Gods and Guardians

Chapter 28: Damian vs. Palimus

Gayna was more uneasy now. Palimus would kill him. She tugged at Nimrod's arm. "Please, this is not called for. Please, you must restrain your friend," she pleaded. "Palimus has never been beaten by any captain before. He'll kill him, please."

Nimrod put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. At this point, he hadn't realized that within a few moments of meeting, they were pressing close to each other. "Look closely," Nimrod said in a low strong voice. "Do you see any scars right under his left ear?"

Gayna could see faintly two parallel scars under Damian's right ear as he went. "Those are marks from the claws of a riter."

Gayna couldn't believe the implication. The one who wrestled a riter to death? She had heard the story. "Damian?"

She even knew the name. Nimrod was thankful her voice was low. "Shhh," he hushed. "Lord Xexa calls him a genius of the highest ranks."

The name of Xexa shattered her senses into aberration. So he is a real human being? She stared from Damian to Nimrod and back, awestruck and in fact stunned. "Now, the question is, how much do you love your betrothed?"

"He is not my betrothed!" she shouted.

***

Palimus whipped his sword into a zigzag, the air hissing sharply. Damian watched calculatingly as he drew his own sword. He withdrew his right foot first and then his left. Palimus smiled within, understanding the limitations of this defensive position. He knew Damian's efficiency even in defense was limited by this position for a right-handed person. He had deduced this from Damian's sword hanging on the left. He decided to make it harder for him.

He arced for Damian's forward knee in a fake. Damian reacted predictably by withdrawing it. Palimus arced for his side. Damian's sword caught the swing. In blocking it, Damian had flipped the sword; its tip was now below the thumb. An unlikely move for an amateur, and his block was precise.

Palimus did not let the block discomfit him. He lashed with multiple swings in various directions. All were foiled. Then he sped the attack, all aimed at the midriff and neck region. Damian maintained a flawless defense as he drifted backward. Then the young soldier stopped the backward drift. Palimus surprised him with a blow from the edge of his hand that caught Damian on the side of the neck. He staggered back, and the swings stopped.

Palimus breathed deeply. "I can see; you are not an amateur."

Damian's eyebrows lowered and locked his steadiest gaze. "Was that all you noticed?"

"You are pretty swift for a right-handed fighter."

"Wrong. I'm not right-handed." He tossed the sword to his left hand and posed with the sword behind. "I hope you are better than what you just demonstrated because I'm just about to begin."

Palimus didn't stare for long. If Damian was ambidextrous like himself, then he was a dangerous opponent. Palimus decided he wouldn't play with him anymore. It was time to get serious.

Palimus arrived with a spinning leap. He lashed out now in every direction, cutting off every possible attack chance Damian could nurture. It was a kind of speed and stamina that Damian had never seen. Palimus' sword had somehow been multiplied in two. His wrist was strong and flexible, giving him impossible angles of attack. His body was lithe, making the intervals between swings minimal. While Damian struggled to keep up, he knew he had received a few slits in some places.

Palimus was spontaneous; the sword was not always in his grip. He never tossed it, but between some swings, it rolled out of his palm; only to be retrieved by the other hand and no time was lost. Damian noted Palimus was also ambidextrous. As if this was not enough, Palimus somehow added his legs below to the attacks.