P76 - Frozen Corruption

The air was thick with the roar of fire and the hiss of steel.

Rikushi raised his free hand, and the flames around him obeyed. A ring of spiraling fire erupted from the arena floor, circling both him and Latro. It cast long shadows and caged them in intense heat.

Latro's laughter cracked like lightning.
Flames wrapped around his body as his feet lifted slightly off the ground, his whole aura surging in chaotic flame.
He lunged forward towards Rikushi.

Rikushi raised his blade, but the sheer force of Latro's wild attack sent him sliding backward--toward the wall of flame from the very ring he summoned.

"Back to the fire you go, Rikushi!" Latro shouted.
"Let it consume you, become one with it again, you boor"

Rikushi clenched his jaw as the heat scraped across his cheeks. The wall of fire danced inches from his back and slightly burned his clothes.

And then--
Something changed with Rikushi.

A pulse.
A flare of crimson light from the gem in his sword hilt.
Rikushi's hair lifted while his coat flared, his rings lit up and then his eyes--burned orange and crimson, the pupils shaped like embers.

Wings of fire exploded from his back.

The fire ring responded--not as danger, but as fuel. It swirled inward, feeding into him like an energy source.

His voice deepened, echoing across the arena;

"HELLFLARE... SPIRAL!"

The gem in his sword exploded with arcanic energy--not just fire, but pure, celestial combustion and a white light made of pure destruction and divinity.

A beam of energy spiraled outward, cutting straight through Latro's chest.

The flames were quiet.
But the impact didn't.

Latro's body lifted for a brief second... then dropped, limp on to the arena floor, a smoking hole burned clean through him.

Across the arena, Rumoto clashed against Brevis--steel meeting steel.

Their weapons sparked violently.

But then... Rumoto felt it.

His axe--Glacial Tundra--grew heavy.

The blue shimmer faded.
It turned gray, the edges flaking like rotting stone.

At the same time, Brevis' axe gained a frost-like glint, glowing faint blue.

"Oooh," Brevis laughed, licking his lips.
"About time my prized possession finished it's meal,"

Rumoto's hands trembled.

He looked at his axe--his partner, the source of every blow, every fight.

It was dying.
He dropped it.

The sound it made was soft. Not even metallic.

Brevis tilted his head.
"Smart choice," he sneered.
"You don't want that corruption spreading up your arm."

Rumoto's eyes dimmed--going from glacial blue to soft, dull teal.

No more glow. No more power.

"...You have no magic at all, do you?" Brevis realized aloud, stunned.
"All this time... it was the axe. You were nothing without it. You're Magic-Less."

Rumoto stood still and silent.

His gaze fell, shoulders tensed, vibe shallowed out as he became a gloomy Magic-Less being.

Then... a deep breath.

He looked up with determination in his eyes and ran forward.

Brevis raised his axe, confident and engaged.

But Rumoto ducked the swing, closed the gap, and grabbed Brevis' axe with both hands.

"You took something of mine..." Rumoto growled, eyes wild, fury overflowing.

From across the battlefield, a piercing beam of light--Para's Light Magic--cut through the haze, slicing across Brevis' side.

"So I'm taking this from you."

Rumoto kicked Brevis back, wrenching the axe from his hands.

Then--he turned.

Picked up his own, broken axe.

The corruption stopped the second he held both.

The frost returned.

The steel sang.

And with a scream of pain and victory, Rumoto dashed forward, leaping into the air--both blades crossing.

He sliced down in an 'X', the impact bursting with frost and ice.

Brevis stood frozen for a moment.

Then--split across the torso.

Blood sprayed into the sand. His body collapsed.

Two powerful enemies down, but the war wasn't over yet.

Para, standing tall in the distance, raised both hands again. His aura sparked with a bright light.

Valentine still fought Kali, both of them bruised, nearly spent, and seeming like they'll collapse at any moment.

Kaide, still holding Vim off, locked eyes with Rikushi now floating above the scorched battlefield in his Archangel form.

And the crowd?
The crowd was breathless, as everyone waited for this team of 5 to take the stage, and show off their power, as if this is what the Arena Games was all about, a stage for the world's most powerful.