Augustus moved first.
His now black coated blade swung forward in a wide horizontal arc. The motion was smooth, practiced and deadly. And from the edge of his sword, something released.
A wave of black flames erupted outward. It was Massive and Towering. Twenty feet tall and growing in length. The flames weren't red or orange. They were pure black, darker than shadow, consuming light itself as they traveled. The heat radiating from them was intense enough to make the air ripple and distort.
The wave moved horizontally across the throne room like a tsunami of destruction. Everything in its path disintegrated. The floor cracked first, then shattered, then vaporized into dust. Chunks of stone exploded upward, scattering in all directions. The ground beneath the wave simply ceased to exist due to its impact, leaving a deep destruction carved into the palace foundation.
Some of Aldrich Mirrors that were caught in the wave's path shattered instantly but they reformed back just as fast as it was destroyed. Glass exploded. Frames melted. Five mirrors on the left side. Three on the right. Two floating in mid air. All obliterated in seconds. The sound was deafening a roar of destruction mixed with shattering glass and crumbling stone.
The entire palace trembled. Walls shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. Cracks spider webbed across pillars. The foundation shaked under the strain of the attack..
The wave of black flames continued toward Aldrich. It was Unstoppable and almost Unavoidable. The heat alone was enough to kill.But Aldrich didn't move to dodge. Instead He took one step forward calm and deliberate towards the attack that was coming.
Directly in front of him stood one of the mirrors. Six feet tall. Gold frame shining Glass surface perfectly reflective which was directly on the ground floor in front of him. Aldrich stepped onto it.And the mirror absorbed him.His body didn't pass through the glass. Didn't break it. It simply pulled him inside, swallowing him whole like water accepting a stone. One moment he was there. The next, he was gone. Vanished into the mirror's surface without a trace and so it disappeared.
The black flame wave passed through the empty space where he'd been standing. It continued forward, unstoppable, cutting through the back wall of the throne room like it was paper.Stone exploded. A massive hole opened in the palace wall. Twenty feet wide. Fifteen feet tall. The black flames shot out into the open air beyond, dissipating finally after traveling another few feet away.
Through the hole, the city became visible. Buildings. Streets. People.And the citizens saw it. That massive blast of black fire. That destruction. The hole in the palace wall and they all wondered what was happening up there.Screams echoed from the streets. People ran. Guards shouted orders. Panic spread like wildfire.
But Inside the throne room, King Augustus stood in the aftermath. His sword still extended from the swing. Black essence still coating the blade. His eyes moved immediately. He looked Left. Right. Upward. Scanning the surroundings in search of Aldrich.
The geometric clock pattern in his eyes spun faster, the hands moving, the gears turning, searching for futures, for possibilities, for where Solomon would appear next.But the mirrors reflected him from a hundred different angles. Distorted perspectives. Impossible views. Each one showing a different moment, a different timeline, a different reality.
"You sneaky brat," Augustus muttered. His voice was calm but his jaw was tight. "I know how this technique works. But where will you appear from?"
His eyes kept moving. Searching. The clock pattern spinning.
"Dammit. Foresight is useless without seeing my target." He muttered
And then, from above, there was movement.One of the mirrors hanging near the ceiling rippled. And from its surface, the tip of the Ice King Breaker sword emerged. Slowly. The crystalline blade pushing through the glass like it was liquid.Then another mirror rippled. Another sword tip emerged.Then another. And another. And another contiously.
From every mirror in the throne room which Aldrich had manifested earlier, from every angle, from every surface, the Ice King Breaker sword pushed through. Not copies. Not illusions. The same sword, existing in a hundred different locations simultaneously, each one as real as the others.
The mirrors had fractured reality itself.And then they all attacked at once.One hundred swords shot forward. All aimed at King Augustus. All moving at incredible speed. Ice trailing behind each blade. Frost spreading across the air in their wake.
Augustus's eyes widened slightly. The clock pattern in his pupils spun rapidly, faster than before, processing, calculating, predicting each movement.
"Well," he said with a slight smile, "I can see every possible trajectory of this attack."
The first sword came from above. He saw it three seconds before it arrived. His body shifted left. The blade passed through empty air, missing him by inches.
The second came from his right. He'd already seen it. He ducked low. It whistled over his head.
The third from behind. He spun, bringing his black coated sword up. The blades met with a sharp ring. Ice met darkness. The Ice King Breaker deflected upward.
Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seventh.Augustus moved like water, flowing between attacks. His feet never stopped moving. Always shifting position. Always one step ahead. His sword deflected what he couldn't dodge. Black flames burst from each parry, melting the ice blades on contact.
But the attacks were unending. Relentless. Wave after wave. The swords kept coming from every direction. Every angle. Every mirror. The sound of clashing blades filled the throne room. Metal on metal. Ice shattering. Flames burning through from his sword.
Augustus was focused entirely on defense. His eyes tracked every incoming blade. His sword moved in precise arcs. His body twisted and turned. He was a master in motion. But his attention was completely absorbed by the onslaught.
Which was exactly what Solomon wanted.On the far wall, one of the mirrors rippled. Different from the others.
And Aldrich stepped through it.He emerged from the glass silently, his boots touching the floor without a sound. His Ice King Breaker sword gripped in his hand. His breathing steady. His eyes locked on Augustus's back.
The king was twenty feet away. Completely focused on deflecting the sword attacks. Distracted and completely Vulnerable.
Inside Aldrich's mind, Solomon spoke. His voice was calm, instructional. "Augustus's Foresight has a weakness. One he's never been able to fully overcome as far as I know ."
Aldrich listened while moving forward slowly, carefully, each step silent.
"What's the weakness?" Aldrich asked internally.
"When you overwhelm his senses, his brain can't focus on multiple targets," Solomon explained. "His ability shows him futures, but only the ones he's consciously looking for. If his mind is divided, if too much is happening at once, his predictions become fragmented. Distorted. He sees pieces of different timelines but can't focus on any single threat properly."
Aldrich understood. The hundred swords weren't meant to hit. They were meant to blind him.Solomon's voice grew more urgent. "Now. While he's distracted. Move fast. End this."
Aldrich activated another library. His essence shifted. Energy flooded his legs. His muscles compressed. Power built on him.,
"Library of Hermes," he whispered. "Speed of Hermes."
And his body shot forward.Not running. Not blurring. Exploding forward with speed that defied physics. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the force of his acceleration. The air displaced violently, creating a shockwave that rippled outward.
In mere seconds, he crossed twenty feet.He appeared behind Augustus. Close enough to strike. Close enough to kill with one powerful blow.
And the moment he arrived, all hundred Ice King Breaker swords attacking Augustus simultaneously stopped. Froze in mid air. Became still.The distraction ended.
But it was already too late.Augustus's clock pattern eyes widened. He hadn't seen this. His Foresight had been too fragmented, too divided among tracking a hundred blades. This future had slipped through.
Aldrich swung.The Ice King Breaker sword cut through the air in a perfect horizontal slash. Aimed at Augustus's neck. A killing blow it was.
Augustus moved on pure instinct. His body twisted. Leaned back. Tried to dodge.But he was a fraction too slow.The blade missed his neck. But the edge caught his left eye. The crystalline sword sliced through flesh. Through the orbital socket. Through the eyeball itself.
Blood sprayed. Hot and Red.Augustus gasped. Pain exploded through his skull. His vision on the left side went dark immediately. The geometric clock pattern in that eye shattered, fragmenting into broken pieces before fading entirely.
He leaped backward instinctively. His body moved with trained grace despite the pain. He landed fifteen feet away, boots sliding across the floor. His free hand immediately went to his left eye.
Blood poured between his fingers. Thick and the warmth of blood . It ran down his cheek, dripped from his jaw, splattered onto the ground in heavy droplets. Each one spreading across the white floor that was already getting destroyed.
His breathing was heavier now. Ragged. The pain was intense, but he forced himself to stay calm and Stay focused.Aldrich began walking toward him. Slow and steady . The Ice King Breaker sword held ready. Blood still dripping from its edge.
When he spoke, Solomon's voice came out. Cold and Certain. "Do you really think you're invincible, brother?"
King Augustus stood there. Blood streaming down his face. His left eye destroyed. His right eye still functional, the clock pattern still spinning, but half his vision was gone.
For the first time in the fight, Augustus felt it. A cold sensation in his chest. Unfamiliar. Unwelcome.but it was complete fear..
Inside his mind, his thoughts raced. "Has he figured it out? The blind spot of my ability? Overwhelming my perception so I can't focus on individual outcomes?"
But Augustus wasn't about to surrender. Wasn't about to lose.He let his hand drop from his ruined eye. Blood continued to pour, but he ignored it. And he smiled. A real smile. Genuine and full of Excitment
He pointed his black coated sword at Aldrich. "What would be a fight without blood being spilled? There's no fun in that." His voice was steadier now. Confident despite the injury. "Solomon, I've never been as excited as I am today to battle you and kill you once again but this time for good cause"
He took a breath. His smile widened. "I figured out the one weakness my ability possessed. And I found a way to ensure it wouldn't be a problem."
He raised his sword higher. "Today, I shall test that which I hold dearest."
Augustus's voice grew louder, echoing through the destroyed throne room.
["Library of the Chimera Grimoire: Archive Fifty-Seven: Royal Index Rainbow Serpent."]
The air above Augustus rippled. Distorted. Reality bent. And something emerged.A serpent.Massive and long. Its body as thick as a tree trunk. But what made it impossible to look away from were the colors.
The serpent's scales weren't one color. They were all colors. Every scale shined with a different hue, flowing seamlessly from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to indigo to violet. The pattern repeated across its entire body in waves, constantly shifting, constantly moving. Like a living rainbow given serpentine form.
Its eyes were that of king Augustus eyes.The serpent's body coiled through the air, moving with liquid grace. It wrapped itself around King Augustus protectively, its massive form circling him three times. Its head rose above his, looking down at Aldrich with those blank white eyes.
Augustus stood within the coils of the rainbow serpent. Blood still dripping from his ruined eye. But his smile remained.
"The chance you had to take me out is gone," he said simply. "This summon shares the same Foresight ability as I do. All thanks to Lucian, the scientist who figured out how to combine two library abilities to work hand in hand."
He paused. "Two sets of eyes. Two separate Foresights. You can't overwhelm both."
And then Augustus moved.He blurred forward. His black coated sword raised. His right eye's clock pattern spinning rapidly.Simultaneously, the Rainbow Serpent moved with him. Its body uncoiled and shot forward like a striking viper. Faster than something that size should move.
The serpent's mouth opened wide mid movement . And Rows of crystalline teeth shined. And from deep within its throat, light built. Not one color. But Seven in total.
Seven beams of rainbow lightning erupted from the serpent's mouth. Each one a different color. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet. All moving independently, all tracking toward Aldrich from different angles.
The lightning moved impossibly fast. The sound was like thunder compressed into a single instant. The beams tore through the air, leaving scorched trails in their wake.
Aldrich's system activated immediately.
SYSTEM ALERT: DANGER DETECTION ACTIVE
MULTIPLE PROJECTILES DETECTED
SEVEN SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS
TRAJECTORIES CALCULATED
EVASION REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY
RECOMMENDATION: ACTIVATE MOVEMENT ABILITY
His body responded instantly. On pure instinct. He dissolved into black smoke again, his form scattering just as the seven beams converged on his location.
The rainbow lightning struck empty air destroying the place he was at . The beams continued forward, hitting the wall behind where Aldrich had been. Stone exploded. The wall didn't just crack. It vaporized. A massive hole opened, even larger than the first. Chunks of palace wall rained down into the city below.
The building shook violently. Pillars cracked. The ceiling groaned. Dust and debris fell like snow.Aldrich reappeared twenty feet to the left. Solid again. His breathing heavy from the rapid movement.
But there was a problem,Augustus had already moved.His right eye's clock pattern had spun forward. The hands had moved ahead. The gears had turned. He'd seen this exact moment three seconds before it happened.
He'd seen exactly where Aldrich would reappear.While the Rainbow Serpent had attacked, Augustus had sprinted toward that exact location. His black coated sword was already mid swing when Aldrich materialized.
"Got you," Augustus said quietly.
The black flame blade cut through the air in a perfect vertical slash. Aimed to split Aldrich from shoulder to hip. A bisecting strike. An Instant death move to happen an unexpected moment:
The attack was already upon him. Already cutting downward. Already about to divide his body in two.
Aldrich's who had just reappeared his eyes widened. As the attack from Augustus was a upon Aldrich and was already taking effect on him.