Chapter 13

Gareth seemed to have gone insane. He let out a really loud roar that seemed to shake up the air. His flashing red eyes sent chills down their spines.

"The king awaketh" Bo said, activating his heat. As flames wrapped around his last blade_ his entire vision turned upside down. With a loud bang, he was sent flying.

Gareth scanned for his next target, with precision he struck Theo's knee, lightly jabbed his neck with the back of one hand, and smashed his gut with the other, sending him flying.

"Let's get serious." Gareth said.

Jakob and Adnan attacked, their armor like in a video game boosted their stats. Gareth didn't flinch though, and like in all the video games he has played, you have to remain calm.

Like hell!

"Ahhhhhhhh!!" as Gareth screamed his lungs out, four giant hands of blood stretched out of his back smashing down. The paladins seeing this thought he would slow down due to their size.

Clank! a bullet ricocheted off of his head piece. He looked over and saw Arthur standing on a beam, Arthur reloaded his rifle, Bang!! he was flying away from his location, slamming into some nearby wooden cargo.

He was fast as hell.

Jakob retaliated first, his armor glowed a little and he flash stepped behind Gareth. One of his hands swatted him away. Adnan teleported directly to his side slashing his neck, but his blade was blocked, and he was knocked away by Gareth's aura.

The earth started to rumble, Gareth looked down and saw his legs where lodged into the ground. Wade slammed his two axes on him, hoping he would slice his shoulders off.

Gareth caught the blade, but he was still a bit weak, and the monster of a man was really strong. Readying himself, his armor began to glow as well, a certain heat coming from it. Wade knew exactly what was going to happen, and tried to pull away.

"Too late for that big boy." Gareth's voice which was a bit distorted by his armor declared. Wade's axes wouldn't budge. He was trying to pull away, but he couldn't.

A sudden red flash, spread across a hundred meter radius. Decimating everything within its range, like some sort of nuke.

Gareth stood alone, with Wade's axes in his hands, each blade badly damaged.

"Pathetic!" was all Gareth could say. The mightiest of all the human knights, felled so easily.

He was about to turn an leave, when he saw someone else standing in the distance. A paladin.

He had long black hair that swayed in the light breeze, his armor was peculiar, it looked to be middle eastern. It was mainly made up of a chest piece and leg armor, it had no sleeves.

His body a wreck, probably from the explosion, he was bleeding from certain parts of his body, but he kept standing, even amidst the obvious damage he had taken.

His eyes were emotionless and blank, he held his scimitars by his side as he seemed to mutter something, a mantra "Al-far**** yas******bu li'i*******", it sounded Arabic, but even with his sharp hearing, Gareth couldn't tell what he said.

In the eerie silence of the docks, Gareth and Adnan faced each other, their breath visible in the cold air. The crescent moon barely illuminated the scene, casting faint shadows on the water. Gareth, with his blood-formed arms extending like monstrous wings from his back, and Adnan, gripping his scimitar, knew this was a battle of otherworldly forces.

Adnan began the battle, lunging forward with his scimitar, creating rifts in space with each strike. But Gareth's blood armor was like an impenetrable fortress. The scimitar clashed against the crimson gauntlets, sparks flying as space and blood collided.

Adnan chanted his Arabic mantra with each swing, "Al-faragh yastajeebu li'iradati", which meant "Space obeys my will." The mantra was both his strength and his curse. His power over space allowed him to teleport and manipulate the battlefield, but it came at a price - a slow erosion of his sanity.

Gareth, relentless, unleashed a blood energy blast from his gauntlets, a crimson beam of destructive power that tore through the air. Adnan swiftly created a spatial rift, and the energy blast passed harmlessly through it, dissipating into the void. But Adnan's eyes flickered, a sign that his mind was paying the toll for his spatial manipulation.

But Adnan could feel the strain on his mind. The relentless manipulation of space was slowly eroding his cognitive abilities. Desperation gripped him as he chanted the Arabic mantra with increasing fervor, a plea to maintain his sanity amidst the chaos.

Gareth, sensing Adnan's vulnerability, intensified his assault. With a triumphant roar, he summoned his blood aura into a swirling storm of crimson energy. Adnan found himself engulfed in the malevolent embrace of the aura, struggling to maintain his spatial defenses.

Adnan fought back with all the strength he could muster. He created small spatial rifts to deflect Gareth's onslaught, but it was clear that he was on the brink of exhaustion. His mind, pushed to its limits, fought to maintain control.

He swatted away Adnan's attacks and unleashed a barrage of punches, each strike like a battering ram. Adnan was forced to use his spatial abilities more frequently, teleporting to avoid Gareth's devastating blows.

Adnan's Arabic mantra grew louder as he desperately tried to maintain control, But his mantra was now a plea, a battle cry against the encroaching darkness in his mind.

Gareth, his blood arms retracting, approached Adnan. He knew the battle was won, but he also saw the cost Adnan had paid for his power. Adnan lay on the ground, muttering his mantra weakly, his mind slipping further into the abyss.

Gareth stood victorious, gasping for breath. The crimson aura slowly dissipated, and the blood arms retracted. The docks fell into a profound silence, save for the gentle lapping of the river against the pilings. He had emerged as the dominant force in this battle of extraordinary warriors, but in his eyes, there remained a grudging respect for Adnan, who had fought valiantly, to the very end.

A certain sound caught him off guard, the sound of pained grunting. He turned around to see Adnan standing up again, this time without weapons. He was gonna fight bare fisted. His mind was a mess and his body was even worse. Not a good condition for combat, but in truth, Gareth was in the exact same position too.

Gareth honored his silent request and got ready in stance, Adnan did the same. They stood there in awkward silence, both sizing each other up.

Then they both snapped at the same time

Without missing a beat, Adnan lunged forward, aiming a powerful kick at Gareth's midsection. Gareth, with his impressive agility, sidestepped the attack gracefully, avoiding Adnan's strike. In a swift, fluid motion, Gareth countered with a lightning-fast jab to Adnan's chest, making the air in his lungs escape in a gasp.

Adnan staggered back slightly but quickly regained his composure. He attempted a roundhouse kick, but Gareth anticipated the move, ducking under Adnan's leg and delivering a powerful uppercut to Adnan's chin. The force of the blow sent Adnan reeling backward, his balance disrupted.

Gareth capitalized on the opening, launching a flurry of precise and devastating punches and strikes at Adnan. His fists were like a whirlwind of destruction, and Adnan struggled to defend himself against Gareth's relentless hand-to-hand assault.

Despite his best efforts, Adnan found himself on the defensive, struggling to keep up with Gareth's exceptional skills in close combat. Gareth's movements were a mesmerizing blend of grace and raw power, and he was relentless in his pursuit of victory.

In a final, decisive move, Gareth landed a crushing blow to Adnan's abdomen, leaving him breathless and doubled over in pain. Gareth didn't hesitate. With a powerful roundhouse kick of his own, he sent Adnan sprawling to the ground, incapacitated and unable to continue the fight.

As the moonlight bathed the docks in an eerie glow, Gareth looked down at the defeated Adnan with a mix of exhaustion and triumph. It was a moment that showcased his indomitable spirit and extraordinary martial skills, a testament to the power of a warrior who had faced formidable odds and emerged as the victor.

'He's down for sure this time right?' Gareth thought. He stood there for a good five minutes just to make sure before he started to walk away.

Gareth had most likely reached his limit physically. Another painful grunt was heard. "Oh come on, do I really have to kill yo_" as he turned around, he saw his new competitor, he had no armor and was standing like he could topple over at any second.

It was Theo.

Gareth could just walk away, but something made him stay. As he flashed his eyes red again at him, Gareth started to smile. His long fangs, which Theo could count were four was flashing menacingly at him.

"Hehe, this is gonna be fun young lad" Gareth said, taking another feral stance.