The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 291 – The Unmovable and The Unstoppable

Fortia turned to leave for the UNN. This was a disaster beyond any imaginable, it was the sort of thing she should have foreseen, it was the sort of thing she had to admit that she simply did not have the imagination to think up of. And she felt Allasaria’s hand grasp her shoulder. “Where are you going?” The Goddess of Light asked.

“To help Mai.” Fortia’s tone left little room for discussion because there was nothing to discuss. Going to the UNN, no matter how many men she brought, was a shot in the dark. Either Neneria would be killed before Of Death finished her Legion expansion, or everyone who had gone to stop her would be swallowed up by the ghosts instead.

“Are you sure?” Allasaria asked.

“We win or we lose. It all comes down to this.” Fortia replied. Everything leading up to this moment was utterly meaningless, every loss and every gain achieved by Arascus and by the White Pantheon utterly paled in comparison to the Neneria situation.

“It doesn’t.” Allasaria said.

“Does it not?” Fortia asked.

“There is a way.” The Goddess of Light said. “It took us decades to activate last time. This time, we should just get it done right away.”

Fer twisted and cracked the bones in her neck as she picked up the pace towards Maisara. There was no reason to fight close to Neneria, the only thing that could come of that was her sister getting hurt in the crossfire. “Ana.” Fer said and yet another incarnation of Anassa flashed into existence by the Goddess of Beasthood. Clad in crimson silk untouched by the wind sweeping in over the planes of mud that Elassa’s tidal waves had left behind, Anassa said nothing as her other simultaneous existences spread out. “I want one of you to guard Neneria.”

“Done.” Anassa said, Fer made one casual turn to see. Above and below were two great waves of green energy flowing into the woman, flanking her from above and below, making the entire silhouette look like a great hourglass of souls. Six different incarnations of Anassa, each one the exact same, with the same perfect black hair, the same crimson dress seemingly immune to the breeze, the same piercing red eyes that all scanned the environment around them with the same ready glare. “You didn’t have to check.” Anassa said in annoyance.

“You know me.” Fer replied as she turned back.

“There are more groups coming from the west and south.”

“Do you need support on them?”

“There’s a few minor Divines but I can take them.” Anassa said. “I’m warning you.”

“And here I thought you were asking for help.” Fer said dryly and Anassa chuckled.

“What a comedian you are Fer.” Anassa cooed. “If you need help, then get away first.”

“I was just about to say for you to shout if you need help.” Fer said and the Goddess of Sorcery chuckled before speaking.

“Maisara is fast and strong, I cannot promise to not devastate everything around her.” She explained. “So if you need help, then get away. I’m not going to assist unless I see an opportunity or you knock her into the air.”

“If she throws her axe, then catch it and I’ll go for the kill.” Fer said.

“Not the other way around?”

“I assume you can protect Nene too.”

“I can.”

“Then you catch.” Fer said and Anassa nodded.

“Anything else?”

“If she knocks me away then you should catch me.” Fer said.

“You know I like throwing you around.” Anassa replied and disappeared. Fer rolled her eyes, her sister always needed to get the snarky last word in. Frankly, it was annoying because Fer was the same, she simply couldn’t blink out of existence at will like that. So her eyes focused on Maisara ahead. She could just about make out Maisara’s eyes, flicking from her to Neneria to the various different Anassas in the air and then back to Fer again. The woman didn’t have a single dash of fear in them. They closed half of the distance before Fer’s nose finally caught Maisara’s scent. It was Maisara through and through, there was nothing there. Only a faint bitter smell that revealed little about one’s emotions. Nothing like the Anassa from above, who was sickly sweet and slightly spicy.

Long ago, they would have stopped to talk before battling. They would have introduced themselves. They would have voiced grievances. There wouldn’t have been any reasoning or trying to avert the fight, that had never worked even back then, but there would have been an explanation. Was it justification? Fer had never understood it, but everyone else did it, so she had supposed that she should do that too.

And then Kassandora had changed the game.

The moment someone was close enough to strike, they should and they would. There was no point in discussion, the simple fact that things had degenerated to get to the point of stepping onto the battlefield signalled that the time for discussion was over. Fer watched the distance, she didn’t measure it, she didn’t bother trying to figure out the number of steps between her and Maisara.

She simply took a step forwards, something in the back of her mind told her she was close enough, and all the tension in her body exploded with the rage of a roaring volcano. Just as Kassandora said, there was no point working your way up in power. You either killed your opponent, or they killed you. Fer immediately went from zero to a hundred.

The ground behind her exploded as she kicked off the mud, once again she heard the speed of her explosive heartbeat. She saw the faces of Maisara’s Paladins start to go pale in shock, she saw their eyes begin to widen, she saw one or two who were reactive enough to start adopting a battle-ready stance. And she heard her heart thump a second time as she closed half the distance in the blink of an eye.

But Fer and Maisara were both forged in the same furnace. Of the Noble-breeds that existed during the Age of Heroes: Of Chivalry had been stabbed in the back, Of Heroism had been ground down by attrition. Yet their villainous counterparts had been cut down too: Of Brutality had been fed to his own dogs, Of Duelling had been overwhelmed by an army, Of Attack had broken themselves on a fortress unassailable. Yet the one thing that remained was War’s hyperviolence, where the forging hammer was the opponent and the anvil was the battlefield.

Maisara reacted instantly to Fer’s rush forward. Her axe dropped, the blade spun to the side, the Goddess of Order twisted her entire body to the side and dug her heels into the dirt. Fer dropped down in a feint just before she impaled her chest onto that spike at the end of Maisara’s silver axe. An amateur would have swung down to try to catch her, then Fer would have leapt up, over and bit for the throat. But Maisara took a step back, her axe retreated to the side, to force Fer to the right.

Instead of moving as Maisara wished, Fer followed the axe head, she swung her claw forwards, if Maisara could not be hurt directly, then at least Fer could catch her axe. The Goddess of Order spun her weapon, the gleaming blade of the axe’s head still retreating, but threatening Fer’s fingers. Of Beasthood flowed with the initiative on her side, she swung around and felt a poke on the back of her leg.

One of the Paladins had struck her calf. The sword blade got stuck on her skin and Fer, eyes still focused on all of Maisara simultaneously, swung her tail backwards. It caught the greatsword and swung it backwards and around, then split the soldier in half at the torso. Fer felt the splashes of blood, she smelled that sweet essence of life and felt her teeth grow longer.

Maisara made a mocking whistle as her man dropped. The Paladins around her pulled back, weapons lowered as they tried to make some form of a spear-wall fashioned entirely out of greatswords.

Fer gave the woman one quick smile, then launched forwards again. Once again following the axe, weapons like that were not spears, they needed to be swung. And not only that, they needed an arc to build up speed too, especially to penetrate the diamond-hard skin of someone like Fer. But this time, the Goddess of Beasthood put one foot forwards, she saw Maisara’s arms and legs shift. The strands of muscle within them twisted, Fer heard Maisara’s breath stall for a moment, and, operating entirely on instinct, pre-emptively spun to the side.

The axe head almost cut her stomach open, it sliced a tiny bit of skin that immediately started to regrow and heal, but Fer’s tail swung in return. It was still wrapped around the Paladin’s blade, now bloodied. Maisara would have, should have, gone with the blow, re-directing her axe forwards to split Fer’s stomach open but instead, she let go of the weapon with one hand. Her forearm guard slammed into the Paladin’s sword and for a mere heartbeat, that tremendous greataxe, far heavier than even Kassie’s Joyeuse, shifted and lulled as Of Order rebalanced herself.

One heartbeat was all that Fer required. She slid forwards, Maisara spun the axe head to stay pointed against her torso but eventually, the natural limits of biology got in the way. It was simply impossible to make a full rotation on a weapon you held with one hand. Fer saw and heard Maisara’s breath release, heard her catch it again, and saw the woman’s thighs tilt downwards as her calves gave out to enter a retreat.

Maisara purposefully fell down and backwards as Fer launched herself up and forwards. A claw slid along the flat edge of the axe. Sharp talon touched the handle and Fer’s fingers wrapped around it as Maisara kicked her stomach. Frankly, a kick she could take, especially if it gave an opening this good.

Fer tightened her core and ripped the axe backwards from Maisara’s hand. She felt the force of Maisara’s boot stomp her stomach and she swiped with her free hand at the woman. A rib broken for a chest ripped open. Maisara grunted, her hand went to the air and she swung it back down. That great axe rematerialized in her hand, she grit her teeth and swung.

And now that Fer was close, she wouldn’t give up that advantage. She dropped down, dirt exploded around her as the Goddess shot like a leaping snake towards Maisara’s hand, teeth ready to rip, claw ready to tear, tail ready to bind and strangle.

A weaker Divine wouldn’t know what to do. Even Kassie, in moments like that, would be far too slow to react. But Maisara made the correct move, instead of trying to dodge Fer’s blow, she pushed onwards instead. She threw her axe down and slammed down with both fists balled, knocking Fer to the ground. The Goddess of Beasthood grunted, grabbed Maisara’s ankles and rolled out the way as she heard the cutting of air which meant that axe was coming down.

It did come down, and then Maisara swung it again, surrounding both of them in an impenetrably thick fog of mud. Fer was fast, Fer could almost see by smell, Fer’s hearing was so sharp she could make out both her own heartbeat and Maisara’s and if there was one thing Fer was not going to do, it was fight in fog against Order’s Executioner.

Fer jumped away and out of the cloud of dirt, she saw Maisara do the same. The woman’s wound across the chest was starting to stitch itself back together as Fer’s rib was working to put all its shards back into place. Maisara landed, eyes aimed at Fer, and she dropped her axe into a parry stance. “It’s been a long time Fer!” She shouted.

“It has indeed.” Fer shouted back. Time was on her side after all, whether Neneria would finish sooner or later didn’t matter, when she finished, it was over. “How’s it been?” Fer took a deep breath as she worked her shoulders, she had forgotten just how strong even Maisara’s fists were. Although the Goddess of Order did the same action, but with her leg.

“Wonderful, stellar in fact.” Maisara said sarcastically. “Honestly, I was simply curious.”

“At what?” Fer asked.

“How you managed to kill Atis.” Maisara replied, Fer’s grin revealed her fangs.

“He’s not you Maisara.”

“No.” Maisara agreed. “He is not. I am not so vain to think I can duel you.”

“I humbly accept the compliment.” Fer said as she twisted her legs, ready to make another pounce. She would have jumped immediately, but Maisara noticed the movement and took a step back. Two Paladins fearlessly stepped forwards to block Fer’s path.

They had absolutely no chance of stopping her, they could only hope to serve as a physical shield to slow her down and give Maisara an opening with which to swing that greataxe. And Fer knew they would do exactly that, Paladins were suicidal in their fanaticism. If Maisara needed an opening, they would give her an opening. “Running away?” Fer tried to taunt Maisara, although she imagined there would be more success even with Fortia, the Goddess of Order rarely lost her cool in battles. “Already? Against me?”

Maisara stopped and lowered her axe, only by a tiny sliver, it wasn’t an opening whatsoever. If anything, that was bait. “I have one question Fer.” She shouted.

“Ask away.” Fer shouted back.

“You’re not any better than you were, how did you kill him?”

Fer chuckled a laugh she imagined would get under Maisara’s skin, a horrendous hur-hur-hur of a low rumble. “Are you saying I got worse?”

“You stayed the same more or less.” Maisara replied. “Now answer me.”

“I didn’t kill him.” Fer replied honestly and Maisara raised an eyebrow.

“So who did?”

“Iliyal Tremari.” Fer answered and Maisara looked surprised, if only for a moment. Her weapon did not drop, nor did her posture, but she did tilt her head. The Goddess’ silver hair fell to her side for a moment before she recovered.

“As they say, you learn something new every day.” Maisara said quietly, although Fer’s ears still caught it. “Very well!” Maisara shouted. “I thank you for telling me.”

“No problem sweetheart.” Fer replied sarcastically. She saw Maisara tap a Paladin on the shoulder. The man pulled out a flare gun. He aimed it above his head. He squeezed the trigger. A red flare burst from it.

“I have one thing more to say Fer.” Maisara spoke up.

“What?”

“You’re not the only who can build fancy toys.”

In the distance, over the horizon, Fer couldn’t see it, but she heard it. Frankly, she was sure everyone heard it. There was no chance an explosion that loud would be missed. Fer had listened to them before, in the Great War, when cannons had been brought out onto the field, and more recently. Kassandora’s Binturongs and Lemurs made the same sound, the deafening drumming of contained explosions followed by the whistling of the air being split by steel: artillery.

Fer took a step back.

Anassa came into view.

Fer’s ears twitched as they jutted out of her golden mane.

A moment of silence, broken only by Anassa snapping her fingers.

The sky turned crimson.

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