"I still don't think you're ready for it just yet."
Danton disregarded the concerns of his training partner. Mainne managed to defeat Danton on her way up through the Catalyst Grove, something he wasn't expecting to happen. Over the past five days, all of this effort has been to cast the skills of judgment upon the leader of the Trujima gang, the best swordsman in all of Eldora Tower. "That won't change my mind. In the next hour, I'll be going up against Kite himself, in an official duel for the champion's position."
"And you know what happens to you if you lose," she argued again.
"Of course I know." Danton knew all of the rules by now, as would everyone else here. Over the past five days, he and the others have been forging their skills to peak condition, making sure that in the weekend to come, nobody can defeat a single one of them. Though it is still possible that those positions will never remain defended forever. "That's why it has to be today." With sincerity in his eyes, Danton let out everything he felt about this situation. "I can't take the risk that I or Kite are booted out from the ranks before he and I have our match."
"I thought you were trying to become the strongest wielder. That means defeating any champion would do, right?"
Mainne must not have been paying any attention all this time. "Wrong," he corrected. "I don't care who is in charge or not. Champion or no champion, Kite is now at his peak physical condition, as I am. My only desire ever since I've joined the Trujima gang is to become more powerful, so that I can defeat him in combat on equal footing." Kite has proven himself so far, impressing and surpassing all of them with his skills for dual wielding. So when Kite said he would change strategies, that passive skill is what he meant, but Danton has been training for a long time too. Wielding nothing but the Luminous Artemus, he continued to pull off amazing spell casts and abilities, to grow far beyond where he was at the beginning of meeting all of these wonderful people. "And now, the time has come to test which one of us is the better warrior. My match is already set up." Danton made sure Mainne had all of the details. "Challenges to the champion like these are also recorded live to the feed of the tower, and displayed in the night later to add to the network's show. So Mainne, I want you to watch and learn."
"Very well," she allowed. "I'll just have to have faith in you, that you can actually pull it off if anyone can." Danton has defiantly improved, but his overall speed hasn't had a chance to improve, not in a close combat situation. Lawrence fought the same way, and he lost to Kite by allowing himself to be drawn into close combat at every moment. Danton really has to pull out his best tonight.
Danton bowed to Mainne, honoring her time and effort in helping him forge the best in his own abilities through series of tests. Then he turned to the elevator door in the north part of the arena, using it to head all the way up to the top where he will be waiting.
With a loud sniff of fresh air, he sighed exhaling in deep serenity with a grin of rejoice. "That water fountain in the back really does make this feel more fitting for my role. And this arena, this battlefield, it couldn't be any more perfect for our main battle!"
As expected, Kite was overly excited and thrilled to fight this opponent of his. Shadler knew that his future was riding on the outcome of the battle to be. Any minute now, the rival will step forth from that elevator and host the challenge face to face with Kite Fargenst. "I'm glad to see that everyone is hyped up about this, but I wonder if you're training is adequate to challenge a member who has been trailing in your shadow for so long."
"Only for a few weeks, Shadler." Kite turned around, giving a disappointed look to his referee. "You really should have a little more faith in me. After all, we don't get to pick any sides but that of our own selves. The fight with Danton will be a battle of honor and skill alone. Only the best will be decided here tonight, and I won't be losing against him. I defeated Danton once in battle, on the day we first met. Now he must learn his place. I'll make it happen again, replay the same crucial situation as before. He'll realize what it really means to go up against me."
His overconfidence is unpleasing to watch, and with such immaturity, this Danton character might actually take the win, but it's impossible to see a certain outcome. Shadler never got a wide chance to study Danton's battling tactics, but it was clear already that Kite's skills are nothing to gawk at. Even now, this current champion has an astonishing advantage.
Chapter Theme Shift:
"No more time to talk trash everyone." Attracting the glances of Kite and his apparent referee, Danton finally made it to the champion chamber. The artwork here is highly impressive, and the space of the arena in all dimensions far overcomes that of the other floors of the tower. Being up so high should normally thin the air a little, but somehow it feels like the freshness of an outdoor garden. This battle area is perfect. Danton took a few more eager steps forward, tense though confident that this could go in his favor.
"Brash Danton," Kite pronounced. "I had some doubts about you when you joined our pack, but I see that your ability to grow is still well intact. You should know however that I didn't just defeat Lawrence by studying his strategy through past video footage. I sharpened my skills as a swordsman, and even added a few skills fitting of a mage in the past few days. The only thing that will happen to us if we face each other right now is a repetition of the battle we first shared. Would you like to prove my expectations?"
By the time Danton walked close enough to Kite for medium range skills to become effective, he stopped and considered everything that has happened up to this point, pausing in his thoughts before daring to answer to Kite. There is no doubt that everyone has grown over the weeks, all just by trying to aim for the top, but the real reason Danton stands here today is to have the promised battle one more time, to prove which one of them has grown the strongest. Regardless of any public displays from earlier, Kite cannot be underestimated. He is the current champion after all, something that doesn't normally happen overnight. This moment is for the purest battle in his entire heart. Every fight Danton could ever remember winning and losing, to anyone and everything since childhood, they all ride on this one lone battle. He could feel it in his heart, climbing in his chest from the suspense of the upcoming action. This isn't just a test of everyone's skill; it's more than that. A Leray battle, no matter what the gamble, regardless of the weight of the steaks, every single Leray battle always has one thing in common, and that is the uncertainty of the outcome. Battles have so many different aspects and tactical strategies that factor in, which means even with odds stacked against you, victory is never impossible. This right here is what makes all Leray battles so much fun!
Danton pulled the Luminous Artemus staff from the back holster attached to his outfit in a threatening manner. Skills of a swordsman won't help him out. Magic is his strength, and any choice of weapons are allowed for this particular match. Everything has come to this moment! "Kite Fargenst!" he bellowed. "Champion of Leray magic and all of Sprawn Valley. I, Brash Danton of the level three elite status challenge you to an official Leray battle. We will face each other here, using our primary weapons and our best of skills to defeat each other. I want to do so in a way where forfeiting is not allowed."
"Brash Danton," Shadler called out. "Only I get to make those rules, and—"
"Shadler!" Kite interrupted his referee rudely; making sure the mage learns his place. "This might seem like an ordinary challenge to you, but this won't be exactly the same. Danton wants a battle for the title of championship right here where it should be, with the added benefit of making sure that forfeiting is disabled, and I insist on taking him up on this offer."
Shadler disagreed, arguing back the problem with that idea. "Need I remind you of the potential risk involved regarding Vital Drain? If either of you enters Vital Drain, the match would normally end early in that person's defeat, in order to not risk their actual lives should the veil cease protecting them adequately."
"In other words," Kite paraphrased, "if the conditions make this so, this battle could turn into a battle of death. You really think that either of us care, Shadler?" Kite saw Shadler wince in surprise, but he blocked any attempt of letting the old man argue any further. "If either of us end up red-lining our energy scopes, I can promise everyone standing here that it won't put a stop to anyone's fighting spirit. Don't you agree, Brash Danton?"
"Normally," he explained, "I'm opposed to the idea, for the same risks realized by your referee. However, I'm fighting against Kite Fargenst today. So this will be the one exception I make to such safety protocols. I won't hold anything back. If I'm one cut away from death, it won't stop me from ensuring my victory against you Kite. I know you would fight the same way after all."
"Hahahaha!" Finally! The time has finally come! "I knew you were a man of honor Danton. That is the one thing I do admire about your fighting spirit. This will be a lot of fun tonight! Shadler! Start the battle preparations! I grow tired of waiting."
"Before that, I must inform Danton about the wager he is making tonight."
"I already know," Danton cleared. "If I lose the battle with Kite under these circumstances, my position as a level three elite will remain unchanged. However, for the next three months, I will be forbidden to battle any champion in an official match. I would have to wait for those three months of restrictions to end. If I win, then Kite will swap places with my current position, with no preceding restrictions to his ability to challenge me back, and I will thus become the next champion of Sprawn Valley."
"You see?" Kite demonstrated to Shadler. "He already knows the rules. Now get the battle started. Record this on your cameras or don't. I really don't care either way."
"Very well." Shadler glanced above him to his right, eyeing the lens of one of the wall mounted stationary cameras far out of range of any potential dome shield from swallowing it inside, and he bobbed his head downward for confirmation. He then returned his attention to the two challengers to be, and began walking backwards to ascertain his distance from the range of the dome shield. "The official match between Brash Danton and champion Kite Fargenst will commence, the moment both constants engage their energy scopes."
The two of them got the preparations right underway, enabling their energy scopes at the same time, which triggered the creation of a large Siriean dome, and some holographic text in the center of the field as usual, text that would fade in the next three seconds.
Chapter Theme Shift:
That's right, Kite remembered. If Danton wins, then all of Kite's winnings of half a million credits earlier are in jeopardy. Normally, that money transfer is granted by the mage council government itself, not taken directly from the champion, but that rule only applies if the current champion has been undefeated for six months. Otherwise, it gets drained from the personal license card of the sitting champion. Whatever; just another reason not to lose to this guy. No pressure.
Standing thirty meters apart, Danton lifted his crystallized staff, already glowing with the creation of a bright glyphring at the end. With the battle officially started, it wouldn't matter who would attack first. With his MP energy already charged into the first spell, Danton chanted and invoked the magical ability from the staff, surrounding Kite in a large blue electrical bubble. "Thunder Flare!"
Kite knew he would have to watch out for Danton at long range due to his magical attacks, but those rules did not sink in just yet. Fighting Danton really will be difficult, and he must form a strategy while suffering from an early electric shock lasting for three long seconds of time.
Cringing in pain after the electric sphere disappeared, Kite realized again that there are more factors at play here than initially realized. Danton is using a crystallized staff of all weapons. That means that all of his spells can potentially double in power. The question is; how much can the staff improve the power level of randomized spells? One way to find out is to send a lengthy magical attack that likely won't affect him, one as a test. "Crush Wave!" Kite slammed his swords onto the metal floor while releasing his magic, just like he did before against Lawrence. The Crush Wave he created was loud and bright as it zoomed bound to the floor towards Danton.
Danton countered the cheap Crush Wave using his staff again, generating a Shadow Wave with little effort. The Shadow Wave that was created cost the same amount of MP as it usually would, but this time there was a catch. When Danton watched his own Shadow Wave crash into Kite's Crush Wave, the two abilities exploded and canceled each other out. Normally, Crush Wave would have overtaken Shadow Wave and continued on, being that it has a higher power level than Shadow Wave. So this staff really does increase attack power! Kite's style of battling isn't to send a Crush Wave and wait. He wanted to confirm this for himself too.
"You should chill out." Danton ran the pun aloud while charging an ice glyphring at the end of the crystal again. This time he aimed directly at Kite, and fired a solid narrow beam of water freezing in mid-air as it advanced in a straight line.
An Ice Beam! Kite immediately tried to block the ability by crossing his blades and holding the flat sides out to the predicted point of impact. At first, the impact of the Ice Beam created a force pushing him back, but Kite held his ground, barely capable of seeing through the brightness of the spell he was blocking with his swords. Normally this wouldn't work against many spells, but Ice Beam has such a narrow diameter of effectiveness, it can be blocked as an exception. Danton failed to take that into account!
Kite swung both swords aside when he noticed the beam losing power in front of him. With a successful block, Danton would have to process how that just happened into his mind, while Kite had an opening to try and get closer. Being this far apart however wasn't going to be good enough for a close combat strike. To deal with this problem, Kite used his blades again as conduits for his magic invocation, using the right blade to fire off an Aero Blast sphere of wind elemental magic, as he dashed forward afterwards. Before the Aero Blast would strike Danton, Kite alternated to his left sword to launch another Aero Blast at Danton while Kite continued to rush forward in the same direction. The Aero Blasts would momentarily keep Danton too busy to deal with an approaching opponent. Still, at twenty meters, the gap is far too wide. Luckily for Kite, there were a few more abilities capable of getting the best of Danton. Kite launched what appeared to be another Shadow Wave in front of him, allowing it to advance forward.
Danton jumped back to try and escape from the small spheres of wind blowing in his face and interrupting his focus. Kite was running at him, trying to get closer as expected, and now there was a Shadow Wave approaching as another form of distraction. A jump to the left will be enough to dodge the Shadow Wave and... Danton froze when he noticed the increased speed of Kite's Shadow Wave, something far abnormal compared to normal Shadow Waves. Then, just four meters from impact, the Shadow Wave launched into the air by several feet, exploding with a downpour barrage of dark photons that Danton had no chance to dodge. With a feeble attempt to block the Prone Strike, Danton was blasted with magic, the pains of burns on his skin accumulating with the HP damage.
Kite stopped his movements short of eighteen meters away, as he watched his successful Prone Strike take Danton by surprise. One of the benefits of Prone Strike is that it initially disguises itself as a harmless Shadow Wave attack, only to speed up over time and annihilate anything in the forward area. Finally! Danton will be defeated at last!
Danton could see it on Kite's face, the smug expression of confidence soon transformed into a mixture of surprise and anticipation, and that's because with Danton's magic rod raised high, a large white aerial glyphring hovering high in the air, aimed downward in vertical position. Most people are capable of recognizing this type of area attack spell from this glyphring alone, but having those explosive photons raining around him gave Danton some visual cover while he attempted to generate the magic needed to invoke Mega-Flare. Though the charging sequence can take a long time, Kite's noticeable shock and stumped mind worked in Danton's favor as he released the magic everywhere. The full light-screen of Mega-Flare swallowed every visible thing inside of the dome shield with white light, burning anything other than Danton to a crisp for two long seconds. When the light-screen faded, Danton could see the damages left behind on Kite, who was bending his legs to his knees in pain trying to recover.
Kite began breathing faster from the pain and disorientation that Mega-Flare caused, but despite this putting them both on equal footing, Kite had several more tactics up his sleeve, and promptly charged MP energy into a white colored aura surrounding him instantly. "Flashpoint Strike!" Holding both swords out for a sweep right to left, Kite shot forward in a single leap, his body effectively a wide beam of light with the speed of sound. Kite launched forward and slashed his blades through Danton while using Flashpoint as a means to close the distance gap and strike too quickly for anyone to dodge it, all in the same motion. His customized ability of Flashpoint Strike, as used against Lawrence was just as effective against Danton, who had no time or method of blocking the hit.
Despite the stinging sensation across his chest from two swords cutting his skin, Danton recovered quickly and turned around to face the champion once more. Kite was going to try this trick sooner or later, as it makes blocking impossible, but with Kite far past where Danton was, he wouldn't have an easy time moving out of the way for this one. "Hugh!" Danton used his free hand, blasting a Push Wave below his feet and sending him high into the air just as Kite took notice from below. While ascending, Danton was charging MP energy into the crystal of his staff, causing it to glow again. "Electro-Sheet!" Requiring no glyphring to invoke, Danton's Electro-Sheet spell was instantly activated the moment enough energy was charged into the staff. Upon release, a large square section of the floor where Kite stood suddenly lit up with bright electrical arcs, now extending to Kite's entire body as he was electrocuted in place for the duration Danton remained in the air in free fall; three seconds.
Kite felt it again, the burning sensation in every spot followed by a sharp and painful tingling experience of all his nerves. He carefully tried to recover, holding both blades with preparation as he thought out the next move. Kite was never made aware that Danton knew how to use Electro-Sheet, but what's more embarrassing is that he could have launched himself into the air with a Push Wave of his own, evading the spell bound only to the floor. Kite watched Danton land on the ground gracefully, and both were prepared to fight it out with whatever choice was made available next.
Kite took deeper breaths of concentration, realizing that Danton has a strong upper hand in long-range magical spells, while he won't have that same advantage at close range. This battle is much like the fight against Lawrence Citrin, who strategizes in a similar manner. Danton has impressive sword skills, but he hasn't worked on them for a while, thus he won't have the advantage there. "Crimson Blades!" Kite immediately covered his swords in a red aura of fiery magic, and then charged at Danton to slash at him with added magical elements. Danton reacted with his staff, trying to use it as a melee weapon, but after running in range, Kite soon felt his advantage take hold.
Danton and Kite battled each other in close combat, dual wielding blades against a blunt staff. Every time Kite slashed at the rod, his strength alone overpowered Danton's muscular might used to stop the blade's advance, and was stabbed as a result. Kite also alternated each of his hands for each hit without a clear or predictable pattern, which gave him about two slashes into Danton for every chance he had. Danton helplessly took cuts from the blades, cuts that caused first-degree burns for every hit. Despite his staff's ineffective ability to block the swords, Danton continued trying and failing. When Kite's Crimson Blade aura finally wore off after over a dozen hits, he kicked Danton in the chest to push him backwards, leaving him no chance to counterattack in time.
Danton was pushed back into a stumble from Kite's last kick, but he didn't trip over himself. Instead, Danton let go of his staff while generating a yellow glyphring spawning a bow. The process was so fast that he caught grip of the bow and arrow while recovering his balance all in the same moment. With Kite at a slight distance again, Danton loaded the Crystal Arrow and launched the projectile at Kite without ever chanting anything aloud.
Kite instinctively drew his swords higher in an attempt to block, the same thing he did against Ice Beam earlier, but without knowing exactly what kind of arrow was used against him, Kite fell prey to the Crystal Arrow's effect when the tip impacted against the flat side of the blade, exploding with a small payload afterwards. Crystal Arrow usually has an explosive impact just weaker than a standard hand grenade. Kite was blasted backwards while stumbling for his own balance, but on the energy scope, his health barely moved at all since the attack was also partially blocked. As a result, Kite wasn't too affected by the attempt against him. Now that Danton was reaching down to pick up his staff again; it would give Kite another moment to strike back.
"Splice!" Kite used both blades to slash at the air and generate white hot lines massive in length. The Splice lines flew through the air quickly without ever changing their angles, and using two consecutively at different angles was going to make it even more difficult to dodge.
Danton didn't need to hear the word Splice to see it coming. Kite has the same body movements as always when using that ability, and Danton was expecting to see it sometime during this match. Those white hot lines move quickly to cause devastating and debilitating effects, but only if they land. Danton prepared himself, leaping over the bottom side of the first Splice line. While falling back down, Danton intentionally took a prone position, trying to get his body as low as it could possibly go. With enough time, the second Splice line zoomed just over his body laid flat on the metal floor, continuing on to reach the edge of the Siriean dome. Danton quickly picked himself up afterwards, taking his personal victory to heart for dodging Splice.
Danton noticed Kite's body tense to the surprise. He wasn't expecting someone to be as quick and agile, but that's one of the tricks to fighting using only a staff. He can't always battle at long range, nor can he stand still all the time against enemy spells. Now it's time Kite paid for underestimating him. Danton held up the glowing staff, which is all it took to create the invisible transfer of MP energy for the reaction needed to create a sudden rock pillar, one right under Kite's footing. The pillar launched from the flat floor to about ten meters high in just a few milliseconds, that momentum sending Kite high into the air with minor damage from the spell itself. Similar to Earth Glave, though weaker in power while unmatched in invocation speed; the spell Uplift is responsible for this phenomenon.
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Danton kept the words in his mind until it was time. He would need further concentration for hitting Kite in mid-air with this! "Creshendo!" Releasing more MP energy, Danton aimed his staff at Kite, who was slowing down due to gravity. The seven phased pillars of Creshendo spawned in mid-air, another fact Danton learned by accident when going up against Mainne earlier this week. When you're in the air, maneuvering to dodge is impossible. As such, Kite desperately tried to block using his crossed sword trick again, not realizing that Creshendo hits from seven equidistant angles going all around the target. Danton watched as Kite was smothered in the heavy impact of crystallized pillars shattering outward, draining Kite's health as he helplessly dropped to the ground in agony.
Struggling to stand after another devastating blow, Kite disregarded self-control to his breathing. Every bit of combat damage taken so far has been brutally painful. Danton looks to be a little tired too, but with Danton's disadvantage at close range, Kite knew that sticking to that same strategy is the only way to defeat him. "Void Edge!" Casting a dark colored aura on himself, Kite generated another Void Edge aura, giving himself an opportunity to stay ahead on MP reserves. He then dashed forward with both blades ready, though Kite kept magical infusion out of each sword for now.
Using his staff again, Danton changed his grip of the rod to using both hands at the center of Luminous Artemus. This gave Danton more control of the staff's position and movements while trying to block each of Kite's quick hits from each saber. Unlike last time, Danton charged a small amount of spirit elemental magic into the entire staff, giving himself equal strength against Kite's muscle might. The trick seemed to work well enough. Danton had to twirl the staff around in weird positions to block or dodge each of Kite's relentless strikes. Despite the Void Edge aura, Kite can only generate MP if his blades strike Danton himself, not the staff.
Kite alternated between blades faster than before, trying to trip Danton up, but Danton was suddenly faster than before, and strong enough to use the staff to block the attacks, something that is normally thought to be impossible. Infusing elemental magic into weapons must add strength and hit/blocking power from the power level of Leray magic on its own. Got to hit him at least once! Kite spun halfway, used both swords to strike at once, and even tried knocking that staff out of Danton's hands by cutting upwards, but none of his tactics worked for the entire duration that Void Edge was enabled.
Kite leapt backwards far out of range, realizing that this wasn't working. Void Edge is still active, but going in for ordinary hits isn't going to work. Kite instead charged MP energy into his right blade, causing it to glow brightly with a white light, while simultaneously charging energy into a separate white colored aura. Another Flashpoint Strike should make short work of Danton's defenses, and just to be sure, the right blade is carrying the energy of Splice. It turns out that Splice can be used as an infusion to bladed weapons on their own, instead of being sent outward. The cost however is that the power level is half of that compared to Splice used as intended. Adding the speed of Flashpoint will compensate for the power loss.
Danton noticed Kite's aura glowing brighter immediately, and reacted with a last minute spell to increase his ability to block more attacks. Having no actual clue what spell Kite was about to invoke from over there, Danton didn't hesitate regardless. "Pillar Build!" Quickly used and focused only on creating one concrete pillar, the structure rose from the ground right in front of Danton, with about the same millisecond speed as the Uplift ability he used earlier.
At the same time, Kite launched forward at an untraceable speed, his right sword drilling through with high cutting power. Unable to see or hear Danton's chant in time, since he already covered himself in two auras that already made it harder to see, Kite was suddenly pounded face first with the crushing sensation of a boulder slam. Though his face hit the structure first, Kite's entire frontal body also felt the stopping power, while the sword itself consequently drilled into the vertical concrete pillar. Where did that even come from?
Danton jumped back in amazement to what just happened the moment his pillar structure came to life. In the same instant, Kite's glowing saber cut into the structure, immediately weakening the stone to hundreds of stone crumbles, but contrary to what it looked like, Kite was stuck holding his face, his stance broken by the bruising surge of pain. Danton understood it quickly; just as quickly as he took opportunity of the sudden advantage given to him. Kite tried to use a Flashpoint Strike again, but having no idea what was coming, Danton used Pillar Build in front of him to block any ranged attack, a common trick mages will use for protection. "Prism!" While charging enough energy for a Prism glyphring, Danton wondered in curiosity how badly that had to have hurt for Kite. Flashpoint is very similar to Fatal Charge, in that both instances can cause collision damage to the user. Flashpoint however stops your movement just short of the target, so that there are no collisions. Having no time to take that pillar's coordinates into account, Kite miscalculated when to stop his Flashpoint, causing him to slam into the structure headfirst.
Danton was done charging the spell, and released the entire arsenal of Prism against Kite, who was still having a rough time recovering from the self-inflicted pain, but now he was going to have elemental bolts joining him. Danton kept them going through the end of his staff easily, using Lightning Strikes to stun Kite, keeping him from blocking the attack entirely. When it was all over, the energy scope results were fantastic.
Initially expecting to rush back into the fight immediately, Kite stood in place, shaking the damage of impact from his face until he could eye Danton again. After taking a Prism attack, it seemed that Danton let up on the long-range combinations to assess the progress. But with a fight yet to be over, Kite held up both blades eye level to himself, taking another aim at Danton while struggling to synchronize his breathing to his fast heartbeat. "I've got to say... You run circles around Lawrence!"
Chapter Theme Shift:
"Thanks for the compliment," Danton allowed.
Kite continued his praise, having experienced more than enough already. "You've again surpassed my expectations, and yet you don't even wield a blade. Here I was worried you wouldn't give me enough sport tonight."
"Peh! I don't need a sword to defeat a skilled swordsman. That's why I'll now take your place as proof that I am stronger than you, Kite Fargenst."
Don't need a sword to defeat a swordsman? "We'll see about that." Kite didn't say anymore. He stood in place, charging energy into each blade. The time they just spent talking regenerated about three percent MP reserves for both of them, and Kite needed to use every last ounce of it. With his Void Edge aura gone, there was no point in trying to bring it back. Noticeably, his right blade burst into flames with a fiery aura of Crimson Blade. His left saber held a mostly transparent shiny pink aura of spirit elemental magic. Either one would increase the striking power. With nothing else to lose, Kite charged forward with both Dire Sabers, forcing a close combat fight onto Danton once more.
Having more time than usual to anticipate what Kite was up to, Danton put his staff away again, and used a small yellow glyphring to spawn his favorite short saber again. This time, he would face Kite in close combat in the same style as before, but to give himself an edge, Danton also used a Rush Assault aura around his body, maximizing his physical speed and reaction time to everything in his senses. With that, Danton was ready to face Kite with only one blade.
The two warriors met metal with no delay, blocking each other's strikes while trying to inflict slashing damage on the other. Kite had to give his focus total demand, since Danton was suddenly faster than before. That pale colored aura around his body was to blame, but it wasn't going to be enough. Kite's swords have more power flowing through them right now than usual, and matching his personal speed was going to require more than a simple aura.
Kite launched a devastating combination of alternating hits and twirls, allowing him to strike while blocking and dodging all at the same time. Despite Danton's increased speed and reflexes, it only took a few more exchanges of clashing metal for Kite to finally send his left saber through Danton's lower body. The moment he was hit, the pain alone was enough to momentarily distract Danton's focus, giving Kite the next chance to stab Danton forward with the right flaming blade. The saber drilled all the way to the other side, impaling Danton with a burning pain of fire just as Kite took the blade out and kicked Danton back again.
Danton held his wound while holding out his short saber, keen on protecting himself. The kick back didn't knock Danton to the ground, only did it serve to build more time. Adding time wasn't for the best of either side however. Danton's sword disappeared back into the glyphring, having been out for long enough. At the same time, both of Kite's Dire Sabers lost whatever elemental enhancement they had, and the faceoff was back to default setting again.
Danton pulled out his staff, creating two spells at once, though only one of them was noticeable to Kite. "Flame Beam!" Taking the lengthy approach to a high area spell, Danton generated a massive vortex of wind and heat all in the same area; a tornado consistent of 70 Fire Balls all spinning within the vortex. The vortex formed quickly, and soon wrapped Kite inside of the heat storm. Within the first few seconds, Kite was being blasted with blind Fire Balls rotating quickly around the vortex, all without a homing path to follow.
Danton wondered just how much damage this would do to Kite, trapping him inside such a high yield vortex. Most of the 70 Fire Balls descend downward by design, ending to hit the target. Danton needed total focus and control for the creation and redirection of the Flame Beam spell, connected directly to his staff in the process. While this spell would normally have drained him of all remaining MP, Danton's MP stats were quickly regenerating back upwards, going up from three to ten, and then from thirteen to twenty-seven. The result was just the Void Edge aura surrounding himself, used in conjunction with Flame Beam. Void Edge normally won't work if the damage done is not physical, that is unless you combine that aura's link with the spell being used. Dangerous when used this way, only if the attack spell misses the target, Danton managed to deliver a devastating blow to Kite while regenerating a lot of MP in the process...
"Power Blast!" With the fire vortex still spinning relentlessly, Danton had to disconnect his special aura of regeneration, and channel energy to the end of his staff. The result was about to slam into him from the ground; a well-placed Firesurge wave closing in on Danton's location, as it must have crawled out from the vortex of fire using its own elements for advantages. As Danton shot a Power Blast at the Firesurge just moments away from taking him at an impact, the blast created a shockwave that disrupted the Firesurge payload, but also powerful enough that it blasted Danton backwards into the air a good distance, sliding on the metal floor before regaining any control.
Kite took several hits from those Fire Balls, but he was able to cut a few of them down before impact as well, while sending out a Firesurge spell against Danton. After the vortex faded, Kite was able to see if his Firesurge landed. At first it seemed like it, but Danton's health was left unchanged, while his MP— "What?!" How did Danton end up with more MP than before? What kind of trick is this?! Danton appeared to have been knocked over by something, but he was already recovering. "How can you keep all of that energy?!"
"I won't hold it back anymore," Danton shouted. "Massife!" Raising the Luminous Artemus high above his head, Danton generated a yellow aerial glyphring so large that it nearly covered the view of the ceiling through the dome shield. Though it was going to take a while to finish the summon, Kite wasn't responding to his only opportunity. Perhaps he was surprised that Danton managed to learn how to summon a Flare Drake in just a few days of time. "Out of the depths of desperation, I call on your assistance!" When the summoning glyphring lit up and solidified for brightness, several hundreds of glowing particles all came together, materializing the creature in the air as it took form and flight over the battlefield. With Flare Drake's appearance made successful, the glyphring vanished, and a new player joined in combat. Just as the creature's energy scope was coming on line, Danton focused on synchronizing his thoughts with the Flare Drake, something known to be difficult to do. Mainne somehow had the training for it, but Danton still needed more to practice in controlling summons. As a result of synchronizing his thoughts with Massife, as with what normally happens in Leray summoning phenomena, Danton's corneas changed color to yellow, reflecting more light to glow at a distance.
Kite glared in awe at the scaly miniature sized dragon, which for reference is still the size of a large house alone. Now Kite would have to battle two on one. "Might as well go all out myself then." Danton's MP just took a massive dive to a single digit number, but Kite's health was far lower in comparison, as was his current MP reserves nearly drained. "I'll cast Void Edge and Dampen Field!" Learning a while back how easy it was to cast two auras at the same time with stacked effects, this move left Kite nearly dry on MP energy remaining. It was still enough to create an overlap of a navy blue colored aura, one that would steal MP energy from Danton or from his Massife should that dragon attack him by physical means. With Dampen Field, any ranged magical attack will be severely reduced in attack power when used against him, for about seventy seconds. "Come on!" he taunted to the sky. "Come at me you oversized toaster!"
With Danton capable of seeing the entire battlefield from above through his summon's eyes, Kite was basically asking for it. On cue, Danton mentally ordered his Flare Drake to start with the Fire Beam ability. Flare Drakes all come with elemental attacks that use narrow beams instead of bolts, but of course, of all elemental attacks, fire magic is its best magic. "Fire Beam Kite Fargenst. Then give him a swift Body Slam while you're at it."
With full compliance, the Flare Drake roared with its big mouth open, generating flames at the tip of its teeth, and before long, the dragon began to fly downward, unleashing the beam of fire at Kite, who simply stood there to block. The Fire Beam didn't seem to faze Kite, probably due to the Dampen Field around his body, though the Flare Drake was following two attack orders at once. When soaring downward, the dragon pulled up just in time to avoid a collision with the ground, but it's large underbelly smacked Kite far off his feet from an impact alone. The results showed a staggering loss in his HP, while also revealing a sudden surge in his MP. So Kite has Void Edge active on top of Dampen Field.
Kite quickly pulled himself back up from that beat down, and he managed to get through that just fine. That dragon must be weak against bladed attacks, especially on its belly, which contains fewer scales than the rest of its body. Good to know for a potential exploit, but that's not the only one. Kite could see it all the way from here. With Danton so focused on controlling his summon, he's partially distracted from the rest of his senses. A close combat strike should work.
Danton could see Kite suddenly running in one direction. Through the eyes of Massife, Danton could see from up there, Kite taking a daring Charge Attack against him in person; a fatal mistake. Danton dropped his mental connection with the Flare Drake momentarily, still with plenty of distance between himself and Kite, who held both swords out in an attempt for a double jab. Now focused on what was right in front of him, Danton held out the end of his staff, and charged an electrical glyphring at the end of it, forcing Kite to stop in realization of his own mistake. "Lightning Strike!"
Kite wasn't expecting Danton to remain totally aware of all his surroundings, and was dealt another blow of electrical damage. Luckily for him, the Dampen Field cut out 70% of the pain and damage altogether, but Kite still didn't have an advantage yet.
"Do it now!" Danton ordered. Even without being mentally synched with the dragon, Danton knew that his summon had a style of attacking most native to flying low sweeps for body slams, and that's what the Flare Drake did next.
Kite readdressed his attention to the area above and behind him, where the large dragon was about to pounce down on him from above. This was the opening, the chance he noticed earlier. Kite held both blades up, infusing each tip with low-powered spirit elemental magic. He then charged forward towards a sure impact with both blades out, sliding on his knees at the last second while drilling both blades through the rough stomach of the beast above him. Nearly avoiding a direct body slam collision with the Flare Drake, Kite was still hit with a random impact of the dragon's tail, which knocked him onto the ground with both blades falling out of his hands.
"Oh no!" Danton reacted quickly to the trick Kite just pulled off, slashing the underbelly of the Flare Drake using spirit magic, which is super-effective against summoned creatures. The Flare Drake quickly flew upwards, but both blades were stuck inside of the dragon's stomach, dealing damage over time after the initial sliding impact. In just a few more seconds, the yellow glyphring reappeared to suck the Flare Drake in, his HP long dropped to zero.
After watching the summon be sucked back into the glyphring like a cool black-hole effect, Kite and Danton were again at a standoff. They stared each other down, and Danton had to hold out his staff with preparation, knowing that Kite would stick to close combat tactics if possible. What's worse is that Danton's MP is nearly at zero percent, same as Kite's.
"So it's come down to a sword battle." Finally! Danton can't use his ranged powers forever. Kite's Dire Sabers respawned in his hands after being lost to the Flare Drake, and he simply waited for Danton's witty response.
Danton didn't say a word, only holding out his staff as if it were a sword itself. He took a defensive stance, bracing what was to come. Kite's endurance given such low stats is highly impressive. This match could still go either way.
"Here we go." Kite dashed forward first, keeping Danton in place to defend himself. As expected, Danton blocked each of Kite's sword strikes with his staff, failing to completely deflect the hits since staffs are not designed like swords. If it weren't for the veil, that rod would have been diced into pieces at the beginning of this match.
Danton desperately kept blocking or dodging Kite's sword strikes for as much as he could, but he was eventually struck with the Dire Sabers occasionally, a close combat battle that again lasted for over an entire minute of either opponent gaining little advantage. In the middle of the intense blasting of metal, Danton finally took advantage of the very slight opening he saw left open immediately, using Harmonic Blast with his free left hand aimed at Kite's face. Kite doesn't tend to block with his blades if Danton is not using the right hand for any particular movement. His attention was too focused in one area, so take this!
Kite had no reaction for the random pulse of magic Danton blasted his face with, but the sudden surge in high pitch frequencies that came just afterwards debilitated his ability to concentrate and keep his eyes open amidst the new migraine. Kite held his left ear in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain inside of his head, while taking a random blind slash at Danton with his right hand, but his aim was too far gone to make a hit.
Danton rejoiced in his success, but soon realized that the Harmonic Blast alone dropped his MP reserves to only one percent, which meant he could no longer use any magic at this point. Still, having an immediate opening on Kite still prompted Danton to try something. In the speedy counterattack, Danton used the end of his staff to jab at Kite's chest knocking him backwards as he clutched the area around his chest. The jab wouldn't be painful for long, and likely did no damage to Kite's health in total... There isn't anything to do!
Kite tried to recover as quickly as possible, but he kept his distance for now, since the pain in his head lingered for a long time. The sonic blast part of the spell was over, but now the migraine shifted to a pain on the left side of his head, causing Kite to momentarily cover his left eye as if it could help somehow. "There you go again with your tricks." Kite had trouble getting the words out while cringing in a lasting pain. "But you were better off with a sword than a staff."
"Kite!" Danton held the staff tightly. It didn't matter that the object lacked sharp metal. It's still a blunt object in the end, and it can still be used in the same way. At the start of this battle, Danton wasn't sure if he had what it takes to win against Kite. But now— "I don't care how long it takes or how much I have to try. I will defeat you in combat Kite. I'll prove how strong my will to win is against your blades!"
Danton noticed Kite's discrete chuckle, but was then distracted by a sudden surge in glowing light from the Luminous Artemus. Not just the crystal, but the entire device itself was radiating brightly with magical energy that Danton did not charge into the weapon itself. It was reacting on its own, energy at the crystal concentrating.
"I thought you were out of magic," Kite argued.
"I'm not doing this!" Danton's confusion, combined with the way he held the staff further away from his body in response was enough to convince Kite that something weird was happening to that staff. In a matter of seconds, a mostly transparent phased shape extended out from the top of the crystal, growing in length and changing in shape, though currently masked by the brightness itself.
"What is that? Shadler!"
"I've seen this before," Shadler admitted from afar. "Danton must be wielding the staff of Luminous Artemus. Though it's extremely rare and takes special practice as a mage, the user of Luminous Artemus can sometimes transform their own staff into a weapon of desire, if their heart and spirit is in the right place for it."
"What?" Danton and Kite both repeated the shout at the same time, but the staff did all the explaining when the final pulse of light revealed what the effects were all about. Finally, at the end of the staff, the red crystal shrank in size all the way down to a small gemstone, walled off by segments of metallic armor that extended outward. The length beyond the crystal solidified into an impressively shinning skinny saber of steel. That is to say, the Luminous Artemus underwent a transformation into a special sword itself. "It's a sword!" There is no doubt that this blade formation isn't like any other as far as combat stats are concerned. Heavy enough to be worthy of a blade, Danton swung the blade for a test, noticing a trail of glowing light behind the motion.
Shadler explained the rest from there. "The Luminous Artemus has changed shape into a sword. While not a permanent change, this means that Danton's need to fight with a bladed weapon instead of a staff resonated with his mind, and incited the will to do so."
"So this is because I wanted to use you as a blade this entire time?"
Kite began laughing in excitement, confusing Danton for a moment while he collected himself. "Like I said. You are better off with a sword. What an interesting development you kept under your sleeve. To think that you weren't even aware of this yourself..."
"I wasn't. But this changes nothing in our battle Kite. I'm going to finally prove to you that our battle back then will never have the same result over time!" Danton charged at Kite this time, confidence wielded in his new blade transformed before his eyes. Kite instinctively blocked the impact, but Danton's sword carried a noticeable amount of force compared to anything else he wielded. Another passive effect of swords is that sword types and lengths can factor into hit power regardless of a person's physical strength, so long as they're in Sprawn Valley.
Kite kept up with Danton's speed regardless of his impressive sword. It was hard to adjust to the new attack arcs created by the extra length in that blade, given that Danton usually uses short sabers instead of long ones. With his dual wielding skills enabling him to block and occasionally strike back at Danton at the same time, Kite managed to totally avoid taking a single hit for half a minute. Danton took a few close cuts from Kite's sabers, thus proving that even in this amazing development, he is still the better swordsman.
Danton grew more confident by the seconds that ticked by, despite taking minor damage with each occasional hit that Kite managed to land, but by now, enough MP energy was regenerated for one more spell. Leray battles are not all about fighting with blades. "Ice Blast!" Invoked quickly and unexpectedly against Kite, Danton shot a barrage of five Ice Bolts from his left hand, three of which slammed into Kite while he tried to recover and fight back still only using his swords. Danton now had no MP energy remaining, but Kite now only had six percent health remaining, with some MP at his disposal.
Getting back into the rhythm despite his critical stat levels, Kite kept Danton on edge with a relentless combination of sword strikes, shifting styles whenever opportunities called for it. Danton kept using his new sword to deflect and strike back at Kite, but Kite was still fast enough to deflect every one of Danton's hits.
After a few more second of time's passing however, Danton suddenly increased his pace and striking power, intentionally leaving himself open to Kite in the process. Danton didn't care if Kite could strike him over and over with a slightly higher health level, and Kite took advantage of some slashes to his sides regardless. Danton continued to bash against Kite's swords with malice and determination, pushing forward in a berserk manner. After seven more deflections against Kite's swords, Danton again sped himself up with sheer desire, pushing Kite to walk backwards while blocking that he eventually held both blades across his chest like a shield, which worked for a few more strikes. Danton continued raining down sword strikes, which increased in strength, until Danton finally managed to drive the sharp edge of his saber into Kite's body, the sword pushing back on Kite's Dire Sabers until the Luminous Artemus phased through Kite's flesh in a successful hit. Danton didn't stop there either, using his blade to duck down and cut at Kite's ankles, then uplifting his blade against Kite's. The uppercut motion slid Kite's blades from his hands.
Kite, without anytime to process the horror of his own situation was left completely open to Danton's next move. Danton charged MP energy into his special sword, and drove it forward until the other end phased through to the other side of Kite's abdomen. Despite being a non-fatal hit, the blade's magic drilling into Kite's body alone froze him in a shock of pain, while the effects quickly drained away at his HP over time. Being unable to counter with any potential battling plan, and being unable to move due to having his own breath knocked out of him, Kite quickly began to lose consciousness.
When Danton finally took his sword back out from Kite, the last of Kite's HP reached the lowest point, while everything around him in his senses faded to a quiet blackness.
Danton held back from attacking when noticing Kite dropping to the floor unconscious. His body and blades were fallen on the floor, and Danton thus noticed the energy scope report above Kite. Danton himself only had about twelve percent of health remaining on his end, but that fight was totally difficult to pull off. By the time the results finally sank in, Danton's blade suddenly transformed back into the original Luminous Artemus staff he was initially familiar with. The power inside of it drained out entirely, while the crystal grew back to the original size, though inert from power loss. During this reverse-transformation, the entire field's Siriean dome collapsed around them, fading away until there was nothing left but a deafening silence. The reward spoil system generated holographic text just to make the win more official.
Chapter Theme Shift:
Danton sank down to the ground from exhaustion alone, and waited for Shadler to approach the middle of the field and help both combatants recover. The results were finally in. Danton did it. He won! I finally defeated him. Kite Fargenst, powerful warrior and top swordsman. I finally got him back for that win he took back on Route 96. Danton was weak, though fully satisfied with the results. This means he really is the strongest Leray wielder in the group. No, he's the Leray champion now.
"You really went at it this time." Shadler held the healing orbs in effect, brining stamina back to Danton, and cutting the awakening time for Kite. "I've seen a lot of action in my day, but I never knew that two sword fighters put together could produce such displays of battle." Shadler was only reaching Brash right now, given Kite's current state of unconsciousness. Danton was quite silent himself, taking all of that time to recover.
"This of course means that you are now the next champion of Leray magic. Kite wasn't kidding to say that his position wasn't secure with a mage such as yourself in play. He probably won't be happy to know that the credits must come directly out of his own license."
"What about his position?" Danton didn't know what Kite would do now, but he shouldn't be kicked out of Eldora Tower just for losing that match.
Shadler replied with more of a question for Danton. "By default ruling, he simply swaps the official title and position of yourself, since you did not use the regular champion chain to get to him, but this still counts as a champion victory on yourself. Though technically, as champion, you have the power to strip Kite Fargenst of his place in the elite chain, for the next forty-eight hours."
What a strange way to work things. Danton nodded his head and waited for Kite to wake up. When he did, the reaction was as expected.
"What just happened? You're telling me I lost?!"
"That is what happened," Shadler reported.
Kite took a long moment of silence, followed by a sigh of stress, but he then shifted his attitude with the memory of the battle. "Brash Danton? You defeated me in battle, using sword skills no-less... It looks like I've dropped a rank since our last encounter."
"Don't take it so personally," Danton warned. "I told you I was going to be a Leray master someday, and that means that crazies like you won't stop me from getting stronger."
"Well, you're the champion now. I'll have to get used to that for a while."
Danton nearly jumped up from that implication. "What are you saying Kite? I'm not kicking you out!" Kite genuinely seemed surprised to hear that news from him. "Come on! You're still in the elite chain, level three. And, you're still in the Trujima gang."
After all that? Danton could have just taken the leader title of Trujima, expelling Kite from the gang in its official rules that state defeating one in a duel expels the loser from the gang if already a member if decreed by the victor. Danton might not have the authority as champion, but as a Trujima member; the rules do apply. "But why?"
"To test a theory," Danton replied. "I don't know how long it will actually take... But I'll take a guess and say, one month. In one month, you will train like you've never trained before. Not just with swords, but with magical powers too. And in that time, I want to see just how far that takes you."
"But Danton!" Shadler stepped in front of Danton's face to remind him of one of the tower's rules. "If you do this, and Kite defeats you next time, it will dispel your ability to rematch him for three months, all the same to him. The three month rule from here on includes yourself if challenged by the same former champion."
"Then I guess I better train hard too." Danton stood more firmly, finally recovering with the aid of those healing orbs. Kite seemed to be a bit shaken still from the battle damages, but his focus was now contemplating another challenge. "What do you say Kite? Let's have one more battle going all out. If you can somehow defeat me again, I'll let you have champion title for a few more months."
This isn't normal is it? Danton really wants to do it again! Is it this fun for him to fight in Leray battles? Kite suddenly felt stupid for asking the question. That battle was exciting for himself, having such an amazing challenge before him. This is what fighting is all about. That's what Danton believes in, and with practice, the odds can always shift in favor of another. "Danton. We have a deal. You better watch yourself."
"Good," Danton agreed. "Just do me one favor on that note, and don't get taken out from some random guy taking on the Catalyst Grove."
"Nah, you jest too far kid..." Kite studied his swords, and then glanced at Shadler, who managed to find a suitable sparring partner for Kite during this time. It's no question to whether Shadler will end up assisting Danton in the end, but maybe Mainne will know something that he doesn't already. Kite picked up both of his swords, and holstered them into the cases attached to the back of his suit. "I'll give you one thing; you were right about us winning Eldora Tower on such short notice, but now I'll prove my worth in about a month from now. You better not disappoint."
"How can I, when I'm so obviously to win the next time too?"
Another joke. "We shall see."
Danton stood relaxing while Kite went to the primary lift and descended down to whichever level he wanted to reach. After Kite was out of sight, Shadler was Danton's next focus, having never officially met him before. "So, you're going to train new skills into me?"
"As long as I am worthy," Shadler applied. "I have to congratulate you on fully activating your staff. Only that brand can transform the way we just witnessed, and it's extremely rare, the process that is."
"How so?"
"The technical magic level required for an Artemus transformation is exceedingly high, while also requiring a type of willful synchronization. You're ME levels must be higher than I initially anticipated."
What is the guy even talking about? "Whatever. I'd like to train and all for my next upcoming battle, but if I'm going to be champion for a month, I'll need instruction too. I'm sure you understand; I've never been in charge before."
"There is a lot more to it than you realize, and your powers as leader of Sprawn Valley are still partially limited to the mercy of the mage council."
So being in charge isn't ruling with an iron fist. Danton knew all about the political function of the mage council, but hearing it to be true from an official member is more comforting. "That's good. This shouldn't be too hard then."
Shadler stopped for a moment to process what steps would need to be taken for Danton's preparations. "I'll have much to show you, in due time. First, we'll go over the basics."