe and cape left a trail of black smoke as he plummeted to the ground. Vestargo barely managed to avoid CIWS's fire but it left him vulnerable. The Death Lord took a swing and sent a black crescent of death towards the Core. With a huge effort and even more luck, Vestargo managed to dodge it as well. But this time Galahad's attack didn't dissipate. It followed its path and hit the ground below.

  The earth crumbled and the stone eroded under the touch of death itself creating a large crater in the ground. A large breach in the underground maze was created, at least thirty metres in diameter. Vestargo landed close by and looked at sight in disbelief. Using his shock and surprise, Galahad dashed once more and touched Vestargo before they even touched the ground.

  "I got you." He said triumphantly and, at the same time, his Avatar of Death skill ended.

  "What?" Vestargo's irisless eyes looked at him in surprise as thousands of illusion screens appeared in the air, allowing everyone to see them.

  "Let's settle this between ourselves, vermin." The voice of the Emperor came out from Galahad's mouth. "I challenge you to a duel. The winner takes it all."

  There was a moment of silence when two invisible forces clashed with each other. It was a contest of pure magical strength and although Vestargo struggled slightly at first, he soon overwhelmed the power of Theon Avalon.

  "Agree." Vestargo smiled wickedly as Galahad let him go and stepped away.

  Suddenly, all the fighting in the Dungeon stopped. Vestargo moved towards the solid ground and without a word a large circular platform raised slightly from the ground. Once Vestargo entered it, it was covered by the translucent barrier enforced by the World's Words. Then a rift in space opened and Theon Avalon stepped out of it. He was wearing his battle armour but had no weapon in his hands. Galahad smiled to himself.

  "You are no Ancient. You are weak, Human..." Vestargo laughed and took a battle stance. "I will devour you. Then I will use every single female in your lands to replenish my faithful, whom you slaughtered."

  "What makes you think that you can win?" The Arcadian Emperor tilted his head in amusement.

  "Your mana is weak."

  "Mana... Right." Theon laughed and started taking rings off his left hand. With each ring he threw away, his mana grew rapidly and soon it matched Vestargo's. Theon looked at the puzzled Dungeon Core in front of him and raised his right hand, taking off its rings. In an amused tone, he spoke again, "You have no idea how long it took for us to figure out how to ensure a coward like you would accept my challenge."

  "You..." Vestargo hissed with a sudden realisation as he took a step back. "You deceived me?!"

  "You truly overestimate your own mental capacities, bug." Theon laughed loudly as he dropped the last of the concealing rings. "I only gave you a false hope of winning."

  Vestargo looked around in an attempt to find a way to flee, however, the arena was completely sealed, preventing him from running.

  "Besides, what's the point of running now, pest?" Theon's voice was cold and ruthless. "My armies have found you. Do you think that you could somehow miraculously survive this? Don't you feel it?"

  Theon pointed into the distance with a wide gesture. Vestargo looked at him in surprise that soon changed into horror.

  "You finally understand..." Theon gave a short laugh again. "Your Empire was built on slavery and their fear is crumbling. The Dungeons that were forced into submission are now rebelling. Even I can tell it now but you should have noticed that a long time ago: you haven't made them your Vassals. You simply forced them to obey you. You took without giving and so on. In fact, I don't care how and why you created your sick empire."

  "I'll kill you..." The grotesque humanoid unfurled his hornet wings and spread his fingers as if they were claws.

  "That's the spirit." Theon chuckled and summoned a sword and took a relaxed stance.

  At first glance, Theon appeared full of openings, however, a mere shift in his pose would allow him to attack or defend himself. Vestargo snarled angrily and flew straight at Theon who countered with a Blink at the last moment, appearing behind the shocked Vestargo with a slash at his wings. To everyone's surprise, the sword bounced off seemingly harmlessly. Still, the power of the hit alone was enough to push Vestargo off course and throw him into the dirt. He immediately stood up and blocked a follow-up cut with his bare hand.

  "Interesting," Theon said as he kicked Vestargo in the stomach, pushing the hybrid away from him.

  "Iron is weak." Vestargo laughed, regaining some of his confidence.

  "Blade of Doom: Gram."

  The sword crackled with black lightning and turned black entirely. Vestargo only took one dismissive glance at it and dashed at Theon. However, instead of attacking head-on, he zig-zagged. Theon calmly observed his enemy and allowed him to attempt a strike only to intercept the hit with another sword that appeared in his hand. Surprised, Vestargo lost his balance and Theon uppercutted with Gram leaving a deep wound across the chest of his enemy. Instead of backing away, Vestargo punched Theon in the face. The hit connected hard, slightly staggering him back but the towering man withstood it. With a flex of his shoulder and a snap of his head, Theon pushed Vestargo's fist back. His cheek was red and Theon spat out one of his teeth. Vestargo eyed his opponent while he panting heavily and tried to heal his chest. Vestargo took a deep breath and smiled wickedly.

  "I cast Binding Roots!" He screamed and around twenty thick roots shot from the soil to bind Theon.

  Vestargo kneeled and put both his hands on the ground, still smiling, watching the first root touch Theon. Immediately it withered, causing the Lord of the Ancient Forest to snarl and abandon whatever attack he planned.

  "Your luck ran out, vermin." Theon's voice was distant and menacing.

  Everyone watching the battle felt unnatural chills. The air became cold and frost covered the ground. The blue ice crystals of brittle ice formed around the Emperor of Arcadia and they shattered with a glass clank under his armoured feet as he took a step forward. Vestargo, who couldn't make sense of why his attack failed, conjured wooden spikes that shot straight at Theon from the ground. Again they withered and turned to dust before the attack could connect.

  "Who and what are you?" Vestargo asked with concern in his voice.

  Millions of people across Arcadia watched the fight displayed upon the illusion screens and awaited his answer in silence. Those close by, could feel the clash of the two Dungeon Cores. Despite the barrier that contained most of their power, enough of it seeped away for everyone to realise that no one would stand a chance against Vestargo. Previously everyone was in awe of their Empresses' power but the fight between the two Dungeon Cores was on a completely different level. Just the amount of mana those two used alone was enough to knock some of the observers unconscious. And yet, their Lord not only stood his ground but seemed to have some unimaginable advantage.

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  "You were gifted with an affinity for Life, Vestargo. To let things grow and bloom and yet you chose to kill and enslave." Theon Avalon said in a voice that echoed with something dark and menacing. "I am Emperor Theon Avalon, The Righteous Dungeon, The Champion of Eriar, The Chosen of the Archangel, The Bringer of Equilibrium, The Husband of Hestia, The Unforgiving Storm of Zephyr, The Starchaser of Hera, The Brother to Zeus, The Prophet of Tisiphone, The Wrath of Vali, The Herald of Verka, The Protector of the Weak, The Bane of Void's Servants, The God Slayer, The Vengeful One, and The Conqueror. But I'm not as great as you. I can't use Grand Magic. I'm unable to heal the living or even make the crops grow. I am doom, Vestargo. I am Death."

  The Emperor didn't boast or try to be intimidating, instead his voice full of sadness was carried across Arcadia. He dashed at Vestargo and unleashed a flurry of precise cuts that his enemy could barely block. Each time Gram connected with Vestargo's skin it left an ugly wound that healed poorly. With a kick, the Emperor sent Vestargo tumbling with enough force to kill any Mortal but while everyone watched, Vestargo stood up.

  "I came here to kill you, vermin." Theon Avalon said as Gram in his hand crumbled away but he simply replaced it with another sword which he turned again into the Blade of Doom.

  Vestargo spat his own blood and looked at Theon with hatred. Seemingly unaffected by the wounds he had received, Vestargo conjured spells, one after another. Only a few of them forced Theon Avalon to block them with his swords while most of them splashed harmlessly on his invisible shield. Vestargo started focusing only on the spells Theon defended against in return, but those spells were much slower to cast than most he had cast so far. All this time the man-hornet hybrid was flying in circles around Theon in an attempt to find an open spot on the Arcadian Emperor. But neither spell nor angle helped, Theon Avalon's defence was flawless. With a furious snarl, Vestargo reached out and the plants littering the arena grew him a spear.

  "It's been ages since I had to use a weapon." He hissed and slowly approached Theon.

  Instead of waiting for Vestargo to attack, Theon blinked and immediately unleashed a horizontal cut with the sword in his left hand. It was followed by a down cut with Gram in his right hand. Vestargo managed to block some of the attack but his spear snapped. Without losing a beat, Vestargo thrust the half with the stone tip at Theon's heart while he used the other half as a bat. With a graceful movement, made at the last moment, Theon managed to move away from the path of the enemy's stone blade. It crushed on the Emperor's right pauldron and dented it badly. The stone blade itself burst into thousands of pieces that bounced harmlessly off Theon's barrier. The blow was hard enough to push the Emperor back and made his face twist in a grimace of pain. He raised that arm without a flinch and he conjured his Magic Minigun skill.

  Thousands of Arcane Bullets flew at Vestargo like a furious swarm of bees. He tried to avoid them but Theon tracked his target well. Despite that, he was hardly hurt and the Emperor must have realised that his skill was too weak to deal much damage to his opponent so he stopped his skill. Vestargo took another approach and began creating his crude spears and hurling them at Theon. It wasn't a quick attack but quite effective since it forced the Emperor to dodge them or deflect with his swords. During one of such parries, Theon switched his sword to a magnificent spear and as he took a mighty step forward, he threw it, making it transform as it left his hand.

  "The spear of true aim, Gungnir."

  Vestargo's eyes went wide as he attempted to dodge it but to no avail. Gungnir always reached its target. While he managed to avoid a lethal blow, his left arm was pierced clean through. Vestargo roared furiously as his arm went limp but as he covered it with his other hand, it was covered in a green mana light. Theon dashed toward Vestargo who flew into the air to avoid another hit but the Emperor blinked, appeared right behind him, and slashed with both his swords. Vestargo crashed to the ground but, instead of hitting the arena, he landed on a soft blanket of plants. His arm was already healed but he lost half of his right wing. Vestargo slammed his fist on the ground and roared something, causing wooden stakes to grow from the soil. While they still couldn't reach Theon he slowed down noticeably. He continued casting more Nature-based spells at the Emperor and even managed to lightly wound him a few times.

  The runes in the Arcadian armour healed the Emperor time after time. But this round, Vestargo didn't appear to be as angry as he was when his previous attacks failed. They were probing each other in search of weaknesses with each spell while physical attacks were aimed at finding a flaw in defences. This wasn't a fight that many people could endure for long, especially not against a Dungeon Core. Each mighty strike was parried or shrugged off as if it were nothing. Each spell was countered or too weak to be more than an unnoticeable nuisance. However, everyone watching the duel slowly realised that the two weren't even fighting yet. It was a mere customary hand exchange between the two impossible beings. Suddenly, even the shield invoked by the World's Words groaned as another surge of magic pressure exploded when both of them tapped into their mana for real.

  "I cast Sanctuary of Nature and Extinction." Vestargo raised both hands and his body was covered in a strange armour made of wood.

  "Battlefield of Armageddon. Limitless blades." The Emperor did not even move while the entire arena was suddenly surrounded by thousands of blades arranged into hundreds of rings slowly moving around the two.

  The people who witnessed the duel looked at each other in shock. Even more than before, the power of the two was unbelievable and frightening as now the mana that seeped out of the golden barrier was so dense that it almost appeared solid. Vestargo was wearing armour made of golden wood and held a similar spear in his hand. Theon Avalon was, again, standing in a relaxed stance with a sword in each hand. The two walked toward each other and with each step they took the ground cracked and shook. As soon as they were close enough they started exchanging blows so quickly it was just a blur of lights and movements for the observers. The people could only pray for their Emperor to be victorious because if that monster won, there would be no hope for the Mortals. While they could move their heads or even drop to their knees or sit down, they couldn't do anything else.

  They couldn't even tell who was winning.

  They disengaged as if on cue and stopped for a moment at the opposite sides of the devastated arena. Theon's armour was beaten and dented but it was still holding. The same could be said of Vestargo's. The wooden armour proved to be far more durable than anyone could imagine. The fighters unleashed even more mana as they prepared more skills. This time, however, it was Theon who was quicker.

  "Scene of massacre: Sword of the Emperor."

  All the swords around the two vanished. Theon was holding a single sword made of what seemed to be brilliant white light.

  "I cast Event of extinction, end of all life..." Vestargo's voice had a menacing echo to it, making everyone except for Theon and his denizens shiver.

  ???

  "What are we doing here, Sir?" One of the Guardsmen asked his officer in a terrified voice.

  "Watching the show, Private," Rhys answered instead with an unamused chuckle. "What you are witnessing is a true testament to the power of a man who chose to be merciful. Do you believe that we could stop Vestargo if not for our Emperor?"

  "No... I mean, no, Sir!" The man slumped slightly. "But what if he loses?"

  "He won't." Rhys chuckled, this time in amusement and certainty as he pointed towards HMS Victory. "I can name you at least ten reasons he has to live. He will be victorious."

  ???

  I lazily deflected another annoying attack and tried to figure out how to kill that bastard. While neither of us was going all out at the moment, it was mostly because we were trying to figure out how to kill each other with skills, it became apparent that neither of us had a strong enough skill to finish it. Admittedly, Vestargo was strong and slightly more experienced but I was both stronger and also faster. Nonetheless, he had the advantage of his ridiculous regeneration, which I couldn't defeat or negate. Blade of Doom: Gram was the only sword that I knew would work against Vestargo. But even Gram's inflicted damage could be healed by his absurd regeneration. Ascalon, Galatine, and Excalibur were too specific in their descriptions to work against Vestargo since he was neither Dragon, Daemon, nor a God... Let's test the last one, I guess.

  "Blade of Glory: Durandal."

  I summoned the weapon and struck Vestargo with it. Yeah... That wouldn't work but at least I figured out what Durandal was doing since I was paying attention this time. It looked like it amplified the power of my other blade and, if I had it in my offhand, it gave me a parrying bonus. It was great and all, but that wasn't what I needed now. There must be something I overlooked. After all, my affinity was Death so there must be a way to abuse that, right? Admittedly, it was a major downside to my class: technically I had to figure out my skills on my own. There were no templates, no ready solutions, and even trying to copy someone else's skills ended up with massive penalties or debuffs. I had tried to create a Doomblade class, after all...

  Anyway, focus. There must have been some legendary sword that was especially deadly for their targets. Or a spear? Or anything with a blade? Like Death Blade. No? All-killing blade? Something clicked in the back of my head… a memory of each time I created my previous blades. So while an all-killing blade wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it was close enough and now I needed its name. I focused and smiled widely. Thank you, my dear Freya. As soon as I realised that I knew the name of the sword I needed, the skill manifested as if it was always there. But it wasn't going to be a cursed sword. Probably. Hopefully... I raised my hand with another of my many swords that began slowly crackling with emerald green lightning.

  "Sword of Certain Death: Tyrfing."

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

  The map of Aderon is on my Discord :)

  https://discord.gg/G6SVrBeDdG