Chapter XXXVI

The swords clash for the first time, both of equal height, of equal strength. One already battered, tired, and even wounded, the other unaffected from head to toe. Yet the Greek doesn't give an inch, thus beginning a show of strength. Elián manages to maintain a "calm" facial expression, hiding his tiredness and physical pain. For his part, "Zacchaeus" makes gestures that indicate he's exerting a lot of strength to maintain his posture. He leans slightly just to gather strength, throwing the Greek a few inches away, thus ending this petty brawl. Both of them get back up, Zacchaeus lunges at Elian throwing a few swings, which his opponent skillfully dodges causing Zacchaeus to get out of the way, Elian turns around and passes the sword to his left hand, with the fist of his right hand he hits him in the back, his opponent is going to fall to the ground but manages to support himself with the sword, he moves his left hand quickly to grip the sword better, he turns around, throws another blow which collides with the enemy's sword, the sound of the blades is heard throughout the room, the two grunt, Zacchaeus kicks Elian in the chest, Elian falls buttocks to the ground and takes advantage of this to hit him directly in the face, but the Greek stops the blade with his bare hands as if he were praying, Zacchaeus is surprised by the fact and applies force but the Greek does not give in, on the contrary, he closes his left fist on his sharp blade regardless of the damage received, he gets up a little enough to break the sword with a blow with his right fist, his opponent takes errant steps back without falling.

Elian gets up, throws his sword, and attacks him with his hands. He runs towards him, grabs him by the shoulders and butts his head. Zacchaeus snatches his fist and manages to grab him by the neckcloth. He closes his right fist with his left and delivers three precise blows to the Greek's face. When he tries to deliver a fourth blow, the Greek evades the fist and falls to the ground again. He rolls twice until he reaches his sword. Zacchaeus uses his magic and makes a new sword appear as well as a shield. Cyrus, who had just finished a fight, whistles at his brother and throws a shield at him. As soon as he sees that his brother has the piece, he falls unconscious in a pool of blood. Again they are in the same condition. The Greek hits the sword with the shield, Zacchaeus does the same.

Zacchaeus is the one who starts the attack again, he walks zigzagging towards him, he throws an attack with his sword, Elian dodges it but is hit by the shield, both walk in a circle, Zacchaeus jumps and throws a blow, this time it is his sword that hits the Greek shield, that makes Elian take a few steps back, the aggressor throws a blow to the feet but the Greek's shield blocks it, he throws a blow that is dodged when the shield is raised, he does not stop advancing hitting the Greek's shield, Elian is forced to turn a little to his right, he pushes himself to be the one who attacks but is deflected by the opponent's shield, the older one is forced to arch his back to dodge a saber blow to the face, he moves the enemy sword away with a movement of his sword, Zacchaeus takes a step back and adjusts himself, shield in front, sword above the shield, he takes three quick steps forward the same as Elian retreats, Zacchaeus releases another blow with the sword hitting the right ribcage inflicting a wounded, with the help of the shield the eldest throws him a few steps, the eldest's turn comes and he hits the opponent's shield several times, he bends down enough and strikes, wounding the victim's left leg, Zacchaeus drops the sword.

Elián approaches in a hurry and breaks his sword again, seeing it useless he throws it far away, the Greek does the same, the attacked becomes the aggressor, takes the shield with both hands, hits the elder on both sides, makes a turn and from inside the shield he takes a sword and thrusts, a thrust that is received by the shield of the attacked, the elder seeing this hits with the shield so hard that it makes him retreat several meters, this time without consideration with courage he hits him several times until he hits him in the face.

Elian's passion

The blood begins to flow, he moves his head wanting to regain concentration, but the Greek doesn't give him time to do anything, his attacks hit his arms, his legs, his sword, his chest, the shield of the attacked falls to the floor, the sword too, he trips over his own foot falling backwards to the floor, Elian is going to give the fatal blow, his sharp blade goes straight to the heart, Zacchaeus can see the eyes full of fury without a trace of fear, instead he was afraid. Elian's blade is about to hit his chest... the sword falls to the floor, the Greek's gait is stopped in its tracks falling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Zacchaeus stands up, goes to the eldest, squats down, watches carefully, removes the silver protections, that same silver that could kill him is also the one that protects him, stands up, moves his lips, makes a movement of his hands making the Greek stand up suddenly, Elián glares at him, this amuses him, touches his right shoulder, digs his nails in until he bleeds, the eldest does not give him the pleasure of hearing him scream.

—The pride of a king doesn't let you shout, nor does the pride of a warrior.

—You don't care—she sinks her fingers completely in, his jaw tenses.

—Just because you didn't say your name when I arrived doesn't mean I didn't know it, Elian Lycaon the werewolf king. —That does surprise the Greek— let's leave the games alone, before I kill you, you'll kill all yours.

He begins to speak to himself, but even Elian, who is holding him next to his ear, can't hear him. The Greek's body moves at Zacchaeus's will. The Greek's face changes, revealing anguish, pain, and fury. He puts his hands to his head, trying to silence the buzzing in it, but without success. Alf is killing the last opponent when the older man's howl catches his attention, and he lets go of the inert body.