The Dragon of Battle

“Now?” I said quietly.

“Yes," Esther replied. "Now.”

“Wait!” I cried. “I give up! We both know who would win in my current state.”

Esther held out her right hand. A moment later, a black masquerade mask appeared at her fingertips. The mask was highly decorated. A massive metallic butterfly wing was clipped to the left side of the visor. The rim of the wing housed several black opals, three in total, each larger than the one before. The mask itself was embroidered with a crimson thread that pulsed with a faint light, almost as if it had a heartbeat of its own. Esther held the mask in the palm of her hand as if it was a drawn blade.

“A shame,” she said. “Iris promised me a duel with a Densus Knight at full power.”

“And I will give you that duel, once I’m at full power. I promise. Just, not now.”

Esther lowered the mask to her side. She looked deeply disappointed.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” she said after a moment. "No honor in terrorizing a weakened foe."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

She wasn't going to kill me after all.

"Thanks for understanding," I said.

Hold up! Iris cried. This fight is still happening. Titus, here you go.

A surge of energy filled my entire body. I felt good, like really good, the best I’ve felt since I woke up this Nightmare. My mind felt clear and my body felt strong. The scratch Gordon left on the back of my neck suddenly seemed to sting less. Most importantly, my magic felt readily accessible, as if I had just downed a triple shot magic elixir.

“No way,” I said.

I tried creating a Dyson Sphere, one of my more powerful kinetic barriers. It was far from my most efficient barrier, but it happened to be something I could only create when I was overflowing with magic, no less than 80 percent of my maximum capacity. It was a good way to measure how much magic I had left.

The Dyson Sphere appeared without trouble, its deep purple hue illuminating the metal platform I stood on. It rippled with power like a mighty turbine engine, capable of defeating both physical and magical threats with ease. Yet the manaburn I felt in my body was only a dull ache, a sure sign that I was, as Iris promised, back to one hundred percent.

I shook my hand and dropped the barrier before it drained too much of my magic.

“I’m back!” I shouted in joy. “I’m really back! Iris, you’ve been holding out!”

This blessing only works in my domain! Iris replied. Do note that this blessing is temporary. As soon as this fight is over, you’re going back to your weakened state.

Why?

You’re on probation until your first mission is completed.

You still don't trust me.

Yes and no.

So you do trust me.

Don't push it.

I knew there was a catch to this miraculous breakthrough. But my disappointment was largely overshadowed by the sheer joy I felt from having my magic back to full, if only for this brief moment.

I'll show you what I can do when I'm not crippled by a curse, I said.

Even with your magic back, you have a tough fight ahead of you, Iris said. This is the Night Terror we are talking about.

True. But I'm a Densus Knight.

Mhm, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I punched my hands together.

“Alright, looks like you get your fight after all,” I said to Esther.

Esther raised her masquerade mask to her face, a wry smile dawning on her lips.

“Excellent,” she said. “For this duel, we fight to the death.”

“Hold up."

“Any wound sustained in the Starlit Palace, Iris can restore immediately, even considering your Mortal curse,” she explained. “You won’t die here even if you die.”

I didn’t quite believe what I was hearing, but given how Iris had been able to restore my magic with a flick of her hands, it wasn’t too far-fetched to believe that she could shield me from my Mortal curse.

“Okay,” I said. “But a broken bone is still a broken bone, no? Forget that. With the kind of power we're dealing with, we can really hurt each other.”

“I feel nothing when I wear the veil of the Night Terror, so do not worry about me,” she said.

I remembered how she had taken several Seraph feathers to her right arm without so much batting an eyelid.

She's not joking, I thought.

“You, however, will feel everything," Esther continued.

"Wonderful."

"So, I ask that you do not pull your punches during our fight, Sir Titus. For I most certainly will not.”

A chill went down my spine. I had a very low tolerance for pain. Priscilla and Yeigar never failed to remind me of how low that tolerance was whenever I had to spar without my kinetic barriers. Thankfully, I would be able to use my barriers for this particular fight, almost ensuring I wouldn’t sustain any actual damage if I didn't mess up.

Still, Iris's warning left me ill at ease. She knew just how powerful a Densus Knight’s barrier could be. And yet, here we were having Esther and I fight to the death. Esther must have had something in her arsenal that could actually hurt me. Otherwise, there would be no point in this second duel.

As the realization that I wouldn't be invincible in this second duel sunk in, I placed a hand on my forehead.

I might be in trouble, I thought miserably.

Esther raised her left hand. Her throne of red javelins appeared behind her like the missiles of a fighter jet. Her swordspear, the one with the massive crossguard that looked like it could kill a dragon, also appeared in her hands. The way she carried the Remnant told me that she was very familiar with the weapon. Bad news, since I had always struggled to fight pole-arm opponents, with and without my magic.

“I hope that the fabled shield of the Densus Knights lives up to its reputation,” Esther said, brimming with energy. “It would be a shame if this duel ended as quickly as the last one.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” I said. "You are about to take on the third rank mage of the Dawn Guild."

“Third?” she said. “This is going to be easier than I thought.”

Wait, you're telling me Priscilla and Yeigar outrank you? Iris giggled. I'm a bit surprised.

It's a long story! I said, breathing in sharply. I'll tell you all about it once you've answered my questions, if you're going to answer them this time around.

I will, I will. Still. Dead last out of your group...

You're mean, you know that?

Esther's eyes had brightened up like a Christmas tree. She was ecstatic. as if she had been looking forward to this fight for some time. Me? I was equally excited. I finally got to show them what I could do. Moreover, I finally got to see the Night Terror fight with no bars held.

But I was also nervous. It seemed that Esther already knew what I could do, as I had feared. I was still in the dark about how she fought in a life-and-death situation. I knew she had a bow and six javelins that exploded like rockets when she threw them. There was also the mirror that could copy any weapon I had. And how could I forget the terrifying veil of darkness that made her immune to pain? But outside of that, I knew nothing about how she would approach a full fight. She had a huge knowledge advantage against me.

I thought about asking Iris for some pointers but immediately ruled against it. I wouldn’t have such a luxury fighting other enemies in the nightmare. Why not use this opportunity to see how quickly I could adapt to a powerful enemy in a safe environment? Also, I had to silence my critics. Any help from them would invalidate my victory.

I had to win with what I had.

I took a deep breath and summoned Kairos. The masterwork of a blade appeared in my right hand, illuminating the night sky around me like a beacon. Any nerves I had vanished as I remembered that I could stop time with this blade, three times if I really wanted to.

What was I worried about? I scoffed.

“I’m ready when you are,” I said.

Esther nodded. Her excitement had died down just a bit. But I could still see the fire in her eyes. It was a wildfire, threatening to consume everything that stood in her path.

As of now, there was only one fool who dared to block her path.

Esther calmly placed her mask over her face. She flinched as if there were needles hidden underneath the mask. It was the smallest of reactions as if she was familiar with the pain.

Once the mask was set, she lowered her hand to her side and began to walk toward me.

“I apologize for what I am about to do," she said.