The large, square chamber was still for a moment, only the humming of a purplish orb of light serving to break the silent tension. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all etched with spirals, each one alight with the same hue of purple as the two Fiends standing before Alistair and his companions. They both stood on either side of the glowing orb, with Derga on the left and Belaine on the right. The ogre was massive, at least two feet taller than Halm and that much thicker, covered in a thick layer of fat that concealed an ocean of muscle. Derga's eyes were pure white, not even the iris being visible. His face was round, with three chins worth of fat supporting his flabby neck. Scars covered his frame from head to toe, burns, slashes, claw marks, a history of brutal battles etched in flesh. He breathed heavily, steaming the air around his mouth with every exhalation as he stared at them with those blank white eyes. Like the vacuous beast he was, he wore little more than a loincloth.
Belaine was the opposite of Derga in every way, save for their shared curse, of course. She was lithe, her dark red eyes staring at each of them with a serenity he'd rarely seen in a person. Her beauty was otherworldly, with a perfectly symmetrical face that bore not a single scar. She wore long silken robes, a deep shade of crimson, matching her eyes. Her hair was like spun gold, reaching down past her back and ending just above the small of her back. Alistair immediately recognized her as being a greater danger than Derga, even now he knew that she had a command over Foundation that he'd rarely seen in anyone, even a fellow Pillar-Born.
He locked eyes with her, summoning a mote of Foundation in his hand, meaning it as a challenge. Belaine narrowed her eyes at him, but did not summon her own mote. Either she didn't accept the challenge, or her nature as a Fiend prevented her from using Raw Foundation. He took a step forward, but Halm put a hand on his shoulder.
"Derga, I am Halm of the Bloodlands, next candidate for Mouth. I challenge you to Tomah!" He shouted, stepping forth, "Belaine, will you interfere?"
The elf shook her head, "I care not what you do."
Halm grinned, releasing Alistair's shoulder before cracking his knuckles.
"Wait a moment, Halm." Twindil caught his elbow, "You may have Steel Flesh, like him…" She hesitated, "But he can regenerate, you can't. This isn't a battle you can win."
Halm frowned, "As the next Mouth of Zodd, I must be the one to give him a proper end. Zodd will guide my fists."
"Halm…" Twindil whispered, sounding pained, "Don't do this."
Halm ignored her, walking toward Derga with fists clenched, "Come now Derga, it is not like you to show such restraint!"
The ogre huffed out of wide nostrils, charging madly toward Halm with a roar that forced Alistair to cover his eardrums. Halm met the ogre head on, the two locking hands before straining against one another, each trying to push the other back. Once Halm began to slide backwards, he leapt upward, smashing his forehead into Derga's nose, flattening it and eliciting a cry of anguish from the beast. Halm took advantage of this moment of weakness, releasing Derga's hands to instead grip his wrists.
Halm jerked the ogre downward hard, leaping up to crash his knee into the ogre's nose once again. Derga howled, doubling over while Halm still clutched his wrists. Halm raised his foot, positioning it right behind Derga's head. Halm then jumped upward, stomping down on the skull with a force that shook the chamber all as Belaine just stood back and watched. Alistair kept most of his attention on her, knowing that at any moment, she could attack.
The floor cracked where Derga's face made impact, a small pool of dark blood flowing through the fissures. Halm stomped again, three times in a row before Derga finally retaliated, rising up with a snarl as his nose reformed itself. The ogre rammed his shoulder into Halm's chest, rocketing him across the orc across the room before he struck the wall. The impact spiderwebbed the stone where Halm landed, the orc falling to his knees before rising from the ground. Derga howled once again, he and Halm charging one another again.
Instead of locking hands this time though, the two giants began swinging their meaty fists at one another. Derga struck Halm in the temple, the orc stumbling before catching himself on his foot, twisting before launching his own punch straight into Derga's gigantic gut. The fat parted beneath the force of the strike, sending a shockwave through the blubber and making Derga appear to undulate. The ogre kicked Halm in the ribs, the resulting sound more like a gong then flesh against flesh. The orc stumbled a few feet away before catching himself, charging back at Derga with a roar that matched the ogre's own.
They battered away at one another viciously, each strike like crunching metal. Halm seemed to be a better warrior than Derga, landing more hits and dodging more strikes… but Halm could not regenerate, as Twindil said. The pain of those blows began to take their toll on the orc, until he could barely keep his arms up, the pain and wounds piling up until he was finally left to Derga's mercy. The ogre flung Halm to the ground, before he began smashing those meaty fists into the orc's skull. Strangely, there was a moment of pause, the ogre staring down at Halm as a slight clarity returned to the Fiend's eyes.
Halm spat out blood and teeth, before saying, "I'm sorry-" He gasped, "I could not free you."
Much to Alistair's shock, the ogre began to weep, raising his fist for the final blow-
Only for Kid'ka to rush forth, kicking Derga's fist away just before it could strike Halm's skull. The ogre's hand flew backward, knocking him off balance.
"I am Kid'ka!" He shouted, "A Tongue and Son of Zodd, and I challenge you, Derga, to Tomah!"
"What!?" Halm asked, his head rising from the ground, "This is not your fight!"
"I'm not saving you." Kid'ka said, "I'm just beginning my own fight. You've had your turn."
Alistair shook his head. He knew Kid'ka better than that, he had a soft heart. Derga swung for Kid'ka, confirming his desire to fight. The Son of Zodd ducked the blow easily, rolling between the Derga's legs and coming up on the other side. Kid'ka lashed out with a strong kick, striking the back of Derga's tree trunk legs and sending him falling to one knee. He then ran up Derga's back and to his head, wrapping his legs around the back of the ogre's neck before laying into the ogre's skull with a barrage of fists. If Kid'ka was going to have his own fight, then who was to say that Alistair couldn't?
He began approaching Belaine, the Fiend's crimson eyes narrowing, "You're approaching me?"
"Standing around doesn't suit me." Alistair replied curtly, drawing his warhammer as Baomiel followed closely behind. "Stay back, I will defeat her on my own." He urged Elum, Twindil, and Nolvi.
He felt power flow through him, an Act of Arrogance… He didn't feel all that more powerful, meaning that Belaine was around his same level of strength most likely.
"Belaine!" Twindil called out, "We had a Watcher of the Faewood with us, she had desired to parley with you, to bring you back to the light, allow us to face Kazon, you cannot be doing this of your own will!"
"You would be correct." Belaine answered cooly, "But I am bound to his will nonetheless."
"But we can-" Twindil began.
"Words are useless, girl!" Belaine cut her off abruptly, "Force your way through!"
"Be careful." Twindil said to Alistair quickly, "And don't expect me to stay back if you're clearly losing."
Belaine began hovering in the air, staring down her nose at Alistair as Kid'ka and Derga continued to thrash one another about. Her red eyes found Baomiel, and she crossed her arms.
"You are Atheyare, then?" She asked, raising her right hand.
"As a matter of fact, I am." He told her, slapping raw Foundation onto the head of his hammer, "Now enough talk!"
He swung his hammer hard, channeling extra Foundation through the shaft before a large ball of Golden Fire shot out toward Belaine. She waved the hand she rose through the air, Dispelling the fire with apparent ease as Baomiel rushed forth, using his massive lower arms to propel himself toward the Fiend. A spear of light formed in the hands of Baomiel's upper half, thrusting it toward Belaine's chest.
She blinked out of existence for an instant, Baomiel passing straight through her before she resolidified, floating higher in the air before slapping the palms of her hands together. A green light emanated from her hands then, and she fell to the floor gracefully, placing her palms against the ground. Alistair's eyes widened when he saw two Golems rise from the ground beside her, made up completely of obsidian. The towering monsters cratered the ground where they were created, drawing up the floor itself to build their bodies.
They broke their feet off from the ground before charging at Baomiel, looking eerily similar to Jason's armor. Golems often did, that was why they'd mistaken Jason for one when they'd first met. For Belaine to bind two Golems at once was impressive, even just managing one was nearly impossible.
"Fend off those golems, I'll deal with Belaine." Alistair directed at Baomiel, utilizing their bond.
"She is powerful, be careful." Baomiel replied.
All he needed to do to win was either strike her with raw Foundation directly, or cause her enough pain to be immobilized. The problem with the former was that she apparently had protections against that, according to Halm. So it would be the latter then, he would bring her low and crush Kazon after. This battle would be a short one, either he would destroy Belaine, or she would destroy him. At their level of power, mages such as they coming to conflict almost always ended with one or the other dead, sometimes both.
Every move would need to be carefully calculated. Alistair threw another mote of Golden Fire aimed for Belaine, intending it as a distraction while he prepared another, more devastating spell. She didn't buy the bait however, merely stepping aside to allow the fireball to pass, countering the spell he was forming before it could be fully realized. She was a clever opponent, petty tricks wouldn't work on her.
The problem with facing a mage so ancient was the experience she held over Alistair, at this point in her life, she'd likely seen every trick in the book, a book Alistair had only begun to read in comparison to her. Well in that case, he would add a page of his own. He struck the ground, a squiggly golden line of fire approaching her feet. He struck the line with his hammer, causing it to explode violently and forcing Belaine back into the air to avoid it. He then moved to Dispel her flight, at the same time summoning a wall of Golden Flame just beneath her.
Belaine could not counter his Dispel, instead opting to split the wall of Foundation beneath her, allowing her to fall through it before hitting the floor safely. Damn it all, had she been anyone but an elf, that fall would have shattered her ankles. She looked up at him with a glare, her palms glowing green once more before she slapped the ground.
He lashed out with Foundation to Dispel, but it was too late, for the spell had already reached him. The ground on either side of Alistair rose up, forming into two hands that moved to crush him. Thinking quickly, Alistair rolled forward, avoiding being crushed. He stood, his foot falling into a small pit that had formed in the obsidian. He fell forward, catching himself on his hands before wrapping himself instinctually in Foundation. It covered him from head to toe, guarding his body as a palm formed beneath him in the ground.
He swung with his hammer, crushing the thumb as the other fingers closed around him. Pushing himself to the limit, Alistair shouted, his Foundation Armor exploding around him and destroying the four remaining stone fingers. Shards of dark rock flew across the room, Twindil batting one out of the air before it could hit her. He looked up, seeing Baomiel fending off a barrage of blows from his Golem foes. It seemed all the Angel was capable of was defending himself, the Golems possessed a speed that belied their size and make. Alistair rose to his feet, Belaine floating through the air once again.
Alistair glared, before dropping the head of his warhammer to the ground. She was trying to lure him into something again, why else would she insist on floating upward again, knowing he would dispel it? Well he would turn that to his advantage. He formed small motes of Foundation in both his hands, flinging dozens of tiny fireballs into the air, casting a second spell over them all. Alistair flung at least a hundred motes into the air, but none of them hit Belaine directly. This would end, now.
His neck felt strained as something hard wrapped around his throat, heaving him up forcefully from the floor. He hung from the ceiling, kicking violently as a rope of obsidian tightened around his neck. He heard Twindil shout something, but Alistair didn't hear her- he needed to focus. It would all be alright anyway, for he had Belaine right where he wanted her.
She was surrounded by dozens of golden fireballs, though she, nor anyone else could see them. Alistair had cloaked the fireballs, making sure to connect them all by a tenuous thread of Foundation to make them all technically one object, meaning he only needed to cast Invisibility once. He smirked as he snapped his fingers, the fireballs all closing in on Belaine at the same time. She might be protected from being outright incinerated, but the force of the golden fireballs would still cause a great deal of pain!
Each fireball impacted, knocking her about violently and shattering bones, the air exploding with force. The rock tendril from the ceiling shattered at the same time as Belaine's Golems, leaving Baomiel free to finish off Belaine. She fell to the ground hard, a mass of jutting bones and seeping blood as Baomiel rushed to impale her skull with his light spear.
"Stop it!" Twindil shouted, rushing forth faster than he'd ever seen her move.
Somehow, she reached Belaine before Baomiel, knocking the spear away. She'd been on the far end of the chamber, and had looked like little more than a blur as she ran.
"Twindil, she's our enemy!" Alistair shouted, baffled, "You heard her, she has no choice, so we need to get rid of her!"
"There might be a way to save her!" Twindil shouted, "Have a heart, you've already won!"
"I won't be satisfied until she's ground into paste, Twindil." Alistair glared, "A foe is a foe."
How dare Belaine think she could stand up to his might? He was a son of Draoi, she was just some slave to a puff-chest wannabe god. His jaw clenched, Belaine deserved her end for daring to stand up to him, as did Twindil! His jaw hung open, a hand going over his mouth as he looked away from her in shame. Why had he thought of doing such a horrible thing, to Twindil of all people!? Was the madness beginning to set in? He needed to reign himself in, lest he do something horrid…
Well, he wouldn't have to worry about doing something he'd regret, all he needed to do was slay Jason and ascend as an Unbound. Now was not the time to be thinking of that though, Kid'ka was still battling against Derga, he may need their help. He saw the ogre smashing Kid'ka into the stone over and over again, grasping him by the ankle while cracking the glassy ground with each strike. The son of Zodd locked eyes with Alistair, and in that instant, the son of Draoi knew that Kid'ka didn't want, nor need the help.
Kid'ka, while over the ogre's head, stomped on Derga's wrist. The shape of Kid'ka's foot imprinting into the ogre's flesh, the wrist snapping backward. Derga roared as Kid'ka spun through the air, smashing his heel into the top of the ogre's blubbery skull and sending him crashing into the ground. Much to Alistair's shock, Derga fell straight through, landing back on the first floor. Hot red steam flowed from Kid'ka's mouth as he fell down toward where the ogre landed. He rushed over to the hole in the ground at the same time as Nolvi, Twindil rushing over to Halm while Elum merely continued to stare…
At least, his shoulder eye did, Elum's eyes were firmly shut, almost as if he were asleep.
Kid'ka huffed as he landed atop Derga, his bigger foe already regenerating from the damage he'd suffered. Kid'ka too was regenerating quickly, casting Maintain Body to do so. Derga must have been doing the same thing, otherwise he wouldn't still be so fat. He would have burned through all his energy by now. The only way this fight was going to end was when one of them ran out of Foundation to use. Kid'ka could go on like this all day, Maintain Body wasn't a difficult spell to use, and it didn't require that much Foundation for maintenance. The downside was that this meant Derga was hardly straining himself either, at this rate it would be hours before a victor would be decided.
He needed to find another way to end this, quickly. Remembering the pistol at his waist, he pulled it free of its holster, firing off a shot into the back of Derga's skull. The bullet ricocheted off the Steel Flesh, hitting Kid'ka in the shoulder before bouncing off into a wall, chipping the obsidian. Kid'ka cursed as Derga bucked him off his back, sending him tumbling onto the hallway floor.
Derga roared, charging him once again as Kid'ka holstered the pistol. If it was the Fortis, that might have been able to puncture his flesh, but smaller bullets didn't seem to pack the same kind of punch. Kid'ka ducked under a punch, leaping up before kicking Derga in the crotch. The ogre screamed, pinching his knees together and trapping Kid'ka between them. He struggled to breathe as Derga began twisting his legs around, snapping Kid'ka's legs in a dozen places. He let out a scream of agony, his body struggling to keep up with the regeneration. Was that Derga's goal, to keep Kid'ka trapped and wear him down by repeatedly breaking his legs?
He would not be outdone! Kid'ka began ripping chunks of skin out with clawed fingers. Steel Flesh on Steel Flesh, his fingers were able to puncture Derga's skin. This continued for a moment until finally, the Ogre grew sick of the pain, pulling Kid'ka out before smashing him into the ground again. Kid'ka's vision blurred as the back of his skull split the ground. If Derga didn't have those protections against it, he could have used just a bit of Raw Foundation to end him.
He wasn't as proficient in it as Alistair, but Kid'ka could use Foundation well enough, but not with the complexity his fellow Pillar-Born could do. He couldn't use Raw Foundation anyway, not with his Fiendish nature, it could kill him just summoning it. Maintain Body was a House spell through Dandenlona, so Foundation did not touch him directly-
An idea struck him then. He didn't need to use it directly in order to defeat Derga. Kid'ka grunted as he flew through the air, quickly summoning Raw Foundation on all five of his finger tips. He then immediately used his other hand to amputate the spell hand, grabbing it before it could fall to the ground. Foundation began eating through the severed hand rapidly; he needed to do this quickly.
He drove the Foundation hand straight into Derga's wrist, the fingers punching straight through the skin. Derga immediately released him, Kid'ka falling to the ground as his hand slowly began to regrow. There was a chance this wouldn't work, Kid'ka didn't know the specifics of the protections offered to the Twelve, but if his hunch was right, all it did was protect their exterior. If Foundation was 'injected' though…
Derga roared as Golden Flame began to engulf him, quickly disintegrating from where Kid'ka's severed hand pierced him. Suddenly though, clarity returned to those white eyes, and the screaming ceased. Derga looked down at Kid'ka, and smiled.
"Thank you, great warrior." Derga nodded, right before falling into a pile of ash.
Kid'ka shut his eyes, bowing his head and biting his tongue as farewell to his ogrish foe. Derga was finally at peace.