The W2RLD

Chapter 17 - Innocence Lost

The W1RLD

Written by: The Masked Eidolon

Edited by: Leon the Man

Enjoy 🙂

Chapter 17 - Innocence Lost

Dane and Alex stared each other down as the battle for the throne was about to commence. Although, the throne wasn't the only thing at stake here. This was a duel over pride. Each side had their beliefs and shortcomings, but the two warriors both had one thing in common. Neither would back down, and as the spectators moved aside, they knew what they were about to witness.

Dane took his fighting stance as Alex seemingly finished her transformation, "Aren't you going to get your weapon?"

"No. I don't think I need a weapon to face off against you."

Dane smiled, but his mouth was twitching with rage, "You're going to regret saying that when I run you through with this katana."

Alex was unfazed, "We'll see about that."

Dane charged at Alex with a flurry of sword strikes, which Alex promptly avoided. One of the swipes was seemingly about to land and injure Alex's shoulder, but the blade wobbled at the last minute and she managed to avoid it.

Gus frowned, "Dane, you can't be psyched out by her metamorphosis. The change in form doesn't grant her any real power over you besides intimidation."

"It wasn't my strike! Something in the blade..."

"Aren't you a warrior?" Mox chimed in, "If so, such pathetic excuses are beneath you. Just own up to your shortcomings."

"That's pretty tough talk for someone who got exposed on the job." Dane retorted.

"At least I managed to get a hit off on my opponent. You can't say the same."

"This duel isn't anywhere near over. Don't judge my performance until the outcome is clear."

"That's enough." Alex interjected, "Stop with this pointless bickering and let's get on with the fight. I'd rather not waste the precious time I can be away from the Empire listening to you two."

"Hmph." Mox grunted.

Dane readied his katana and faced Alex with a glare that could freeze fire, "Sure thing."

Dane lunged forward at Alex once more, this time making doubly sure his strikes were accurate. He used a sharp thrust, but Stone sidestepped and fired a left hook to Dane's face. Dane ducked just as Alex's blow was about to land and went for a sideswipe aimed at Alex's stomach, which she dodged by jumping back. This allowed Dane to take the initiative, and he did so by landing a fearsome uppercut on Stone just after she finished dodging. He didn't finish there, though, and started to capitalize on his aggression by using another sideswipe aimed at Alex's skull. She barely managed to avoid this by blocking with her left arm and allowing herself to get slashed.

Although, Dane's victory was quite short-lived, as Alex used this moment of inactivity on his behalf to launch a counterattack. She ignored the bleeding from her left arm and delivered a mighty blow to his gut with her right, forcing him to drop his blade and knocking him back a couple of feet.

Alex smirked, "Well, it seems like this duel is over."

She went to pick up the blade, but at the last second, it seemingly jumped towards Dane and he grabbed the hilt once again.

Dane smiled as he held up a string that he attached to his katana, "Far from it."

Dane once again charged at Alex, sword in hand, but he had used the same opening move one too many times. As he brought his weapon down aiming at Alex's head, she did not attempt to dodge it, instead opting to grab the blade by the base. Blood spewed from her left hand and threatened to render the limb partially numb from blood loss, but she managed to ignore the pain and grip the katana as tight as ever. This shocked Dane, who tried to break his sword free by pulling it out of Alex's grasp and thus cutting her even deeper, but as he did this, the only thing that broke free was the handle. The entire blade portion of the weapon was clutched in Stone's bloody grasp.