Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 862: A Battle To Remember - Part 2

Unsheathing his great darksword, Markus planted it into the ground in front. Reaching for his helmet with his now free hands, he undid the buckles and revealed his ethereal, candle flame contour. A roar of shock erupted throughout the crowd, only silence by his fierce and burning glance moving across the entirety of the audience.

Only a handful had known his true identity, but now they all knew. However, it mattered not. The war to end all of Atlaris was coming, and now was far from the time to keep such secrets. Thus, better it be revealed now than in the heat of battle and war. Besides...

”So he’s a spirit too?!”

”I-I guess if anyone would have a spirit guardian, it would be our lord Milo, right?”

”A spirit wife and guard...”

The people saw it fitting for the sagacious king to have a spirit for a bodyguard. After all, his own soul was bound to one, Viola–his beloved wife.

Breaking the tension with a whistle, Helga eyed Markus up and down–a playful gesture and one purposely cheeky. As a chuckle escaped her mouth soon after, she looked into the man’s burning green eyes and said.

”With you, every dinner must be a candlelight dinner.” Scoffing at her words, Markus drew a long, deep breath and moved his right hand to his side with his fingers curled onto themselves as if he was holding the shaft of a spear. A moment later, a banner appeared in his loose grape–a banner familiar to Helga.

Lifting her head, she stared at the burning skull. Embossed with metal designs, the flag had the dead lord’s blades stabbing into his own skull. A testament to the fact that even he could not escape the extent of his powers, that he, too, shall pass and become history, though his archiving continues across the multiplains of time.

”Enough of this waffle,” planting the flag with his left hand and lifting the greatsword with the other, Markus held firm and positioned his feet to charge. His eyes narrowed and grew sharp with purpose. ”If you wanna fight, then bring it already, Valkaria.”

”Tsk... I hate that name,” gripping her ice spear with both of her hands, Helga lowered her body into a more effective stance. ”You might just have given me fuel for my barbarian rage.”

Pouring her hatred of the name and her destiny, Helga challenged it through her heart. Burning deep within her chest, it reminded her of all the foul memories that she’d built throughout the years trying to serve the stupid gods.

”A fine display,” to her surprise, however, and to the surprise of everyone gathered in the barracks, the voice of Athenia thundered down on them from the skies. Lifting their heads, the people stared wide-eyed at the heavens, though her words were only present in their minds. ”My father’s banner... It’s the first time I’ve seen it in so long I’d almost forgotten its existence.”

While Helga rolled her eyes at the voice, the members of the holy order and the rest of the soldiers bowed their heads and pressed their foreheads to the ground. To be talked to directly by their god... was a divine feeling after all. Although most of those who’d already heard Athenia countless times remained standing tall, with not as strong a sense of awe as the others.

”Fight well, you two. I wish to witness your true strength, and don’t you worry about the audience, I shall shield them from the worst of your blows.” And with those words, Athenia showered the audience with her blessings. Invisible to the eye, though as warm as a hug and as comforting as a mother’s nursing, they felt at ease, and all that worried them, even if for a moment, fled their mind, giving them a chance to simply enjoy the fight. ”Now then, begin.”

With a goddess herself announcing the start of their match, the two immortals turned back to face each other–weapons at the ready. A flag and a greatsword against a pair of golden gauntlets and an ice spear. The weapon choices seemed dubious, but the moment the two slowly approached each other, it happened in a flash and changed everyone’s opinion.

Spinning the spear, Helga struck Markus on the side of his arm, and his body moved an inch. Retaliating with the other arm, he swung his greatsword as soon as the valkyrie tried retreating. In her retreat, however, instead of soothing the hurt on his injured arm, the dark knight pushed the sharp tip of the flap forward. Glancing between the closing blade and the flag tip, Helga knew her body was off the ground, so she couldn’t take another backwards leap.

”Hyaahh!” Letting go of the spear, she closed her fist and blocked both weapons with her hands. The strike rang like a hammer hitting hot iron, and the steam from the blow turned the air scorching yet humid. Pushing against the flag tip and the greatsword, the valkyrie looked into Markus’s eyes with a smirk. ”Holding back, are w–AHH!”

Being kicked by the armored feet of the knight, Helga’s body was dragged a few feet back. Standing with her body giving off steam from the sheer tension in her muscles. Looking up at Markus with a strained look, she still couldn’t help but smile while drawing a troubled breath.

”Warm-up’s over, I guess.” Standing tall once again, she looked around the crowd. Their bodies appeared to move in slow motion; not a second had passed since they started fighting, but only a handful would even know what just happened in that moment.

”Quit fooling around, Helga.” Planting the flag once more, Markus took a step forward, and time seemed to resume itself. ”If you wanna fight, then come fight me with all you’ve got! Athenia will handle the mess we cause, so come on–let loose a little and show me those fierce eyes again, the fierce eyes of the woman who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.”

”Hmm...” Humming along, she turned her head to face Markus. Her smile simply wouldn’t let up, all thanks to some recent development with her new lover–though, there was another reason why. ”Fine, I guess it was time to show my daughter what mommy expects them to surpass.”

Glancing sideways at her daughters sitting amongst the crowd, the valkyrie could see their strained expression, for they had seen what had happened between Markus and her. But as worried as they were, their hearts were pounding–fast as a piston for they too shared her Valkarian blood.

’Watch closely, mommy won’t be here to protect you forever.’ Finally at peace with the thought of leaving them in a world without her, Helga’s body moved towards her opponent. In just a split second, the barrier Markus had put up shattered, and nobody knew why. Thankfully for the audience, however, a goddess was protecting them from the sheer intensity of a fight that barely a handful of the audience could actually gather.