TS5: Chapter 12 (Patreon)

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to the Vantor Clan Feast. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. We will begin eating shortly, but before that, as is custom, we will open up the floor for challenges."

"Challenges?" Thorn asked, looking at the others at his table.

Tora, hearing his question, nodded.

"Is this your first time at a challenger feast?" He asked.

"Yes."

"I see. It's fairly common for those who climb the tower to want to test their mettle against each other. One of the chief forms of entertainment is watching those fights."

Even as he finished speaking, a man stood up from the other end of the hall and strode out to the center, bowing to everyone present.

"Gael Vantor," he announced proudly, "accepting all challengers."

A moment later, another warrior stood up and strode out to meet him, introducing himself as a member of the Urala Clan. The two warriors were both in the 8th tier and seemed evenly matched, though as they drew their weapons, Thorn could sense that the quality of the Urala Clan's equipment was just a hair better. Their fight was fierce, and neither seemed to be pulling any punches, though they made sure to keep their fight contained to the wide open space at the center of the hall. After half a dozen minutes of fierce battle, the Vantor Clan warrior edged out his opponent, but only barely, managing to disrupt his balance and knock him to the ground. As polite clapping filled the hall, the two warriors bowed to each other and then to Tessra and took their seats.

"That was just the opening round to get the party started," Tora said, "a prearranged fight, likely with a prearranged ending. Wouldn't want to embarrass the hosts after all. But don't worry, the rest of the fights will be much more interesting."

One after another, warriors rose, making their way to the center of the hall, where they either announced themselves open to any challenge, or called out other warriors by name. Each successive fight grew fiercer and bloodier, and the strength of the combatants grew higher.

After the tenth fight, Matthias suddenly stood up from where he sat at the head table, his gaze turning towards Thorn. With a faint clap of thunder, his body blurred, zigzagging like lightning as he flashed across the hall, appearing in the middle of the hall. Turning to stare at Thorn's table he rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword and pointed directly at Thorn, an aloof expression on his face.

"I am Matthias, of the Solitary Blade Peak. I would challenge Thorn, Ascendant of the Temple of Man."

Thorn had caught the glances that Matthias had been sending his way, so it didn't take him completely by surprise when he was challenged, but he took his time in responding. Silence fell over the hall as everyone waited for Thorn's response, and the Titan didn't disappoint. Putting the piece of bread he was holding in his mouth, he chewed it slowly as he pushed himself back from the table and stood up. As he rose, he brushed the crumbs from his hands.

"I accept," he said, walking around the table and making his way to the center of the hall to face the swordsman.

Thorn was wearing his armor already, so when he arrived in front of Matthias, he clasped his hands together in a salute and gestured for the swordsman to draw his blade. Staring at him through narrowed eyes, Matthias seemed a little bit confused.

"Where's your weapon?" he asked, but Thorn simply lifted his hands, displaying his gauntlets.

"They're right here," he said.

"You would fight barehanded against my blade?" Matthias snapped, clearly offended.

"But I'm not barehanded," Thorn said, as mana began to surge along the runes on his gauntlet.

At the table, Tora leaned over to speak to Alph.

"I thought he used a Halberd," the Ascendant whispered, but Alph just shook his head and shrugged.

"He fights however he wants. Honestly, kind of a mess. He'd be much better if he just focused on one thing, but he's all over the place," Alph said. "For example, if he just focused on potions, he'd be way deadlier than he is now."

"Potions?"

"Yeah, potions," Alph said, producing a frothing green vial with a deadly aura to show Tora.

In the center of the room, Matthias let out a long, slow breath, drawing his sword and discarding his sheath.

"Very well, but know that my blade is sharp, and I take no responsibility if you lose your hand."

"If you can cut them, you can have them," Thorn said, a wide grin stretching across his face as he slammed his fists together. "Let's do this."

The boom from Thorn’s fists striking each other echoed through the hall as the two warriors faced off against each other. Matthias, who wasn't a small man by normal standards, was dwarfed by Thorn's massive height, and the sword he wielded looked almost like a dagger when faced with Thorn's armored form. Thorn's hands were raised in front of him as he stood in his combat stance, seemingly waiting for the swordsman to take the first move. A faint sneer flashed across Matthias' eyes, and his body moved with explosive speed as he lunged forward. What appeared at first to be a slash abruptly transformed into a stab as he launched himself towards Thorn.

Eyes widening slightly, Thorn's left fist shot out in a hook as he slammed it into the side of Matthias' sword, knocking the blade off target. With a simple step forward, he rotated his body and his right fist jabbed straight towards Matthias' face, but the swordsman tilted his body back, slipping under it, even as his stab transformed into a hack, cutting at Thorn's leg. With a boom that cracked the stone under his feet, Thorn jumped back, avoiding the slash. Even as he did, his body twisted, and he launched a spinning back kick, his heel flying towards Matthias' chest, forcing the swordsman to pull his sword up and block the blow.

Each move was executed with incredible speed, their attacks and counterattacks flowing like water as they fought up and down the hall. Matthias' sword style was simple and direct, with each move rapidly transforming into the next, always aimed at causing the maximum amount of damage. It carried the scent of thunder with it, and his blade moved with the unpredictability of lightning, often forcing Thorn to retreat or move defensively. Thorn’s attacks, however, were no less dangerous, and more than once the swordsman found himself scrambling to avoid a crushing punch.

Jumping back suddenly, Matthias lifted his sword and chopped down, forcing Thorn to dodge backwards, creating space between them as Matthias' blade ripped through the air, hacking a long furrow in the ground where Thorn had stood. For a moment, the two warriors looked at each other, across the distance, neither making a move.

"You warmed up yet?" Thorn asked, smashing his fists together with a loud boom.

He knew that Matthias had just been testing his defenses, trying to understand his movements and truth be told, he had been doing exactly the same. Both warriors had yet to reveal their true strength, but the time for testing was done, and the real fight would now begin. There was no sneer on Matthias' face as he faced Thorn. Instead, his expression was deadly serious, as he lifted his blade over his head.

"Solitary sword peak, first style," he said. "The mountain stands alone."

When he had finished speaking, there was a faintest pause, and Thorn almost had the impression that Matthias was waiting for him to announce his own fighting style. Thinking quickly, Thorn stomped forward, lifting his fists in front of him.

"World-subduing fist," Thorn said, playing along.

With a shout, Matthias launched himself forward, his sword cutting down at an angle, in a wide sweep that seemed as if it would clear everything in its path. Thorn, realizing that it was time to get serious, focused his mind into his fists, compressing his mental sense down into his body. Despite being in the ninth tier, Matthias wasn't using his domain, and was instead relying entirely on his sword technique to fight and Thorn did the same, putting all of his attention into his martial arts. Even as the sweeping sword approached him, Thorn moved forward, using Titan Step to cross the distance.

A single step brought him face to face with Matthias, his fist hammering out in a punch that looked deceptively simple. Almost too late, Matthias realized the danger of it, and the slash he had unleashed transformed into a flurry of stabs, each aimed at slowing Thorn's fist that was shooting towards his chest.

The tip of Matthias' blade stabbed into Thorn's gauntlet, bouncing away without leaving so much as a mark as it met the impossibly hard alloy the gauntlet was made from. The force radiating through his weapon forced Matthias to backpedal, and he rapidly retreated, continuing to stab out as Thorn advanced, his fist bearing down on his opponent.

At the last moment, Matthias transformed one of his stabs into a slash, borrowing the force to bounce to the side, escaping the path of Thorn's fist, and retreating to a safe distance. His advance ending, Thorn turned and saw Matthias was already launching another attack, this one a single vicious chop aimed at Thorn's neck. Dropping to one knee, Thorn lifted his arm, blocking with his forearm even as his other leg lashed out, attempting to sweep Matthias from his feet. Jumping into the air, Matthias felt his sword connect, a vicious satisfaction flashing across his face as he put all his strength into the strike. That satisfaction transformed into shock as his blade's momentum halted completely, stopped by Thorn’s armor. Unable to believe that Thorn had actually stopped his blow, Matthias realized he had fallen into a trap when Thorn's wrist rotated, his fingers locking down on the back of Matthias's blade.

Thorn used the leg that was underneath him to launch himself forward, twisting his torso around and lowering his shoulder to smash into Matthias's chest, bashing him backwards. The force of the attack was so great, Matthias was forced to let go of his sword or suffer broken bones and the swordsman flew backwards, stabilizing himself only after he had skidded a full thirty feet across the hall. An expression of horror covered his face as he stared at Thorn, who slowly rose to his feet, still holding his sword.

With a flick of his fingers, Thorn threw the sword back to Matthias, who was so shocked that he nearly didn't catch it, grabbing it only at the last moment. From the pin-drop silence around them, Thorn and the terrible expression on Matthias's face, Thorn had a sinking feeling that he had just done something he shouldn't have. At the table where the others sat, Tora had lost his jovial expression for the first time, and was staring at Thorn with an unreadable face.

"Ouch, that's brutal," Corvo said, shaking his head under his breath.

It was a sentiment clearly echoed by everyone else witnessing the fight. Sensing the impending eruption that was building in Matthias's chest, Thorn quickly brought his hands together, bowing towards the swordsman.

"Your skill is considerable," he said. "Had I not caught you off-guard with my unusual style, this fight likely would have turned out very different."

Even as he spoke the words, he could sense that nobody was buying it but Thorn knew that he had to give Matthias a way to back down from the humiliating defeat he had just suffered otherwise, things would get ugly fast. Sneering, Matthias was about to speak when a loud voice interrupted from the entryway to the hall.

"Fights, huh? This looks like fun. Why don't you let me join in?"

An overwhelming sense of pressure swept through the hall, and startled, Thorn spun around. He had been so focused on the fight that he hadn't paid attention to the people who were still arriving at the feast. Standing in the doorway, he saw half a dozen god beasts, all in the ninth tier or higher, staring at him. In the front stood a massive man with arms the size of barrels, and a wide, hairy chest, that was exposed by his open shirt. He was handsome in a hard way, and the aura that surrounded him was wild and untamed, hinting at barely restrained savagery. It was the large man that had spoken, and even as Thorn turned around, he launched himself forward into the hall, lashing out with his hand.

An ethereal paw manifested itself around his hand, smashing down on Thorn, who barely had time to raise his defenses to block. The attack came so suddenly, and the giant man moved so swiftly, that all Thorn could do was lift his arms and attempt to blink backwards. However, even as he activated the spell, he realized he had made a poor choice. The force of the god beast's attack was so great that it threw the mana around him into turmoil, making the teleportation impossible.

The attack smashed into Thorn, throwing him backwards across the hall where he slammed into the wall, crashing through it and bringing it down around him. Immediately, everyone at Thorn’s table stood up, ready to launch themselves into battle, but Tora was one step ahead of them, light surging around him as he stood in their way. Unsure if he was intending to help or hinder them, the team hesitated for a moment, trying to get a read on the saint. His expression was once again jovial, though they could sense the deep coldness that lay underneath.

"Huh, and here I thought you might be able to put up a fight," the god beast who had just slapped Thorn said, his voice full of derision.

Everyone's eyes were on the hole Thorn's body had created as he shot through the wall, and a few seconds later, he strode out, his expression fierce. Across his gauntlets and chest, where he had blocked the blow, were four long gouges, a testament to the strength of the attack. Thorn’s armor was still intact, but it had been damaged by the attack, and Thorn genuinely felt as if he had never been hit so hard in his life. More alarming still, was the fact that the god beast who hit him hadn't been using mana, but only the physical strength of his body. A faint look of surprise crossed the god beast's face as he stared at Thorn, who was walking back towards him.

"Impressive. I didn't actually expect you to survive. You have a nice set of armor there. Why don't we see if it protects you again?"

[Master, be careful. He's the one who is chasing us.]

Hearing Akira's words, Thorn's eyes narrowed as he stared at the large god-beast in front of him.

"Who are you?" he asked. "I want to know your name so I know whose face it is that I'm beating in."

With a bellowing laugh, the god-beast shook his head.

"You humans are always so proud. Fine. You survived one of my attacks. I guess that qualifies you to learn my name. I am Ursa the Tyrant."