Aarav moved his eyes to see what had impacted the alleyway behind them. They were still towards the middle with the crazy mountain of muscle on one end and this new person in between.

The new arrival looked of the same stature as the dwarf they had seen working the forge. He had a massive sword strapped to his back which he quickly reached back and drew. Is that thing vibrating? Aarav thought he saw the metal of the weapon shimmer like heat haze, but that had to be his imagination. Or the dwarf had rung the weapon when he drew it. Of course, that has to be it! Aarav laughed inside at his stupidity; weapons can’t just do stuff themselves. He almost managed to convince himself. This was a magical world, after all. Who knew what was possible?

Having recovered from the massive guy stepping on him, Boren started slowly moving down the alley, trying not to attract any undue attention. It was working, and the dwarf’s coming had helped the situation. Boren tried to turn his head to look when he heard the new sound, but Aarav compelled him to stop and keep moving. This fight might be epic, but it was definitely not a spectator sport. They were more likely to turn into collateral damage than enjoy and watch the fight.

“Keep moving slowly, Boren. We don’t want to be caught in this. It could get hairy!” Aarav whispered and felt more than saw Boren’s feature contort in confusion. I guess that expression isn’t common here? Or Boren doesn’t know it. Whatever, as long as he keeps moving, it doesn’t matter. Lucky the boy had done just that, sensing the danger behind.

Meanwhile, Aarav kept two eyes on the fight behind them and one in front. The Slime would not be caught unawares. The dwarf braced his feet against cobblestones before bursting forth with such devastating speed that he pulverized the stones under his feet. The dust from them flew towards Aarav and Boren, the former protecting the latter from the impact. It was nothing compared to getting trod on.

The Slime watched in awe as the two titans crashed together, letting off a concussive wave that flattened them to the stones halting their movement for a moment. When the dust cleared for the first clash, the monstrous former human had blocked the slash of a sword by using his forearm! Aarav wouldn’t have believed it if he wasn’t seeing it with his eyes at that very moment. How can solid steel be stopped with an arm!? Then the outer layer of skin dented and bowed in to reveal a metallic arm guard. It had just been painted red, so it had been camouflaged with the blood staining his arms.

It was still an impressive feat. The greatsword the dwarf was wielding like a toothpick had to weigh a literal tonne, and he had swung it was an insane force. Then Aarav heard something that chilled him, sending shivers throughout his body.

He heard a mad laugh. It was the type of raw rough laughter that told you someone had utterly lost the plot, and it was coming from the dwarf. “Boren, try to move faster. Something bad is about to happen!” Aarav tried to keep his voice down but spoke with significant urgency. This was not the time to be dallying.

As both fighters backed off a little to make room for the following exchange, Aarav urged Boren up with his body and got them running as quietly as possible out of the alley. He prayed to all the gods he didn’t believe in to get them out of here in time, especially the one that had almost killed him. Aarav feared the worst when they were still five metres from the end of the alley, and the fighters readied for the follow-up exchange. This time the monster took the initiative. Coming in with a wild haymaker to the dwarf’s left side.

The dwarf brought his weapon round to clash with the haymaker. Again, instead of loping his arm off, the two smashed into each other and rebounded. The dwarf was pushed back towards the retreating Boren and the monster into the wall at the end. As he extricated him from the small crater that had formed in the wall, the sound of pieces of brick and mortar rang out.

As the dwarf skidded to a stop a few metres from Boren, the boy finally could hold back no longer. He turned with Aarav still covering him to look at the two fighters. As his gaze moved from the dwarf to the other, a single whisper escaped his lips, “Berserker?” It was more a question than anything else, but his words carried on the wind to the dwarf. The gruff fighter didn’t turn but spoke to the air in front of him.

“I dunna know what’s goin’ on, but Prince Boren, we’ve come to bring you home, ordered by your mother, I should say. D’you understand?” The dwarf said. Then bracing against the cobblestones again, prepared to meet the oncoming colossus. “Get outta here, Prince!” Those were the last words he spoke before refocusing on the brute in front of him.

“Boren, let’s get out of here, now!” Aarav whispered to Boren even though there was no need to whisper anymore. Apparently, there was no need to direct the boy either as he took off down the path, turning then hiding behind the corner and breathing heavily. “What are you waiting for? We need to go! We are vastly outclassed here, Boren, they will squash us, and he can’t fight all out if he is worried about us. Come on!” Boren reluctantly started sprinting back to the library and the Academy by extension. Perhaps there would be someone there who could help the situation. Aarav doubted it considering the kind of forces he had seen over there, but this was Darf, who knew what secrets they had stashed away.

As they approached the square again, Boren once more slowed down. “That was a Berserker. A Berserker!” Boren seemed to be in contemplation. That power, did you see it?” He asked.

“I would say so, Boren. It was kind of hard to miss, you know!” Aarav replied, peeling himself off the Prince and reforming his facsimile of a fairy. “I have never seen anything like it!” The Slime could confidently say that he was shaken seeing that level of raw power. He was all power, though with none of the control that was needed to direct it effectively. That thing was not human anymore, just a beast, lashing out at friend and foe alike with no regard for its own safety or that of its comrades.

Aarav understood now the price that creature had paid for the immense power it wielded. It would die here if its body held out long enough for the dwarf to cut it down. Aarav shuddered again, looking at Boren, who had an expression of rapture on his face.

“Aarav, can you imagine wielding that type of power? That is the power of a Berserker. Marasa had told me about them and my mother as well. But it is insane, actually seeing that level of pure power.” Boren took a deep breath before continuing. “Even one of the most powerful of the Elites can’t put him down! I never thought I would be privileged enough to see the day. I was told they were all gone. They had all died.” Boren lapsed into silence, deep in thought. This kid seemed to actually revere that abomination!

“Boren, are you serious right now?” Aarav couldn’t believe the words spewing from the boy’s mouth. “You’re actually admiring that thing! It wasn’t even human by the end. You know that, right? It might have had a massive amount of power, but what use is that when it had no control whatsoever? It is completely meaningless!” Aarav was hissing by the end. How to make this idiot boy see reason?

“I know all that, but the amount of power he had…” Boren lapsed into silence again as he stared dreamily in the direction of the fight. The faint sounds of their exchanges could be heard if faintly, and Boren wondered for a moment what materials these buildings were made of. Surely there should be more damage to them than this with the amount of power in those impacts. If those were regular brick and mortar buildings like Earth, he would eat his legs. He might do that anyway if he used Consume, but the point remained. Those impacts were monumental, and if regular buildings withstood it, they were either being cautious, or the buildings were reinforced. Option one seemed unlikely considering the Berserker’s lack of restraint, so it had to be the second choice.

“We are going to talk some more about your unhealthy obsession with Berserkers!” Aarav promised, grabbing the boy’s shoulder, and marched him towards the library. It was time to announce their presence.