Chapter 63 – The Irony in Ivory II

Each step Prince Enthril took pushed Shawn further back. The ground trembled beneath their feet, the dust around them swirling into a suffocating cloud. Every swing of the prince’s blades felt more brutal, more precise, as if each strike carried the weight of his fury. Shawn held on, but the prince’s relentless assault pressed closer, his overwhelming power threatening to break through even Shawn’s inherited strength.

Prince Enthril’s gaze remained locked on Shawn, cold and unyielding. His strikes came relentlessly, the twin blades in his hands weaving a deadly wall of steel that closed in tighter with every move. Each swing carried an unyielding surge of power, and when the prince unleashed a slashing wave of energy across the arena, which Shawn dodged to his best, the ground itself trembled in response. The ground beneath them split open in jagged lines, the force sending sand rippling outward. Shawn struggled to maintain his footing, feeling the unstable ground shift treacherously beneath his feet.

Sensing Shawn’s precarious position, Prince Enthril pressed harder, his fury now tempered into a controlled, calculating rage. Every move was precise, every strike deliberate, his relentless focus unbroken. His intent was clear—he sought answers, and his growing conviction pointed to a singular, horrifying conclusion:

‘What happened to my brother?’

The glaive in Shawn’s hands, a weapon Prince Enthril recognised intimately, gnawed at his mind. ‘My brother would only reveal that weapon if he meant to kill someone. And if that glaive now rests in this outsider’s hands, it can mean only one thing—my brother is dead. And this intruder… this intruder killed him..

The thought was like fuel to a wildfire. Prince Enthril’s strikes grew heavier, each one radiating raw power and emotion. His movements gained a furious momentum that shook the arena.

Then, with a wicked smirk, Prince Enthril raised his twin blades high and swept them through the air. The motion manipulated the sand around them, whipping it into a dense, swirling storm that cloaked him from sight. The air grew thick, suffocating, and visibility dropped to nothing. Shawn’s eyes darted through the haze, but Prince Enthril’s presence was only a shadow in the storm. And then he struck. Twin slashes erupted from the veil of sand, their glowing arcs cutting through the storm with lethal precision, converging on Shawn from either side. Instinct surged through Shawn, his body moving on its own as the inherited clarity of his ancestors flared to life.

The glaive in Shawn’s hands pulsed with a deep, resonant blue smoke. The energy felt alive, responding to incoming danger. The weapon shifted in his grasp, splitting and reforming. The long glaive transformed, reshaping itself into dual swords.

The new twin blades were elegant yet deadly, their thin, sharp edges extending just to the length of his arms. Their hilts were perpendicular to the blades, designed for fluid motion and versatility. Crossing the swords defensively on either side, Shawn felt his confidence surge.

With both swords raised in a cross-block, Shawn deflected Prince Enthril’s incoming strike with a powerful clang. The impact radiated outward, sending a gust of sand scattering across the arena. For the first time in the fight, Shawn felt a surge of offensive advantage. He met Prince Enthril’s dual blades with his own dual blades, each one now tailored to his grip and swift in his hands.

Prince Enthril’s expression shifted, his fury now tempered with a glint of challenge. His gaze lingered on Shawn’s new weapons, an eyebrow lifting as he took in the sight. A dark laugh escaped him as he tilted his head, his voice dripping with cruel amusement. “So you do have a few tricks up your sleeve.” He smirked, a crazed gleam flashing in his eyes. “Let’s see if they can keep you alive.”

Shawn, wielding his dual swords, shifted seamlessly from defence to offence. His strikes transformed into graceful, focused arcs of pure energy. Each slash carved through the air with deadly precision. He spun the swords, extending them offensively, then retracted them to defensive stances with fluid ease, forcing Prince Enthril onto the defensive for the first time in the duel.

Prince Enthril’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of frustration crossing his face as he struggled to keep up with Shawn’s relentless attacks. Shawn’s dual-blade style was overwhelming, each strike pushing the prince back.

The arena echoed with the harsh clash of metal. Each impact resonated with raw power, sending tremors through the ground. Both fighters were thrown back with each strike, only to charge back in, neither willing to concede an inch. Shawn’s attacks flowed with a relentless rhythm, a dance of precision and force that left Enthril visibly strained.

In a desperate move, Prince Enthril leapt back, summoning his strength to unleash a powerful slash wave with his twin swords. The wave tore through the ground in a jagged line, racing toward Shawn like a feral beast. Shawn met it head-on, sending his own counter wave that clashed violently with Prince Enthril’s. The force of their combined power erupted in a shockwave that sent them both flying backwards.

Shawn was hurtling through the air when Selena rushed to leap in, catching him mid-flight. They crashed to the ground together, tumbling toward the edge of the arena. Finally, Selena fell out of the arena, and Shawn caught her hand at the edge with one hand while the other anchored them by plunging his sword into the ground. The storm of sand and energy blew past them, swirling out of the arena. The air stilled as Selena and Shawn climbed over the edge and onto the ground, each catching their breath.

They stood up and made their way to the centre of the arena, their eyes scanning for Prince Enthril.

To their astonishment, Prince Enthril was lodged against the far wall, his chest impaled by Selena’s spear, which had been embedded there earlier. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the spear’s tip as he coughed, Prince Enthril’s body trembling in an attempt to pull himself free. Both Shawn and Selena were momentarily stunned by the sight of Enthril in such a vulnerable state. For a fleeting moment, they thought it was over.

But then, the prince’s coughing ceased. He lifted his head, eyes dark and wild with rage.

With a low, guttural growl, he gripped the spear lodged in his chest, his muscles straining as he yanked the weapon out. A spray of blood filled the air as the spear came free, falling into the piles of rubble below. A cloud of dust billowed around him, and something unfathomable began to stir within the haze.

A hulking shadow rose from the dust, expanding and shifting. Its silhouette grew impossibly large until it stood towering, nearly seven feet tall. Shawn and Selena, eyes wide, tried to make sense of the looming figure. As they focused on the shadow, Selena’s spear shot through the dust, flying toward them and embedding itself in the ground just in front of them.

Both Shawn and Selena stared at the spear, and a voice broke through the tension, dragging their attention back to the dust.

“I think this belongs to you, princess.”