Chapter 42: Way of the Voice: Part 11
He can't regenerate, I thought, looking at all the damage on his body. The explosive strength and speed are troublesome, but nothing I can't handle.
There's nothing I can't handle.
Golldir's dim, purple-lit eyes snapped to the side. Uthgerd was dragging Agna toward the back door, her steps limping, clutching her bleeding ribs. He snarled, and his skinned body began pivoting
I moved before he could blur past me.
I stepped into his path like a stone wall. Our speed was now almost a match, while our strength, they went their separate ways.
No worries, I'll rival his strength with tricks up my sleeve.
I rolled my shoulders. The wet sound of bones cracking under strain echoed in the smoke filled chamber, and in a blink, Iron armor erupted over me. Replacing my dented steel.
It was old iron, rough and battle-worn, but better than broken steel.
"You and me aren't done just yet," I said, low and calm, trying not tear my vocal cords
He screeched, like a bat woken out of its sleep, and dashed.
I dodged to the side, but not too far. I wanted him close. I needed him to keep moving closer, his arms flailing, and keep wasting time.
Because... time was all I needed.
I sidestepped to the left, and then to the right, low and quick. My foot slid across the floor, slicked with his blood. I swung my sword in a low arc, catching his thigh, enough to stagger him.
He snarled and stabbed his slashed, bleeding hand. I dropped low and tucked into a roll across the floor, vaulting over the fallen pillar. His strike missed me by inches, his exposed Radius and Ulna embedded deep in the wall with a crack.
But he was quick to retract and turn, but now fast enough as I was mid-throw, my dagger shimmered in the fire around the chamber.
Bullseye!
It pierced his left eye with a thick, wet pop.
He reeled back, not in pain, but in frustration, before he roared, making the chamber vibrate. Dust fell from above, making the air harder to breath in.
Then he continued, moving towards me.
Even with a dagger in his eyes socket, he charged, now almost disabled from the left side of his body
I needed more time.
^[Magicka 44/160]
^[Magicka 46/160]
My magicka was crawling back, painfully slow. I needed to use the [Flames] I needed to burn him down to the bone, and maybe that wouldn't enough. His skin had peeled of like a burned bark of a tree, his vessels exploded in my face, and he still moved. I had no faith that his skeleton would stop moving, hating.
And then, something hit me.
[Highborn]
A warmth spread through my chest like a rising tide of blue fire. My veins surged with magicka. A blue aura engulfed me, crackling like a storm.
My reserves began refilling at a terrifying pace.
^[Magicka 58/160 -> 88 -> 117]
A grin crept onto my lips as I looked at him, standing past the pillar. I raised both my palms. "Let's test how well you burn."
Twin jets of fire burst from my hands, scorching the chamber with a deafening roar, but he twisted sideways at the last second, diving behind another pillar, the one that still stood in all the destruction.
Tch! I clicked my tongue; I had 55 seconds left.
I moved to him as he ran back, his eyes fixed on me.
Then—steel flashed.
A familiar blade erupted from Golldir's back.
He jerked forward, body twitching, and twisted in fury. Standing behind him, breathing hard, armor cracked, her lip split—was Lydia.
She hadn't left with Uthgerd and Agna.
"You forgot me," she growled.
Golldir screamed and swiped, but I was already there.
I tossed Lydia a new sword from my inventory and stabbed Golldir in the back with another. Lydia caught it without flinching.
Together, we danced around the beast, embedding weapons into his arms, his spine, his ribs. I drove a war axe into his clavicle, then shoved him backward.
And I didn't wait for him to get up again.
Flames consumed him, and the weapons piercing every inch of his body. His exposed muscles darkened, his blood sizzling into char, while the weapons melted onto him.
One by one, they crumbled, dead and metal alike, until all that remained was a flailing skeleton, still moving, dripping with molten iron, until it too disintegrated, turning into dust and mixing into the melted metal.
.
.
.
We stood by the ashes, silence broken by the short breath of exhaustion. The air still reeked of the burnt flesh and iron. My hands were wrapped around Lydia's, casting the soft golden glow of [Healing] over her.
My eyes flicked toward the scorched pit where Golldir had fallen. Molten from the weapons lay like a frozen pool of silver.
What a waste, I thought. I just lost half of my arsenal on him.
"Thank you," a voice said quietly, drawing me out of the moment.
I looked at her, Lydia's eyes met mine, her lip had sealed under the spell, but the dried blood still clung to her lower lip. I withdrew a cloth from the inventory and raised it to her face, wiping the blood away gently.
She didn't flinch; she just stood there in silence watching me work.
I gave a small nod and let go of her hand, moving half a step back.
"Next time…" I said, my foot nudging a dagger on the floor, untouched from the battle. It flickered and vanished, stored in my inventory. "...when I tell you to run away… run away."
Lydia's brows drew together, her expression darkening with reluctant defiance. "My Thane, it is my duty—"
"I don't care," I cut in sharply, bringing my right hand to my chest and casting the [Healing] spell. The golden light surged into my ribs, easing torn muscles and cracked bones, but the pain remained.
"I don't want you to save me," I said, turning to face her fully. "I can save myself."
Her face shifted, confusion ridden with a complicated expression. She looked away for a heartbeat, as if hurt, her jaw clenched tight, then met my eyes again.
"I'm sorry, my Thane…" she murmured, her voice softer now, almost uncertain.
"Don't be," I said quietly. "Just do what—"
"But I can't do that," Lydia said
I stared at her.
She straightened, spine stiff with resolve, and her next words came slower.
"When I swore my oath to you, I meant it. I won't desert you, even if you order me to. If that means disobeying you, then so be it."
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