Kid'ka glared up at the two brothers, which towered over him. The one with the blade, Hrogni, let out a bellowing laugh, while his younger brother Loga merely glared back at Kid'ka. A few of the halberd wielding Fiends were moving to surround him now, readying their glowing blades to strike. His wounds had sealed already, though if that Great Owl was a Fiend, then he'd surely be turning into one soon. The invisible beast had crashed here in the courtyard, unseen wings beating as it let out pained screeches. He risked a glance down at his shoulders, wincing as he saw his flesh beginning to turn purple where the injuries had been.
Spirals began to etch themselves into his flesh, but Kid'ka didn't fret. All this had done was make him unkillable- Hrogni and Loga didn't stand a chance. It didn't take long until the process was done, his flesh now a deep purple, spirals etched across his skin. Despite the curse, Kid'ka was still regenerating, the pain ceasing as the wounds sealed over. Surprisingly, despite having become a Fiend, Kid'ka didn't feel any different.
"Welcome!" Hrogni cheered, "You are one of us now, but don't think that means I'll spare you any agonies."
"Me neither, Pillar-Born." Loga spat, readying his massive shield.
"I don't fear you." Kid'ka told them, voice steady, "You're a couple of pebbles, I just need to kick you out of my way to get where I need to go."
Hrogni's smile faded, "I am at least a boulder." He insisted, brows knitting together in anger.
Kid'ka shook his head, "A pebble."
Veins began to pop on Hrogni's face, "How dare you!" He shouted, "I'll split you apart with Malthung, my blade!" He said, holding up the massive sword, "My blade was forged beneath a full moon-"
"I do not care." Kid'ka scoffed, drawing his own sword, "I came here for one reason, and that's to take Kazon's head. Know me, I am The son of Zodd, Kid'ka!" He yelled.
Hrogni froze, staring at Kid'ka with wide eyes, "Really?"
"What do you mean 'really?'" Loga chided, "He can't declare falsely, you fool."
"I warned you about that." Hrogni said, "After this is resolved, I will put you down for a week straight, until you beg Belaine to heal you." Hrogni then slung his blade over his shoulder, staring down at Kid'ka with a critical eye, "I will grant you this choice, as you are a son of Zodd, you may either face me or my brother in single combat. I would not offer this to any other warrior, save a son of Darax perhaps. Do you accept?"
Kid'ka, seeing an opportunity, just smirked, "No, I'll take you both on at the same time."
He felt the effects of the Act of Arrogance immediately, feeling lighter on his feet, more powerful. Hrogni, much to Kid'ka's surprise, merely laughed again.
"Very well, Son of Zodd!" Hrogni shouted, "Come face Hrogni and Loga, we will present you to Lord Kazon in chains! Malthung and Loga's shield, Zaiga, will make short work of you!" He finished, gesturing to Loga's shield.
Kid'ka charged, the dozens of halberd wielding Fiends closing in on him as he approached. He ducked a swing before slashing his sword straight through the creature's arms, severing them in one clean slash before kicking it squarely in the chestplate. The metal caved inward, the Fiend being flung backward into a far wall, black blood exploding around its body immediately after it impacted. It slid down in a broken heap, an armless twitching mass of flesh. Hrogni and Loga didn't approach as Kid'ka took apart the rest of the Fiends in short order, easily battering them aside as if they were little more than insects.
He had come too far to be bothered by low-tier warriors such as these! The thought of it made him furious, did they not know that he was the son of Zodd himself, the Pillar of Might!? His vision began to redden, his thoughts becoming muddied as he ripped his foes to pieces. He was going to be a Pillar-God, he smirked, his vision blurring… a God… Kid'ka blinked, shaking his head. He couldn't be thinking like that, not now, and not for the future. Returning his focus to the Fiends, he finished off the rest. They didn't last long against him, as it should be, leaving only Hrogni and Loga standing there, the former letting out bellowing laughs.
Then, out from the sky, a gigantic metal boulder fell into the courtyard, shattering the ground with its weight. That must have been Jason, right? At least, he assumed it was, Kid'ka couldn't see him, but what other invisible object could make such an impact? Kid'ka also saw Lance on the edge of the roof, taking aim at Hrogni with her Visus rifle. Curious… he hadn't been able to see her before, had the Coven made her visible? She fired, the bullet impacting with the Fiend's skull. However, instead of exploding into chunks, Hrogni's head merely tilted to one side, cutting off his laugh as the bullet ricochet right off him. A look of fury overcame Hrogni then, and he turned to glare up at Lance.
He aimed Malthung right at her, "A coward throwing glorified rocks!" He shouted, veins bulging, "You I will kill first!"
A violent pounding of metal on stone approached, "Lance!" Jason's voice shouted, "Take out any reinforcements and cover us!" Right after he said that, Lance became invisible once again, Jason's own cloaking dissipating to reveal him charging forth.
Hrogni sneered, Loga stepping up close beside him. Kid'ka charged them right at the same time Jason fired at Hrogni. With supernatural speed, Loga intercepted the shotgun shell with his massive shield. A loud clang echoed through the courtyard, sparks flying as the blast forced Loga sliding backward into his brother. Much to Kid'ka's shock, Zaiga remained undamaged, not even a scratch on the surface of the dark shield.
Hrogni crouched low as Jason fired again, the shell once more blocked by Loga as Kid'ka approached their flank. Jason rounded them, forcing Loga to match him and thus depriving Hrogni of protection, at least from Kid'ka. He leapt up and swung for Hrogni's head, but the Fiend blocked this with Malthung. Kid'ka's eyes widened as his own sword split in half as it met the edge of the dark blade.
Kid'ka felt himself being flung sideways as a massive fist crashed into his ribs, sending him flying across the courtyard. Pain exploded through his torso, blackened blood flying out of his mouth before he collided with one of the pillars lining the courtyard. It snapped forward, right before falling directly on top of him, crushing him partially. The pain nearly threatened to send him into madness, but Kid'ka grit his teeth, refusing to allow himself to become an animal. With a free hand, he heaved off the upper half of the pillar, feeling his flesh beginning to regenerate and the pain leave along with it. Red smoke filled the air as his body fixed itself, Kid'ka drawing on Foundation to cast Maintain Body.
Thankfully that had been the first thing Theopalu had taught him on the way to meet Jason, with his regeneration he would be reduced to a skinny husk without it. He rose, seeing Jason battling against Hrogni and Loga alone, Lance taking shots against other guards emerging from the palace entrance. Jason ducked back from a sword swing, countering with a shotgun blast that was blocked by Loga.
He rose on shaking feet before charging back into the fight. He needed to focus on keeping Loga occupied, that way Jason could get a shot off on Hrogni. He may have been tough, but a shot from the Magnus would likely be enough to put him down. Loga seemed to be purely defensive, whereas Hrogni was all offense, the two working in perfect unison as they fought. Hrogni didn't seem to give any sense to his defense as long as Loga was with him, furiously swinging at Jason and keeping him on the backfoot. Jason likely didn't want to risk being struck with that blade, knowing that it was an Artifact from Lance's earlier transmission.
Kid'ka leapt high into the air, lashing out at Loga with a kick aimed for the base of his neck. The blow connected, sounding more like steel bashing against steel, more than boot against flesh. Loga snarled, swinging his shield for Kid'ka as he was still falling. He was battered away like a ball as the shield hit him edge-first, rotating him three times mid-air before he hit the ground. Kid'ka rolled as soon as he hit the floor, avoiding a vicious stomp that shattered the ground where he had just been. He lashed out with a kick, his heel connecting right with the ball of Loga's ankle.
The Fiend let out a howl of agony as he fell to one knee, Kid'ka feeling the bone in Loga's foot split beneath the force. Unlike Kid'ka though, Loga didn't seem to regenerate from the injury. He took advantage of this moment of weakness, punching the Fiend straight in the throat and sending him into a fit of gagging pain. At the same time, Jason fired a shot at Hrogni, but the Fiend blocked it with Malthung, aware that Loga could not so easily protect him. Jason backpedaled, loading another few shells into the Magnus as Hrogni followed after him, blade swinging for his head.
Jason dodged it easily, firing off a shot that blew a hole right in Hrogni's gut, right as Kid'ka dodged another swing from Loga. The giant fell to his knees, Malthung falling from his hands as he gasped for breath, trying to force his spilling guts back into his gaping stomach.
"Hrogni!" Loga shouted, right as Kid'ka drove his thumbs into his eyes.
"I thought you both were supposed to be strong, but it seems a mortal is still a mortal, no matter the curse or size!" Kid'ka shouted as he began squeezing Loga's skull.
Blood and gore splattered across Kid'ka's sneering face as he crushed Loga's skull flat, right at the same time Jason shoved the barrel of the Magnus right up to the roof of Hrogni's mouth, pulling the trigger and banishing the upper half of the Fiend's head from this realm. Dark purple mist filled the air as the headless bodies of Hrogni and Loga fell to the stones at the same time.
This wasn't enough, Kid'ka needed, no, deserved a far greater challenge! His eyes found Jason, and he smirked. Readying himself to charge the Outworlder before he caught himself, shocked at this animalistic instinct.
"You've been infected." Jason pointed out, magnetizing the Magnus to his back, "I'm sorry, I didn't get here soon enough."
Kid'ka blinked before shaking his head, "It's not your fault." He huffed, "I got grabbed by that owl."
"After we neutralize Kazon, you might go back to normal." Jason told him, trying to sound reassuring.
Kid'ka shrugged as he watched Jason grab Malthung from the ground, "All this did was m-make me more angerous- uh, dangerous." He told him, his stutter returning, "You want that?"
"It's an Artifact, of course I want it." Jason said, surprising Kid'ka with how straightforward his reasoning was, "I'll be confiscating that shield as well."
"They still have to c-choose you, you know that right?" Kid'ka said, dusting himself off, "If they don't want you, I'd like to have a chance to have them."
"They are too oversized for you to use adequately." Jason countered.
"I have supernatural strength, and I need a new sword." Kid'ka told him, glaring.
"Well if they don't choose me, then feel free." Jason said, "But I called dibs."
"Dibs?" Kid'ka asked, confused.
"It's something I heard once." He told him, hefting up Zaiga in his left hand.
Kid'ka could not deny that Malthung and Zaiga seemed to be almost scaled for him… Hells, they even looked like they were made for him. The sword and shield seemed to agree, for they did not try to escape his grasp. It seemed that the Artifacts had made their choice, which seemed completely unfair to Kid'ka, but it was what it was, surely there had to be other items within Blackgaze he could claim as his own. Until then, he'd need to rely on his fists, normal blades could not keep up with him any longer.
"Where are the others?" Kid'ka asked, "Are they safe?"
"Halm made a breach, they've infiltrated the palace, we should head in as well and rendezvous with them. There are still seven more of the Twelve left to neutralize." Jason said, magnetizing Malthung to his back before grabbing the Magnus with his free hand.
He took aim at the still thrashing Great Owl, still invisible but screeching all the same, right before firing off another blast, bracing the shotgun on the rim of Zaiga as he did so. Feathery chunks of dark viscera exploded from an invisible figure, the screeching suddenly coming to an abrupt end, pink mist flooding out into the courtyard, demonic faces filling it. So the Great Owl was a lesser-Fiend then? It must have done significant damage in order to curse Kid'ka in one blow. Then again, all of its gigantic talons had punctured his flesh at the same time, maybe that had been all that was needed for a monster that size.
Oh well, either way, Kid'ka was a Fiend now, hopefully Twindil wouldn't weep too much for him. He and Jason both rushed into the Palace, Lance following after them, still completely invisible.