A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Slowly, Erik started walking down the steps leading down from the dais, where the throne stood. His eyes flashed dangerously even as he chuckled with angry amusement.

"I must admit… you are entertaining, Nobuntu," he growled with a small smirk. "But you are making various dangerous assumptions… Worse than that, you are underestimating everyone in this room."

Nobuntu narrowed her eyes at his approach and glanced at Ankhur.

"Don't look at me," Ankhur told her calmly as he shook his head. He remained seated on the throne, seemingly uninterested in interfering. Your words insulted both myself and my daughter. Even if I were not still angry that you ignored us in our time of need, your past friendship with my wife still would not give you leeway to say whatever you wish."

"You've always been blind to the truth, Nobu," Naeku snarled angrily, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Nothing was ever going to happen between me and Kudzai, and my father would never make me a part of any deal without it being my own choice."

"I told you that already, Mom!" Kudzai exclaimed helplessly, his gaze swinging between Erik and his mother anxiously. "Why won't you ever listen to me when it matters!"

"Hmpf," Nobuntu snorted and ignored all their words. Instead, she turned her attention back to Erik. He was approaching her slowly but menacingly. He'd already changed into his werewolf form, and a giant hammer rested on his shoulder.

"I guess I have my answer then," she said curtly, her stern gaze never wavering. She didn't seem surprised by the hammer that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, unlike her son.

With her hands crossed behind her back, seemingly leaving many openings to an attack, she tilted her head. "So, what now, so-called 'Emperor'? Will you attack a peaceful foreign dignitary, like you almost did previously? Don't you think you're being a little too petty for an Emperor?"

A grin started spreading on Erik's lips. Despite his anger, he could appreciate Nobuntu's calm under pressure. Yet, that would not deter him, nor would her words.

"Don't try to manipulate me, Nobuntu," he warned her as the black scales of his Taurus Runeguard started to spread out from his armguard to slowly cover his entire body.

"I happen to enjoy fighting, and you need to learn some respect," he continued as icy white lightning sparked across his armour. Shifting the hammer to a double grip, he felt satisfied when he finally noticed some surprise in the Matriarch's eyes upon seeing the capabilities of his armour.

"If that means I have to act petty," he shrugged as his heavy footsteps reverberated around the room. "Then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!"

Finally, he stood in front of Nobuntu and grinned. "Now, make a choice! Either we fight here and now, or we go outside to the training field."

Still holding a regal pose with her hands cupped behind her back, Nobuntu stared Erik down without a hint of fear. She looked like she was full of openings, but Erik's trained eye could see the tension of her muscles. She was ready to react if he attacked.

They stared at each other in silence. Damian slowly twirled the hammer in his hands, ready to strike. Naeku and Ankhur watched calmy, but Kudzai was nervously hopping from feet to feet. Hesitantly, he began to speak. "E—"

"Fine!" Nobuntu finally spoke, interrupting her son. "If you need to sate your aggression so badly, then let's at least ensure we two are the only ones impacted by this."

Without another word, she turned around on her heel and walked towards the exit. Smirking, Erik followed her, as did everyone else.

***

A short walk later, they ended up on the same field where Erik previously fought Ankhur. The soldiers training there were shaken when they noticed the sheer amount of power that suddenly walked onto the field. All it took was one stern look from their commander-in-chief, Naeku, before they all cleared out.

Another few moments later, Erik and Nobuntu ended up facing each other with half the field between them. Naeku, Ankhur, and Kudzai stayed on the sidelines, one of them quite nervously.

"Are you going to fight with your bare hands?" Erik asked her with a raised eyebrow as sparks of lightning danced menacingly along his hammer, which was once again resting on his shoulder.

"I'd rather not fight at all," Nobuntu answered dismissively but then waved her hand and conjured a pair of metal, clawed gauntlets. They extended several inches beyond her fingers and looked extraordinarily sharp. "But since you're forcing me… I suppose I'll have to arm myself."

At the same time, she turned into her werepanther form, causing her natural claws to fit perfectly into the metal ones, and Erik looked at her choice of weapon curiously.

'Interesting…' he muttered to himself. 'Does she have a personal storage item?'

"Remember what I told you!" Elora suddenly resounded in his head, and Erik nodded with a chuckle. "I know, little Ember. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself!"

"You look ready enough!" he yelled at Nobuntu with a wide grin, causing her to scoff and take a fighting pose.

Without another word, Erik vanished in a flicker of azure electricity, reappearing instantly mere steps from Nobuntu, hammer swinging in a wide arc crackling with icy-white sparks of thundersnow.

Nobuntu reacted instantly, her body shifting fluidly out of the way. At the same time, her fur shimmered with dark crimson runes as the air filled with the metallic scent of blood. With a fierce snarl, she raised one clawed hand, enveloped in a visceral, swirling aura of her blood affinity.

Crimson streams surged out from beneath her skin, instantly solidifying into a crystalline barrier. Erik's thundersnow-charged hammer crashed violently against it, unleashing a shockwave that reverberated in the air. Despite the immense force, Nobuntu held firm, teeth bared defiantly as tendrils of blood snaked protectively around her arm, reinforcing her stance.

"Your arrogance blinds you, Emperor," she hissed venomously, driving her opposite hand forward in retaliation.

Her metal gauntlet extended into blood-infused blades, sharper and longer than natural, slicing toward Erik's exposed flank.

Instantly, the rush of combat surged through Erik's veins, and his grin widened. With a small push from his spatial displacement, he barely managed to sidestep her attack, reappearing several feet away.

His eyes glowed a fierce light. With a low growl, he activated his thundersnow armour, icy electricity crackling over his body, bolstering his defence and agility.

"Oh, it's definitely the other way around, Nobuntu," Erik smirked, gripping his hammer tightly as frost rapidly enveloped its massive head, layering atop the charged thundersnow. "But I won't deny I'm usually pretty blind as well. The difference is that I still listen to the people around me so they can see for me…!"