Are Two Heads Better Than One

“You will suffer!” said the higher pitched voice.

“Shadow Bolt!” said the gruffer voice as a bolt of dark energy flew towards John. John swung his lightsaber up to cut the bolt in two to make it dissipate. Instead, the bolt merely split into two smaller versions and one hit him directly on the chest.

-15 HP

John saw that message pop up and was surprised by how much damage that attack did. If that did 15 damage after being split in half then a full one would do 30? That’s surprising. This creature may be stronger than I first thought. John thought to himself as he began to move closer.

“It’ll take more than that to stop me!” John told the creature as he advanced.

“We have plenty more to show you!” said the gruff voice. “Shadow Whip!” Large, thin strands of shadow energy popped out of the ground near John and began to fling towards him. While they were not doing a lot of damage, merely one or two ticks of damage a hit, they were getting a lot of hits off.

“Enough!” John said as his lightsaber cut through all the various vines as they fell to the ground and disappeared. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done!” John said as he used Throw Lightsaber at his enemy.

“Shadow Barrier!” announced the higher pitched voice as a dark barrier descended around the creature. John’s lightsaber bounced off it as he recalled it to his hand. Using the momentum of his movements, John brought his fist up to punch through the shield. Sadly, his fist bounced off the shield. John brought his lightsaber up and began to strike at the barrier in hopes that it would shatter.

“My daughter’s betrothed, your attacks will not break that barrier. Shadow Barrier is one of the most powerful defensive spells there is. How he was able to cast it so quickly, I do not know. It takes a long time to prepare the spell,” Idena’s mother told John. John suddenly realized something, only the larger head was casting spells. Specifically, he was casting offensive spells. The smaller head had not said anything until it casts Shadow Barrier.

“Each head specializes in offensive and defensive magic,” John told her. “The larger head uses offensive magic and the smaller head uses defensive magic. That’s how it was able to cast that spell so quickly. It was preparing the spell for if I survived the offensive spells,” deduced John.

“You are a smart human,” said the gruff voice. “But this barrier will protect us from all your attacks for as long as our vast mana reserves last,” said the large head as he laughed after he spoke.

“Is that so?” asked John as he walked around the barrier, dragging his lightsaber on it to see if it changed anything. “And what will you do once you run out of mana and my troops get here, hmm?” asked John. “How will you deal with me, my champions, and my army all coming at you at once?” finished John. The look on the two faces of the creature turned to shock when they realized they would soon be outnumbered.

“We must retreat!” said the smaller head.

“Drop the barrier in five seconds. And prepare the spell to escape. I’ll keep him distracted,” said the larger head.

“Oh? You’re going to use that spell? So risky!” laughed the smaller head. “Fine. Do it!” it said as it cancelled his Shadow Barrier spell. John took this chance to attack but was not fast enough.

“Shadow Wave!” growled the larger head as a blast of shadow energy burst forth from the creature’s body that crashed into John and Idena’s mother. While John was able to take the hit and only got pushed back while Idena’s mother got sent flying back and landed into the large nest that the harpies presumably lived in.

“Are you ok?!” John asked as he shook off the shock of the attack.

“I...I am fine,” said the older harpy between harsh breaths. “Do what you must!” she pleaded with her daughter’s betrothed.

“Don’t worry. I will avenge your clan and destroy the fool who attacked those under my protection!” John told his future mother-in-law. He turned and charged at the creature.

“Shadow Bolt!” the one head shouted as a barrage of shadow bolts flew towards John. John focused the Force into his hands and thrust it forward.

“Force Push!” John yelled as an invisible force made its way in front of John, deflecting the bolts as he continued his charge.

“Shadow Whip!” he yelled as the various strands of shadow began to lash out towards John. These ones, instead of merely hitting him, attempted to wrap around him to stop his movement. John, caught by the shadow whips, used the Force to control his lightsaber to cut the various vines that held him.

“That won’t stop me!” roared John as he moved to close the gap between the two.

“We don’t need you stopped, merely delayed,” said the larger head, who had a smile on his face.

“Shadow Shift!” said the smaller head. Upon ushering those words, a flurry of shadows engulfed the creature as it slowly began to fade away. John, in a last ditch attempt to kill it, swung his lightsaber into the mass of shadows while the creature was still visible.

“Did...did you get it?” asked the harpy queen.

“We’ll know if we ever see it again,” John said as he turned off his lightsaber. “Are you alright?” he asked as he turned to the older harpy.

“I am fine, thank you, King John,” she said.