It was as if the Orc had simply vanished from sight, only for his presence to erupt behind Stephan like a breaking wave.
Stephan’s eyes widened. He’s fast. How can something that big move this quick?
Instinct took over. He pivoted, spectral blade already rising, knowing exactly what was coming next. The twin swords cut through the air with a shriek, the sound of steel slicing space itself. Stephan’s blade met them inches from his face. The collision burst into a shower of yellow sparks, the impact ringing like a struck anvil. For a moment, the air between them seemed to warp under the pressure.
The Orc’s strength rolled through Stephan’s arms in a tangible wave, brutal, bone-deep force.....but he absorbed it, holding the line.
The Orc’s grin split wider, teeth bared. "Impressive. You can keep up, human."
"You’re not bad either, Orc," Stephan shot back, a grin curling across his face.
Steel ground against steel as they locked weapons, muscles coiled, each trying to drive the other back. The pressure between them was a living thing, heat, force, and will compressed into a single point. Neither gave an inch.
With a sudden surge, they broke apart, the release of tension blasting them both backward across the cracked street.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they were on each other again, Stephan a streak of pale blue wrapped in black and crimson, the Orc a storm of steel and shadow. Their weapons met in a furious rhythm, the air between them shattering with every clash.
If I slip up for even a heartbeat... I’m dead, Stephan thought, ducking low as a blade screamed past his throat, close enough for the wind of it to sting his skin. And if I die... so does everyone else. My shot at becoming the Death God King dies with me.
"I’m not taking Ls here," he growled aloud, his feet gliding back in perfect rhythm, his spectral blade weaving to match the Orc’s deadly tempo.
The Orc’s grin widened, a predator recognizing a worthy hunt. "Then watch closely, human. I’ll show you the true nature of an Orc’s sword skill."
He shifted, his stance dropping lower, the twin blades no longer spinning wildly but cutting with precise, surgical arcs. The air grew heavier, sharper, as if the very street was holding its breath for what came next.
The first clash was a thundercrack of steel. Stephan’s spectral blade screamed against the Orc’s rune-etched swords, each impact throwing bursts of yellow sparks that flickered like fireflies in the dust-choked air.
Stephan’s boots barely touched the ground as he sidestepped a cleaving overhead strike, his blade snapping out in a lightning-fast thrust toward the Orc’s ribs. The Orc twisted, parrying with the flat of his left sword while the right came whipping around toward Stephan’s neck.
Stephan ducked, feeling the cold kiss of steel skim the top of his hair, then spun low, slashing at the Orc’s knee. The giant leapt back with surprising grace, one massive foot planting against the wall, then he kicked off it, coming down with both blades in a crossing slash aimed at splitting Stephan in half.
Stephan raised his weapon in a vertical guard, shadows writhing around the edge as the strike landed. The force drove him a half-step into the ground, cracks spiderwebbing under his feet.
The Orc’s laugh was low, almost approving. "You move well for something so small."
"Small?" Stephan pushed forward, forcing the blades apart before lunging with a horizontal slash. The Orc bent back just far enough for the sword to pass inches from his throat, then snapped forward, one horn narrowly missing Stephan’s temple as he slammed the hilt of a sword toward Stephan’s jaw.
Stephan swayed to the side, pivoted on his heel, and drove his shoulder into the Orc’s chest. The impact barely shifted the massive figure, but it was enough to create an opening. His blade lashed out in a blur.
The Orc deflected again, the clang echoing through the street.
They circled, breath steady but eyes locked, reading each other’s rhythm. Then they moved, together, blurs of pale blue and crimson-black that collided mid-charge, strikes coming faster than the eye could follow. Steel clashed, scraped, slid; boots pounded stone; and every step, every swing was calculated to kill.
"Neither of us have landed a hit yet?" Stephan noted inwardly, eyes narrowing. He’s keeping up. Is this his full power... or is he just testing me?
They met again, twin blades hammering against Stephan’s spectral sword in a grinding lock of steel and will.
"Tsk!" Stephan’s teeth clenched as the familiar shockwave of the Orc’s monstrous strength rippled through his arms.
"I’m impressed," the Orc rumbled, a wide grin splitting his scarred face. "You can hold your ground... but it won’t be for long."
Before Stephan could counter, the giant shifted his weight, using his towering frame to loom over the locked blades. Then, without warning, he drove his armored forehead forward.
White light flared in Stephan’s vision as the brutal headbutt slammed into him like a battering ram, the sound of bone against steel echoing through the street.
The impact detonated through Stephan’s skull, and his body was hurled down the street like a ragdoll. For an instant, the world became a blur of spinning sky and shattered stone, then instinct kicked in.
He twisted mid-air, planting his boots against the ground in a controlled skid. The friction burned against the cobblestones as he slid backward, stopping just short of smashing into a wall.
Dust rained from the cracked masonry behind him, the building groaning from the force that had nearly driven him through it.
A sharp spike of pain lanced through Stephan’s skull, making his vision swim for a heartbeat. Warmth trickled down the side of his face, a slow, sticky trail. He touched his temple, and when his fingers came back smeared crimson, his lips curled into a grin.
"The bloody fucker got me," he muttered.
[Damage Registered: 5%]
[Status: Minor head trauma – visual clarity slightly impaired]
"Damn you, Lucidas," Stephan muttered under his breath. "You only tell me when I’m bleeding, and nothing else."
He exhaled slowly, steadying his heartbeat. "Fine. Don’t help. I’ll cut down this Orc myself. You can sit back and watch... in that miserable void of yours."
Across the street, Yennefer glanced at Grief with a smirk. "Seems like your master’s getting his ass handed to him."
Grief didn’t even look up from where her hands glowed faintly over Anna Mary’s wounds. "No, he is not. Watch closely, Yennefer... and witness Lord Stephan’s true power."
Stephan rolled his shoulders, the spectral blade humming in his grasp. His eyes locked onto the Orc’s. "Now then," he growled, "let’s get started."
A streak of black and crimson ripped through the air from where Stephan had been standing a heartbeat ago. The weakened wall behind him shattered under the sheer force of his takeoff.
Before Yennefer could even blink, he was on the Orc.
In the next instant, Stephan stood behind his opponent, his blade lowered at his side. A deep slash carved across the Orc’s chest, and a spray of blood arced into the air. The beast let out a guttural groan, staggering from the unexpected wound.
Stephan pivoted sharply, following through with another lethal slash aimed for the Orc’s neck. The beast spun on instinct, twin blades intercepting the strike with a metallic crack.
The Orc’s mouth curled into a grin. "You move well. That was a fine slash."
Stephan matched it with his own smirk. "You gave me a painful headbutt, I wasn’t about to let that slide. Just returning the favor."
"You’re lucky it wasn’t the horn," the Orc rumbled.
"I plan on cutting those off soon, so they won’t be a problem again."
"Good luck with that." The Orc lifted his massive head, muscles coiling.
Stephan’s eyes narrowed. Another headbutt. He broke from the blade lock and leapt back just as the Orc lunged.
The horns slammed into the street where he’d been, the ground spiderwebbing with deep cracks under the impact.
"Is your head made of steel?" Stephan asked, shaking off the sting.
"It’s harder than steel," the Orc replied, straightening to his full, towering height. His twin blades lowered to his sides, the air around him growing heavy. "I’m done playing, human. I’ll end this with one move."
His trump card? Stephan’s pulse quickened, not with fear, but anticipation. I want to see exactly what that move is.
"Bring it on, Orc," he said, spectral blade rising, its black-crimson aura flaring like a storm ready to break.
The Orc’s grin vanished, replaced by a cold, predatory focus. His massive legs bent, muscles coiling like springs, and the twin blades began spinning in his hands, not just in the helicopter-like arcs from before, but faster, each swing pulling the air into a violent vortex. Dust and loose debris swirled around him.
"Moon Guardian Gale!" he roared.
Stephan’s instincts screamed. He tightened his grip on the spectral blade, bracing. The Orc exploded forward. One blink, and he was already at Stephan’s guard. The first strike came low, a deceptive feint; Stephan stepped back, parrying, the only to feel the real blow follow immediately, a horizontal slash that carried the full torque of the Orc’s massive frame.
The impact was like getting hit by a runaway wagon. The shockwave rattled the street, the spectral blade barely deflecting the worst of it, but the sheer force blasted Stephan off his feet.
He hurtled backward, smashing into the stone wall with a bone-jarring crunch. The surface cracked like glass under a hammer, webbing fractures out from the point of impact.
A heartbeat later, the weakened stone gave way. Large chunks tumbled down, crashing onto Stephan’s shoulders and back, pinning him under a hail of debris.
From the street below, the Orc lowered his spinning blades, snorting. "Still alive, human?"
Beneath the rubble, crimson and black shadows began to writhe.