“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
Nassus ended the video call and then looked up, a smug expression on her face.
“I’m over this,” Titus growled, then pushed past Kaiden and Thorne. “I’m over your attitudes. Over taking crap from you and your boss.” He slammed his hand down on the desk. “If this were King Street, you’d have a little more respect.”
Halicar seemed to flinch at the mention of Titus’ old gang, but Nassus seemed unfazed.
“This ain’t King Street,” she said, smiling smugly once more. “Maybe everyone thinks you’re the man there. Maybe they all think you’re hot shit. But this is Nova, and in here, you’re no one.” Nassus stood up and leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper. “Unless... you think you can prove otherwise?”
Duel requested: Nassus (55) versus Titus (35).
Achievement Unlocked!
Walking the Walk – 100 EXP!
You, or one of your party, have instigated a duel! Congrats! Now you can finally back up all that smack talk. Or just get whooped. Let’s see what happens.
“Hold on, now,” Kaiden warned, stepping up and resting a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “This is an unwinnable fight, man. And if she kills you, you’ll be out for a week. We can’t afford to lose that much time.”
Titus didn’t respond, utterly silent as he stared directly into Nassus’ eyes.
“Come on, big man,” she taunted. “We’re bored to death in here all day. Why don’t you give us a little entertainment? Hell, I won’t even use a weapon.” She raised two empty hands and smirked.
“Don’t do it, Titus,” Zelda said. “She’s baiting you.”
“I know,” he growled, long and low. “I know. And it’s working.”
Duel accepted: Nassus (55) versus Titus (35).
“Oh damn,” Thorne cursed, then yanked Kaiden and Zelda back a step.
Ability: Ambush
Launches at the target with incredible speed, deals additional damage on next hit.
Nassus leapt over the desk in a burst of motion. Titus flicked his shield on and raised his hammer but she was already on him. Her promise not to use weapons rang empty as Kaiden realized her fists were her main weapon. They fell in a blurred frenzy, pounding on Titus' shield, then his armor. Even with his larger shield, he couldn’t block everything as she darted left and right; he was just too slow. His health plummeted to forty percent before he managed to attack back. He led with Shield Slam, trying to get a stun on Nassus and stop her onslaught. The attack slammed into the ground and energy and dust exploded outward in a wave.
When it cleared, Nassus was gone.
Titus looked up in confusion, trying to figure out where she’d gone. Kaiden was doing the same when she dropped from the ceiling and brought both fists down on Titus’ head, scoring a critical hit. His health flashed and he roared as he swung at her again and again to little avail.
Nassus ducked and dodged and darted side to side. Titus could barely keep up. Wherever he attacked he found only empty space, his opponent moving like she was an enhanced warden at near full speed.
She’s playing with him, Kaiden realized, noticing that she’d stopped attacking back. Instead, she was dodging his attacks. Almost looked like she was waiting as long as possible before slipping out of the way. She’s enjoying this too much. She knows the way her class is built, and with their level difference, there’s no way Titus can land a hit unless she lets him. The big man simply isn’t used to fighting a seasoned player, especially not one on one. His class isn’t built for it. Even without the level difference he would need a perfect strategy to bring her down. But he isn’t even thinking right now.
Titus finally got a hit with the area-of-effect damage from Shield of Rage. Nassus’ health budged all of one percent.
“Oh, there ya go,” Nassus said, laughing, then struck back with a side kick. Her boot burst into flame as it shot forward. An explosion like a Kinetic Grenade detonating filled the room as her attack connected.
Ability: Dismiss
Deals additional damage and knockback on successful hit.
Why didn’t he use Reflection? Kaiden wondered. Then he realized: in a normal battle, Kaiden would have been helping with by sharing the data available via his visor, calling out all the big abilities and giving his allies the information they needed to plan their next move. Titus wasn’t used to fighting alone.
The massive hit flung him into the wall, but didn’t stop there. His health flashed frantically as momentum carried him through the thin wall and out into the middle of the dome, debris clattering down around him. His health fell to four percent, then held steady.
He’s still alive. It didn’t kill him!
A small victory, though, considering Nassus was still very much alive. She had Titus at her mercy, and since it was a duel, there was nothing anyone could do to step in. The game wouldn’t allow it.
Titus growled as he climbed to his feet. His armor was scored around the ribs where Dismiss had hit, his shield was overloaded, and from the look in his eyes, he was definitely a bit dizzy.
“That all… you got?” he managed to stammer.
Nassus laughed at that.
“That’s all you can take, big guy. Now get out of here before I send you on a weeklong vacation, yeah?”
Titus made to respond but Kaiden cut him off, stepping between him and Nassus before she changed her mind. Titus looked far from done, coasting on anger more than anything else. But the fight was unwinnable. Everyone knew it. Didn’t mean the big man wanted to admit it, though.
“We’re done here,” Kaiden said, more to Titus than anyone else. “We’re done.”
“Come on,” Thorne said through comms. “We’ll find another way.”
Titus grumbled some response but Kaiden wasn’t listening, already dragging him out of the dome and back toward the Veritas II before Nassus could finish what she’d started.
Chapter Seventeen
“Eighteen... nineteen... twenty.” Titus groaned
