LVIII. The King Of Bones

"Are you really sure what you're doing?" said Magni to Hjalmar.

Hjalmar, who was facing on the other side, turned his head slightly towards Magni.

"I've killed enemies stronger than you in the past, I feel fear flowing through your veins" he said.

At that moment, Dag looked at Hjalmar better.

The No.10 emblem was hanging from his belt.

In the confusion, he had failed to speak to his Master about it.

He couldn't just run away. He needed that emblem, which would reopen to him the doors of society, allowing him to rise the rank among Skjold's strongest warriors.

Hjalmar, still behind, took off his black leather jacket and fur on his shoulders, dropping them to the ground.

In addition to his arms, his entire back was covered with runes and numerous scars.

The King Of Bones turned to Magni.

Two warriors approached the giant, carrying a huge weapon: at one end, there was a double-bladed axe, at the other, a hammer.

The two men struggled to carry it. It seemed very heavy.

Hjalmar wielded it and lifted it as if it was a twig.

"I notice you also killed Myr, my shaman" he said, stroking the blade of the axe.

No one answered.

Dag turned to Myr's body. It was an unrecognizable mush of bones and organs.

Inside the pile of flesh was also his short sword, of which only the hilt remained.

The two arms detached from the shaman were still intact.

Everything floated over a huge pool of magenta blood.

Magni made a sign with his hand to Dag, telling him to step back.

"I feel sorry for the warriors around us" he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hjalmar.

"I'm sorry... because they will be soon without a leader" Magni concluded, challenging Hjalmar and pointing his hammer at him.

"Grrrrr! I'll tear you to pieces!" shouted the King.

Dag looked at them both.

Their levels were perfectly balanced, their auras red.

He had to do something to help Magni.

If he could get close to Myr's body, he could have drunk blood, boosting his abilities.

Around him, hundreds of guards watched him closely, checking his every move.

Magni sank to his knees, tilting his body forward.

Blue lightning bolts began to glitter around him.

After charging, he dashed towards Hjalmar, causing a shockwave behind him, which knocked the Renegade Warriors' front rows to the ground, even though they were far away.

The speed of the dash was impressive. Dag could not see his Master's body moving, only the electric wake he left behind him.

Magni struck Hjalmar, who parried the hammer with the large blade of the axe and turned the rod of his weapon, counterattacked Magni, hitting him with the hammer side in the stomach.

Magni spat blood.

Hjalmar rotated his weapon again, trying to hit Magni for the second time, but he dodged the blow and hit Hjalmar in the face with an elbow.

Hjalmar turned his head slightly after the hit.

Magni's shot barely hurt him.

He took a few steps back.

Around them, the crowd of warriors began to agitate, shouting the name of their King, encouraging him.

"Hjalmar! Hjalmar!"

Everyone was screaming, raising their weapons.

Hjalmar stepped forward and stomped his foot on the ground: after the impact, a huge boulder came off the ground. With the hammer's head, the King Of Bones hit the rock, throwing it towards his opponent.

After a flight of several meters, the rock landed on Magni's head, who pointed the hammer at it, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

As soon as the huge boulder was destroyed, from above it, Hjalmar jumped towards Magni, trying to take him by surprise.

Magni dodged the blow.

Landing on the ground and slamming his axe, Hjalmar caused a powerful earthquake-like tremor.

With his other hand, he tried to punch Magni, but he deflected the blow with the hammer, turning it around Hjalmar's wrist.

With a quick gesture, Magni fractured it, tilting the hammer downwards and soon after, he struck Hjalmar with a direct punch, loaded with electricity.

The King Of Bones flew away, slamming back to the ground.

A sudden silence fell in the crowd.

Hjalmar remained on the ground without moving.

The warriors around him kept looking at him intently, trying to figure out if the fight was already over.

Hjalmar put his hand on the ground and got up.

His wrist was fractured and it protruded out of his arm: his hand was hanging out of control and blood dripped to the ground.

On impact, Hjalmar lost his axe.

Magni leaped towards him, holding the hammer upwards, which again charged itself with electricity.

Dag had seen that skill before: it was Lightning Strike.

Hjalmar stood still as if he had lost hope.

When Magni was about to hit him, Hjalmar raised his right arm toward Magni, the one with a broken wrist.

His right ulna suddenly stretched, becoming a real spear, so long that he pierced Magni before he could hit him.

"No!" shouted Dag, squinting.

All the warriors around them remained silent, astonished.

Magni was suspended in mid-air, impaled by Hjalmar's bone that pierced him from one side of his stomach to the other.

The veins on his neck were swollen: he could not breathe and felt immense pain.

"Haha... aha.. ah"

Hjalmar began to giggle, coughing blood.

"Have you ever wondered why they call me The King Of Bones?!" he said, looking up at Magni.

With his right hand, Magni was still clutching his hammer, the energy of which was beginning to fade.

Hjalmar grabbed Magni by the throat with his other hand.

As Magni tried to speak, Hjalmar grabbed him by the throat and forcibly pierced him further, impaling him.

Magni's hammer fell to the ground.

"Noooo! Master!" shouted Dag.

Magni slowly moved his hand, shaking Hjalmar's bone.

"The King Of B....Bones.," he said, coughing with an expression of pain on his face.

"And... do you know... why I'm called the Iron S…Spark?" he continued, slowly raising his head towards him.

Hjalmar tilted his head, trying to figure out what he was talking about.