The Talent Aegis defended its wielder against incoming magical damage, and while his was still a work in progress, it was more than enough to dissipate the energy of Mina’s Lightning strikes into the ground.
“How?” Mina shouted as her curiosity got the better of her.
“You don’t even have the faintest clue of how your Artifact works, do you? You inherit such a priceless treasure from your father, and yet, even with your intellect, you never tested it. Never researched it.”
“Oh? You sound quite confident about this. How do you know I—”
Mina’s words caught in her throat. “You’ve found an exploit.”
Riyan cracked a grin.
For the first time in their encounter, doubt flickered through Mina’s eyes. It was a passing thing, one Riyan didn’t fail to notice.
Though his attacks hadn’t done appreciable damage—indeed, every cut he’d inflicted had already closed—he had unwavering trust in his plan.
After years of research, scouring libraries from all over the Known World, Riyan gained a mere morsel of insight into the workings of Mina’s pendant—the one thing truly stopping him from killing her. Most records covering the Gods and their magic bordered on useless—opting to revere and extol the subject of their study rather than understand it.
Emerging patterns started to unfold. The truth in how most Artifacts functioned.
“You learned about how my Artifact draws in prana, did you? So what? Yes, prana is scarce hare, but even then, your attacks should not be able to touch me. You’re doing something else. Something you’re not telling me.”
“If only you put that mind toward the betterment of this country. Hiranya would rival even the Kin’jals. Instead, you play your sick games, plotting to bring about your brothers’ downfall.”
In regions of sufficient prana density, Riyan would never have been able to graze the princess. But the Artifact was struggling. Struggling to block his attacks and heal Mina’s wounds.
What’s more, his gamble had worked. He’d hidden a Life orb slotted into his talwar by moving too fast for Mina’s eyes to track.
By infusing Life Affinity prana and mixing healing into his attacks, he’d stunted the Artifact, tricking it. Should it heal? Or would it impede the healing? He had no basis for this theory, only instinct. But instinct had served him well through his long career, and it did not fail him now.
It seems even the Gods’ workings have their limits.
That said, it wasn’t as if the Artifact sat back and did nothing. It did heal Mina’s wounds, but only to a degree. And critically, thanks to the Life prana in Riyan’s attacks, it did not nullify his strikes. Healing consumed far more prana than mere damage deflection, a fact he’d exploited thoroughly.
And soon…
Riyan continued his onslaught, unrelenting. All Mina could do was to stand and bear the myriad of small wounds that opened along her body. Her only other option was to flee. Were it anyone else—anyone sane—they’d have done so. But not Mina.
The princess grinned maniacally, ecstatic to have her old general back in the palms of her hands as rivulets of red flowed down her face and body.
Rivulets from the wounds that hadn’t yet healed.
With each successive strike, Riyan became more and more sure of his strategy. If the Artifact consumed prana, it stood to reason that, in Daha’s prana-deprived lands, that very prana would soon run out.
Slowly but surely, Mina’s wounds took longer and longer to heal, while the gashes themselves grew deeper and deeper.
Several more Lightning strikes pummeled Riyan. He dodged most, but those he couldn’t evade, he dissipated with Aegis.
Almost there…
But Fate waited for no one.
A half dozen knights rounded a bend and rushed to protect their princess. If they succeeded, his chance would slip away. Against one or two Balar 100 warriors, Riyan would win. But against six, all augmented by mejai support? Even he wasn’t confident about those odds.
“I’m afraid this game has gone on long enough,” Mina whispered. “Know your place, Riyan. Know that it is beneath me. Know that you will never kill me!”
The princess hadn’t seemed to notice her reinforcements. Or, if she had, simply didn’t care.
“You think yourself clever, having researched my Artifact. You assume I trusted it blindly, thinking it infallible. But tell me, Riyan. Would you ever put all of your faith in one tool? Would you not build contingency plans?”
Riyan’s eyes narrowed. Was she bluffing, or did she mean what she said?
At that moment, something changed. Mina neither attacked nor did she order her troops. She stood calmly, gloating, as if she’d just turned the tide of this battle.
“Princess! Are you unhurt—Gaaaah!”
The knights adopted a defensive perimeter around Mina, but those closest to her recoiled in pain. Their flesh sizzled and decayed, as if consumed by an invisible monster.
“Retreat, if you do not wish to die an agonizing death,” Mina said coldly, as if speaking to lower life forms. “I will personally execute those who interfere.”
Turning to Riyan, she bowed her head. “I apologize for the intrusion. To think they nearly ruined my fun. Now, my dear general, please die for me.”
“What is this magic?” Riyan asked, putting several paces between him and Mina. It wasn’t just her knights who’d taken damage. The weeds penetrating the cobblestone wilted and died, as did bushes at the edge of the street. It was as if Death itself surrounded Mina, cloaking her in its bony embrace.
“And now we come to the climax of this little show,” Mina said, firing off her Lightning again.
It wasn’t just her Arc spell that hit him. The mejai among the knights hurled Fire, Wind, and Water spells at him.
But if Mina’s Lightning couldn’t hit him, they stood no chance at all.
Riyan Blinked closer to understand this new unseen foe. But the moment he came within three paces of her, blinding pain assaulted him. It was as if his arm had been placed in a forge fire. He’d never experienced anything like this.
With a grunt, Riyan aborted his attack.
“Did you know, my dear general? No, I suppose you wouldn’t. We keep too many secrets, really.”
“Either use that mouth to say something, or stay silent,” Riyan barked.
Mina smiled gleefully, as if her enemy had just told a funny joke. She crouched and touched the cobblestone. “There is a monster. One that lurks deep beneath this city. A being of myth and legend. Trapped there after passing through an unstable Ash Tear. Too small to allow it to return, but just enough to feed it enough prana to survive. With the Altani’s help, we’ve managed to control it. A superweapon, of sorts.”
Riyan frowned. He’d never known of such a thing. Once again, he wondered whether Mina was bluffing, but the invisible cloud of death that surrounded her told a different story.
“Prana Swarm, they call it. I’ve seen it myself. I’ve seen what it does. Honestly, it’s less of a weapon and more of a calamity that would destroy this entire city if set loose. But what if you took just a bit of that calamity? What if you stored it in a jar and fed it only enough prana to keep it alive? What then, my dear general?”
Riyan blanched at her words. He’d heard of Prana Swarms, but only in myths. Fables and legends. This wasn’t the sort of monster one ever expected to actually encounter. But what he did understand made him sick.