Fifth/Dawn2

by Fifth

Bloated Ignorance was in a bad mood. He was used to that, though; he’d been in a bad mood for near on a millennia, ever since a bastard of an Exalted Sorcerer had summoned and bound him to guard this tomb. His only entertainment since then had been ripping apart and eating the occasional fool who wandered in, and those had grown scarcer of the centuries as people and animals learned to avoid this area.

He heard a scream near the entrance, and grunted, lifting himself up. Fresh meat, and just my luck, that moron is the one who gets first crack at it. Lumbering toward the entrance, Bloated Ignorance rounded the corner and froze in shock.

His companion for an entire age, Iridescent Scent of Feces, was bleeding over the floor. A lot. Bloated Ignorance slowly felt a grin rise to his face. Dead at last!, he thought, cackling. I’ve wanted to kill that fool since I was bound here, and it looks like someone finally did it for me! I should congratulate them before I eat them…

Hearing a noise to his right, Bloated slowly turned, then swallowed. The figure was wreathed in soft golden light, just bright enough to light the area around him. His sword was drawn, but the man seemed to just be barely holding on to it. Bloated Ignorance slowly let his grin widen further. Iridescent Scent must have wounded him… easy prey. Advancing with his claws out, Bloated Ignorance gloated over his target. “I must thank you for killing that fool over there… I’ve had to suffer him for too long guarding this forsaken tomb.” His grin widened further, showing a smile full of teeth. “Unfortunately for you, however, I am still guarding it… and you are in my territory now. I’m going to enjoy killing you.” With that, Bloated Ignorance sprung, showing surprising speed for his bulk as he swiped at the Exalt's head.

The man moved like a falcon in a dive; fast, but with majestic purpose. His blade came around almost lazily, parrying Bloated Ignorance’s claws with casual ease. The light around him springing up a hundred-fold, the man suddenly blazed brightly enough to banish all shadows from the room as a giant lion reared over him. His blade flashed four times as the man swung under Bloated Ignorance’s attacks in a circle. Bloated Ignorance howled in pain. Turning in fury, he swiped at the man again, only to lose his arm to the blade this time. Finally realizing his predicament, he turned to escape, but felt the man's sword cut into his hamstrings. Slamming into the ground, Bloated Ignorance thrashed, trying to move his bulk with his one remaining arm.

The man walked forward slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. He paused only at Bloated Ignorance’s head, to drive his sword through the Demon's spine and into the floor beneath. Leaving it there, he walked calmly into the interior of the tomb.

Bloated Ignorance watched him go with the haze of the nearly dead. His arms and legs were unresponsive, and he could feel himself dying. He slumped down, only to jerk up a minute later at the sound of more footsteps.

The man was back. The blade he had now glowed almost as brightly as he did; five feet long, and over half a foot wide, the Daiklave drove fear into Bloated Ignorance’s heart. He whimpered as the man came closer, holding the huge blade overhead. Pausing at the Demon’s head, the man leaned down and retrieved his previous sword from its spine. “Sorry for not leaving you with this, but it’s too good of a blade to waste on your ilk.” Kicking the Demon’s head out of his way, the Solar strode out of his ancient tomb, carrying a blade that had not seen the sun since night came to the last age. He paused only long enough to clean his sword on the grass, and then he was gone.

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