A/N: The battle between Mikael, Avina, and Foss finally gets underway!

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“Echo’s ran out up above. Gotta move. Dunno what sort of defenses Foss will have throughout the tower, so stay close alright?”

Avina nods sharply at that.

“Right.”

With that short peptalk over and done with, Mikael moves to the basement door with his Soul Mechanic close behind. By this point, they’re both quite familiar with this particular alternative ‘entrance’ into the Lord’s Tower. Mikael finds himself thinking hard about what he remembers of the tower’s layout… but in the end, there’s no real helping it, no time to plan ahead. No use in trying either. Foss could have redecorated, plus who knows what sorts of enemies are waiting for them beyond the door to the basement.

Can’t even check on those because his Soul Sense doesn’t work on undead. All Mikael knows for sure is that Foss is still at the top of the tower, still likely overseeing the battle down below. The longer they wait, the more opportunity the Supreme King gets to notice that neither Mikael nor Avina are fighting alongside the Knights of the Rose stationed at the base of the tower anymore.

Nothing for it but to move fast, just like he’d told Avina. Making sure she’s right on his heels, Mikael summons his magic and lifts his sword, before kicking down the doors in front of him and racing forward.

… There’s nobody waiting up the stairs on the ground floor, so he and Avina quickly ascend the spiral staircase that goes all the way up to the tower. Mikael keeps expecting for undead to leap at them from every shadow and every alcove. He assumes they’re waiting in every doorway, around every corner.

But as he and Avina ascend the tower, there’s no one and nothing. No undead, not even Alether’s civilians. Just… just empty silence. If it wasn’t for Mikael’s soul sense, he would worry that this was all just a red herring. But no. They higher they get, the more Mikael can detect of Foss Sangrey’s polluting presence at the top of the tower.

There’s no denying that the Supreme King is up there. He’s just as overconfident as his protégé Zadicus Quinn, in his own unique way. He truly doesn’t think he needs the protection. But Mikael has to remind himself that that might not be overconfidence. It might not be arrogance, even. It was entirely possible that Foss Sangrey could handle anyone or anything who managed to slip past the wards, given how powerful he was.

Still, even if remembering Foss’ power back when they’d had to initially flee Alether sends shivers up and down Mikael’s spine, he’s not been idle himself. He’s stronger than he was back then. And he has to believe that he and Avina, together, can defeat Foss.

That said, Mikael knows one thing for sure… if they’ve got the element of surprise, they’re going to fucking use it. And so, as they reach the top of the tower and a familiar pair of large double doors, Mikael doesn’t hesitate. They aren’t open a crack anyways. There’s no conversation to listen into this time. He goes charging forward and with his power, blasts the doors inward off their hinges before rushing into the room.

From across the way, out on the balcony overlooking the city, the Supreme King himself whips around, actually caught off guard for a moment. He looks even worse in person than he did in that projection, with sunken eyes widening in gratifying surprise and yellowed teeth baring into a snarl. Unfortunately, he’s not stupid enough to waste time demanding to know how they got in.

“YOU!”

Even as Mikael is already throwing out a lance of teal energy, hoping to take the Supreme King’s head off of his shoulders in a single blow, Foss Sangrey’s personal brand of shadowy black magic swirls around him. An offshoot slices out and cuts Mikael’s attack down while at the same time gnarled fingers are thrust in his and Avina’s direction, more shadow and darkness launching their way.

Mikael blocks as well, but a moment too late. His sword is torn from his grasp and sent careening off to the side where it winds up embedded in the wall. Reacting immediately, he shields himself and Avina with his Soul Magic. However, unlike his attack, Foss doesn’t let up, forcing him to remain on the defensive just to keep them from being blown away by the onslaught of power. The Supreme King’s flickering soul might not be in the best of states by this point, but he’s much stronger than he was while puppeting Zadicus Quinn all the same.

“Princess! Despite your defiance, despite your foolish rebellious streak, you came to me of your own accord all the same! Finally, with you by my side, everything shall be set to right. Despite all of these setbacks, you’ve played right into my hands!”

Mikael grits his teeth, about to fall into the other man’s groove and return his words with some choice insults of his own… but before he can speak, Avina’s hand falls upon his arm and it’s like the whole world falls away. He’s still maintaining his shield, but in that moment he only has eyes for Avina as she looks at him with deadly seriousness.

“I need you to grab hold of Foss, Mikael. Get your hands on him and I’ll do the rest. Alright?”

Obviously he wants to ask questions. He has a million of them in that moment. But this isn’t the time or place. Nodding sharply, Mikael sets his jaw and straightens up. Then, he begins moving forward. Keeping himself between Avina and the cackling Supreme King is good enough at first… but as they cross the tower’s upper room, Foss’ shadows begins to slip around his teal shield, forcing Mikael to shield Avina from behind them as well.

Still, the decrepit necromancer’s sunken eyes focus on Mikael alone as he continues to soldier forward. Gnarled fingers still splayed in their direction, Foss Sangrey sneers as he steps off of the balcony and into the room. Forcing out a bit more of that black power, the Supreme King seeks to overwhelm Mikael’s defenses… thankfully to no avail.

“Princess! I’m fairly certain that I taught you to put your toys away before lessons a long time ago! This… nuisance has gone on long enough! I must admit, once I thought to keep your success alive in order to appease you. But I know better now. There’s no appeasing a spoiled BRAT of a Princess! No! Sometimes you just have to take her in hand and give her a good PADDLING!”

Avina doesn’t respond so Mikael doesn’t either. Instead he reaches deep within himself, calling up his reserves. The Soul Engine responds and Mikael grimaces as he feels himself having to dig rather… deep. But this is too important to not go all the way. Avina has given him his mission. She’s told him what he needed to do. And she’s right, Mikael has realized.

Hell, he might not even need Avina’s help. He’s not sure what ‘all the rest’ means, but if he can get his hands on Foss Sangrey, maybe he can kill the bastard without Avina having to do anything at all. That would definitely be preferable, especially since Mikael doesn’t know what Avina is planning. Will it hurt her? Will it force her to cross some sort of internal line?

He doesn’t want Avina to have to sacrifice anything in order to beat the bastard who killed her family. Maybe that’s a foolish dream on his part, but there it is. He wants to protect Avina with all of his power and all of his soul. Even from herself.

With a roar and a surge of the teal swirling around him, Mikael turns the shield encircling him and Avina into a cone, splitting it down the back and scooping up Foss Sangrey’s shadows, pushing them all back towards the Supreme King. He’s treated to the wonderful sight of the bastard’s sunken eyes widening in surprise again, even as Mikael rushes forward.

Taking advantage of the moment, he pushes through and arrives right in front of Foss. A savage grin spreads across Mikael’s face as he grabs the old bastard in a great big bear hug, trapping the Supreme King’s arms down at his sides and holding him tight. As his Soul Engine grows brightly in the space between their bodies, Mikael doesn’t waste time. He squeezes with all his might, waiting to exult in the sound of Foss Sangrey’s bones cracking, breaking, and shattering as Mikael pulps the man with his immense, enhanced, supernatural strength.

… Only that never comes. The Supreme King’s eyes are wide in stupefaction and for a moment he looks helpless enough that Mikael feels victorious. But there’s no cracking. No breaking. No shattering. Mikael is using every iota of his power right now. He’s stronger than Bula at the moment, stronger than any ten orcs could possibly be. And yet, Foss Sangrey’s body holds. It doesn’t make sense.

After a moment, the Supreme King’s stupefaction drops and is replaced with a wicked grin that shows off his yellowed teeth as he throws back his head and laughs. For all Mikael’s strength he can’t crush Foss like he wants to… and after a moment, he realizes why. There, beneath the old bastard’s robes… are more shadows. They writhe against the other man’s skin, sheathing him in power… and shielding him from physical harm.

No wonder the old man hadn’t kept any undead close to him to act as guards. No wonder he hadn’t concerned himself with intruders managing to infiltrate the tower. It wasn’t an overreliance on the wards of the Lord’s Tower, or arrogance… it was well-earned confidence in his ability to protect himself. Even as he was attacking Mikael and Avina so furiously mere moments before, the Supreme King had on a suit of invulnerable armor this entire time, impenetrable shadows lurking just beneath his robes.

Foss continues to laugh as those same shadows begin to infect Mikael’s magic again, just like they did back on the hill when the bastard was puppeting Zadicus. Only this time, Mikael can’t pull away. The shadows creep up his body, starting at his feet and rooting him in place. They spiderweb their way through his own protections, creating and then filling cracks in his own defenses.

Mikael fights back of course. But he’s running on fumes already. The Soul Engine is a magnificent power source, but he’s already reaching its limits by this point. He’s all tapped out.

As his laughter ceases, sunken eyes stare at Mikael, filled with disdain.

“Did you really think that you, some pissant from another world, could truly defeat me? Did you really think you stood even the slightest chance? Hah! Who the HELL do you think you are, you foolish little WORM?!”

Gritting his teeth, Mikael struggles with all his might… only to go still as a hand suddenly splays across his back. Spreading her fingers in every direction as she presses her palm against him, Avina’s voice suddenly fills the air.

“He’s mine, Foss. My creation. My lover. The embodiment of all my power. The bearer of my Soul Engine.”

Sunken eyes narrow and yellowed teeth grit as Foss Sangrey hisses.

“You mewling, simpering child. So very proud of your pathetic little artifact. I shall enjoy taking it apart and showing you all of the mistakes you made once you’re back in your proper place at my feet. You’ve been misusing your True Necromancy all these years, but not to worry… we’ll get you back on the right track, Princess.”

Avina huffs, sounding more amused than anything. Mikael, meanwhile, is continuing to struggle… but something is happening. He can feel it deep within his chest… no, within the Soul Engine itself. Something is… activating.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Foss. I’m not a necromancer. And there’s no such thing as True Necromancy. I’m a Soul Mechanic… and so long as I have my Soul Engine, I will always have a conduit for my power.”

Mikael watches with gritted teeth as the Supreme King’s face scrunches up in derision and hatred. Foss opens his mouth to respond… but never gets the chance. Instead, that feeling of activation suddenly becomes very real and Mikael gasps as his chest rises and a feeling of more power than he’s ever had in his entire life courses through him.

The Soul Engine didn’t have this much power, he’s sure of that. It had never had this much power, even with all of the alterations made to it. It seems almost impossible, the power suddenly flowing through him, filling him up, suffusing every bit of his being. From the center of his chest outward, the power fills and fills him. All the way to his fingertips. All the way to his toes. All the way through every strand of hair on his head.

The shadows threatening to overwhelm his magic are pushed back. The cracks that Foss’ power has created in his defenses are healed. The spiderwebs clear away as if they were never there and Mikael’s shield becomes stronger than ever as Foss Sangrey’s eyes get wider and wider… and stay wide this time.

“No… that’s not possible!”

Mikael snorts in amusement at the rather cliché line. But he can’t exactly voice that amusement properly because… well, it’s starting to burn. The power inside of him is starting to get to be too much. He wouldn’t have thought that possible. But it made sense, in the end. The Soul Engine… it had to have limits. Capacity. He’d just never reached them, at least in part because of Avina’s upgrades.

Now he is though. Now he’s very much reaching capacity. The power, that impossible amount of power… it feels like it might just burn him out. Is that what Avina was afraid of all this time? Was this why she was scared? Not for herself… but for him? Well, Mikael doesn’t mind. If this is what it takes to kill the Supreme King, so be it. If this is it, then hey, he had a good run. It was his second life anyways after all, so really-

“You big idiot. Trust me.”

Mikael blinks as Avina’s breath ghosts across his neck, her words whispered into his ear. Then, that overwhelming sensation of power… it passes on. His eyes widen as the Soul Engine embedded in his chest begins to expel the excess of energy that Avina has somehow filled him with. It’s just like Avina said. A conduit.

Foss’ wide eyed grow wider still and the old man screams as bright teal light spills out of Mikael, passing through him and into Foss. That same light begins to pour out of the man’s sunken eyes and open mouth as his head is flung back. And a moment later… it engulfs all three of them, filling the room with power. Unfiltered, raw power.

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A/N: Well aren't I nice? No weekend cliffhanger here, I'll see you all tomorrow for the conclusion to this epic confrontation!

Be sure to let me know what you think!