"What the hell is he saying?" (Max)
"I have no idea." (William)
"Maybe it's the language of the Imps." (Andreus)
"And what does it say?" (William)
"I don't speak Imps." (Andreus)
"Holy God, it doesn't matter what he's saying, who goes first?" (Max)
William's group of three exchanged glances, no one wanted to take on the little ones from the royal guard when the King was standing right in front of them.
You wouldn't do a job like this if you didn't enjoy a good fight against something unusual to find, there are many other ways to make money than accepting government contracts to eliminate dangerous beasts.
"Let's flip a coin." (William)
"Okay" (Max)
"You guys go ahead, I'll take care of that big guy" (Andreus)
Andreus left the duo behind and advanced towards the Royal Imp Guard, who looked bigger than the rest. His muscular arms pulled a double-edged axe from the wall.
"Hahahaha!!!" (Andreus)
"I understand you're so big that you're slow compared to your mates" (Andreus)
"Let's have a fight that gets our blood boiling!!!" (Andreus)
The Imp ran towards Andreus to make the first attack, jumping high into the sky and holding his axe with both hands, his goal to split the human in front of him in half.
"Clank!!!"
Andreus blocked the attack by crossing his arms in front of him. Sparks flew from the collision between the golden axe and Andreus' skin. The impact between the two shook the ground and cracked the slab.
"Heads or tails?" (William)
"Heads" (Max)
William threw the coin high into the air and caught it at just the right moment.
"Tails, deal with the little one and then we'll take turns with the big one" (William)
William could feel the coin trembling between his fingers. Max tried to flip the coin in the air before it touched William's hand.
"Have fun" (William)
"Tsk" (Max)
Max clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction and turned to look at her target. This Imp of the Royal Guard was tall and thin with skin as shiny as metal.
"Tink."
Max's first attack with her daggers bounced off after releasing sparks upon contact with his metallic skin.
"You're tough, let's see how much you can take." (Max)
Dozens of Max's daggers floated in the air and, with a flick of Max's fingers, began to spin at high speeds, now like tiny drills.
"Very well, it's just you and me now..." (William)
Before William could finish his words, the Imp King disappeared from his spot. In an instant, he was in front of William, both powerful arms extended from left to right, planning to crush William between them.
"Bankkk!!"
There was a small shockwave in the air. William only had to bend his knees, and Titan drew a horizontal line right in front of him.
A huge gash opened up in the Imp King's abdomen.
(They're very fast, a blow like that would tear me apart) (Max)
It was Max's honest thought as he witnessed the first exchange between the Imp King and William. They were so fast that it all happened in the blink of an eye.
Max ducked his head and dodged the Royal Guard's sharp claws, which left deep gashes in the stone pillars.
(Let's try to warm up your skin a little) (Max)
Max pushed the air with his arm and the Royal Imp Guard was shot from his place towards one of the huge bonfires burning on the ceiling.
"Gyyyyayaaa"
The Imp screamed in anger as the burning coals stuck to his skin under Max's control. He felt no pain from the heat, but it was uncomfortable to endure. It was humiliating that such a small creature could treat him this way.
"You thought something rude, didn't you?"
Max frowned, his daggers increased their rotation speed and headed for the Royal Guard. The first dagger to strike penetrated Imp's steel skin like butter, opening a new bloody hole in his arm.
Max began throwing his daggers one after another. The Royal Guard Imp ran and did his best to dodge them, but the projectiles spun through the air at strange angles and followed his movements with precision, filling his arms with holes one after another.
Every time he tried to get close to the girl, Max threw him backwards or threw him against the bonfires on the ceiling, his hot skin being easier to pierce.
The Royal Guard suddenly changed direction and his body crashed into a pillar on the ceiling, which creaked under the impact and began to fall.
"Ha, you're not so stupid after all." (Max)
The huge pillar descended towards Max, who raised both arms before being covered by a cloud of dust. The Imp of the Royal Guard ran towards Max, who was defenceless, lifting the huge pillar to avoid being crushed.
"It's my turn." (Imp)
The Imp shouted in his language, incomprehensible to Max, his sharp claws planning to disembowel Max.
"It's not enough." (Max)
Max lifted the enormous pillar with one hand while the other focused on the Royal Guard, who was frozen in place. He tried to resist, but blood spurted from his eyes as the pressure of Max's telekinetic force increased on his body.
"BOOM"
The enormous pillar shook the ground as Max threw it aside, sweat covering his face as well as dust covering his clothes.
"Now I'll make you a perfect sphere" (Max)
Max focused his attention on the Royal Guard Imp, placing both hands on his chest as if he were going to make a snowball.
Pieces of stone rose into the air and flew towards the Imp, increasing in number until they completely covered his body.
With an uncomfortable sound of breaking bones, the sphere decreased in size, the Imp's blood trapped inside seeping through the cracks. In the end, it was a perfect stone sphere.
"Sigh."
Max sat on the ground to catch his breath, the effort more than he wanted to admit.
"Screeeech!!!"
A powerful kick from the Imp King's hooves sent William reeling backwards. He rubbed the tip of Titan on the ground to stop himself from crashing into the stone wall, his thin Drake Scale Ade armour absorbing most of the energy.
The Imp King disappeared from his spot again with his incredible speed, this time for a surprise attack on Max, who looked exhausted.
Just as his sharp claws were about to tear Max's head from his shoulders, his movements stopped in mid-air, a mysterious force surrounding his body.
"I'm not that tired yet, you piece of shit."
"Gyyyyayaaa!"
The Imp King screamed in pain as William's spear pierced his left arm with a metallic snap and severed it completely, opening up in a cross shape inside him.
William had gained momentum and thrown Titan at the Imp King, who was a huge, stationary target.
"I've always wanted to do that!!!" (William)
William smiled with excitement. Throwing away your weapon in combat wasn't a very good idea, but with Andreus finishing off his opponent, he had time to recover his precious spear.
The Imp King's blue blood splattered towards Max, who hurriedly stopped it in mid-air. He didn't want to have to go home covered in Imp fluid all over his body.
The Imp King opened his mouth and gathered a spark of fire inside it. At that distance, he could incinerate the small human in front of him.
"Bommm"
Before he could gather enough strength, his body was thrown against the limestone wall.
A punch from Andreus at point-blank range had broken several of his ribs and made him spit blood from his mouth.
Andreus walked slowly towards the Imp King, who rose from the cloud of dust. Andreus' next blow was stopped by the Imp King's remaining arm.
"Spitting blood"
Andreus spat blood when he received the same kick from the Imp King that William had received, but without William's armour, it was a stupid idea. The shockwave broke at least one of his ribs.
(I wanted to take it like William did, but he's faster and stronger than I thought. Without Max's support, it will be difficult to hit him again) (Andreus)
Andreus hugged the Imp King's leg and, with a twist of his body, tried to throw him towards his stone throne.
The Imp King spread his long wings and stabilised his position in the air, before flying as high as he could, his long tail covered with bone spikes extending several times its original size.
"Pak" "Pak" "Pak" "Pak" "Pak" "Pak"
William, who had jumped high onto the wall and retrieved his spear, hid his body behind a destroyed pillar. Andreus retreated to Max's side as thousands of bone needles rained down on the area. They were sharp and strong enough to leave a mark on granite and anywhere else they hit.
"This looks very bad" (Max)
Max's transparent barrier had protected Andreus and her from the bone needles.
The flying Imp King began to gather flames again. There were more and more of them, gathering into a sphere resembling a small sun.
"I think it's some kind of strange ritual" (Andreus)
The Imp King had used his sharp claws to rip out his heart, while his flesh stuck to his bones and his skin lost its original blood-red colour.
"That shouldn't have killed him. You know how to rip his bloody heart out of his own chest" (Max)
"Imp kings have three hearts" (Andreus)
"Max, can you withstand that?" (Andreus)
"I think so, or at least I'll try." (Max)
William approached Andreus and Max just in case Max's barrier couldn't withstand the heat and pressure of the small sun that illuminated the entire room with its light.
(In the worst case scenario, I'll defend William and Max with my body. That shouldn't kill me.) (Andreus)