Calvinel and Bryanard skidded to a halt as the younger knight was suddenly forced to raise his greatsword high, bracing with both hands to absorb the crushing impact of a massive cleaver. The weapon was nearly the size of his own blade, yet the armored drakorath wielded it effortlessly in one hand. The clash rang like a bell, the sheer weight behind it driving Calvinel's boots deep against the cobblestones.
"Faster than you look," Calvinel grunted, straining under the pressure.
Bryanard moved in from the side, warhammer sweeping low in a brutal arc. But the drakorath shifted with startling precision, its free hand snapping up. The scales along its forearm rippled, reshaping into thick, segmented plates that caught the blow. The hammer slammed into it with a crunch, the force jarring Reaver's stance but not breaking it.
"Impressive," the demon said, voice smooth yet resonant. Its slitted eyes turned toward Calvinel first. "To block my strike…" Then to Bryanard. "…and to make me feel the weight behind yours."
With sudden force, Reaver shoved both knights back. Metal boots scraped hard against stone as they were driven a step away, but neither fell. The demon stood tall, cleaver raised with casual menace.
"I am Reaver," it declared, voice carrying like a challenge over the battlefield. "Demon of the archreavers. I have stood against knights before, and I have never known defeat. Only those who prove themselves earn the right to hear my name."
Bryanard's eyes narrowed, warhammer tightening in his grip. "You speak like a knight, but I feel not a grain of honor in you."
Calvinel rolled his wrist, shaking out the sting from blocking, then reset his stance, greatsword steady in both hands. "It's a demon. Did you really expect honor?"
Reaver laughed, a guttural sound edged with amusement. "You are right. I am no knight." Its grin widened, sharp and cruel. "I am a soldier."
It lunged at Bryanard with explosive speed, cleaver arcing downward in a crushing swing. Bryanard stepped back at the last instant, hammer whipping across to knock the blade aside in a shower of sparks. Calvinel surged in at the opening, greatsword slicing in a clean horizontal strike toward Reaver's exposed leg.
But steel clashed against steel with a piercing clang. From its left arm, Reaver snapped out a natural blade, a wicked extension of its draconic anatomy, catching the strike before it could bite. Its chuckle was low, confident. "You fight me as though I were a man."
With a twist of its arm, Reaver shoved Calvinel's blade wide—just far enough to plunge the wrist blade forward, stabbing for the knight's chest—while in the same motion, it swung the cleaver in a sweeping horizontal arc at Bryanard.
"You fight like we don't have magic!" Calvinel shouted, thrusting out his hand. A jagged block of ice burst into existence and slammed into Reaver's chest, the demon's scales shuddered, breaking into segments to disperse the impact before snapping back into place. Bryanard followed immediately, snapping his fingers just inches from Reaver's face. A sharp crack of sound exploded outward, a miniature thunderclap that struck it point-blank and sent the creature reeling with a guttural grunt.
"And here I thought knights fought with honor," Reaver growled, glaring at them with a twisted sneer.
"We fight with what we've learned," Bryanard answered, hefting his warhammer high.
"And with what we have," Calvinel added, lowering his greatsword into a poised guard. The two knights exchanged a brief nod before surging into motion.
Calvinel sprinted forward, greatsword drawn back for a thrust. The demon lifted its blade and swung down in a vicious diagonal meant to cleave him apart, but Calvinel pushed off the ground and leapt.
Bryanard was already moving. His warhammer came crashing down, slamming into the earth and sending a shuddering shockwave rippling across the ground. The tremor knocked Reaver off balance, forcing it to stumble in its stance.
In the same instant, Calvinel conjured a jagged line of ice beneath his feet, shaping it into a narrow path that carried him forward midair. Greatsword drawn back, he closed in fast, yet Reaver recovered more quickly than expected. With a snarl, it whipped its blade in a rough, unstable arc toward him.
Instead of panicking, Calvinel smirked. The ice path veered sharply, curving around to Reaver's flank. He spun along the arc, using the motion to build force, then shifted his grip. Rather than stabbing, he swung wide, driving the flat of his greatsword square into the back of Reaver's head. The blow rang out with a metallic crack, sending the demon stumbling forward.
Bryanard was ready. He swung his warhammer upward in a brutal arc, catching Reaver under the jaw with a resounding crunch. The impact lifted the creature off its feet. Dropping his weapon for a split second, Bryanard clapped his hands together, releasing a concentrated blast of thunder that tore through the air. The sonic wave smashed into Reaver mid-air and hurled it across the street, shattering the wall of a nearby building as its body disappeared into the rubble.
"Done and done," Calvinel muttered as he stepped lightly off the last shard of his ice path.
"Not yet. I do not think it's dead," Bryanard warned, retrieving his warhammer.
He was right. A massive clawed hand punched through the hole in the building, tearing stone and timber apart. With a violent crack, the wall collapsed outward as Reaver emerged—now nearly three times its original size. Its armor had stretched and grown with it, its weapon heavier and broader, the air around it shuddering with raw presence.
"You two," it snarled, voice deeper, darker, "and all these mortals are already dead."
Calvinel exhaled sharply, lowering his stance, then sighed. "Okay… now that is a big problem."