So… I learned something. It’s possible to shape sword-light into horns. Also… it hurts. I dodge to the side, quick as a flash, and I swear the light curves, following me before it slams into my side with the force of Tiny’s fist. Luckily, I was able to angle my body to deflect the majority of the force, otherwise it may have managed to put a crack in my carapace.

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of a never-ending series of similar swings, I decide I’d best put in a little offence to throw my opponent off balance. Considering the barrier is in place, I feel a little more confident unleashing some of my more potent abilities, so I decide to Dash and follow up with a Void Chomp.

Not empowered, obviously. I’m not trying to turn my opponent into paste.

The gap between my mandibles fills with a howling void that draws everything in as the dark jaws of pure energy form, extending outward from my own. For his part, Phul isn’t going to stand there and take it. For a moment, I see him hesitate, as if he were weighing whether to meet my lunge with one of his own, but he decides against it at the last second.

Redirecting his slash into the ground, he uses the tremendous force generated to launch himself to the side, flying over my mandibles to land on my left flank. I expect Phul thinks he has time to recover there after I finish my chomp, but he’s about to learn I can turn on a dime. I whirl around, six legs flashing to align myself before I execute a charge, unwilling to give the swordsman time to recover.

Trapped in place, Phul lowers his horn and commits, winding back and gathering a dazzling amount of sword-light on the tip of his blade. As I bear down on him, angling myself to slam straight on, he swings from right to left.

Like a herd of stampeding rhinoceros, the light forms into a wave of horns that smack into my side. The force is absolutely tremendous, and despite my best efforts, he actually manages to shift my enormous frame off course. As I barrel past, I manage to clip my opponent with my legs, knocking him a smidge off balance, and I use that time to dig in my claws, sending a spray of sand flying up to splatter against the barrier.

Holy moly. That was a seriously heavy swing, strong enough to knock me to the side, and I weigh like ten tons or something. I mean, I haven’t been on any scales, but an elephant would be a snack to me at this point. I’m big.

My insides were positively rattled when I got hit, but thanks to my inner-plating, I was able to absorb the blow without any cracking in my carapace.

After facing Phul head-on once more, I decide it’s time to get serious and bust out some gravity magic. Minds spin, power flows and I begin to pull together the energy I need.

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Half my minds commit to forming the gravity well, while the others are tasked with peppering the swordsman with minor spells to buy me the time I need.

A mix of fire bolts, gravity bolts, shards of ice and everything else my sub-brains can think of is launched in a constant spray. To deal with this barrage of minor strikes, Phul simply… ignores them. The fire doesn’t burn him, the ice doesn’t stab him, but unfortunately for him, the gravity bolts do take effect.

He doesn’t notice at first. Shrugging off my assault, he pulls his sword up for a massive vertical swing, but as more and more gravity spells hit him, and more specifically, hit his sword, things start to go awry.

I can only imagine Phul and others of his rank are incredibly sensitive to changes to the condition of their swords. The moment he starts the downswing, he realises something is off, but he’s already committed.

Sensing his hesitation, I decide to go straight for the finish, rushing headfirst towards him, weaving together a layered shield as the gravity well nears completion.

The sword light that blooms is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Not only does it take the shape of a horn, but it almost appears like a charging rhino itself, racing forward above the ground. As insanely impressive as that is, the swing was off. This strike isn’t as bright as those before, the light isn’t as dense, and when I meet it with my shoulder, I shatter it to pieces.

Phul is sent sprawling as I batter into him. The gravity well completes, and I slam it into place, pinning him to the ground.

Holy moly. How many more times do I have to do this today?!

Despite being held in place by the power of the well, Phul puts up a mighty struggle, but ultimately is forced to concede, unable to get himself off the ground.

Thankfully, he’s unhurt, and not too unhappy about being defeated, even if the final blow felt like it was below the belt.

[What did you do to my sword?] he asks after I connect to him, peering down at it with concern. [It’s not permanent, is it?]

[No. Basically, I made it heavier. It’s only temporary, though, no need to worry.]

[You made it larger? Some sort of metal magic?]

[Uh… sure. Let’s go with that. As I said, totally temporary, no effect on the weapon itself.]

Perhaps unconvinced, Phul gives his weapon a few test swings, appearing satisfied by the end that I’m not lying to him.

[Our weapons are very important to us,] he told me, [I have worked with this blade for over twenty years.]

[Well, it shoots rhinos made of light at people, I can understand not wanting to lose it.]

He looks at me a little confused.

[That’s not the sword,] he tells me, [that’s me!]

[What?! I’d assumed it was an enchantment or something!]

[Oh no. Shaping the light is the pinnacle of our Skill. When I achieve mastery, I will reach the tenth sword, and be a blademaster.]

[Nice. How far off are you?]

[I hope to achieve my goal in another ten years.]

That far off? Yikes.