They charged.
The mancer staff and Python blade collided in a violent storm of sparks and shockwaves. Stone split beneath their feet as the force of their strikes rippled through the battlefield.
Levin spun his staff in a sweeping arc, the metal screeching against Naggí's sword as she deflected and countered, striking upward with serpentine precision. Their clash was relentless, their movements a dance of fury and heartbreak.
Levin "Each time a Grand macer form is used it is an evolved version of the last."
Naggi "Sorry hun but I've squashed bigger."
Levin roared, and from his back, mechanical spider legs burst forth, long and jagged, snapping into motion.
They stabbed forward like spears, one pierced Naggí's shoulder, another tore into her stomach. She screamed, blood spraying across the dirt. Her knees buckled, but she didn't fall. Her body was broken, but her will, the will of a mother, roared louder than pain itself.
With a guttural cry, she swung the Python sword in a vicious arc, slicing through the spider legs one by one.
Metal shards clattered to the ground. Levin stumbled back, hissing in frustration. They locked eyes again. Then, with everything left inside them, they launched forward for one final clash.
The impact sent both flying, bodies tumbling through debris and rubble. Smoke billowed, the ground split open, and silence hung over the battlefield. Then, slowly, painfully, they both rose.
Levin's breathing was ragged, his chest heaving. "All I ever wanted was to keep you safe."
Naggí's voice was hoarse, her eyes burning through tears. "You wanted me to live in your fantasy."
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Levin's jaw clenched. "That's the problem with you women. You lack vision. You're all selfish, everything is about your feelings. It's never about the betterment of anyone else."
He stretched his hand toward her, voice trembling with something almost tender. "Naggí, I still do love you. Please... stop this now. Come back to the Artimancer family. Let go of your knight's art. Take care of Levy and the other children in the Artimancer town."
Naggí sighed, her breath trembling as the cold reality of the world pressed down on her. "There's a part of me that wishes things were that easy. But I have integrity. And that's the issue with you men, it's never about leadership or bravery. It's all ego and pride. You claim to lead, but in the face of dictators and authoritarians, other men who feed on the pain of the innocent, you yield. Whether through pride or the simple fact you just aren't strong enough. And yet you condemn women."
The attack cancelled and they both propelled back.
She took a step forward, voice breaking in her head. "I know that if he uses that form he will be stronger than me. Yet even in my weakness, I am not afraid. I must provoke him to use that form." She shouted "What would Levy say about cowardice?"
"Shut up," Levin hissed, rage rising in his chest.
"One day he'll be old enough to think for himself," she continued, undeterred. "And he'll understand just how weak and pathetic you are, the leader of a community of yes-men."
"WOMAN! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Levin roared. His body was trembling now, overflowing with Abi. The ground beneath him shattered as power coursed through his veins. "If you want to run your mouth like a man, then I won't hold back on you anymore."
His scream split the air. "Grand Macer Terra... TWO!"
Abi exploded from his body in a violent surge. Metal fused with flesh, his form shifting into something monstrous, a towering metallic spider-humanoid, bristling with blade-like limbs. The wind from his transformation alone sent debris flying in all directions. Naggí slammed her sword into the ground, anchoring herself as the gust nearly ripped her from her feet.
Levin's voice was deeper now, distorted by fury. "From this point on... you are food, I wll kill you and then eat you so that my body may absorb your nutrients."
He crawled forward on all fours, each step shaking the ground, his spider legs clicking with hunger. Naggí's hands trembled. Fear gripped her heart like ice. This was not the man she had loved. This was something else, something unrecognizable. She knew now that he would kill her. And she knew... she was not strong enough to stop him.
Her sword slipped from her hand, clattering against the earth. Tears streamed down her face. All she could think about was Levy, his smile, his tiny hands gripping hers. "Goodbye, Levy," she whispered, her voice barely a breath. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you."
Levin leapt.
His massive spider blade leg raised high, aiming to tear through the woman he once claimed to love. His eyes were empty, unblinking, the eyes of a man who had buried his empathy beneath duty and hatred.
And then, BOOM!
A colossal grave hand erupted from the ground, slamming into Levin mid-air and smashing him into the earth with bone-shaking force. The ground cratered beneath the impact. Levin roared in fury, thrashing against the hand's grip.
"Who did that?!" he screamed.
Naggí's eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat. She turned, and her heart stopped.
Levy was standing beside her. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his body shaking as he stared at the wreckage of the father he no longer recognized. His voice cracked, raw and broken:
"Father... what are you doing? Why... why did you just try to kill Mother?"