She shook her head, her eyes never leaving Liam. "No, you didn't hear the things he said to me, the delight he took in my imprisonment. He needs to die. The world will be better off without him."
"But—" I began, but my voice was taken from me. The Aspect rose up without warning and took over. I could do nothing to stop it. “I want to kill him. He annoys me. Let’s pull him apart and see what makes him tick!”
Eris stopped dead and looked at me, her eyes wide. "Sam, what did you do?"
"He desired more power, and I gave it to him," the Aspect said, laughing.
I couldn't control my voice, but I could still see and hear, could still move my body, but it felt as if I was sharing part of myself with another entity.
Eris sighed deeply, and her voice sounded a thousand years old. "We will speak of this later, Aspect. You've overstepped yourself, now. Give him back."
The Aspect retreated into my heart, and I had control again. "Thank you, Eris. I’m beginning to regret dealing with that monster," I said, raising my sword.
"Hand me your knife."
I unsheathed my hunting knife and passed it to her while Liam scowled at us. "So that's your answer?"
I nodded. "You heard the lady. Fuck your offer."
"Very well, a shame. You had such potential."
The brief reprieve from combat allowed my battle fatigue to drop just a tad, not by a significant amount, but enough to let me stay in the fight for longer than I otherwise would've been able. Liam came at us fast, putting all of his speed to work, but I parried him again. He's definitely slower than before. With me keeping his sword busy, Eris can summon her insects to attack.
"Eris, use your magic!"
The half-second my head was turned to Eris, Liam sliced a gash down my arm, adding to the ever-growing puddle at my feet. The wound in my side still bled freely; this new wound only added to my trouble.
"Shit!" I hissed in pain.
I kept my sword up and backed up to Eris. She was focused on her hand, bringing her verdant smoke to summon horde of creatures. As soon as her magic began, Liam snapped his fingers.
As if a phantom gust of wind blew in, the green smoke dissolved into nothingness.
Liam wagged his finger at Eris. "Now, now. No outside guests allowed for this performance."
Enraged, Eris ran into the fight, swinging wildly, getting nowhere. She was untrained in combat, and it was painfully obvious, her anger only making it worse. Liam was able to keep her at bay with ease, but I attacked at his side, forcing him to switch priorities.
He blocked my sword, but I swept at his foot. He didn't fall for the trick a second time, shifting his balance and catching the kick on his shin.
Eris took the opportunity to try and stab him, but he caught her wrist and took the knife from her. While holding me off with his cane-sword, he brought the hilt of my knife to her temple with as much force as he could muster. With a sickening crack, Eris dropped, blood trailing down her head.
"You son of a bitch!" I screamed, putting my entire being into killing him. He kept me from landing a fatal blow, but each block with his sword was weaker than the last. His battle fatigue has to be at least as high as mine, and even if I don't understand how he's ignoring the laws of magic, his mana must be close—
It hit me like a sledgehammer.
Even if I don't know how the hell he's doing it, he's still using magic, and that means I can shut him down.
Magic was magic, no matter if it was using Script, smoke, or even nothing at all. It was still magic, and magic couldn't defend against antimagic.
I activated Aura of the Antimage, and it pulsed out along my skin, dispersing around me. Coating everything around me in an antimagic field.
It hurt less than the last time I used Aura. The Aspect burrowed through my heart and spread through my veins; it was a part of me now, and it wasn't going anywhere. As soon as the aura spread beyond my skin, the Aspect returned to its home in my heart.
It still wasn't the most pleasant feeling, but from the look on Liam's face, he was in far more pain. He no longer held his sick smile; now, it was twisted in agony. He dropped his cane-sword from his hand, and it clattered against the floorboards.
Liam looked down at his chest. At the rapidly growing stain of blood pouring out of it.
He stumbled to his knees, his heart pumping out his lifeblood with every beat. Liam's air of theatrics died and was replaced by utter panic. He stumbled over to the table and tried to grab the health potion that promised his salvation.
Only to find Eris's iron-clad grip around his ankle.
Blood ran down her face. She looked at him with fire in her eyes. "You're not going anywhere.”
Liam fell to the ground, tripping while trying to dislodge Eris's hand. He was weakened from the blood loss and couldn't beat her strength. He kicked at her face, but I plunged my sword through his thigh, aiming for his femoral artery.
Blood soaked through his white pants, pouring freely into the dirt. With my final attack, Aura of the Antimage ended, and my battle fatigue maxed.
As if my bones were made of jello, I folded, bumping my head on the table and falling to stare, unmoving as Liam laughed.
