A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

The Harbinger's dimension's training room was filled with the sounds of fighting. Erik and Liv were facing off in a head-to-head duel on top of the battle platform located there.

For Erik, this fight was vastly different from the one he fought against her ghoulified version a little over a day ago. The Liv from that day was not much more than an overpowered puppet controlled by a distracted Sigurd.

While the ghoul version of his future mother-in-law had a far more powerful body, her regular self had the advantage of relying on her vast battle experience, which easily rivaled Erik's own, and the usage of her skills.

Not to mention that she was actually in control of her own body.

All in all, Erik considered this fight to be far harder. His fight against the ghoul was more nerve wrecking because any mistake could cost him dearly, but fighting against the real Liv was an entirely new experience.

Even now, with her weakened body, Liv was definitely the toughest opponent he'd fought yet. Not counting Katya, of course, but he barely considered his first meeting with Katya back in London to have been an actual fight. It was more like a beat-down.

Regardless, he could see how Frostfang was only barely able to act as a deterrent for a complete Dominion take-over when Liv still ruled them.

Still, he refused to even consider defeat. He didn't just need to win, he had to convince Liv he could beat her even were she at full power.

Setting aside Liv's teasing, which Erik didn't actually take seriously, he had to convince her to follow his lead. The main reason for that wasn't even the fate of Finnmark or the Enclave. It was because he and Elora wanted the Dominion to join the Council, so that Liv could become a friendly Councilor.

After all, when they were done in Africa, their next step would likely be to take over Europe.

The two combatants grinned as they fought. Erik swung his hammer overhead, crackling with lightning. Liv crouched and smashed her sun-like orbs against the flat head, barely defending herself.

They appeared to be locked in a stalemate, but Liv grinned. Roaring, she started pushing back against the hammer with all her might. Although her body was weakened, she was in an advantageous position compared to her opponent.

Erik growled and pushed harder as well. It was clear that Liv wasn't going to be able to resist for long, but at some point, Liv managed to raise one of her feet, resisting his hammer with only the support of the other.

Erik saw what was happening, and watched with curiosity. Suddenly, runes filled her skin, and orange light gathered around her foot. Then, she crashed it back down to the ground.

*Boom*

An explosion occurred. A massive force blasted Erik from the front. He roared, and was forced to take a few steps back, releasing Liv from the stalemate.

When the dust settled, Liv was grinning, but also panting heavier. Erik returned her grin with one of his own.

'That makes for three abilities,' he thought to himself. 'That shield she used to defend against my thundersnow blast, those orbs around her hands, and that explosion just now. Something's weird, though. That explosion was a little weaker then I'd expect…'

"I know what you're thinking," Elora's thoughtful voice passed through his mind, "and you're right. That wasn't her third ability. That was just a very wasteful, but also extremely impressive use of releasing energy. She's probably planning to surprise you with her real third ability."

While Erik simply suspected something was wrong, Elora could clearly see it using her omnisense. Something that Liv naturally expected Erik to be missing.

"Got it," Erik responded inwardly, glad to have the fairy's support. He didn't mind taking her help. In a fight that was purely for fun he might prefer to do everything on his own, but not now. Now, there was something more on the line.

So Erik pretended to be duped. "That's an impressive ray of abilities," he exclaimed, appearing like a fellow warrior appreciating his opponents skills. "I especially like those orbs on your hands. Did you always fight like a brawler, or was that something you adopted because of that ability?"

"I always liked using my hands," Liv smirked as she smashed the hard orbs together. They looked like miniature suns and gave off a blazing heat, turning her hands into extremely dangerous weapons.

Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "But I don't want to hear you talk of my 'impressive ray of abilities', when I've already lost count of yours. Exactly how many abilities do you have, and how did you get so many as a mere second-ranker?"

"Well," Erik chuckled smugly, keeping a cautious eye on his opponent while keeping his hammer at the ready. "Clearly I'm not just a mere second-ranker. Or are you saying my strength is normal?"

Liv rolled her eyes at his smug expression, before smashing her fists together again with a grin. "Seems I need to teach you some humility boy!"

Thus, they charged each other again. Fist smashed against hammer. Erik's thundersnow armor melted under the heat of her orbs, but it also effectively protected him from that exact same thing. Occasionally, he met one of her orb-encased fists with one of his own, but charged with a lightning blast.

However, it soon became apparent that Erik was winning this fight. Liv's panting became more and more pronounced. Her movements slowed down. Even her orbs started flickering a little.

At this point, she was mostly keeping in the game through her experience. Enjoy new stories from empire

Finally, she appeared ready to enact her last ditch effort to turn things around.

Runes appeared on her skin again. Light gathered around her foot. A glint passed through her eyes. Her foot came down. Then, a flash of light, and she disappeared.

"Behind you!" Elora exclaimed in his mind.

Erik smirked, having expected something like this. But he was prepared.

On his hand glowed a dark blue magic circle. He clenched his fist.

Zzzing

Suddenly, a dark blue sphere expanded from his body, and pushed everything around him away with powerful force.

"Gaah!" came Liv's scream from behind him, as she was blasted away from him, crashing against the edge of the platform.

"Nice try," Erik grinned as he turned around. "But I'm still the strongest fist around here."