He quickly dashed backward, using the moment he had separated from the Knight to tear a long strip of cloth from his Captain's cloak, whipping it around the remnants of his upper arm before catching the end with his teeth, twisting it around and tying it in a viciously tight knot. Vibrant pulsating pain rushed up towards his shoulder, but he was adamant to ignore pain from this moment off.
There was simply too much of it to pay any single bit of it attention.
And he was way too close to passing out to do anything but remember to stay awake.
This- this would have been so much easier if I had just avoided the ruins…
I could- could have walked straight past them…
"Curiosity kills the cat." The Daemon echoed his sentiment.
Artemis picked up the blade he had jabbed into the ash below, twirling it once before raising it towards the Knight, circling around it, mirroring its every anticipating movement.
But he was too disoriented to notice that it had already closed the distance, seeming larger than before.
It caught him by the head, ignoring the blade that lashed out as he retaliated and pierced its shoulder. He felt the wind whir past his ears, bursting with a loud booming sound as he was tossed across the field strewn with blood, landing harshly on the dune behind them. Ash was thrown upwards into a large plume, that which remained spilling over his blood-painted and tattered body.
As the Knight walked over and retrieved its blade, Artemis's faltering mind raced. For the first time since the fight had began, he felt some semblance of fear grip his heart. Not even when he had abandoned his arm had he regretted coming to the ruins. This much was just a habit of being a Prince of the Blackbaast, a son of the Witch-King. This crazy, vicious style was something taught to him from birth.
But now he was facing the idea that it had all been for nothing, that he would lose this bout!
W-what can I possibly- possibly do…?
I'm outmatched— in strength, aren't I…?
His only option… it was to beg. To lower himself. His father, that false father, would call him a coward for doing so.
But he was already sprawled across the ground. How much farther could he lower himself, expect six-feet under after he had been vanquished?
Daemon, do you have anything for me? More than advice, can't you offer me something!?
"I do."
But even though the Daemon had answered positively, there was no response from Artemis.
In the distance, the Knight leaned over, grasping the top of the terrible black helm before placing it atop its neck, rolling its head around to ascertain that it was properly in place.
Its gaze was different from before, devilish, malice which spread out across the ground ahead of it and manifested as blackish-red miasma.
It rushed over to where Artemis had fallen, forcing him up as it thrust towards his abdomen, seeking to disembowel him with the point of its terrifying onyx sword. Artemis instinctively whipped his blade downwards, parrying the strike before kicking away from the Knight's grasp, landing in the ash a short distance away.
"My name is Lark, Artemis Lunastre. I've mentioned it before, but now I'm introducing myself formally."
Artemis continued weaving the strikes of his blade into the tactile flurry, all of his energy expended in the prediction of his opponent's next few strikes.
"Respond to my introduction, boy. It's important… for the sake of the Contract. The true Contract..."
The Daemon noticed the strange actions he was taking, how his movements seemed inhibited by something…
"Are you even awake, boy?"
His eyes had glazed over, only his whites showing as his eyes had rolled into the back of his head.
Artemis was no longer conscious. His movements were his practice, his body's muscle memory from repeating these movements constantly against the shadows in the Palace's courtyard.
"What a strange ability, a strange style… you gave up all of yourself in the hopes of survival…"
Artemis's body twisted backwards, flipping over as it narrowly avoided a horizontal slash, throwing his blade up in the air as he ran forward, kicking outwards and making contact with the Knight's breastplate.
They both tumbled to the ground in a heap, scrambling to both grasp their fallen blades before the other.
"You… remind me of someone, Artemis Lunastre. It's… quite hilarious to think about, after all this time."
"Well, I wasn't going to tell you much about this, certainly… I was just going to use you to get closer to the Palace and transfer to a new host… but seeing how reckless you fight…"
That familiar, gaudy chortle sounded out as he commented, "you fight like a Daemon does…"
He cleared his throat, trying to reach Artemis's unconscious, seeping deep into the depths of the Prince's mind as he continued.
"The Contract I offered before was fake. Of course, there were multiple reasons for this, many that I would rather not explain. The only reason you were able to use my ability was because I was activating it as soon as you wanted to. And yes, that means that I consumed your eye for no other reason than that I was very hungry! But now, I'll give you the real thing."
The shadowy miasma coursed through the darkness within Artemis, swimming through its grand abyss as it tried to observe the light.
"For a price, I will give you the strength a Daemon has, give you the countenance of one, the regeneration of one. A Daemon remains whole, always, and yet fights with the veracity that determines they are wholly prepared to sacrifice every part of themselves for victory, even if they perish in the end. Now that we have introduced ourselves, albeit one-sided, we are no longer strangers in Contract, Artemis Lunastre. So I will do you this service, one time alone."
The Daemon spotted it. It reached out, grasping at Artemis's consciousness as it greedily drank of his essence.
"I will consume your blood as payment, which has already spilled in heaps, and provide you with the means to claim victory against this creature. We will tie ourselves together, you and I. In life, in death."
"Because I do not wish to wait again for another's arrival in the Cradle, and I certainly do not wish to see a non-stranger die…"
He let out another suppressed laugh. "To think I'm doing something like this for a fellow Prince…"
The Daemon, Lark, grasped at Artemis's essence, feeling it envelop his form as it shut its eyes, grinning.
"Now, wake. Do not be the simpering b-tch you willed yourself to stray away from."
"Survive the Shadow… be the Hunter in my place."
Artemis was suddenly shocked awake, the words of the Daemon like a haze in his unconscious stupor.
His eyes shot back and forth, quickly observing his surroundings as he raised his sword and cursed.
The Knight's blade fell heavy upon him, all of the strength he could muster in his left arm refusing to buckle to its weight. He had twisted his sword around, the flat of its blade resting against the back of his arm to support his parry.
But now, it wasn't just that he had adapted to using his one arm that made his counter so simple and clean. He felt like the strength in his left arm was just a fragment further endowed, like he had improved himself slightly in that very moment. He wasn't so exhausted, and his pain had dissipated slightly.
He grinned as blood spilled through his teeth.
"So you weren't cheating me after all! There really was something more you could offer me!"
The Daemon remanded no answer.
Artemis slammed into the Knight's chest, knocking it backwards before swinging his blade in an arcing motion.
"I am awake!" He shouted in a mad fury, "and I cannot for a moment believe that I was almost bested by a suit of armour!"
He twirled in the air, snapping his left arm forward like a whip as the tip of his blade lashed against the onyx breastplate, leaving a deep scratch on it. He whirled backwards to avoid the quick retaliation, the furious red gaze of the Knight peering into his very heart.
Yes, that's it! With the Daemon— no, with Lark's strength, I can take down this monster!
Not just that, I can take down everything!
However, just as he thought he had gained the upper hand, the Knight's movements changed completely. It was almost as if it had completely abandoned its graceful, incalculable movements, the serpentine manner with which it weaved its blade thrown away in favour of monstrous offense.
It battered down on Artemis with no hint of letting up. It had clearly realised that he had recovered slightly, and rather than toy with him with its dancing, it had moved to a swift and aggressive form of attack in order to even the ever-shifting odds!
He parried one strike, twisting his neck painfully as he avoided an instant decapitation, and then whirled around to blow the Knight's third strike away before thrusting forward, the point of his blade burying deep into the Knight's chest.
But of course, it was a hollow beast. This much wouldn't kill it, he couldn't make it bleed.
The Knight glanced down at Artemis. He quickly studied the Knight in this moment of reprieve, noticing something… terrifying lurking behind the darkness of the onyx helm.
A reddish-black miasma slowly began to seep from its empty eyelids, the space between the chin and the breastplate, spilling down the black armour as it shivered and twitched rapidly. Like ivy, it coruscated along the metal, wrapping around the shoulders and vambraces.
His eyes widened as he watched this occurrence, neither him nor the Knight making a single move.
His hand which grasped the silver blade trembled.
This was…
…another Daemon!