Teleportation.
It was a truly deadly ability when used in the right hands. The Pirate King seemed to be just those hands. He used his powers with remarkable efficiency. Never teleporting himself far enough to make it noticeable, while still far enough to make it detrimental.
Even if he knew the powers that their enemy possessed, it didn't help him much. In a fair fight, Derrin would have used this to his advantage. The man could teleport, sure, but it was clearly not over long distances. At least, not a lot of that.
So the best way to overcome his abilities would be to overwhelm his defenses. However, the chances of that happening here were nearly impossible.
"Silas, be careful!" Derrin called, "He can teleport himself."
Silas nodded slowly, "So you are a coward hiding behind his powers."
The Pirate King laughed, "You can call me what you like, my friends. It doesn't matter. You will lose this fight, no matter how long you delay it. Even if all your friends in the fort were to arrive, it would still be too late."
"We'll see about that," Derrin tightened his grip on his sword.
He scoffed, "We have already seen Montrelan. You have both used your powers already, and they have been nothing but failures. You are out of options and out of choices."
It was true. Silas had been using his powers the entire fight. Derrin was unsure how much mist he had left, but even so, his powers had done little against such an overwhelming threat.
As for himself, he had already used his sword's ability. It would take hours to recharge it again with his little mist.
"Out of options, my ass," Silas smirked as the ground behind the Pirate King exploded.
Derrin stumbled back as sand and rock rained down on him. As the dust cleared, he could make out the towering rocky figure standing behind the Pirate King. Silas had used the creature's true form, that of a ten-foot-tall behemoth. The golem let out a roar and rushed forward. Each step he took seemed to shake the ground all around them.
He had not forgotten about Silas's summons, but he didn't think it would be much help. Even with it in play, the Pirate King hadn't shown his true powers yet. Still, this was likely their only chance; if they didn't injure him now, they were screwed.
Together with Silas's stone creature, they charged the Pirate King. The man didn't even flinch as the trio reached him. Derrin slashed with his sword at the same moment Silas stabbed. Their blows came from two different angles, making it nearly impossible for the Pirate King to defend both strikes. The golem stepped up behind the man as if to grapple him.
However, their enemy was not an ordinary one. He deftly avoided Silas's stab before teleporting himself out of the way of Derrin's slash. The Pirate King brought his sword down upon the arm of the golem that blocked his path. There was an overwhelming thunderous boom, and Derrin stumbled backward. He heard the sound of crumbling stone and looked up to see the golem staggering with its entire arm gone.
"And here I thought this beast would put up more of a fight," The Pirate King scoffed as he kicked the creature in the chest.
The golem stumbled to its knees as a myriad of cracks covered the creature's outer shell.
"You bastard!" Silas screamed as he leaped at the Pirate King once more.
Derrin sighed as he rushed forward again. Their chances of victory were dwindling by the moment.
It was time to start thinking about the loss. It would be a good loss, an honorable loss. He had fought above his level and survived. That was more of an accomplishment than he could've hoped for.
The Pirate King dodged Silas's spear and positioned himself away from Derrin. This prevented him from closing the gap without getting in Silas's way. Then, with a punch to the ribs, he sent Silas hurtling backward. The soldier staggered slightly as he groaned in pain.
With the Pirate King distracted, Derrin leaped from the side. The man turned and teleported just out of reach of the strike. Derrin grinned and twisted mid-air to reorient his strike towards the man. The Pirate King narrowed his eyes as his sword appeared just in the nick of time to counter the strike.
It had been close, closer than they had been before…
The Pirate King drove his foot into Derrin's chest, sending him hurtling away like a rag doll. Derrin gasped as he rolled and bounced across the sandy ground. He was struggling to catch his breath. His ribs felt cracked from the sheer force of even a glancing blow as he attempted to stand.
The Pirate King whirled away as the golem advanced. He brought his blade down on the beast with a thundering boom. This time, the golem's legs snapped. It crashed to the floor in a heap of stones.
"No!" Silas screamed as the golem sank into the earth.
He had dismissed the creature in the blink of an eye. Had a few more seconds passed, his summon would have likely been permanently destroyed. Derrin didn't know what would have happened, but the effects on Silas would not have been good. Not that it mattered much. Silas had lost focus on the Pirate King as he released his summon. That gave the Pirate King ample time to strike.
The blow came down like judgment from the heavens. If before the pirate king had been using speed, he now used strength. Silas still managed to get his spear up to shield his body, but it didn't matter. The weapon had already sustained a myriad of blows during the short fight. To make matters worse, Silas was already short on mist after summoning his golem and releasing it.
All of it culminated as the sword slammed into Silas's spear, shattering the weapon. Teal mist echoed away as the blade continued downwards across Silas's hip. He tripped and fell to the floor as blood poured from the injury.
The wound wouldn't be fatal if treated. It might not even keep Silas down for more than a day, but it was the end of the battle for him and likely the end of the battle entirely.
Derrin had been slowly making his way towards the enemy the entire time. Now, with Silas in a brutalized state, hope seemed lost. He gave one last-ditch effort to take down the Pirate King. He struck with every ounce of skill at his disposal. Their loss was inevitable, but he would still sustain his honor. He would not allow it to fall by giving up in this losing fight.
He would fight till the last, even if that meant certain doom.
The Pirate King easily blocked the strikes and pushed him back. He seemed to no longer utilize the overwhelming strength and instead focused solely on skill. The man didn't even use his teleportation to fend off Derrin's blows. He didn't have to. His speed and strength had been greatly enhanced by his numerous heart stages. It wouldn't have mattered how well Derrin fought, not against an enemy of this caliber.
In the end, the blow to disarm him did come in the form of teleportation. One instant, a strike hit his blade to the side. Next, a blow came to his wrist. He was forced to release his sword or risk losing all of his fingers.
A slash took him in the arm, and a kick sent him sprawling. He was out of breath and out of options. It didn't matter how hard they had fought; in the face of overwhelming strength, it had been like a drop in the bucket.
The Pirate King looked down at his injured form with a sour expression. He shook his head slightly and reached towards his back and pulled out a long black shockpistol. The weapon glinted against the sudden light, and the Pirate King pointed it square at Derrin's face.
"Back in Avelon, the method of execution is a pistol shot to the head. That is only reserved for the best fighters and strongest warriors. Anyone else who is deserving of death is dumped in the sea where they can rejoin the creator. You fought well, Montrelan. Well enough that I will grant you the glory of a proper execution. Not one of drowning, but one of honor. That is the practice you preach, is it not?" He asked.
Derrin didn't respond. He wasn't sure if the man was mocking him or not. Did it matter? He had fought till the end, and that was that, but was this really the end? Could he just let the man pull the trigger on him just like that? He attempted to rise, but the Pirate King kicked him back down before planting a foot on his chest.
"None of that now. I am giving you the chance of a glorious end, so take honor in death. You fought well."
The sound of energy ripped through the fort.