Seeing the calm on the Grand Priestesses' face, Rio looked down at the two-headed direhog, his eyes roaming over its figure, which was now staring in the direction of the kick he had kicked.
Observing the people who had come up the hill, it was clear to Rio that only the grand priestess understood him, and she was the only one who could help him.
The thought of killing the direhog ran through Rio's mind, but then he wondered if the grand priestess and her king would truly spare him, considering he had killed a good lot of their men.
"What about the people I killed?" Rio questioned.
"What about them?"
The grand priestess's reply, combined with the smile on her face threw Rio off guard, and just as he began wondering if she was perhaps a cold, heartless bastard, she answered the question for him.
"Kill the curse, and you will be hailed as a Savior. No one will care about the lives you've ended."
Rio was stunned by this seemingly simple solution and then he turned to his right, watching as the supposed king walked into view, his sights this time set on Rio, a menacing aura coming off him.
"If you end the curse, I will calm his rage, and you will be spared." The beautiful female said.
"If you leash him, I won't kill him."
The grand priestess's reply to Rio's words was a small smile and then she impassively watched as he was forced to jump away from his previous spot, picking up the cursed beast, which would have been crushed by a heavy boot.
"Boom"
Holding the two-headed direhog under his left arm, with his axe resting on his shoulder, Rio stared at his opponent, his eyes tracing his well-armoured form which left no gaps, and then he stared at his uncovered face, thinking of how the man's long hair made him look gallant.
"Bam"
Without a word, Rio shot forward, his grip around his axe tightening, and when he got close to his opponent, he swung down.
Rio's target was Ark's head, his desire being to split it in two, but with calm Ark dodged it, a step backward being all he needed, and once he was out of the way, he brought down his blade.
It seemed like Ark would claim an easy win, but unfortunately for him, Rio's leg shot out with speed, smashing against his armor, and though Ark tried to hold his ground, he was immediately sent skidding backward, his blade leaving a shallow cut across Rio's cheek.
Had Rio been any weaker and his kick slow to shove Ark away, the king's blade would have taken his head. This realization did not breathe any fear into Rio, it instead made him smile, and keeping his eyes on his opponent, he rubbed the neck of the furry being under his left arm.
"For some reason, these guys hate you. For now, stay behind me and away from them, they don't look like they'll be taking action any time soon."
Saying this, Rio released the two-headed beast, letting it drop to the ground, feeling relief when it did as he said.
Bam!
Bam!
Without a word needing to be said, Rio and Ark charged at each other and while the armoured king's gaze was one of focus and determination, Rio's was one of excitement, a smile even climbing on his face.
Making the first attack, Ark slashed sideways, his blade swinging up from the ground, but at the last second, Rio put a hard brake to his momentum just barely stepping out of the sword's range.
Before Rio could attack, the energies in Ark flowed and he spun and threw out a low kick which he retreated to avoid.
Immediately Ark's kick passed by, Rio stepped forward and swung his axe down at the man, the sharp grin which had been on his face fading when the blade of his axe bounced off his opponent's arm guard.
Immediately, Rio was forced to retreat as unrelenting, Ark bombarded with a flurry of fast strikes, his momentum not dropping.
"I need to get out of this deadlock before I slip."
Watching his opponent's movements as he backpedaled, Rio surprisingly found himself easily recognizing a pattern, and predicting the king's next move, which entailed him bringing his right arm down, Rio stopped his retreat, his left hand shooting out and grabbed the arm up in the air.
Stopping Ark's swing dead in its track, Rio's axe gleamed as he sliced through the air, seeking his opponent's head, yet things wouldn't be so easy.
With a sneer, rather than fret at the approaching danger, Ark's left hand shot out, his tightened fist reaching Rio's chest before his axe did. Though Rio braced for the hit, intent on tanking it and still taking Ark's head, the bone-crushing punch that landed on him sent his body shooting away.
"Bam"
The air broke as Ark's fist collided with Rio and following that, his airborne figure was all that could be seen, a trail of blood leaving his mouth.
Rio crashed into the ground with reckless abandon, rolling over the meadow and flowers like a log going down a hill. When his body finally came to a stop, he was lying flat on his face, his body still.
Graa! Graa!
Rio didn't know how long he was out on the ground, but it must not have been more than 10 seconds because when he finally pushed himself up, he could make out the image of the two-headed direhog, shockingly escaping the attacks of the angry king, the beast somehow dashing towards him with steps that left it blurring into numerous images.
"Fuck"
Despite the shocking display from the two-headed direhog, Rio knew that its parlor trick could not save it from Ark for long and coughing one last time, he held his axe and with a growl, sped forward.
Ark's one hit had actually crushed Rio's chest and from this, Rio learnt that while he might surpass the king in his speed, Ark bodied him in strength.
Luckily for Rio, he had a body that could heal on its own and while his damaged chest was being repaired, he got back into the fray, his approach making Ark focus back on him with a surprised expression.
Keeping in mind that he had to use his speed to his advantage, Rio rapidly closed the distance between the two of them but after making a swing at the man, he was forced to jump back and rapidly retreat, his eyes locked on the shaft in his hand whose thick deadly upper part had gone missing.
His axe had been cut in two.