Chapter 62 – The Irony in Ivory I

“You bested my beasts…” Prince Enthril paused, narrowing his gaze and leaning forward with a predatory intensity. “…Now, let’s see how you fare against me,” he murmured, his voice dripping with cold arrogance and menace.

In one swift movement, he brought his sword forward, gripping it with both hands. With a subtle shift, the weapon split down the middle, forming two long, curved blades, each glinting with a deadly light. Prince Enthril adjusted his stance, taking a low, balanced position with the swords extended to his sides. His posture radiated both elegance and lethal intent, a clear display of the precision and mastery of a seasoned warrior.

“Let’s continue our dance, shall we?” he taunted, his voice a venomous whisper that carried across the battlefield.

Shawn’s eyes dropped to the prince’s weapon—a massive broadsword carved with intricate patterns that pulsed faintly with an ominous light. The blade was unusual, with an elevated tip flaring outward, resembling the shape of tusks. Prince Enthril lifted it effortlessly, despite the weapon’s size and the power it radiated.

Shawn set his jaw, focusing intently on Prince Enthril as he adjusted his grip on his own sword. The air between them grew heavy with tension, their stances mirroring the quiet before a storm. Then, in a flash, both surged forward.

Their weapons collided with a deafening clash, sparks flying as steel met steel. The force of each blow sent shockwaves rippling across the arena, displacing sand in violent waves. The shockwaves reached Selena, forcing her to retreat, finding cover behind one of the fallen elephants.

Prince Enthril’s movements were both swift and brutal, his twin blades flashing with deadly precision as he struck from both sides. Shawn was forced to dodge and parry, his single longsword struggling against the relentless onslaught. Each clash jolted through his arms as the prince’s blows grew sharper, faster, and heavier.

Selena watched from a distance, biting her lip in frustration. Her spear remained embedded in the wall far from her, leaving her defenceless. Every strike from Prince Enthril made her heart race, but there was nothing she could do. She could only watch as Shawn endured the prince’s relentless barrage.

Prince Enthril’s strikes were relentless, each swing powered by sheer force and skill. Shawn found himself being pushed back, each impact sending shudders through his weapon. But even as he struggled, his power began to react. The strength and experience of his ancestors poured into him, awakening agility and strength that allowed him to match Prince Enthril’s increasingly lethal attacks.

As their weapons met again in a fierce clash, Shawn felt a shudder run through his blade. His eyes widened in alarm as a crack appeared along the surface of his sword. The prince’s gaze flicked to the damage, a cruel smirk curling his lips. Wasting no time, Prince Enthril intensified his assault, raining heavy blows upon Shawn’s weakening weapon, each strike widening the crack.

Shawn’s mind raced as he parried each devastating strike. ‘What now?’ he thought. ‘Should I retreat, de-summon this sword, and summon a new one?  No… none of it matters if I stay defensive like this.’ His thoughts were cut short as Prince Enthril, sensing his hesitation, pressed forward with even greater aggression.

Without hesitation, the prince spun on his heel, swinging both of his curved swords in a simultaneous, lethal arc aimed at Shawn’s side. Shawn reacted instantly, bringing his blade to his side to block. The impact of the clash was immense, forcing Shawn to slide backwards across the sand, his feet digging deep furrows as he struggled to maintain his footing.

The moment Shawn came to a stop, his eyes snapped to Prince Enthril, whose manic laughter echoed through the arena. The prince’s unhinged cackle sent chills down Shawn’s spine, and he instinctively glanced skyward. It was all the opening the prince needed.

With a burst of speed, Prince Enthril launched himself high into the air, his twin blades glinting in the light as he prepared a devastating overhead strike. Shawn’s instincts took over, and he braced himself, raising his sword horizontally above his head with both hands to block.

The collision was catastrophic. Prince Enthril’s dual swords crashed down with earth-shaking force, sending a shockwave rippling across the arena, obliterating several of the outer pillars. The air itself seemed to vibrate as the destructive impact reverberated through the entire rock. Cracks formed across the massive floating rock and sent a cascade of minor rock debris from the bottom, which crashed into the ocean.

Selena, crouched behind the fallen elephant, was pushed back several feet along with the massive carcass, her fingers gripping the rough hide to steady herself.

Shawn bore the brunt of the attack, the force driving him to one knee. His arms trembled under the weight of Prince Enthril’s strike, and his teeth clenched as he felt the crack in his sword deepen, the weapon threatening to give way entirely. Yet, as he struggled to hold his ground while Prince Enthril still plunged his swords against Shawn’s sword, a strange sensation began to stir within him.

A dark blue smoke emerged from his hand, coiling around the hilt of his sword and creeping along the length of the blade. The energy pulsing through the weapon felt almost familiar, resonating deep within Shawn as if it were an extension of his very soul.

As Prince Enthril continued to press down, the dark blue smoke engulfed Shawn’s cracked sword. The weapon began to shift and morph, its broken edges smoothing and reshaping within the swirling haze. The sword elongated, its form slender and elegant, transforming into a gleaming glaive.

The weapon’s polished surface reflected the flickering light of the arena, its design unmistakably akin to that of Prince Aerion’s weapon. The glaive fit perfectly in Shawn’s grip, as though it had always been destined for him.

Prince Enthril froze, his eyes widening in shock as he watched the broken blade in Shawn’s hand transform into a familiar, gleaming glaive. His confident smirk vanished, replaced by a flicker of disbelief. He took a cautious step back, his composure cracking along with his swords.

“That glaive…” he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief and growing unease.

His gaze locked onto the weapon in Shawn’s hands, suspicion clouding his expression. The flicker of shock hardened into a dangerous glare. “That glaive…” he repeated, this time with a low, venomous growl. “How did you come to possess it?”

The tension in the air thickened, and Prince Enthril’s face twisted from unsettling amusement into pure, unbridled rage. His voice, sharp and trembling with fury, echoed through the arena. “What did you do to my brother?”

With a guttural snarl, Prince Enthril lunged forward, his twin blades slicing through the air in wild, furious arcs. Shawn barely had time to react before the storm of steel descended upon him. The prince’s strikes came with terrifying speed, each blow heavier and faster than the last. Shawn found himself pushed onto the defensive, his body straining under the weight of the prince’s relentless onslaught.

Teeth clenched, Shawn parried and dodged as best he could, the glaive’s longer reach offering him some advantage. But every counter-attack he attempted was met with Prince Enthril’s unmatched speed and brutality. The prince’s movements were chaotic yet precise, a tempest of fury that left no openings. Each flash of steel came closer, the force of the prince’s strikes reverberating through Shawn’s arms and shaking his grip on the glaive.

The arena became a chaotic blur of sound and motion. Dust rose in waves from the sand pit, clouding the battlefield in a choking haze. Selena, still crouched behind the fallen elephant, squinted through the haze, straining to follow the battle. Only the flashes of light from each violent clash pierced the swirling dust. Each metallic clang and shockwave of their strikes echoed across the arena, sending tremors through the ground.

Shawn’s frustration grew as he continued to deflect the prince’s ferocious attacks. His muscles burned with the effort, his mind racing to anticipate the prince’s next move. The glaive pulsed with energy in his hands, and he felt the power of his ancestors guiding him, his movements becoming sharper and faster. Yet Prince Enthril’s twin blades were a whirlwind, striking from every direction, their unrelenting force leaving Shawn struggling to maintain control.

Prince Enthril’s fighting style had transformed entirely. The sight of the glaive had awakened a murderous clarity, stripping away his usual composure and leaving only a psychotic intensity in its place. His strikes were no longer measured—they were driven by pure, unrelenting hatred. This fury magnified his rage, turning him into a lethal force, consumed by a single, burning question: What had happened to his brother?