The sound of destruction grew closer, accompanied by the heavy footsteps of someone moving through the rubble with deliberate purpose. Riven and Erza positioned themselves in the main street, using the scattered debris as cover while they waited for their opponent to appear.
*"Be prepared for anything,"* Baal warned. *"Marchosias is the most unpredictable of my siblings. His bearers often develop an addiction to violence that makes them extremely dangerous in combat."*
The first thing they saw was the smoke—thick, red-tinged clouds that seemed to move with unnatural purpose, flowing around corners and between buildings like a living thing. Then came the heat, a dry intensity that made the air shimmer and turned their breath visible despite the afternoon warmth.
Finally, the bearer of Marchosias stepped into view, and Riven understood immediately why the townspeople had fled in terror.
The man appeared to be roughly Riven's age, with black hair that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. But it was his eyes that were most disturbing—they glowed with the same red energy as his summoned beasts, and there was no humanity left in them. Only hunger for destruction.
His armor was unlike anything Riven had ever seen. It appeared to be made of crystallized blood and shadow, just like his creatures, but it moved and shifted constantly as if it were alive. Spikes protruded from the shoulders and elbows, and the entire surface pulsed with a rhythm that suggested a heartbeat.
Most unsettling of all was his weapon—a massive war hammer that seemed to be forged from the same blood-crystal material as his armor. It dragged behind him as he walked, leaving a trail of sparks and gouges in the stone street.
*"Deep fusion,"* Baal observed grimly. *"Possibly too deep to reverse. This bearer may have lost his human consciousness entirely."*
The Marchosias bearer stopped about thirty feet away from them, tilting his head like an animal trying to identify a scent. When his glowing eyes fixed on Riven, a horrible smile spread across his face.
"Another king," he said, his voice carrying harmonics that sounded like grinding metal. "I can smell the lightning in your blood. How delicious."
"I'm not here to fight you," Riven called out, though he kept his transformed arm ready. "The town is evacuated. There's no one left to hurt. Just leave peacefully."
The bearer threw back his head and laughed—a sound that made nearby windows crack. "Leave? But I haven't had nearly enough fun yet. And now that another Great Djinn has come to play..." He hefted his massive hammer with one hand, the weapon crackling with violent red energy. "This is exactly what I've been waiting for."
Without warning, he launched himself forward with supernatural speed, covering the distance between them in a single bound. His hammer came down where Riven had been standing, striking the stone street with enough force to create a crater ten feet across.
Riven barely managed to dodge, rolling aside as chunks of shattered stone flew past his head. The sheer destructive power behind that single attack was staggering—it would have killed him instantly if he hadn't moved.
"Fast reflexes," the bearer commented, already pulling his hammer free for another strike. "But let's see how long you can keep dancing."
This time he swung horizontally, the weapon's head trailing flames and shadow as it cut through the air. Erza intercepted the attack with her own burning sword, but the impact sent her sliding backward across the broken street, her boots leaving grooves in the stone.
"He's stronger than any mage I've ever faced," she called out, steam rising from her blade where it had contacted the blood-crystal hammer. "This isn't normal magic amplification."
*"Marchosias grants his bearers supernatural physical abilities along with magical power,"* Baal explained. *"But there is a cost—the deeper the fusion, the more the bearer's humanity is consumed by the Djinn's nature."*
The war-bearer was already moving again, this time targeting Riven directly. His hammer came down in a vertical strike that would have split a normal person in half, but Riven was no longer entirely normal.
Instead of dodging, he caught the hammer's handle with his transformed gauntlet, golden lightning crackling as it met red shadow-fire. The impact sent shockwaves through both combatants, but Riven held firm, his connection to Baal's power giving him the strength to match his opponent's supernatural might.
"Interesting," the bearer said, his inhuman smile growing wider. "You're not afraid to meet me strength for strength. Most of them just run."
***
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