In a blink Ascrew disappeared vanishing from sight and Bank's had the barest instant of time to wonder if he rand off while the air rushed into the space where he occupied before he reappeared behind the orc, dagger aiming for neck. He slashed to the side, a decapitation strike to swift to follow, only for dagger to meet hair causing a horrific screeching to ring out as the two clashed. The space seemed to warp for an instant as a massive slice tore a nearby building in half, and Ascrew stepped backwards barely avoiding a wave of thin black fibers like coiled cords. The assassin avoided the hair pivoting to the side and lashed out again, slamming into the hair, again and again, and again and again, each time from a different angle and Banks was forced to duck back as lines of pure severing power instantly appeared on nearby structures causing them to fall apart. He concentrated mana to the surface of his skin, raising his defense as high as it could safely go, as he locked eyes with Nime, who hadn't moved since the start of this confrontation, even as Ascrew unleashed a hundred fatal attacks each second. Thankfully the assassin had both control and restraint because despite the fact that the street now looked like a proper apocalypse had strolled on by, none of the attacks were aimed towards Banks.

  No, he wasn't just avoiding him with the attacks, but picking his angles cleverly, every strand of hair was targeted. Despite the innumerable strands of hair, a certain type of hair was focused disproportionately and Banks immediately twigged onto the plan. Stepping back and focusing on controlling his mana while counting up as more and more stones clattered to the ground. No words were passed between the two of them, but a level of collaboration was established at that moment, any small miscommunications would be dealt with as only two experienced crash outs can do so.

  "Nine, ten, eleven, twelve," Banks recited as rhinestones, once blocked by strands of hair, now collapsed to the floor. He reversed the flow of his normal mana intake through his mana veins and increasing his output at the cost of reducing his regeneration as he felt a couple of the remaining blockages collapse. Despite the frantic movement, Nime didn't move instead, her eyes were more focused on Banks. "Thirteen, fourteen. Explode." At the word 'Explode' the many rhinestone, now freed from their restraint launched towards the orc from hundreds of different angles all far faster than the speed of sound. It was an attack that would have severely injured or killed over ninety nine percent of all sorcerers through the ages, but Nime was that one percent.

  Her hands blurred, seeming to multiply until she resembled the Habilites of primordial times, and each and every one of the rhinestones were effortlessly caught in her hands, with all the effort that one may use to pick up a cup of tea. It was an effortless motion, the pure expression of extreme control over the body as a result of extreme experience and it was an opportunity. Bank's fist slammed into her temple with the force of a bomb, his mana condensed to an extreme point an instant before he disappeared from his position, teleporting mid swing and landing his full strength strike right where she should be most vulnerable.

  "You don't fight orcs much," Nime said, her head slightly moved, more as a concession to the idea behind the punch then any actual force placed upon her. "There are no weak parts in our skull."

  "Then what about the neck," Ascrew said, blitzing through the mass of hair from her blind side, using that moment of impact to deliver a stab into the vulnerable neck of the orc.

  It landed perfectly, and the knife snapped in two and Banks was confronted with the nearly unique sight of Ascrew looking completely flabbergasted. It was a sight that he would normally savor, but for the fact that the resurrected orc used that opportunity to perform a spin kick that landed on both combatants simultaneously and sent them rocketing backwards.

  "I don't think the neck is a weak spot for this one," Banks remarked crawling out from a nearby tree, that embraced him tightly wrapping it's wooden body around him. "And I have fought orcs, it's just that most of the orcs that I fought were friendly. I am not gonna go for lethal."

  "Unfortunately this one isn't as friendly," Ascrew said pulling himself out from one of those mailboxes. "It's been a while since somebody has straight up walked off me stabbing them."

  "But isn't the feeling of being outmatched completely exhilarating," Nime stated as she raised her as if reveling in her strength. "The feeling of climbing to the top of the mountain only to see another mountain is a privilege that I've long found rare. That said allow me to retaliate a little bit," she said, and in the next instant her hand clamped shut an arm's length from Bank's throat. "Huh."

  "Beam," Banks said almost reflexively as his heart leapt to his throat and a thin beam of blue, compressed mana released from the palm splashed into her face with all the comparative force of small kids playing in the waves. His mana veins burned in the sudden exertion, the metaphysical conduits of his mana ripping as they were pushed far past the safe limit and he involuntarily clutched his arm gritting his teeth at the pain.

  "Bugger, fuck," he exclaimed as the orc turned towards Ascrew who was dusting off his clothes, seemingly doing nothing.

  "You altered the distance," she playfully accused.

  "My magic doesn't seem to work on you," Ascrew admitted. "Your body is just too resistant to my magic. But if I target the space that you occupy instead of you directly I can still do some pretty funny stuff regardless of your magic resistance."

  "Funny," Nime remarked. "I wouldn't describe that magic as funny. Interesting, impressive, dangerous, potent are much better descriptors I believe. I originally thought you were using a form of enhancement magic, and then a blessing/curse magic when you attempted to make me slower, weaker, but I was wrong, wasn't I? You have some type of number magic don't you? As long as something has a quantity you can manipulate it. Whether it's speed, mana quantity, distance or the power you can manipulate that. It would also not be farfetched to believe that you could manipulate the temperature or the quantity of oxygen in the air would it?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Scary," Ascrew stated, his dopey grin never dropping as he straightened up holding up his knife as if to measure his opponent. "Identifying my Scalar magic in such a short time. I can see why somebody went through so much effort to bring you back from the dead."

  "I wish I knew why they expended the effort myself," Nime stated calmly. "All I know is that Trinorim guy brought us back, but we were given no instructions. Only told to indulge ourselves and await further commands." From her tone it was clear that it bothered her a bit, but she shrugged as if brushing it off. "From my brief impression one thing that seemed to unite those resurrected was unfinished desires. I doubt that the resurrection works appropriately on the unwilling, which may also mean that this allowance to indulge is an attempt at weakening our will."

  "And what is your will?" Ascrew asked. "Surely you didn't return from the lands of the dead just to put the hands on Banks and I?"

  "True, I do have a different opponent in mind," Nime mused before she disappeared. Space seemed to stretch and contort before Bank's eyes only for her to slip through it and grab Ascrew by the throat, lifting him up and slamming him through a tree, before tossing him a few dozen meters down the road.

  "Breaking space with one's body," Banks remarked, a chuckle bursting from his lips. The orc turned towards him, putting her hands on her hips provocatively and he was forced to note that there was absolutely no jiggle in her movements. Every part of her body seemed to be carved from a neutron star for all that base matter could affect it. His masculine urges wanted him to properly feel just how hard they were, but he reluctantly forced them down as a more important fact came to mind. "Fuck, you have a Heresy Body, don't you?"

  "Astute observation from one of the few who have previously laid eyes upon such a body," the orc goddess said, slamming a fist into that magnificent chest. "Do you still wish to fight me, knowing that?"

  "Heresy body?" Ascrew asked as he flipped to his feet. Despite the throw, he looked no worse for wear, a testament to Nime's mercy.

  "Consider it an evolved form of a Sacred Body," Banks said. "And then up your appraisal of the comparative strength by a thousand fold. "A Heresy Body is a power that breaks the laws of the world. I doubt anything we can do would harm her." Banks wasn't kidding with that appraisal. The power behind the Heresy Body was absurd, even the grand magic of the past or the nuclear weapons of the future would be unable to singe her body hair, well it wouldn't if she as an orc possessed any.

  "I commend your knowledge, although I suppose it is unsurprising in your case," Nime stated slamming her foot into the ground causing the ground to crack and shake as dust and shrapnel splattered upwards in a wave. Banks immediately brought up his arms up to block, raising his defenses to the maximum, before a single punch snapped both his arms in two and crushed his chest. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the arm, sculpted out of a substance with toughness that surpassed the limits of matter and he frowned as he realized he had no idea how to actually hurt her. That's frustrating and for the first time he appreciated the difference between him and those monsters exceeding a mana level of ten thousand. Despite his lack of fear towards Ascrew, the fact remained that the man could very easily put him in the dirt. He launched up with a kick that did nothing but bounce harmlessly against her abs and for his sins he was grabbed and tossed aside, tumbling pathetically until he landed halfway down the street.

  A few seconds later he pulled himself from the ground as his wounds stabilized, mana preventing him from losing too many of the important fluids only to see a fight of epic proportions. Ascrew and Nime were clashing, each blow sending shockwaves throughout the city tearing apart anything nearby. Ascrew's fighting style was unpredictable, marked by a momentum that could change on a dime, as mass, distance, speed and length instantly shifted from one extreme to another, his magic transforming the lightest of stabs into something that could pierce through a mountain. Unfortunately for him he wasn't fighting a mountain, but something much tougher. Nime casually deflected the knife attacks with her fingernails, flicking away a blade that weighed as much as a boulder with lazy flicks. Her other hand was kept lazily at her side, not even bothering to fight seriously or retaliate, a seriously demoralizing action to take.

  "Wow, that was quite close," Ascrew said. lightly laughing as he barely dodged a lazy kick that brushed past his jaw with enough force to launch him into the atmosphere. "Who the hell even managed to kill you?"

  "Probing for my weakness," Nime asked as she kicked up handful of pebbles before tossing one towards Ascrew with the force of a rail cannon, sending out a shockwave, before missing the assassin and piercing through building after building until it disappeared in the distance. "I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up yet. Obviously, I wasn't as important as I liked to believe." Her last words were said as she gestured towards Banks, causing him to frown.

  "Is this something I'm going to do?" he asked, causing the orc to pause, before she let out a chuckle.

  "Is that often the case oh Lord of the River," she said in that tone that orcs use when amused. "Do you often find yourself paying for crimes you have not committed yet, judged for future trespasses, party to future obligations?"

  "Too fucking much," Banks admitted. "I could tell you some fucking stories. But if it's not future Banks then you must be referring to my sister. Did Agua take your life?"

  "Yes," Nime admitted. Behind her, Ascrew made a face of understanding. That man was always unreasonably scared of his sister. "I lost to her and lost my life. Did she not mention me?"

  "You're not a fish, so she's not going to talk about you," Banks stated. "Most likely she saw the whole thing as a chore. So, are you coming for revenge?"

  "No self-respecting orc would ever lose a fight and then seek revenge," Nime said, firm in body and voice. "But I would love to fight her again and so I must shamefully impose myself. As long as I have you, then I'm sure she will come and find me to rescue her beloved brother."

  "Plan checks out," Banks admitted.

  "I'm glad to see that my plan merits your approval," Nime stated chuckling. "So unfortunately, I'm going to end this quickly before you bleed out. Raise your fists and grit your teeth boys. I'm going to show both of you how a true orc fights."