Hard to kill

No words need to be said. Sarah hands off Victoria to Kaeli, standing beside Samus, and unlimbers Forgebreaker. Ferra drops into a crouch, blade arms held wide as she tenses. You roll your shoulders and raise Caliburn, feeling power surging into your limbs courtesy of Lilith.

You glare at the massive, black armored figure striding towards you. “We don’t have time for this. Move aside or we kill you.”

Laughter from within the helmet. “You can’t kill me! I am chosen, fated for glory! Now fight, and die, boy!”

As he says that, the guards surge past him, and they’re met by a flurry of weapons and magic. Sarah snarls as she lays into the first guard with her powerful hammer, the impact like a thunderclap as the guard is hurls back into his fellows, breastplate crumpled as if it were made of tissue. Ferra is silent, though she grimaced as she moves in a blur, hacking apart the first guard in seconds and moving to the next. At the same time, a blast of white hot fire goes howling into the packed ranks of fighters, sent from a annoyed looking Alex.

And then you don’t have time to watch their battles, as the hulking leader is on you, swinging his heavy blade as if it weighs nothing at all. You parry his first attack, and even with your enhanced strength, the blow nearly drives you to your knees. Laughing, he strikes again, and you dodge aside, letting his weapon sweep past you. It impacts with the floor, cutting a furrow and spraying chips of stone as he wrenches it free.

Still laughing, he circles you, and you move with him. “Faster than you look, little man. But you die regardless. No one survives Cairus the Undying. You’re just another trophy for my greatness!”

You snarl, shaking your head. “Why do all you weirdos talk so much?”

You launch yourself forward with a flurry of attacks. This Cairus is stronger than you, but you’re faster. You keep your attacks high, forcing him to parry and block, and when you see an opening, you thrust at his head. Predictably, he blocks, but the attack was a feint anyway. Stepping in closer, you throw a kick into the side of his knee. Though you fail to break his leg, you do force him to stumble, and you press your attack.

With him off balance, you’re able to beat his weapon aside, and thrust Caliburn at the gap in his breastplate under his armpit. You’re rewarded with a grunt of pain as you drive your sword through him, the enchanted blade punching through the backplate with ease. Snarling, you savagely twist the sword in the wound, before yanking it free in a welter of thick, black ichor.

You step back as Cairus wobbles in his feet, expecting him to crash to the ground. Instead, he steadies himself, and laughs again. To your horror, the flow of blood slows, then stops. He raises his blade again, still laughing.

“Weren’t you listening, boy? I’m Cairus the Undying! You cannot kill me!”

You glance at the others. The guards are much reduced, and everyone is doing their part. Nadia has borrowed Alex’s fire through the bond, and the two of them are laying down a firestorm. Ferra walks unconcerned through the fire, fighting those who avoid it. Stragglers are picked off by Sarah, Cassie, and Melora, though the latter two hang back, as they’re less experienced in combat.

Cairus launches a renewed attack, seemingly disdainful of fighting defensively now. He leaves openings you exploit, carving gashes in his armor into the flesh below, but the wounds you inflict seem to close as fast as you open them. Fast as you are, he manages to get in a few strikes of his own, his weapon ringing off your armor and knocking you around a bit. Though it doesn’t penetrate, you can feel Lilith straining to keep your protection going.

You have to find a way to finish him! I don’t know how much of that I can stop…

You draw more power, more speed. The world seems to slow around you. The openings he leaves are more obvious, and you take every one. Soon, his armor is a wreck, and he’s not laughing anymore. His strikes are more and more sluggish, and there’s a wildness to them, a desperation. You notice that there’s smoke starting to rise off him, and the wounds aren’t closing as quickly anymore. Still, you don’t let up, hacking away at the giant man like a berserker.

Suddenly, an ending. Alex appears at your side, pouring a torrent of almost liquid flame from her hands, dousing the wounded warrior in clinging, gnawing fire. Now he screams, seemingly in as much frustration as pain, as his armor begins to melt under Alex’s white hot fire. He drops his sword, the metal running like wax left in the sun, and staggers a step forward before finally falling, landing with a heavy thud.

Thank you, Alex, that was better than his method.

Alex turns to you and grins. “You can pay me back for that tonight!”

With a giggle, she pokes you nose with her finger. You’re shaking a bit from the exertion, but looking around it seems like everyone is alive and well. You nod, shaking off the lethargy.

“Let’s go, before someone else finds us. The sooner we’re out, the sooner we can rest.”