To call it a man was an understatement, a giant was more like it. But there was something else. His face while human resembled that of a bull, his small bottomless eyes fixed on Marcus. But what were those strange shadows that swam in and out of focus that covered the giant’s body?
“Caught a glimpse of my true form, didn’t you boy?” The giant took a step forward; an unpleasant smirk twisted his lips. “This will be fun!”
“What do you want?” Marcus was finally able to ask.
The giant stopped, “Isn’t it obvious?” With an unpleasant grin, he pointed his thick index finger at Marcus, “I came to challenge the inheritor of the ‘Dominus’ for the right to rule Golgotha!”
*******
Golgotha? Dominus? Before Marcus could make heads or tails on what these words meant, the giant charged his massive frame against him. He was fast, blazing fast, his gigantic body wasn’t tied to the rules of physics, and if it wasn’t for the power of the ring, Marcus would’ve ended up smashed against the wall behind him.
“Impressive,” mumbled the giant. “You were able to evade my attack. Not many, even within Golgotha can do that.”
Marcus wasn’t really paying attention to what the giant was saying. He was too busy trying to figure out a way how to get out the mess he got himself into.
“What’s the matter boy?” The giant slowly turned to face Marcus who stood there frozen. “But you need more than speed to beat me!” The giant charged again, but this time the giant was able to snatch Marcus’ neck and pressed him against the wall. Marcus felt every single bone in his back shatter, but the ring healed his injuries quickly.
“Who are you?” Marcus breathed.
The look on the giant’s face changed from one of delight to one of displeasure. Clearly he realized that his opponent, the inheritor of the Dominus, was nothing more than a child and therefore wasn’t worthy of the power of the Dominus, the silver ring of Emperors. He kept silent as he released Marcus from his powerful grip. The giant pondered what to do with the human child. Obviously the child just came across the ring by accident. However, the ring chooses its master. Then how was it possible that a human child with no magic or fighting skills was able to wield the powers of the Dominus? Was there some secret hidden within the human child that he didn’t know about?
The answer suddenly began to be really clear for him. The child had to die.
Raising his right arm, the giant began to chant what Marcus thought to be an incantation of some kind. Swirling black shadows began to gather around the giant’s extended right hand and slowly began to take shape.
“Why don’t you leave me alone?” Marcus sneered at the giant. While he tried to regain his footing, as he gazed at the swirling shadows forming over the giant hand of his enemy.
With a loud whooshing sound, the shadows solidified forming a sword that was just as large as its wielder. A giant slab of iron with a handle, its blade shone like a mirror and Marcus saw his own visage in the blade, and saw a young man that was on a brink of an emotional breakdown.
“I’m glad that you can appreciate beauty, boy.” The giant said with a horrible grin. The giant swung the blade once and the gust of air almost sent Marcus flying down the alley. “What do you think of the power of my blade!?” The giant roared with pleasure.
Marcus wobbled and even contemplated remaining on the ground, or using the ring to escape from that giant who was going to kill him. But would the ring take him as far away as he wanted? What guarantee he had that the giant wouldn’t find him?
A horrible sensation ran down his back, like an ice rod forcefully infused in his spine, a horrible revelation and inquest. How did that giant find him to begin with? Since that day he discovered the ring, no one came after him to challenge or reclaim the damn thing, until now.
Right now he didn’t have the time to ponder on that. Marcus had to find a way to run away from his opponent. Fighting was out the question. Marcus had no clue how to fight and no weapon to defend himself, and even if he had the slightest clue on how to use a weapon, his opponent wasn’t human and the battle would be short. He seriously doubted that the ring would heal him fast enough from a wound from a sword that massive.
Before Marcus could come up with a plan, a powerful gust of wind threw him down and out of the alley. At first Marcus didn’t understand why the giant would use his giant sword as a vane, until he realized that they were no longer restrained to the narrow space of the alley. Now the giant had enough space to swing that giant blade, unrestrained and deadly.
“What’s this?” The giant scowled, “is the inheritor of the Dominus such a coward?” Apparently the giant had expected a more “challenging” fight from someone who wields the most powerful object in the entire universe.
A crowd had begun to gather around the two of them, “morons!” Marcus yelled at them, “Get out of here! Now!” Marcus was trying to keep them from getting involved in a fight that wasn’t theirs, but they weren’t listening. Probably they were thinking this fight between the demonic giant and Marcus was some sort of street performance.
The giant also seemed annoyed at the presence of the crowd, narrowed his eyes, placed both hands on the hilt of his sword and slowly began to raise them. And while Marcus wasn’t versed in the ways of fighting, especially with weapons, his stomach sank when he understood what the giant was going to do, he had seen too many martial arts movies and it never ended well when the performers took that stance.
The giant was going to kill them!
Marcus heart thumped faster and faster, and for a second he thought it was to explode in his chest. He had to keep those innocent bystanders from being murdered by that monster.
Marcus didn’t notice, but the ring suddenly began to glow and intuitively he reached out to the crowd and swung his right hand in an arch and in the blink of an eye, only the giant and he were left standing in the middle of the street.
“Interesting,” the giant said. “You place the well-being of others before your own.” The giant raised his sword, “but it won’t change the outcome of this fight!”
With a powerful swing the sword came down like a guillotine. Marcus centered his attention on the space behind the giant and used the ring to transport himself to that location, but he only had microseconds before the blade would slash him in half.
The giant sword slashed nothing but air.
Marcus materialized behind the giant just as the blade touched the ground, however, he had to teleport again as a giant blur headed his way. It took him seconds to realize that shadow was the giant’s sword. The bastard somehow managed to change the direction of his sword as it hit the ground.Marcus hauled back to the spot where he used to be before the sword almost slashed him in half. He was expecting another attack, but none came. The giant stood there, smiling with his giant sword over his massive shoulders, while Marcus felt how his body was on the brink of falling apart.
“That is the price you pay for power,” the giant spoke with a triumphant tone in his voice, almost as he knew what Marcus was feeling. “I’ll admit that you have fought brilliantly, however, this game must come to an end.”
The giant charged against Marcus again. Somehow he was even faster than before. Had the giant been holding back all this time? Or was Marcus so tired by using the power of the ring that the giant just seemed to move faster?
Marcus closed his eyes but opened them again when he picked up explosions nearby, followed by a ricocheting sound of projectiles.
As Marcus slowly opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that the giant had not only stopped his attack, but stepped back getting far away from Marcus as possible.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” The giant roared.
At first Marcus thought that the giant was talking to him, when he heard footsteps behind him.
Marcus examined the man that stood behind him. He was sharply-dressed with a black suit, a white shirt and a deep-red tie, small rectangle-shaped glasses and black gloves. However, what caught Marcus’ attention were the objects the man was holding in his hands. A smoking, silver gun in his right hand and in his left hand, he was holding what appeared to be a rusty sword.
Before anyone said anything, the man threw the sword to Marcus, who was barely able to catch it.
“Some help you got kid, a rusty sword!” the giant roared with laughter.
Ignoring the giant’s insults, the man turned to Marcus, “fight with all your strength.”
Was that man crazy!? Marcus thought, how could he be asking him to fight that giant with a rusty sword? It would immediately get cleaved in half by the giant’s demonic sword. Did that man really come to help him?
But the man spoke with such confidence that Marcus couldn’t help but to trust him, even if he knew nothing about him.
Marcus held the sword with both hands and examined it, while the scabbard was rusty like it had been in storage for a long time, an elegant seal branded into the material, but what caught his attention was the hilt and the small emblem in the shape of an eclipse, for a second he thought he recognized it, but how it be? This was the first time holding the sword.
“Here I go!” The giant roared, snapping Marcus from his trance.
As the giant drew nearer, his sword aimed at his adversary who only had a measly sword, that, compared to his weapon, was more like a pocket knife. He stood no chance. The ring was going to be his in the blink of an eye.
Marcus drew out the sword and swung it with all his strength just as the giant raised his own sword to deal the killing blow.
Comments (0)
See all