I stood there. Edward stood in front of me. His hands were a frosty white.
He smirked. "You want to kill me? Come kill me."
I manifested four arms and dashed toward him, throwing a barrage of punches. Edward dodged each one like water—stepping back, ducking, weaving.
I stepped back just before a spike of ice erupted from the floor. Edward pointed at me. Six ice swords materialized around him.
He's actually good without his hands.
The blades flew toward me. I dodged each one, but they were different. Every dodge, every duck—they just came back.
I grabbed one and crushed it, then manifested six arms and caught each of the icy blue swords, crushing them.
Edward summoned ice spikes moving toward me at astounding speed. I stepped aside, dodging the surge.
I moved toward him, throwing a punch, extending an arm.
Edward ducked.
Perfect.
The arm combined with the golden wall, pulling me toward him so I could kick his jaw, sending him crashing against the wall.
I summoned ten arms from the floor to grab Edward, holding him up. "I win, Edward."
I walked closer to him and raised my hand. Before I could bring it down, my hand suddenly froze.
What? How?!
Unless...
I turned to look back at Edward and saw his captured body in ice, breaking down into pieces. I spun around to see more swords and spears launching themselves at me.
Summoning ten arms, I threw a barrage of punches, breaking each shard. Ten? Twelve? Twenty? Thirty? No—seventy!
After what felt like minutes, every sword and spear was destroyed. I looked up at Edward. He wasn't even breaking a sweat.
How does someone of his strength only have one kill?
"How did you escape my arms?"
He pointed at the broken ice statue. "It's simple. I summoned ice to completely coat my body. Ice armor covering me completely so I could escape."
He's that crafty, huh?
I summoned two giant muscular arms, then clapped my hands, creating a Lumin shockwave that sent him flying.
Using the opportunity, I dashed forward and unleashed a barrage of punches. The energy hands pierced me—my leg, my side, my stomach.
Edward knelt in front of me, looking up. "I thought you'd be smarter." He stood up quickly, then summoned two spears to stab my back, pinning me to the floor.
He looked down at me, smiling. "That's all?"
"I thought the zealot was stronger. But you're just a man who fails to live up to his own rumors."
I laughed. "If I were you, I'd look at yourself more carefully."
A golden foot launched upward from the floor, kicking his chin so hard I heard a crack as his head snapped back.
More hands held him down, pulling him against the wall as smaller, thinner arms restrained him.
The hands from the ceiling pulled out the spears while the others helped me up.
I summoned a giant spiky fist. "This is the end."
I pulled my arm back, letting it extend backward. Planting my foot on the floor, I swung it forward. The fist moved at blinding speed, colliding with Edward so hard the wall broke.
Edward's body flew until he crashed into another wall, then slid to the floor.
I approached him. The golden walls extended and regenerated, closing in. "You fought bravely, Edward. Your death will not be forgotten."
He got up, holding the walls for support. His Lumin was still strong. Plentiful. Even a mage as powerful as Aurelia would have struggled, but each of his spells had been flawless.
His head snapped forward, and he breathed a thick, massive mist of ice, blocking my vision and freezing my arms.
I looked around. Where is he?! I tried to sense his Lumin. The ice shattered from my arms. I looked forward and felt a thick surge of Lumin.
I tried to grow my arms, but it was harder. More difficult. What's he doing? I tried to move my legs, but ice trapped my feet.
The mist cleared.
And there it was.
The whitish-blue head of a dragon. Lumin radiated from its eyes. It launched forward, crashing into me, slamming me against the wall, freezing it, shattering it, throwing me through a doorway into an empty room.
My breathing grew more uneven.
He used an ice dragon spell. How?
A mage without a wand, yet able to cast a spell of such caliber?
I got up, folding a bed railing with a thin golden arm. A sharp pain shot through my side.
An ice shard was buried deep in my side. Thankfully, it hadn't hit my vitals.
Edward entered the room. His nose was bleeding, his face bruised, his coat stained with blood.
"You can't use your unique skill. I cast a spell to make the air thicker with frost."
"Meaning I'm at a disadvantage?"
"Severely."
He moved his hands and spoke in a different language. Spears materialized behind him in a circle, pointing directly at me.
"I can spare you, Rowan. Just say you give up, and I'll let you live."
I laughed. "Let me live? Let me live."
His face hardened. As if the empathy was empty. Hiding anger and frustration... or maybe fear.
"Are you scared of me?"
Edward's eyes narrowed. A bead of sweat dripped from his forehead. "You're asking me that question given the circumstances you're in?"
"No. Even if I die, the Eighty will still be here. Orion will carry my legacy, and Alexandria will be his sword. Eighty rookies led by strong individuals—the biggest faction on this ship. Can you take on eighty warriors?"
"Eighty cowards, you mean." Edward's voice was steady. "Everyone on this ship wants to live. What would give them the strength to kill the murderer of their leader? Or should I say... savior?"
I laughed aloud. Savior? I'd never heard such a thing. "What makes you think I'm a savior?"
"Eighty rookies who didn't even see you as a leader. Within a few days, they're willing to kill for you. No man has that kind of charm. You're not a leader, Rowan. You're just a priest who knows how to fight."
"Solorus's blessings. He has blessed me with the charm to lea—"
"Why do you worship him?" Edward stepped closer. "I've met plenty of men who claim their faith yet still defy their oaths. I've seen priests in brothels. Nuns in relationships and scandals."
He stopped.
"But you... unlike them, you're genuine. You follow your god's words like it's destiny itself."
His voice softened.
"What made you like this? It's clear you went through something that made you this way. What is it?"
Silence.
"What is it, Rowan? The zealot."