Risks.

Finally rejuvenated, Veritas continuously clashed with the hasty Gargoyle Knight.

His brawn added with his speed, equally matched the formidable attributes of the abomination.

Swords clashed upon swords, sparks flamed out, and the constant bickering of the light caused the spectacle of the two figures to be quite the amazing sight.

3 months of planning and training. 3 months of grueling headaches. And 3 months of solitary.

This was the final battle where Veritas stood his ground and aimed to win!

"Rah!"

Veritas struck a heavy blow to the Gargoyle Knight's arm, causing multitudes of cracks to appear!

The Gargoyle Knight however, stabbed Veritas deep in the knee, causing to scream in pain.

Seeing as the battle wasn't going to end soon, Veritas continued to go all-out against the taciturn knight.

His potion reserves were already halfway depleted but it was not a great concern to him.

Every second that passed, Veritas adjusted and studied the movements of the Gargoyle Knight.

He was getting used to its impeccable speed and began to counter its hasty attacks!

With every strike that collided, Veritas felt the Gargoyle Knight tremble in pain. There were cracks that could be seen all over its body, stretching from its shoulders down to its knees.

Anticipating an attack due to a shift of air in front of him, Veritas ducked quickly and formed a heavy strike towards the Gargoyle Knight's knee.

It did not have any time to react, and it fell down due to the staggering hit that Veritas dealt.

Hoping to connect his strike, Veritas struck diagonally towards the Gargoyle Knight.

However! It was blocked by the kneeling Knight, guarding and leading it to the side. 

Veritas tightly gripped the handle of his heavy greatsword.

Seeing the opportunity, Veritas retreated.

He carefully glanced at the Gargoyle Knight's direction, who was weakened by his heavy strikes.

It kneeled in the ground, holding the dull blade vigilantly. Cracks were prevalent on its body, yet the stone carapace of the abomination still dimmed tenebrously as ever. The attacks brought on by Veritas were significant and the Gargoyle Knight was showing signs of damage.

It could not be ignored that the Gargoyle Knight had also dealt great amounts of damage to Veritas. It's just... he had been healing all the time, causing the fatal wounds to be patched up in an instant.

But.. in due time, the fatigue of using a number of potions was soon going to catch up to Veritas.

This was his most worrisome thought, so he decided to end the battle very quickly.

Either the Gargoyle Knight would succumb to its wounds first.. or Veritas would be stricken by a heavy fatigue, rendering him incapable of moving.

So.. the two clashed once more.

On one side, a tenebrous and heavy greatsword struck. And on the other.. a silvery-gray dull blade attacked.

They are both equal in their own terms. 

One was a bearer of immense strength and strategy, while the other possessed great speeds and brute force.

With both of their own uniqueness in swordplay, Veritas and the Gargoyle Knight exchanged blows upon blows, lasting for many minutes.

In a second, one could see flashes of blades and sparks appear in the solemn darkness of the night.

Within each strike, the light flickered.

Within each flickering, sparks of blades clashed upon one another

Within each radiance, a carefully crafted dance was prevalent.

And within each dance, multitudes of cuts and strikes flashed.

Seeming as if a never-ending battle within the two.

Veritas saw a swift blow coming towards him which he carefully blocked with the hilt of the greatsword. He spun the dull sword around and spun back to strike!

With each strike, Veritas vanished like the winds, he flowed into the air as if he were the breeze and the storm at the same time.

"Stoneshitface!"

He gritted his teeth and sent out a devastating strike towards the Gargoyle Knight's head, ignoring the incoming strike to his abdomen.

"Argh!"

He steeled the swift slash and stayed resolute in connecting his strike.

Blood spurted out of the slashed wound but Veritas didn't mind it at all! He connected his blade and struck down the monolithic head of the Gargoyle Knight!

With a scream, he pushed down the taciturn greatsword into the Gargoyle Knight's cranium.

It shattered and cracked, leaving the Gargoyle Knight stunned and unmoving. 

He succeeded!

However!

There was a gaping hole in his abdomen, caused by the dull blade!

'F-fuck!'

Veritas cried out in pain, but ultimately retreated once more.

The two stood in front of each other within a considerable distance.

One, had a bashed head. And the other had a hole inside their middle.

Veritas had the advantage though, easily using a high-leveled potion to heal!

Instantly feeling rejuvenated, Veritas felt a deep feeling of relief inside of him.

'I need to end this..'

He carried the taciturn greatsword and headed towards the Gargoyle Knight.

It was kneeling in the ground, unmoving and statue-like.

Veritas raised his greatsword to send a final blow and struck down like a thunderstorm.

When suddenly! The Gargoyle Knight moved its dull blade and was met with the taciturn greatsword!

Both blades shattered and broke! Pieces of metal and stone rained down on the flickering surroundings and all that was left of the two was the handle and broken hilt of the once great blades.

'It could still move?!'

The Gargoyle Knight dismissed its sword and sent a heavy uppercut towards Veritas!

Veritas felt dazed due to the impact, yet the adrenaline pumping in his veins kept him awake!

He screamed in rage!

Veritas punched back in response, he dealt a blow of flesh and bones towards the Gargoyle Knight.

It's body was already cracked and his fists seem to be doing significant damage!

The Gargoyle Knight struck back with a right jab, Veritas also with a right jab. The two hit each other in the cheek and core, respectively. 

Each blow dealt by one another caused pieces of stone and droplets of blood to pour down on the ground.

Veritas' fists were bruised and bloodied!

The Gargoyle Knight's fists were cracked and shattered!

However, both of them continued, staying ever-so vigilant to stand until the end.

This continued for a couple of minutes

Blows upon blows dealt by the two formidable figures, the ground was filled with rocky debris and was red due to the blood.

Suddenly.. the Gargoyle Knight faltered! This caused Veritas to land a heavy blow towards the Gargoyle Knight.

"This is the end!!"

However... Veritas' heavy blow never reached the Gargoyle Knight.

He was struck by a sudden feeling of pain and fatigue.

'The potions!'

Finally, the constant usage of potions caught up to him. It occurred at an important time too! Veritas was only one step away from winning..

It was as if Fate itself was against him.

The Gargoyle Knight used this opportunity to send a heavy kick towards Veritas.

He flew back and was only stopped by a sturdy tree.

The impact that Veritas experienced caused his vision to blacken.

'I am! I- I!'

He could not think properly, he felt dazed, and the fatigue only caused this feeling to worsen.

'It's coming...'

The Gargoyle Knight walked slowly towards Veritas, steadily heading over with an imposing figure.

'I'm out of options. My body won't move, and my mind won't think properly..

It was only a few meters away.

'I...'

Veritas' eyes widened for a second. He then reached for one of the pouches.

However! A looming cracked stone fist seemed to get larger in front of him.

It was too late though! Veritas had already brought out a disc with a hollow hole in the middle and folded it!

A large metal tent of considerable size covered the both of them. 

This peculiarity caused the Gargoyle Knight to stop for a second, it was clearly perplexed by the sudden situation!

It did not know whether to defend or attack as it determined this occurrence to be a danger to its well-being.

However, the Gargoyle Knight was brought back by a sound of multitudes of glass shattering and a casual pulling of a pin.

It looked directly at the Prince.

Veritas smiled widely with a crazed look on his face.

"We die together, stonefaced bastard!"

On one hand, he held a pouch that seeped red liquid atop of him, showering him endlessly.

On the other hand, Veritas held a pear shaped ball with many ridges on its side.

"AHAHAHHAHA!"

Veritas laughed hysterically at this risk!

Nothing felt more exhilarating than gambling when the chances are the lowest!

Without even a fraction of a second to react, the Gargoyle Knight saw the pear-shaped ball being thrown over to it.

It immediately responded with a quick jab to destroy the thing but it was already too late!

*BAM!*

Radiant orange light enveloped the darkness of the metal tent. It housed the entire explosion, but could not handle it all. It seeped out of the metal tent, causing the outside to be devastated in its ruin too!

The Gargoyle Knight's body was shattered and broken. Its hands flew off, its torso disintegrated, and its entire physical body was destroyed!

As for the Prince, he was in a constant state of regeneration and destruction.

One moment, his body was broken down and bled out, and in another moment, his body regenerated back to its full-glory.

The explosion lit up the bright sky of the lonely forest, causing the winds to scream out in unison.

It only lasted for a moment, but such destruction that lied in its wake could not be destroyed as a mere means that was caused by a single battle between two formidable individuals. 

If not for Veritas' containment of the explosion, the whole forest might've been devastated.

After a while, Veritas was bruised up and cut due to the flying debris caused by the explosion.

He breathed heavily and grinned while looking at the night sky.

He slowly laughed, constantly turning into a joyful yet crazy laughter.

"It actually worked!"

He laughed so much that he wheezed.

However.. that laugh soon came to a halt, Veritas felt a deep pain inside of him.

The fatigue, exhaustion, and other things, caused Veritas to fade out.

His vision was turning black and he saw the gleaming stars of the night sky vanish.

But... that wasn't the last thing that Veritas saw.

In the corner of his eyes, an old-man with long-silvery hair gazed at him.. or rather, his soul.

The man was wearing tattered and disheveled clothes, and on top of his head was a remnant of a jeweled crown.

His obsidian-black eyes glowed in the darkness of the night, challenging the starlight above him.

"Fall into a deep slumber.. Dear Prince."