"Are you going to test it out?" Karlach asked, her excitement bubbling to the surface, her gaze fixed directly on the dark metal gauntlet with genuine interest.
William squeezed his hand into a fist, "You bet your ass I do!"
After saying this, he willed Karlachs great-axe into existence from the mirror in the fort, and the weapon flew out from the large window and landed in Williams open hand with a resounding clang of metal on metal.
He was astonished by the lack of pain from the impact but He was more than simply astonished by the lack of weight.
It was as if the gauntlets' connection was granting him a modicum of extra strength and durability, at least enough to handle the axe without struggle.
"Here you go," he said, tossing her the axe. "It's a perfect replica of your real-world weapon!" She caught the axe in her hand, and immediately her arm muscles tensed slightly as she felt the weight of it, beginning to shift into her shoulder.
"Alright, let's get started on this, hehehe," she said, her smile turning wicked. With a swift move, she grabbed his non-armored hand and pulled him without hesitation away from the forge and out into the open area.
Karlach released William's hand the moment they stepped out from the forge and into the open yard.
The night air was cooler here, carrying the faint scent of iron and ash from the forge behind them.
A wide stretch of packed earth spread out between the buildings of the fort, worn smooth by years of training and sparring.
Karlach walked several paces ahead before stopping in the center of the clearing.
She rolled her shoulders once, then twice, loosening the muscles along her arms.
The copied greataxe rested easily in her hand.
With a smooth motion she swung it once through the air.
The heavy blade carved a low whoosh through the night before settling across her shoulder.
Karlach glanced back at him.
Her grin returned.
"Alright," she said. "Let's see what that shiny new hand can do."
William stepped out into the clearing as well, the faint glow of the Hellhand Prototype pulsing softly along the runic channels that traced across the dark metal.
The light rose and fell in time with his heartbeat.
He flexed his fingers once.
The plates shifted smoothly around his claws.
Good.
Karlach planted her feet, spreading her stance slightly.
The axe lowered from her shoulder and rotated in her grip until the blade angled forward, ready.
William extended his right arm slightly toward the fort behind him.
He focused for a moment.
In the bedroom mirror inside the fort, the surface rippled faintly.
Then something dark shot forward.
A sword burst from the mirror's surface, flying across the room before streaking out through the open window in a flash of steel.
The blade spun once in the air as it crossed the yard.
William caught it cleanly in his waiting hand.
The familiar weight settled instantly into his grip.
The copied blade of Widower gleamed faintly in the moonlight as he lowered it into a ready stance.
Karlach's eyebrows lifted.
"Nice trick."
William rolled his wrist, testing the balance of the sword alongside the armored gauntlet.
The Hellhand Prototype pulsed again.
The grip felt solid.
Stronger than before.
He angled the blade forward.
"I figured I shouldn't test new armor without a proper weapon."
Karlach chuckled.
"Good."
She lowered her center of gravity slightly, the axe blade tilting toward him.
The excitement in her eyes burned bright now.
"Because I'm not going easy on you."
William smiled faintly.
The glowing lines of the gauntlet flared once more as he tightened his grip on the Widower.
"Wouldn't want you to."
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
Then Karlach shifted her footing, and raised the axe.
Karlach moved first.
One moment she stood in her stance, axe angled forward.
The next she launched.
She surged across the clearing like a missile, boots tearing into the packed earth as raw power exploded through her stride.
Dirt and loose stones scattered behind her as the copied greataxe rose high above her shoulder, the blade gleaming cold in the moonlight.
William's eyes widened.
Fast.
But his mind had already reached for the armor.
Activate.
The moment the command formed in his thoughts, the Hellhand Prototype responded.
The purple leylines etched across the gauntlet flared to life in a brilliant pulse of light, energy racing through the carved channels like lightning through a circuit.
William thrust the armored arm forward.
"Shield."
With a sharp flash, thick hexagonal barriers erupted outward from the gauntlet's surface, locking together into a shimmering shell of violet light that covered his forearm and hand.
Karlach's axe slammed into it.
CLANG!
A burst of sparks exploded from the impact as steel met hardened magic.
The force of the strike shuddered through William's arm, but the barrier held firm, deflecting the blade off to the side.
The instant the axe slid away, William moved.
He stepped forward and swung Widower in a wide horizontal sweep, the blade cutting a deadly arc through the air toward Karlach's midsection.
Karlach's reaction was immediate.
She pushed off the ground and leapt backward, her powerful legs propelling her clear of the strike as the sword whistled through the space where she had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.
She landed several paces away.
Her boots carved shallow trails through the dirt as she slid to a stop, pebbles and dust scattering around her feet.
Karlach dropped back into a combat stance.
Her thick, powerful legs spread wide for balance, the greataxe rotating easily in her grip as she steadied herself.
For a split second the battlefield fell still.
Then the red leylines on William's armored arm ignited.
They blazed like molten veins beneath the dark metal as he poured power into the enchantment.
"Fire Beam."
A condensed stream of blazing heat erupted from the gauntlet, a lance of burning fury screaming across the clearing toward Karlach.
Her eyes widened.
She threw herself sideways, rolling hard across the ground as the beam tore past where she had been standing.
BOOM!
The beam struck a nearby boulder.
A violent burst of heat and pressure exploded across the stone surface, cracking the rock and leaving behind a deep, glowing scar that smoldered with residual heat.
Fragments of stone clattered across the clearing.
Karlach finished her roll and came up to one knee.
For a moment she simply stared at the damaged boulder.
Her eyes widened.
Then she slowly turned her head back toward William.
Stars lit up in her gaze.
"That..."
Her expression shifted.
The excitement hardened.
The spark of wonder sharpened into something far more dangerous.
Competition.
Karlach's grin spread slowly across her face.
"Now that is a weapon."
She rose to her feet.
The greataxe spun once in her hand as she tightened her grip.
Then she roared.
The sound tore through the clearing like thunder as a violent red aura erupted around her body.
Heat shimmered through the air as her muscles swelled, veins standing out beneath her skin while raw barbarian fury surged through her frame.
Her eyes locked onto William, and with another explosive step, Karlach shot forward again.
Karlach came in like a falling star.
The red aura around her roared brighter as she crossed the clearing in a heartbeat, the greataxe already descending in a brutal overhead arc.
William reacted instantly.
The purple leylines across the Hellhand Prototype flared again as he thrust his armored arm forward.
"Shield!"
Hexagonal barriers erupted outward once more, plates of shimmering violet magic snapping together over the gauntlet like a crystalline shell.
For a split second the barrier held.
Then Karlach's axe hit.
CRACK.
The sound was sharp.
Violent.
Not the ringing clash from before.
The shield shattered.
The hexagonal plates fractured like glass struck by a cannonball, exploding outward into shards of fading light as the full force of the blow slammed into William's arm.
The impact detonated through his body.
He was launched backwards across the clearing, boots tearing trenches through the dirt before his feet lost contact with the ground entirely.
The world spun.
Wind rushed past his ears as he flew.
William's eyes snapped open wide as instinct took over.
His back arched.
With a violent snap, wings burst from behind him.
Dark, powerful, and vast.
They caught the rushing air like sails.
The sudden drag slowed his momentum just enough for him to regain control before he crashed into the far side of the training yard.
His wings beat once, twice, forcing his body upright as he descended.
His boots struck the ground with a heavy thud.
Dust rolled outward around him.
Slowly, William straightened.
The transformation continued.
The change crawled across his body like a living shadow as infernal power surged through his veins.
His frame sharpened, posture lengthening slightly as his form shifted fully into that of a devil.
The purple and red leylines along the armored arm pulsed brighter now, reacting to the surge of hellish energy flowing through him.
Across the clearing, Karlach lowered her axe slightly, watching him with widening eyes.
William lifted his head.
His expression was… strange.
Not quite a grin.
Not quite a smirk.
Something darker sat behind it.
He raised one clawed finger and pointed directly at her.
A low growl rolled from deep in his chest.
The sound carried through the clearing like distant thunder, resonating strangely against the walls of the inner world around them.
"H e l l i s h R e b u k e."
The magic detonated instantly.
Flames erupted from Karlach's body as if ignited from within.
They burst from her skin in violent jets of infernal fire, heat roaring outward as the spell punished the strike she had just delivered.
Karlach's eyes went wide.
"OH..!"
The fire engulfed her completely.
Infernal flames clawed across her skin, surging from her pores in burning waves.
Her natural resistance blunted the worst of the damage, the hellish blood in her veins dulling the fury of the spell.
But the blast still hit like a hammer.
The explosion of heat and force drove her backwards a step before her legs buckled.
Karlach dropped to one knee.
The flames dissipated slowly, curling away into fading wisps of heat.
For a moment the clearing was quiet again.
Karlach planted the greataxe against the ground beside her and let out a breath that came out half laugh, half growl.
Then she looked up at William.
Her eyes burned brighter than before.
The silence after the flames faded lasted only a heartbeat.
Then both of them moved.
William's wings snapped wide.
FWOOM!
With a powerful beat of his wings, the air erupted outward in a mighty blast, sending him flying forward with the force of a bolt shot from a ballista.
Wind shrieked past his ears as he surged across the clearing, sword raised.
At the exact same moment, Karlach planted her foot into the earth.
The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of the push.
Chunks of packed dirt flew up and scattered behind her with a loud crack, as she sped forward, her great axe swinging high above her head in a deadly killing motion.
Two forces collided in the center of the yard.
CRACK!
Steel slammed against steel as William's copied blade of Widower met Karlach's greataxe head-on.
The impact rang through the clearing like a struck bell, sparks bursting outward where the weapons met.
For a split second they held there.
Locked.
Then Karlach moved.
Her grin widened.
She released one hand from the axe.
Her fist came in fast.
THUD!
The punch slammed directly into William's gut and the force knocked the breath clean out of him.
William's eyes nearly bulged from his head as a violent cough burst from his throat, a spray of saliva escaping his lips as the shock of the hit ripped through his body.
Karlach's punch had the weight of a battering ram behind it.
For a fraction of a second, his body folded around the impact.
But then his eyes sharpened.
Recovery came fast.
William twisted his torso and drove his armored arm upward in a brutal counter.
His fist buried itself into Karlach's abdomen in a rising uppercut.
WHUMP!
The blow landed with a resounding impact, the solid reinforced strength of the gauntlet converting the strike into a powerful, hammering force.
Karlach's entire body lurched upward violently from the blow, her breath shooting out from her lungs in a loud, sharp grunt.
But William wasn't finished.
Not yet.
His gauntlet was still pressed into her stomach.
The red leylines across the armor flared.
"Fire Beam."
He throttled the power down just enough to not be deadly.
Then released it.
BOOSH!
A violent burst of flame erupted from the gauntlet point-blank.
The blast struck directly against the midsection of Karlach, propelling her backward through the air with the force of a cannonball being launched into the sky.
With a force that was both surprising and overwhelmingly powerful, her body shot up into the air, her momentum propelling her upwards with increasing speed as she was propelled high into the night sky by the sheer force of the beam.
After a while, her upward motion completely ceased, leaving her feeling utterly weightless for a brief moment.
But then, just as quickly, gravity began its pull once more, bringing her back down towards the earth.
Then...
FWOOSH!
William's wings snapped open again.
The air seemed to thunder beneath him as he launched himself upwards into the sky, his powerful dark wings propelling him forward with explosive force.
He caught her before the fall could begin.
One arm of his wrapped around hers, holding her firmly as he halted their upward momentum.
His wings beat powerfully, providing the force necessary to keep them suspended in the air.
For a moment they hovered there together above the training yard.
High above the cracked earth and scattered dust below.
Karlach's arms tightened around William's neck with a firm grip, her gaze fixed directly into his eyes, filled with a genuine affection.
She exclaimed, "Wow, that was simply incredible!" before gently nuzzling her head against his chest.
William landed softly on the ground, then carefully lowered her, but she managed to stay securely fastened to his chest.
Soon she broke the silence and asked.
"Can you make me something too?"