Evil Reincarnated

Battles

Vexel POV

"Are you always fully armored?" Mazavir asks as I enter the tavern. I just look at him, then back at Ezara.

"Have you learned something about Lilith?" I ask, sitting down beside Ezara.

"Mazavir is right. I don't think I've ever seen you without armor."

"No, I don't always wear armor." Mazavir and Ezara look at each other than back at me. "What have you learned?"

"There's a camp out by Túr Dúlra that's run by someone who claims to be in contact with Lilith. He's the head of her invasion here in Scosglen. I don't think Mazavir and I can take the place on our own." Ezara says. "Will you help?"

"I told you I didn't want to get involved in this fight." I say and I stand up. "If that's what you asked me here for, I'll have to decline."

Mazavir stands up too. "You can't just walk away. This battle concerns you too. I don't care about your issue with the Eternal Conflict. We all have an issue with it. You're blind if you don't see what Lilith is doing right now."

"And what exactly is Lilith doing right now?" I growl. "She's not murdering us by the masses. She wants to take out Mephisto. As far as I'm concerned, she's the lesser evil. One less prime evil will make Sanctuary that much more safe. However it will never be safe because of the eternal conflict."

"Lilith has the key to the gates of hell. Does that not pose a threat to you?" Mazavir looks over at Ezara.

"I don't have to fight Lilith, Mazavir. I chose the battles I fight, she isn't one of them." I start walking towards the door. Mazavir puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I turn and grab his arm. I flip him over my shoulder and he lands on his back. "Don't lay your hands on me again." I state. Mazavir stands up.

"I won't get pushed around by people like you." He says, stepping towards me.

"Mazavir, don't." Ezara says. She had stood up as well. Everyone in the bar was watching us. Mazavir didn't care though. He still throws a punch at me. I take a step back to dodge him. He throws another one and I grab his fist. I twist his arm and hear his bones crack. He releases a howl of pain.

I pull my fist back and punch him hard in the face. He stumbles back, holding one had to his face and his injured arm to his chest. I could see the anger and pain written on his face.

He breathes heavily and grabs the nearest chair. He swings it at me. I try to step out of the way, but the chair hits me in the right side. I stumble and Mazavir drops the chair. He kicks me hard in the chest. I fall to the ground.

He goes to kick me again but I grab his leg and pull him off balance. I stand up quickly and punch him in the face again. He throws another punch at me. I grab his arm and use his momentum to pin him against the bar counter. "Fighting me is futile." I say to him. "You won't win against me. This isn't even close to what I can do." I release him and take a step back. "You don't get to chose the person I am and what battles I decide to fight." I turn and start walking towards the exit. I hear footsteps behind me.

I turn to see Mazavir running towards me again. I step to the side and trip him. He falls on his stomach. I grab him by his shirt and force him to stand. I push him away from me. "You've gone too far." I state. Mazavir takes his large scythe from beside the bar. He holds it, ready for a fight. I crack my neck.

I make a spectral scythe out of the essence around me. "Do you realize you carry the weapon of necromancer?" I ask. Mazavir nods, anger still written across his face.

"Yes, and I'll use this scythe to end you." I almost laugh, but I take death threats seriously.

"Do you really think you can kill a master of death?" Mazavir nods once more, swinging his scythe through the air. I move backwards, the scythe barely missing me. I swing my scythe forward, and it sends a blast of energy at Mazavir, knocking him back. He raises his scythe again and I let mine disappear. He swings the scythe again. I step back again then I hold my arms out beside me, palms towards the ground. I take a deep breath.

Two pairs of skeletal arms break through the tavern's flooring. They grab onto Mazavir's ankles. He pauses and I take the time to grab his scythe. I hold it firmly and kick him hard. He lets go and the skeletal arms release him. He trips and falls over. I hold the blade of the scythe against his throat as skeleton arms pin him to the ground. "Give me one reason to not kill you right now." I growl. The blade was drawing blood.

I feel another hand on my shoulder. I was about to attack them, but I saw Ezara. "Let him go." She says. I look back at Mazavir on the ground. He was scared now. He tried to struggle against the skeletal arms but they held him firmly.

I remove the scythe from his throat. "If you ever attack me again, I won't hesitate to kill you." I drop the scythe beside him and walk towards the door. Once I reach it's threshold I stop controlling the skeletal arms. The release Mazavir and disappear into the earth.

"Vexel." Ezara says, following me out of the tavern.

"I already gave you my answer. What Mazavir did solidifies it." Ezara sighs.

"Please, Vexel. After seeing you fight Mazavir, I don't doubt that you can beat Balkin. You won't have to fight Lilith. I'm going to train Mazavir so we can beat her together." I stop walking for a moment.

I sigh. "Fine, I'll help you with the camp. That's it. If you think you can beat Lilith, I will leave that to you. I have no desire to fight her."

"I think we all know that much." She says, looking back towards the tavern. "I didn't expect Mazavir to pick a fight with you. I knew he didn't like you but that was bold."

"I don't think his issue is directly with me. He needed someone to fight and a reason to fight them. I happened to be the one he picked a fight with." I state. "That doesn't mean his actions are forgiven."

"At least you didn't kill him. That wouldn't have ended well for any of us." I shrug.

"I would've been fine. I won't hesitate to kill him if he does that again." I state.

Zyllebal just goes silent for a moment. "Well, thanks for agreeing to helping us with Balkin."

"Don't thank me yet. I'll go into the camp alone. Mazavir won't be much help in there. I've never seen you fight, but its better if I do it alone." Ezara crosses her arms.

"I can take care of myself." She states.

"I don't doubt that." I say. "But I know neither of you like my method."

"I never said I had an issue with you being a necromancer. I can fight just fine. I've been a warrior most of my life."

"No. I already know how I'm going to take him out. You and Mazavir will only get in my way." Ezara sighs.

"Fine, but I want to be there before you kill Balkin. I have a few questions to ask him. The whole point of this is to get information about Lilith." I nod. That much I understood.

"Getting Balkin to talk won't be hard." I state. "I'll find him then bring him outside of the camp for you to get him talking. At that point, whatever happens to him is your choice. Keep Mazavir out of it. If you want to tell him what happened after, I don't care, but I won't work with that fool."

"I'm going to talk to him. Just give him another chance. I'll make sure he doesn't do that again. If he refuses than I won't work with him." I scoff and turn away.

"He's offering to help you, I'm not. I don't see why you'd chose someone like me over someone like him. He has anger issues, but he's still offering his help."

"He's not useful dead." She crosses her arms. "You're clearly a better fighter. You can help me win this war."

"But I have no desire to fight it. I'm only helping you with Balkin because I know who he is. He terrorizes the region. If he's gone, Scosglen will be better off. It doesn't hurt to let you talk to him before I kill him."

"I can't make you fight Lilith, so fine. That's enough for me. I'll see you tomorrow, Vexel." Zyllebal starts walking towards the tavern. I sigh and walk in the opposite direction.