Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 14, Ch. 15]

Cinder's spell ended, and she dashed a small distance away, eyes locked onto mine as she brought both hands before her, crossed before her breast. A short sword appeared in each, formed entirely from fire. One foot struck down and she changed direction in a second, hurtling towards me. Her first sword struck mine, clanging against it, and despite that there was no metal in her blade, ours locked and made a sound upon contact. Her other came up and under, sliding through my guard as it lunged towards my ribs. I shifted my body just a little, allowing it to graze the side of me. It didn't splash and fizzle out as expected. Instead, the short sword cut through my molten armour, almost as if it were not made of fire but metal. It drew a cut along my flank. I ignored it and pushed her back, swinging for her head and forcing Cinder to step away.

So, despite being made of fire, her swords acted like regular ones.

[...]

On the next exchange, Cinder managed to circle her weapon over and into my wrist, seeking to disarm me. Unlike the first time, the weapon this time bounced off my hardened armour.

Which was when Cinder grinned and dropped both – cupping her hands and bathing me in fire once more.

"Shit!"

Gods, it hurt. There was only a second or two to feel it before my instincts kicked in and my armour became molten once more, immune – or as immune as I was going to get – to the flames. I still had to shield my face so it wouldn't be burned, but the pain dissipated. I rolled away, fighting for distance as I considered my options. Cinder had lured me into dropping the heat on my armour and then switched back to fire spells to cook me. A clever move. I had the perfect counter to either her swords or her spells, but only one at a time.

[...]

I growled and brought Crocea Mors up in time to block her sudden attack. I found myself even more pissed off by the look on her face – the sheer sorrow that pervaded her being. She didn't want this, I could tell, and yet she kept coming, attack after attack until the point that some got past my guard no matter what I did. One struck my arm and scored a line through my armour. Another nicked my upper thigh, dangerously close to an artery. A third came in for my stomach, but this time I reacted, rapidly cooling my armour there – localised in one spot. The metal became solid and turned her blow aside, deflecting it so that I earned a scratch and not a gaping wound.

Cinder's eyes widened, but I melted the armour once more before she could take advantage and launch a fireball up into my stomach. In the moment of hesitation, I drove forward and rammed my shoulder into her. Shocked, Cinder didn't try to block it.

She screamed in agony a second later. Cinder fell back quickly, throwing a huge ball of fire at me more to prevent any pursuit than cause any harm. With a free hand, she patted down her chest, revealing burned fabric that stuck painfully to skin burned pink. Even if I'd only touched her for a second, I'd burned her.

Who was the fire elemental now, huh?

I charged forward while she was off-balance. Crocea Mors cut wide arcs that forced her to hop back. Her weapons weren't long enough to reach me, and by keeping her on the back foot, she never had a chance to close the distance. Cinder let one go and tried to throw fire in my face, but this time I ignored it, closing my eyes and fighting through the pain to continue my onslaught.

Cinder didn't expect it, that much was clear. Crocea Mors cut through and caught her shoulder, drawing blood and a startled yelp. She flinched back, losing control over her fire. I lunged again, this time for her stomach, and though she managed avoid the attack by a hair's bready, she was unable to escape my other fist, which caught her in the forearm. It would have hit her face, but she brought her arm up in time. Even so, she staggered back with a grunt, wincing in pain as her left arm shivered, her fingers twitching unconsciously. I might have caused real damage with the burns, but I had to keep it up. If I let her regain control for even an instant, she'd be on top of me.

She fell back as I continued – giving ground in a desperate attempt to put some space between us and regain control of the fight. Every sword she brought forth, I smacked away with my longer reach. Every fireball or explosion she cast, I waded through with staunch determination and molten armour that forced the flames to part around me. She might have kicked, tripped or grappled with me, but to do so would be to kill herself.

My Blacksmithing had neutralised her. Cinder's flames could not burn hot enough, her weapons could not cut deep enough, and for all her Levels, her Skills and Stats could not save her if she could not touch me.

—Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 14]



Cinder snarled. It was almost in slow motion that she swung her arm forward, summoning a great gout of flame and hurling it towards me. I knew her thoughts as she did. I was no longer a Blacksmith, therefore my one defence against her fire was lost.

[...]

Ducking low, I surged towards the fires, eyes flashing once as I shifted in a way I instinctively knew how. The words above my head changed – my perception of the world changed – and suddenly I was returned, a Blacksmith once more. My left hand touched my armour a second later and the heat was back, roaring to life as my armour turned bright red. All of it happened in the space of a few seconds and yet Cinder did not see it, her view obstructed by her own attack. I powered through it, emerging from the other side with an angry roar. Cinder backpedalled, panicked, and summoned her swords once more.

My mind clicked. New information, new strength, rushed into me. When our blades clashed, I was a Swordmaster once again.

And I was strong.

With grace I'd never before possessed, I slid into and around her guard, catching one of her blades on mine and bringing my hilt up, twisting her left arm aside and parrying her right with my cross guard. My left foot slid forward, between hers, and I jabbed the pommel of Crocea Mors into her face, stunning her. Following through, the blade came up and down, down onto her collarbone. Cinder screamed in pain and staggered back, blood pouring from the wound.

[...]

We traded blows at a furious pace. Cinder's blades rarely broke past my defence, but when they did I tanked them without concern, making her pay for each with another wound that bit deeper and deeper each time. If I could just knock her down, get past her, and reach her King, then I might be able to break his control over her. I could free her.

Cinder didn't make it easy. She figured out my plan early on and smiled softly, despite the brutal fight we were engaged in.

"Ever the Hero. Right, Jaune? You want to save me, even now."

I grit my teeth and caught her swords against mine, pushing back to lock her hands against her breasts.

"If you don't fight me properly, I'll kill you," she warned. "And then I shall go on to kill and kill. All in the name of my Kingdom. When shall I stop? Who shall try and stop me? Your friends, no doubt. I shall have to kill them as well."

My eyes flashed, and my sword turned into an almost ethereal state, phasing through her weapons and up towards her chin. "Rargh!"

Cinder broke away, leaning back at the last second to avoid certain death. She summoned some fire, but let it go when I shifted into a Blacksmith. Instead, she lunged back in, trying to take me before I could turn back.

The transition was all but immediate now, however.

[...]

Her swords joined as one – becoming one far longer and larger than mine. Each slash sent a wave of fire before and after it, burning the air, and my body. Not as intense as it had been before, but simultaneous, forcing me to choose between the defence of a Blacksmith and the offence of a Swordmaster, each time I changed a drain on my stamina.

Her flaming sword nicked and cauterised my cheek, burning a scar into it. I slammed a fist into her stomach, bending her double. Cinder's free hand gripped my shoulder. Flame roared to life and tore a scream from me. My Class changed and my armour super-heated. She fell back with a hiss. Her sword rose, my Class changed once more. My eyes glowed.

"Dividing Slash!" I roared.

Crocea Mors swept up. White light poured from it as it struck the sword, shearing it in two with not a hint of resistance. Too little so, in fact. I swung too hard and over-extended, and Cinder capitulated on the weakness by turning her now broken sword into a dagger, thrusting it under my breastplate, aiming for my stomach. I was barely able to twist aside and even then, the pain of her attack searing my flesh was indescribable.

Without thinking, I drove my forehead into hers. Cinder fell back with a grunt, staggering for a single step. My shoulder caught her chest a second later and she fell back, down onto one knee. Her sword came up, re-formed and ready to parry, but I ignored her entirely. I'd already rushed past, eyes set on the real target, the corpulent man who had essentially mind-r*ped a woman I respected into obedience. He saw my intent a moment before I struck. His eyes widened, and his lips quivered. A scream escaped him at the last second.

And then my vision was filled with red and black.

Crocea Mors was merciless. Powered by my new Passive, she tore through flesh and bone with ease, travelling through the body and erupting out of the back, covered in gore. My hands were warm. Overly warm and slick with blood. A face was pressed close to mine, chin on my shoulder, leaning there for support. Black hair tickled my nose.

"Why…?"

"I'm sorry," Cinder whispered back. "I'm so sorry..."

"That's it!" the King said, giggling madly. "Keep him busy, Cinder. I'll finish this myself!"

—Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 15]