Chapter 60: Amazon’s Covenant

Penthesilea let out a low chuckle as she surged forward with quick, purposeful strides before Mark could even push himself back up off the floor. Time was ticking away fast, and every single second counted toward this brief spar of worthiness, so she clearly had no intention of wasting even a fraction of one.

Another kick sent him flying upward before he fully registered what had happened, though Mark managed to activate Symbiosis mid air. Now that he carried a second summon bonded to him, some part of him was clearly linked to her as well, even setting aside her earlier claim that her service didn’t come with any physical binding attached.

With that, he gained access to half the combined strength of both summons at once. Still, for some reason, it didn’t feel like nearly enough against a battle machine like her, someone who’d clearly weathered countless brutal engagements and never once seemed to tire in the slightest.

It was almost as though the raw vigor and fervor of combat itself served as her fuel, turning her into an unstoppable, self sustaining force all on her own.

Still, Mark intended to throw everything he had into surviving whatever remained of those final seconds, each one crawling by with agonizing slowness.

Landing hard, Mark managed to block another brutal kick before his feet had even fully touched the ground. He tumbled through several rough somersaults, barely catching himself before crashing down entirely. His eyes went wide as a rush of displaced wind brushed past him, the barbarian Amazon suddenly appearing directly behind him.

If she was still genuinely holding back, deliberately restricting herself, and still hit this hard, he found himself wondering just what she’d be capable of at full strength. What kind of opponents had she actually faced across her long, storied existence? Whatever they were, they must have been absolutely horrendous.

His body leaned away almost entirely on its own, instinct alone guiding his legs into motion, letting him evade a sweeping kick that tore a powerful gust of wind through the surrounding air. This was the same benefit bleeding through from Diane’s Dance, borrowed through Echo tied to Cassandra.

With that, he pushed forward with a sharp jab, only for Penthesilea to casually tilt her body aside, letting the strike sail past harmlessly, rendering the attempt almost embarrassingly insignificant. Honestly, it felt like a genuine insult to the ten solid years of martial arts and kickboxing training he’d poured himself into.

Mark quickly followed up with a roundhouse kick aimed squarely at the Amazon. By some stroke of luck, it actually connected against her torso, though what met his leg felt exactly like striking a solid block of lead. Searing pain shot up through his leg as he stumbled backward, clutching at it instinctively.

That alone spoke volumes about just how strong and durable a veteran Amazon’s body truly was, and honestly, it was genuinely terrifying to experience firsthand.

That brief moment of hesitation cost him dearly, as Penthesilea closed the distance in an instant and drove her shoulder squarely into his chest. The impact sent him flying clean across the chamber floor, tumbling through several rough rolls before friction finally brought him to a stop.

The Amazon leapt high overhead before landing with a leg planted on either side of Mark, who remained sprawled on the floor, both hands raised defensively.

She reached down and hauled him upward effortlessly with a single hand before hurling him straight toward the nearest towering pillar. His body slammed into it with a deep, booming impact, sending fresh cracks spiderwebbing across the stone surface. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Sharp, jarring nerve pain shot through Mark’s back as he slumped downward, narrowly avoiding a follow up blow that tore straight through the pillar instead, ripping away a massive chunk of stone in the process. Shattered fragments scattered loudly across the floor around him.

Mark exhaled hard, gritting his teeth against the pain. He slipped quickly between her legs, rolling clear before scrambling back onto his feet.

Then he waved her forward, beckoning her in, and she answered immediately, leaping high with one leg raised into a descending axe kick.

"Twenty five!" she called out loudly mid air as she dropped toward him.

Mark crossed his bracers upward in front of him. They flared with a faint glow as he braced to absorb the incoming force and trigger their built in enchantment.

The instant Penthesilea’s strike connected, the bracers soaked up the tremendous force of the impact entirely.

Then they released it back outward in a powerful burst of reflected energy, the feedback mechanism multiplying whatever had been absorbed by two times over, maybe more.

Penthesilea was launched backward with tremendous force, crashing straight through a towering pillar. A large section of it crumbled apart into heavy rubble as she burst through the far side.

Still, she landed cleanly, balanced perfectly on one arm and both feet.

"Twenty nine, thirty! Okay, that’s enough, cut it out now!" Mark called out quickly, chopping one hand flat against his open palm.

He let out a sharp exhale against the pain radiating through his battered body before finally sitting down properly on the floor.

To his genuine surprise, though, the barbarian Amazon looked even more energized after their brief exchange than before it started. She showed no sign of heavy breathing or sweat anywhere on her, which honestly struck him as more than a little unsettling.

"I never said it was time out yet, you know. Still, you did decently well, considering. What little you managed still carried enough weight to reflect real potential underneath it," Penthesilea remarked, a faint smile crossing her lips as she strode toward him, looking every bit as though she hadn’t just been launched clean through a solid stone pillar moments earlier.

"That’s nice, actually. No one’s ever managed to throw me quite that far before. Those bracers of yours are genuinely impressive. Strong craftsmanship."

She stopped directly in front of him, extending one hand and pulling him effortlessly back up onto his feet.

"You don’t rest after a simple spar like this one. You stand back up. There are far worse battles waiting out there than this small exercise."

Mark exhaled again, slower this time.

Had it not already been perfectly clear in his own mind by now, he might have found it strange, speaking so directly and naturally with a summon, as though addressing another fully realized human being. But this felt entirely different. These were genuine, living beings, stronger than ordinary humans in nearly every conceivable way, and comparing them to regular people almost felt like an insult in itself.

Right then, his thoughts drifted back to the ivory sculpture standing near the chamber’s entrance. He finally understood exactly what it represented, what it had been trying to convey all along.

It captured the very spirit of war, command, and survival, embodied fully in the deliberate pose carved into the stone itself.

The presence standing before him now wasn’t merely some humanoid summon going through the motions. She was a genuine force to be reckoned with, in every sense of the phrase.

Each time he unlocked another Amazon, it seemed like they only brought more surprises with them than the last.

"You have earned my service, dear Prince," she said, lowering herself back down onto one knee, head bowed once more.

"And now, you shall grant your permission over my influence, in the manner it properly deserves."

Mark let out a soft chuckle, resting one hand lightly against her shoulder.

"I really do admire this, your loyalty, your dedication to duty, your commitment to hard work. I’ll make sure every bit of your effort and every deed you carry out gets properly recognized, seen clearly by both the Queen and the gods themselves."

"Every wish of yours is my command, dear Prince," Penthesilea replied, her voice carrying genuine, unwavering fervor.