188 Defiance: War game Part 3

This chapter has 4k words, and for those interested, there are 4 more chapters not counting this one until the volume ends, this includes the final chapter.

Anyway, I'll leave you all to it.

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"WOW!"

'Atop the wooden platform, Ibri, the game announcer, screamed loudly in excitement as he watched Aisha move back to her seat with the help of other adventurers, albeit midway through her walk, she pushed them back, making the rest of the way on her own, limping slightly with each step.'

'Her expression was a bit stiff, a mix of satisfaction and disappointment.'

'Perhaps she had realized something everyone else hadn't?'

"IT'S OVER!" Ibri exclaimed with all his might

"Expected by all? Or perhaps coming as a surprise to many! The Hestia Familia takes the first victory, but not without some protest!"

"And what a fierce fight it was! Aisha put on a strong resistance! Leaving even me gaping in surprise!"

"With many ups and downs, the strongest Berbera under Ishtar was defeated under the black blade of the Hestia Familia!"

'The man turned to the side, looking at the air as if he could see something in there.'

"We'll continue this epic display in a few minutes! Let's give our warriors some time to prepare!"

"And then… WE'LL SEE WHO COMES OUT ON TOP!"

"Will the Hestia Familia take another victory, ending this War game right then and there, or will the Ishtar Familia extend this fight to the finals?!"

"Come with me and let's find out!"

…

/Cheers!/

'While Orario discussed this fight over drinks and food, Silver checked himself.'

/Drip.../

'Blood slowly fell onto the ground, a warm and bitter feeling that was hard to get used to.'

I'm pretty beaten… My entire body is tingling and burning in pain.

My skin is still not enough to stop a blade being wielded by a berserk Amazon…

Even then, I got what I wanted.

'Silver smiled silently as he imagined a funny scene...'

Besides… Now's where everything starts.

'His eyes moved to the wooden stand, his heart beating fast, like a drum.'

Ishtar… I wonder…

What have you planned?

Is fate already predetermined, or have you left it in your children's hands?

"..."

/Crackle.../

'The rocks below Silver morphed, turning into a small seat for him to rest.'

Next fight… I will end it there.

Or perhaps… It'll be the start.

Regardless of what happens… Ishtar sent 3 people here today…

'Silver's eyes became sharp.'

But only 2 will come back... And if they're unlucky... 1.

Though even so, that won't be for long.

Because I have no intentions of leaving the Ishtar Familia standing for long.

'With that said, his body started to glow faintly green as his wounds closed and healed in real time.'

'If he wanted to, he could drink a potion right now, there were no rules preventing that.'

'He had already prepared an entire box of potions, he even thought ahead and hid several potions all around the place in case of emergencies.'

'If worse comes to worst, his dignity will have to take the hit in place of his life.'

'Despite all that, he didn't move, breathing calmly as the blood on his skin dried.'

'Many wondered what exactly was on his mind right now, and why he was so passive.'

'Those included civilians and Gods alike, all now staring at their floating screens with tense expressions.'

'And like that, time passed.'

…

/5 or so minutes later…/

'Many pondered over who the Ishtar Familia would send, especially since Ishtar herself was not there, and it was up to her subordinates to decide for themselves.'

'With one loss, it meant things were a bit dangerous, a single screw-up could mean the end of it all…'

'Were they going to stick with their plans, if they had one, or would they improvise and change the order of their warriors?'

'Despite the chance of a loss, most weren't worried at all, because were the Hestia Familia to lose this one, who would they send next?'

'No one thought the Ishtar Familia would screw up, it was impossible.'

'They just had to send their only Level 5... Level 6 for others, the question was whether Ishtar would tolerate it or not.'

/Step…/

'Finally, the choice was made.'

'Someone walked down from the platform.'

"?!"

'The people at Orario frowned, incapable of understanding this choice... Wasn't it a bit...?'

"..."

/Smile…/

'And Silver couldn't help but smile widely.'

They sure are confident…

'The person that approached him was a young man with tanned skin, wearing a mix of leather and metallic armor, geared towards the lighter side, together with a choker on his neck.'

'It was pretty similar to Silver's own armor, albeit his' was even lighter... And of worse quality.'

'A pair of long daggers were strapped to his waist, his weapons of choice, clearly new.'

'It seemed Ishtar spent quite a bit on him as he was pretty ostentatious... She likely wanted to use this War game to improve her crumbling grasp over the Entertainment district and her standing by showing off her power, wealth, and the talent of her subordinates.'

'The man also had a thin metallic helmet that when paired with his armor, made him look pretty cool, almost like a knight, or a proud ranger in a forest.'

'The man walked to the Arena, standing a few dozen meters away from Silver.'

'But even from that distance, Silver could easily see every feature of his body, and the same could be said for him...'

"EVERYONE!"

"WELCOME OUR NEXT WARRIOR, TAMMUZ BELILI, VICE CAPTAIN OF THE ISHTAR FAMILIA INTO THE BATTLEFIELD!"

"..."

'As always, Tammuz remained silent as he walked.'

'No greetings, neither any sort of reaction... So far, this War game had been pretty boring in this aspect.'

'The warriors barely talked with each other, they just went in and fought, and once it was over, neither of them said anything...'

'But the rest made up for it.'

"..."

'Silver didn't react when his name was called out, and neither did Aisha, now, Tammuz's expression was like that of a rock.'

'All three were pretty similar in the aspect that they didn't care about attention...'

'To the ovation of the announcer, Tammuz merely took his daggers out of his hosters, gazing at Silver, waiting for him to dictate the start of his fight.'

"..."

Not a man of many words...

'Silver did not say much either, whatever words he wanted to say were eventually lost as he realize how meaningless they were.'

'What point was there in making fun of him or this situation? What point was there in standing his ground with some weak blabbering?'

'Perhaps the people watching would find it fulfilling, but Silver felt that doing so would be void of meaning.'

'Let his body prove his point, his strength, his devotion, determination.'

'The people are merely spectators, the Gods will be the ones to judge his display.'

'So he'll give them one hell of a show.'

/Crack.../

'The stone seat he sat upon crumbled onto the ground, vanishing amidst the dirt and dust as he made his way to his opponent.'

'And although he wanted to be serious, he couldn't help but smile... Though it only lasted for a moment.'

…

/BAM!/

'Someone hit a large gong hanging on a large log of wood, having its sound echo in the valley.'

"... THEN! IT'S TIME!"

"THE SECOND FIGHT, AND MAYHAPS THE LAST ONE OF THIS WAR GAME!"

"WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?!"

/Horn…/

/CRACK!/

'With the loud sound of a horn being blown, Tammuz dashed forward, taking a deep breath, his eyes widened as he put everything he had into this dash, going all out from the very start, breaking the ground beneath his feet!'

'Unfortunately, there was only so much Goibniu and his children could do given their time, with his strength, Tammuz and Aisha alike could easily break the ground.'

'If they put too much force into it, they may actually just slide off...'

"..."

'Yet Silver didn't react…'

/SHING!/

"HUFF!"

'Tammuz raised his two daggers, or short swords, swinging them sideways with an incredible speed, matching his breathing in order to deliver a decisive and cruel strike!'

'This speed was such that several adventurers scattered around Orario opened their eyes in extreme surprise!'

'Most barely saw anything, a few… Understood what it meant!'

/CLANG!/

"?!?!"

'Yet, to their horrified eyes…'

'Silver blocked the strike effortlessly!'

'His left arm holding at an angle, he managed to offset most of the impact, fending off his strike with one... Arm.'

"Hum… My turn?" He asked as his eyes flashed momentarily

"...!"

/CLANG!/

'Silver moved his Halberd, forcing Tammuz back.'

'His physical strength was proven at this moment, making Tammuz realize this wouldn't be that simple.'

/FWOOSH!/

'Cutting the air just like him, Silver slashed and pierced with his Halberd, forcing Tammuz into an extremely defensive position.'

/CLANG!/

/CLANG!/

'Each impact was extremely heavy, making his hands bleed...'

/CLANG!/

'They were fast, and deadly as well!'

/CLANG!/

"?!"

'With one last strike, Tammuz saw himself in a very awkward position!'

'When he tried to move back into place, Silver easily lifted the foot of his weapon, hitting it against Tammuz's hands, and sending his left dagger into the skies.'

"Perfect."

"...?..."

'Suddenly, Silver threw his Halberd away, shocking everyone!'

/Frown.../

'While for the first time, Tammuz frowned.'

'He was angered... Humiliated beyond degree...'

"!"

'So he slashed his remaining dagger with all his might!'

/Evade.../

/SMACK!/

"?!"

'Shocking everyone once more, Silver showed great martial mastery and speed by stepping to the side and smacking his face at the same time.'

'Back at Orario, Takemikazuchi face palmed, looking around warily...'

No one will trace this back to me, will they?

...

/SMACK!/

/SMACK!/

/SMACK!!/

'Lifting his two arms in a stance similar to a boxing one, Silver delivered his barrage of punches!'

'Evade to the side, punch the guts, stop the arm from the left, punch the chin!'

'Each move was calculated, each move left Tammuz in a deeper and deeper mess...'

/Slash!/

/SMACK!/

"GAH?!"

'By a hair's width, Silver evaded Tammuz's dagger by stepping back before using his foot as a base to deliver a solid blow to his face, opening another wound on his cheek...'

'While blood flowed onto the ground, Tammuz felt the world go into slow motion...'

'How is he being beaten so much!?'

'Even if he wasn't a Warrior like the Berberas, he wasn't someone so weak to receive such a beating from a Level 3 adventurer!'

"URHAA!"

'Screaming in anger and determination, Tammuz started to fight with everything he had on the line, doing more than what he was capable of, his warring spirit gone berserk.'

/Fwoosh!/

/Fwoosh!/

/CLANG!/

"!"

'Finally! He landed a hit!... Yet... No blood spewed out from Silver.'

'His right hand raised slightly above his head, it had transformed into some strange metallic cone, blocking his blade without much resistance.'

"Heh."

'Silver smiled from one corner of his face to the other, rejoicing internally, his opponent was finally taking this seriously.'

'Unfortunately for him, Silver was far from getting worked up.'

/CLANG!/

/CLANG!/

/CLANG!/

'His arm transforming once more, an icy blade materialized on his hand, and Silver went from a hand-to-hand fight to a blade-against-blade duel.'

"URG?!"

'And Tammuz was still being pushed around with resistance...'

"HAAA!"

'Screaming once more Tammuz tried to create some distance...'

"HUH?!"

'But one of his feet remained stuck on the ground as it had fused with it!'

"Pay attention."

/SMACK!/

'Silver turned into an afterimage as he punched Tammuz in the face, sending him recoiling back as the ground cracked, eventually crashing against the ground far away like a meteor, raising dust far into the sky…'

/Silence…/

"Wh… Wh… WOWWWW!"

'The announcer was soon to scream with excitement!'

"What a turn of events!"

"I barely saw anything! What do you have to say about it Ganesha-Sama?!"

"Hm..."

"It seems both of them have hidden their true capabilities by quite a bit." Ganesha replied with his arms crossed, focused

"The Guild didn't enter in detail, but Adventurer Silver isn't merely a Level 3... He is a High Level 3."

"While Warrior Tammuz isn't Level 4 anymore... He's Level 5."

'The people around Orario were in disbelief, more due to Ganesha's seriousness rather than how unbelievable this situation was!'

"A… As expected of Ganesha-Sama! A perfect and simplified explanation!"

L-Level 5?!

"HAHAHA!! I AM GANESHA!" He said as he puffed his chest

"NOW! LET'S SEE HOW THIS FIGHT UNRAVELS! NOW WITH A COMPLETELY NEW MEANING! LEVEL 3 VERSUS LEVEL 5!"

…

/Back at the field…/

'Silver raised his right hand, pointing at the smoke cloud with a serene gaze…'

/Crack…/

'The air twisted around it, red smoke materialized from seemingly nowhere, becoming denser and denser as a pair of translucent horns grew around his arm, coiling around it.'

/Chum... Chum.../

'The horns fashed with light, from the tips, this light traveled to the horns' base, and eventually, his hand, gathering onto a tiny flame orb...'

"Tell me later how it feels to be kissed by a devil..." Silver said to himself as he chuckled drily

/SHAA!/

'A concentrated beam of red light impacted the center of the dust cloud, and a large explosion soon followed!'

/BOOOOM!/

"..."

/CLANG!/

'However, Tammuz had already long escaped, instead, rushing to Silver, his expression fully focused, devoid of bias now.'

'His emotions cast aside, it didn't matter who his enemy was, only that he needed to defeat it!'

'He would take Silver seriously, the proof of it was the pain of his bleeding nose.'

"..."

'But Silver's expression was lackluster… Even less than before...'

/Fwoosh!/

'He vanished, reappearing behind Tammuz, kicking one of his legs, forcing him tumbling down across the dusty ground.'

/Roll!/

'Tammuz rolled, getting into a defensive position... But he saw nothing.'

"!"

Behind!

'He suddenly rushed to the side!'

/PIERCE!/

'As he rolled, the place he had been before was pierced by a dark bolt of energy!'

'And behind it... Was Silver.'

'From his perspective, he had teleported behind Tammuz, aiming directly at his head from just a few Cm...'

/Shudder.../

'Tammuz shuddered as he realized how close to death he had been, an enemy that could vanish at any given moment to deliver a fatal blow to his head...'

'Only his reaction could save him... Or rather, his enemy's mercy.'

'He wondered, couldn't he have done something else and ended him there already?'

/FWOOSH!/

"?!"

/SMACK!/

'Silver once again vanished, kicking his sides with immense might, sending him back to the center of the previous explosion.'

"URG!"

'Tammuz panted, his ribs hurt, perhaps they were broken…'

'He raised his head from within the crater, gazing at Silver with a confused gaze.'

'Such strength… How?!' He thought to himself in disbelief

'Silver, however, had no intention of waiting around as he once more raised his hand.'

"You better move."

'This time, his arm broke apart in 3 different sections, and multiple rings of light emerged from within before his arm connected back in place.'

'These rings orbited around his arm, spinning.'

/Glup…/

'Molten metal was released from within his palm, gathering in the air into the shape of a bolt.'

'All of this happened within a second, so most people failed to see the bizarre sight of his body breaking and fusing back together.'

'But those that did frowned, some even felt nausea.'

'Silver's abilities were just like that, some weren't strange, but others were nightmare-inducing... And he did all of it with a straight face... That was the strangest thing about it.'

"If you wish to remain still… Be my guest." Silver mumbled to himself as his will gathered onto his palm

'He smiled.'

"Let's play... The subject at hand... Magnetism."

"!"

/FIUM!/

/BOOM!/

'The sharp metal bolt flew in the air, breaking sound, pushing the earth apart!'

'The recoil was so great Silver's hand even moved back, and he eventually shook it around, as if it pained him to do so.'

"?!!!"

"URRRG! HA!"

'Tammuz exclaimed as he moved to the side, yet he was too late, he tried to block it with his saber, but the bolt pierced straight through it and his shoulder, creating a large hole in it as the powerful impact cleaved the ground behind him!'

/Splat…/

"AAAAAAAAA!"

'Blood splattered onto the ground, together with a few splintered bits of bones as Tammuz kneeled and screamed in pain, trying to recover…'

/Raises…/

'Silver raised his hand once more… He was far from done, he could cast his Plasmids for hours on end at this pace.'

'A disk of light started to form above his raised hand...'

"?!"

'Tammuz finally understood, he couldn't give his opponent time to cast magic!'

'Making space was the worst possible thing against him!'

'Though, didn't the research say that his Magic was at most comparable to a weak mage?'

'How can it be like this?!'

/DASH!/

'So he dashed, one of his arms now rendered useless, he moved forward with everything he had…'

"?!"

/FWOOSH!/

'Midway through his cast, Silver changed plans.'

'From the disk of light into something else.'

'His hand moved in an upward motion as if he was holding a blade...'

/CRACK!/

'And after it, a massive piece of ice, a blade of coldness cleaved through the earth!'

"URG?! HA!... HUFF!"

'But Tammuz jumped over it, showing to the world his Dexterity and precision.'

/CRACK!/

"?!"

Again!

'The ground parted open, and a hand rose from within!'

/Jump... SLASH!/

'Tammuz jumped with great coordination, slashing the hand in half with his blade!'

/STEP STEP STEP!/

/Drip.../

'Even then, with each step, he let out a gush of blood, but he moved on as for each moment that he was closer to his target, his determination grew!'

'He had to end it soon, else, he would fall on his own.'

/Glimmer.../

"Huh...?!"

'Light flashed above his head, and as he looked up, several dozens of blades of light fell onto his face!'

/BAM BAM BAM BAM!/

'They fell onto the ground like comets, striking the earth with violent energy!'

'It took Tammuz everything he had to evade them all, but now, there he was, one step from his target!'

/SMACK!/

"GAH!"

'But his dreams and aspirations were shattered into pieces as a heavy blow was suddenly delivered to his chest without any warnings.'

'A formless impact, unseen to the naked eye struck his bare chest, sending him flying backward as he gasped for air.'

/Point forward.../

'If that wasn't enough, Silver stared down at his trembling body, pointing his finger forward.'

"!..."

'Tammuz tried to raise his head, but it was already too late.'

/BOOOOOOOM!/

'A finger of death, an explosion echoed right above his body, covering him completely.'

"..."

'Orario silently gazed at this exchange.'

"Impressive." Silver muttered as he looked forward

/Sha!/

'From within the smoke, against all Odds, Tammuz walked away from the dust cloud with a few burns, but overall safe and sound.'

"..."

As expected, just as they were pretty, his daggers were true of good quality.

I thought they had chosen beauty over practicality, but I was wrong, I might've underestimated them too much.

While he rolled, Tammuz managed to grab his left dagger that I had thrown away and used it together with his half-broken right dagger to block a part of the explosion by swinging them at it, creating a counterforce.

His armor also helped, it's definitely enchanted, Aisha's was after all.

It doesn't matter anyway.

/Crack!/

'As he thought of that, Tammuz's right dagger crumbled into pieces and his armor cracked in some spots.'

'Just as his body reached its limits, his equipment did as well.'

'Even then, this statement was about to end as Silver took a step forward.

"?!"

'An invisible force suddenly grasped ahold of his body, lifting him into the sky a few feet above the ground.'

'Silver approached him, looking at him with disappointment.'

"Stay still, I won't miss it this time." He declared with cold eyes

I was focused on something else you see...

/ZAP!/

'Only now had Tammuz realized, dark clouds seemed to have gathered above his head, thundering...'

'The day had been quite sunny, and although its wasn't fully clear, when did it become so…'

/THUNDER!/

'It seemed it was going to rain…'

/THUNDER!/

'Bolts of lightning the flashed from within the clouds, the power of nature incarnate…'

"URG!"

'Tammuz did his best, he struggled as fiercely as he could, but there was nothing he could do!'

'Nothing seemed to affect the invisible force strapping his arms, and without being able to touch the ground, he was rendered helpless like a little kid being grabbed by the arms…'

'His greatest strength, his speed and dexterity were useless in this situation…'

'Even then, it was abysmally lower than Silver's Raw Magic power.'

'His biggest weakness, his lack of strength, constitution, and magic were starting to show themselves.'

'He had no secret cards, no Skills to save him and turn the situation around…'

'And his two development abilities were geared towards basic adventuring…'

'He had fallen into the despair that was fighting an adventurer like Silver, to not have the necessary skill to balance things out.'

'If you fight against a poison user and you do not have the necessary resistance, then you'll end helpless, just like him at this moment...'

"Haa… Haa…"

'As he looked at his enemy, this Level 3 adventurer, his hand flashing blue with dangerous electricity, he questioned himself when and where did everything go wrong?'

'Silver took another step forward, gazing straight at Tammuz's eyes... Or perhaps, someone else...'

'All of Orario.'

"I'm tired of hiding." Silver proclaimed as he pointed at Tammuz's forehead

"Don't blame me, you're just a soldier doing his job."

If you survive this… I'll at least make sure you keep breathing.

"I wonder… Will Zeus forgive me for stealing his thunder?" He joked slightly as he looked up

Let me be a bit arrogant today...

'His index finger pointed down… Drawing a line on his face.'

/THUNDER!/

'Countless rays of lightning fell from the clouds, all aiming at him!'

...

/A few seconds before.../

"?! DAMMIT!"

/JUMP!/

'Phryne finally realized something was extremely wrong, but barely had she jumped…'

/Lightning!/

'Everyone's faces were illuminated by its brilliance...'

'All around Orario, the world was taken by white…'

"..."

'Ishtar's expression was borderline demonic as she saw Tammuz being hammered down by the power of the skies…'

/BOOM!/

/Shaa…/

'As the light receded, the burning and steaming hot body of Tammuz was revealed, mostly carbonized…'

'His body deflated, it didn't seem he was alive.'

/Fwoosh…/

'And if that wasn't enough, Silver moved his hand to the side, throwing his body across the battlefield, all the way to where the stands were, letting it fall not far from it like a piece of trash.'

'This made many, including even Ganesha frown…'

"YOU! BRATTY FUCKER!"

/Grin/

'In the skies, Phryne made her way to Silver, having jumped not so long ago.'

'Her face brimming with anger, realizing the mistake she had just made, she decided to end this with her own hands.'

'It did not matter what his victory signified, she only wanted to kill him!'

'But Silver smiled.'

"HUPP!"

'He grabbed his Halberd, his body's muscles bulging and turning red, he swung it upward to meet with Phryne's war axe…'

/CLANG!/

/BOOM!/

'A large explosion echoed as their blades connected!'

…

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Notes

I wanted more combat, but I felt that Tammuz had suffered so much that had I added anything else, it would've been a miracle for him to last till the end.

With this chapter, I wanted to show just how potent his Magic was, and also to prove that, if you don't have the means to resist it, you can't really win against him.

You'll be trapped in telekinesis, you'll end up hypnotized, you may be poisoned, frozen, burned...

Or naught incapable of doing anything to him as he zips around, either ending with him leaving or with the adventurer in question losing all of his stamina.

That's how fighting Silver is supposed to be, or so I think anyway.

With this chapter, the War game pretty much ended, Ishtar and Phryne wanted a decisive and humiliating victory against the Hestia Familia, but in the end, they lost.

Phryne has gone ballistic, what will be the end result of this clash?

After tomorrow, we'll see.

Peace, I'm out.