Chapter 8: Pushing a mountain

The commotion alerted everyone inside the tavern and in the town in general; many of the residents were already gathering around the half-ruined tavern.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but it came from the tavern."

"Really?"

"Who would be that bold to cause such at the tavern, do they have a death wish?"

As the outside got livelier, the inside got intense. The tension was so thick, that a knife could right through it.

Maharaj stopped and turned to face Abrax.

Hahaha!

He chuckled and folded his hands." Come for my soul? I have nothing to fear. If you want my soul that bad come and get it."

Abrax studied the proud man before him. Maharaj had a sturdy figure, with buffed triceps, veins visible on each hand, and his exposed chest. He wore a simple linen that did nothing to cover his torso and a pair of brown leather pants and boots. His black long hair reminded Abrax, of a stallion's tail.

"I have a question for you."

Abrax stepped out of the dust cloud and into the light. He stood a few feet away from Maharaj and some of his men, yet showed no fear.

"Did you happen to see children when you were delivering your meal ticket?"

Maharaj just shrugged his shoulders, preferring to keep his mouth shut.

His demeanor, however, irked Abrax who grabbed his polearm from his back and pointed the tip at Maharaj. "I'm asking you for the last time, did you see children when you were delivering your meal ticket?"

Maharaj felt insulted by this gesture, anger flashed in his crimson eyes for a brief moment. "You come into my establishment, destroy it, and think you have the right to threaten me? Men end him."

"Yes my lord."

The men beside Maharaj nodded and dissolved into shadows, their intentions being to swiftly execute the order their leader gave them.

Abrax was put on edge, he heard Maharaj clearly and saw the three men beside him dissolve into shadows. He knew he was against magic users and these three seemed to be using the vilest of magic; shadow magic.

He kept his guard up, his senses sharp as he awaited the assassination attempt.

Body Enhancement; porcupine skin

Body Enhancement; Elephant perception

Body Enhancement; Jaguar physiology

Abrax knew stacking up Body Enhancement magic would deal a considerable amount of damage to his body yet he did it anyway.

Having full control of his own body due to the magic ability, Abrax's skin hardened and became prickly. His fingers turned to claws and his eyes gained slits while he obtained hearing subpar with an Elephant.

Cloning magic

He managed to convert his magical power into two identical parts as the assassins struck him on multiple parts including the jugular veins, the veins on the ankles, his eyes, biceps, and even torso.

But due to the sturdy defense given by his body magic, the short daggers the assassins used immediately snapped upon coming into contact with his body. The broken shards flew up high offering him enough time to move.

His facsimile raised his right fist and smacked the first assailant on the right away from him, with enough force to break the bones in a human's body. It followed up by stabbing the polearm on the floor and used its length to pivot delivering a roundhouse kick to the second assailant.

After doing that, it disappeared into a whiff of smoke having reached its time limit. Abrax observed the only assailant not incapacitated and smirked at him. "Try again."

With the ferocity of a jaguar, Abrax grabbed the assailant and pulled him forward before close lining him to the floor. The impact created a fissure through the tavern, shaking the building as a whole.

He stood up and dusted his hands. "Now are you going to give me my answe—"

Abrax didn't finish his statement as a kick landed on his chest flinging him out of the hole he created and onto the sand-filled Street.

He raised his head concomitantly groaning in pain. He was trying to get a feel of what hit him and only found Maharaj at the open entrance.

Maharaj stared down at the man he had kicked. "Know your place."

Abrax chuckled at the statement and stood up. " I knew those muscles weren't for show! But if you won't answer me, I'll beat it out of you."

Maharaj narrowed his eyes as he looked at Abrax. Conflagration exploded from his fist traveling through his soma, coalescing it whole.

Great Flame Empyrean!

Abrax witnessing the flames and feeling the intense heat they were emancipating kept a serious face. The man before him welded flame magic and it seemed like it was of the second highest order.

"Say your prayers boy."

Abrax twirled the polearm in his right hand; positioning the length of the weapon in his left hand. He calmly inhaled the abundant oxygen relaxing his nerves.

Never show trepidations in front of your enemies!

He recalled the words of the only person he had in the world, it was not the time for him to show signs of fear.

Maharaj jumped at him and delivered a vicious roundhouse kick aiming for his head but Abrax quickly positioned the base of his polearm in front of him making it soften the blow.

The force pushed him a considerable distance leading him to tumble into the wine barrels.

The wine spilled on him, staining his linen which annoyed Abrax. Although annoyed he kept his cool and stood up. "You knocked me down twice!"

Abrax counted the number he had been knocked down a smiled at Maharaj.

"You aren't bad kid, you reacted quite well."

Abrax scoffed at the compliment and closed his eyes. With his first and most dominant sense temporarily incapacitated, every sense in his body was heightened.

Abrax swung the polearm diagonally across his front, magical power was shot forth in a decapitating wave of extreme lethality and sent to Maharaj.

Maharaj bent his body forward, rolling across the dirt as the wave cut through his tavern cleanly leaving the building to collapse from the top.

The spectators and the people inside scurried away from the battle, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire between two users of magic.

A stalemate settled between Maharaj and Abrax, however, the latter couldn't help but feel that the temperature was ascending to an abnormally high degree, even without his eyes, Abrax could feel the vaporizing molecules on his skin.

Flame magic; Gravity falls!