19 Queen VS Spear Boy Part 2

(Scathach POV)

Excitement, thrill, and true contentment were something I lost a long time ago, as the shadows and the runes made sure of that. In my youth, I thought a warrior should not feel happy or content in what they do. But such a prospect was a Faustian bargain as I lost nearly all of my emotions to gain access to primordial runes from the Well of Mimir.

I refused to give up a physical part of myself so as not to be weakened in any way, yet I, in my arrogance, lost what truly helped make warriors strong because while I am unafraid, I cannot feel anything else. I cannot feel happiness in improvement or satisfaction for any good deeds or physical activities.

Before I could take away and return my gift to the well, I was trapped in this place and forced to fight forever. I can still remember the smile on that god's face when he banished me here, and his final words were the source of my nightmares.

"You will find no peace. You will find no life in your lungs and no peace in what you have done. My work is done, and now yours is undone. Begone from the world, god slayer!" The force that pulled me in here and left me in chains forevermore.

Yet, in this darkness, I found a new pastime in teaching others or trying to teach them, as most who came here sought my body or my strength for their causes. It was almost laughable that they thought I would accept being under anyone after what happened. Even if I could leave, I would never join anyone. Not after everything I lived and experienced.

My family is gone, my kingdom lost to time, and the ravages of history and even my students Setanta and Connla ended up killing each other or at least trying to. 

The same god that trapped me here sent me Setanta's head on my bedroom window, and I could not even shed a tear for him as only a void was left.

I buried him in my land, and again, no tears were shed as I only felt a small amount of pity for my student as after everything he had done, he never got a happy ending and died at 27 years of age, a veritable child still in my eyes at least. I still remember that day.

But now I found something new or at least something familiar as a child with blue hair. A spear entered my land and bid me to train him, and in his eyes, I saw not greed or lust but desperation. I was his only option, and with that spear he had, it didn't make a modicum of sense, as gods never suffer equals. 

I asked him to survive three months as with all the people who came here, and none survived more than one, as it took a week for most to die of thirst, hunger, or madness. The beasts would kill anyone that lived past two to three weeks, yet he lived and, in fact, thrived here. It was like looking at a combination of myself and Setanta, and I felt a small amount of nostalgia.

He had that same look about him as a person with little option, and while he did lack the confidence of the Hound of Ulster, it was primarily due to how he was raised, as I can tell the signs of a lack of true parentage. 

The boy has become moldable and more adaptable at the cost of becoming less focused and stalwart in his beliefs. In those three months, I saw his will and skills grow as he gained confidence in them while inventing entirely new ones from thin air.

It was as if he was evolving the more he fought and the more things he was exposed to as after the first couple weeks; he gained resistance to poison and after a few more resistance to the corruption of the Land of Shadows and Beyond. 

And when he disappeared from my sight, and I began to observe him closely, I did not see the signs of a madman, just simply someone trying to improve with the time they had as if he was living under a timer.

 And then, focusing my senses outside of the lands of shadow, I felt the armies massing outside the gates, and when I saw what origin these monsters held, I almost laughed as it seemed like the Greeks were being as paranoid and arrogant as ever. Some of them I had not seen in centuries, and I understood why he was here, and I was again left with a dilemma.

In this child, I saw the same thing as myself. one man trying to go beyond normality at the cost of having to kill gods to do so. Still, I also understood how he was fundamentally different as he wasn't doing it to improve or to prove something but simply to survive. 

There was no higher purpose but to establish his own freedom, not out of malice or some type of grudge but a simple necessity, and it is sometimes the bare necessities that create the greatest of men and women.

So I called out to him, and he answered, and now we are here fighting against one another with his will and skills against my own, and I am pleasantly surprised at his adaptability. With each passing second, he grows with this fight. Those strange techniques of his were almost able to give me pause, but my experience beats out his raw power and skills.

As he attempted to go for another thrust, I parried the strike, and flipping the spear, I managed to send him flying over me. Due to the momentum, he was forced to plant his spear into the ground to avoid exiting the arena and losing the fight. We had been fighting for an entire day, and he showed rarely a sign of being tired but, in fact, was almost enjoying this.

I definitely should ask if he is a masochist or closet one, as one should not be smiling like that after being struck over and over again. But to each their own. I have met a variety of people over my years, with some even being a bit Stranger Than This child, and as he lands, he immediately teleports behind me. I noticed a small scripture on my spear when he grabbed it before and he slashed with the force of a mountain behind him.

The slash was able to land, and I felt a small cut form on my side. As I felt the spot and saw the blood drawn, the small fire that formed during this time was growing with each passing second. 

While I was somewhat trying, I now began to take this seriously, and it showed as the boy was unable to react. I slammed my fist into his stomach and flew into the air, and jumping into it, I began to hit him over and over again, yet he would not go down.

After slamming him into the ground, I went to stab him through the back, but he rolled out of the way and got back up with the bruises beginning to heal at a rapid pace. But I noticed he was disoriented and rushing him. I went to slash at his stomach, but he simply dodged similarly to myself. 

A smile then formed on his face as he said, "I am beginning to see. Show me more, teacher."

"I am not your teacher yet, brat," I say to him, to which he chuckles as he parries my next strike, and the fight continues with his combat abilities growing with each slash and swipe and subsequent block and parry. His power and strength began to rise, and while it was slow, it was there.

I did not even notice when I began to enjoy the fight.

After he parried my strike, he tried to slash at my side, to which I blocked the strike, and, carrying the force of the blow, I slammed my spear into his gut, causing him to skid backward, to which he stopped himself at the edge of the arena. The exhaustion was clear in his eyes as while his body would heal, he still had limits.

His stamina was not infinite.

The shaking of his body showed the pain he was in, as it seemed his regeneration was not painless. Yet he still kept fighting even though he was slower. His power remained as that coating he could do with his mana and what seemed like his spirit was a force to be reckoned with. The light in his eyes refused to go out even after I broke his bones and liquefied his organs.

I could see him reacting to the pain as each breath probably felt like inhaling liquid fire, and after rushing me, we clashed once more. The smile on my face never wavering.

(Cao Cao POV)

"EVERYTHING IS PAIN!" I yelled mentally as she slammed me onto the ground for the nth time. It felt like I had been run over by truck-kun repeatedly. But I did not fall unconscious even as my muscles screamed at me to simply fall over and rest, yet as I stared past Scathach, I saw something that seemed not too dissimilar to a mirage.

I saw a woman with blond hair and striking emerald eyes and holding the Spear of Longinus in her right hand and another Spear in the other. And while her expression was blank, I felt her support for me, and as soon as I saw her face, she vanished as if she was never there.

Rising from the ground albeit shakily, I grasped my spear, focused my mana, and simply let out a thrust attack as I rushed forward; the speed and power made the witch's expression seem surprised for a moment before the strike landed, and she was launched backward. The strike left a large bruise on her stomach, which seemed to leave her almost shocked for a mere moment.

Carrying the momentum from the powerful thrusting strike, the resulting force left a large, chasm-wide hole behind her.

Breathing heavily due to the strain, I was able to butter. "I managed to hit you. That counts for something, right?" My comment made her stare off into the distance as if recalling some distant memory. She then readied her spear with the red energy flowing off the spear in waves as the ground began to shake, and she jumped into the air.

"Stab And Penetrate! Gae Bulg!" The spear then blitzed towards me, and I saw red and felt indescribable pain.

The spear landed in my chest, and I felt the energy enter my body as my regen refused to work and as I coughed up blood again, I saw that same woman with the green eyes, yet she was right in front of me, and as I was lying on the ground she kneeled down and placed a hand on my chest, but I stopped her.

I pulled the spear from my chest, and as my vision began to fade, I rushed forward with all my remaining strength, grabbed her by the stomach, pushed her, and then fell unconscious, unsure if I would ever wake up again. And as I woke up, I saw that I was inside the spear of Longinus with Cato and Celestine looking at me with concern.

"I lost, didn't I?" I said with a rhetorical tone, to which Cato placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "Not yet, Cao Cao." He then showed me a small view outside the realm as Scathach looked at my body, and I saw that I was still breathing, which shocked her. After a minute, she grabbed my body and began to run through the land of shadows, and after that, the view was cut off.

Cato smiled at me, and Celestine shook in excitement. Celestine shouted out, "Did you see that, Cao?! She shouted out her attack and look how amazing it was!"

My expression then proceeded to become flat as I said to her, "Celestine, she stabbed me through the heart, and that's what you have to say?" The woman, with no shame, nodded as Cato sighed in exhaustion.

But after seeing that, I asked, "Hey, did you two happen to see a woman with blonde hair and green eyes during the fight?" The question made Cato stop in his tracks, and Celestine almost began to cry.

"Cao Cao, did you see her!?" Celestine asked as she grabbed me by the shoulders. As I nodded, she turned away in almost disbelief.

Cato looked almost afraid as he walked away into the depths of the spear space. Celestine seemed to just shut down as I pondered who I saw during the fight.