The Primordials: Lustless Prides (Book Three)

Chapter VIII: Damien vs. Arne

      Why does Arne always have to be like this? Damien thought as he watched Arne loosen up for the fight.

      He looked around at the humans spectating, hoping things wouldn't get too out of hand.

      "You sure you should be focusing on them?" Arne called out from across the stage.

      "Are you insinuating you could catch me by surprise," Damien responded smugly, looking back at Arne with a daring expression.

      Arne shrugged.

      "Don't use them as an excuse when you lose."

      "I won't. But since they're here, I'm going to end this quickly," Damien told Arne confidently as Arne finished stretching.

      "You sure about that," Arne stated as their skin turned metallic silver, taking on a tougher appearance. "Like this, my skin's even harder than diamond. What can you do to me without your lightning?"

      The crowd gasped in utter disbelief, seeing Arne's body become metal.

      Damien smirked. He reckoned that was the first time Arne had ever displayed any of their abilities in front of them.

      Looking at Arne, he realized he couldn't sense the metal coming from their body. He and Arne had sparred the last time he was here, but they were alone then and didn't need to hold back. He wasn't focusing on whether he could sense Arne's metal then.

      I wonder...

      Damien reached his hand out toward Arne. Taking this as a sign of the match starting, Arne instantly charged at Damien, but due to their speed being in different leagues, Arne's movements were slowed in Damien's eyes.

      As Arne continued their charge, they slowly knelt and dug one hand's fingers into the stage floor.

      Meanwhile, Damien tried to manipulate the metal covering Arne's body, but it was useless. It seemed his Ferritic Pull didn't work on Arne's organic metal.

      Arne had drawn closer to Damien and lifted a chunk of the stage floor large enough to block Damien's view. Remembering their last fight, Damien assumed Arne would smash through it and maneuvered around the debris, where he unexpectedly encountered Arne's arm swinging toward him. With quick reflexes, he dodged just in time as Arne's fist barely missed him.

      Once they both stopped moving, their perception of time resumed to normal.

      "Almost got you," Arne laughed.

      "You don't really think I didn't learn anything from last time, do you," Arne said mockingly.

      Damien admitted that that was a close call. He knew that if Arne managed to get their hands on him, it'd be over for him, so he needed to figure out a way to keep them at a distance. Lucky for him, with his power, he had plenty of material at his disposal.

      Concentrating, Damien focused on the ground. He felt for any metal near the surface that could be safely summoned. Sensing a few small deposits just beneath the ground's surface, he willed them toward him, causing the ground to rupture as multiple irregular-shaped chunks of natural lead floated around him.

      "Lead? That's the best you could summon?" Arne asked disappointedly.

      Damien remained silent without faltering.

      Truth be told, he had hoped to find some iron at least, but the lead would work just as well for his plan. Damien raised his hand toward Arne, shooting the chunks of lead directly at them. Arne didn't bother to block or use spirit enhancement as the pieces broke against their skin.