“Show yourself, Tang Kiro!”

Kiro crouched behind a boulder, drawing his steel training sword from his bag. It had taken longer for Rynn to find him than he had thought, but he was so on edge the entire time all he had done was drink elixirs to refill his core. Still, now Rynn was here.

He could still feel Seira’s spirit connected to his own, desperately thrashing to try and escape whatever bindings they had used on her. Rynn had done this. Rynn had betrayed them.

He palmed the elixir, carefully placing it back in his bag. He would save that for later. Slowly, carefully, he rose, flaring his aura to get Rynn’s attention. Immediately, the man rushed him, crossing the distance between them and conjuring a whip of water.

Exhaling forcefully, he conjured flame. Hotter and brighter than he had ever seen, a fountain of blue fire erupted in front of him, dancing on his sword like a flowing river. He flicked it down, and Rynn jumped back, releasing a razor-thin blade of wind from his fingertips.

He easily sidestepped. “Seira.”

Rynn ran a hand down his bloody chest, never looking away from him. “She’s fine. Don’t run, and she’ll live.”

His shroud flickered into existence, and he returned the now red blade to a neutral stance. “I’m done running.”

“Good, because I’m not letting you.” Rynn flashed forwards with an earthen fist, nearly too fast for him to react to. Nearly.

Forcing his core into action, Kiro stabbed out with the sword, intercepting Rynn’s trajectory and channeling fire through it once more. This would impale the man if he continued, and he would get some room to —

Rynn continued on, letting the blade scrape against his abdomen and throwing all of his weight behind his fist.

Kiro wasn’t fast enough to react a second time. The attack clipped him across the collar, sending him flying across the valley with the characteristic snap of cracking bone. He cried out in pain, reaching for a healing elixir, but Rynn didn’t give him a moment of respite. Shards of ice shot at him in pursuit, and the flying sword flashed into his peripheral vision.

Mana flooded his legs, and he leaped above the attacks, cursing the dull edge of his sword. Rynn wouldn’t have been able to do that if he had Rain. Or would he?

The man closed the distance between them, ignoring the blood spurting from his chest as he launched yet another technique.

Kiro clenched his jaw, meeting an incoming boulder full-force with his blade. Yet, as the plain steel met conjured rock, it was his sword that snapped, letting the boulder slam him back against the cliff. Blood welled up in his throat, and he swallowed it, shooting a blast of flame back at Rynn.

The attack burst against the man’s robes, sending out a plume of blistering blue fire, but Rynn stepped through them as if they were nothing but stray sparks. His eyes widened, but the onslaught of attacks didn’t relent.

A gale of spinning wind smashed into him, and lances of air stabbed into his skin, dissolving slowly back into the fog as they drew blood. Then, fire mana swelled around Rynn, and he threw himself out of the way just before a raging conflagration consumed the nearby vegetation.

Rynn spat, cracking his joints. “I respect you, Kiro. Surrender, and I’ll make your death quick.”

Kiro forced himself up, opening his mana sense wider than he had ever tried before. Ambient fire mana danced vividly around him and Rynn, bleeding into the environment as their channeling slowly pushed it outwards. Yet, in the metaphorical corner of his eye, he thought he saw something else. Wisps of grey light, just barely visible to his untrained spirit. Storm mana. It was so dense that even without being aspected with it, he could still just barely make it out. Rynn’s techniques had only added to the thick aura of wind around them, and even without his spiritual sense, the pressure released from it was near palpable.

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“Rynn… I used to respect you, but those days are long gone.”

As quickly as he could, he reached into his bag, unstoppering the newly upgraded Silver Storm elixir.

Rynn’s eyes flashed and the flying sword sped towards Kiro, but he was too late. The silver and orange liquid burned as it made its way down his throat, and immediately his mind cleared. His fingertips tingled with power and his body felt as if it had become three times lighter. Amazement spread through his mind, and as he weaved between the crimson blade’s wide slashes, he couldn’t help but laugh. The very air around him distorted as it moved to aid him, and his core thrummed with new power, combusting in sync with his killing intent.

Before, it had felt like he was always two steps behind, scrambling just to keep himself from getting killed. Now, as he dashed forwards on a river of blue fire, his heart no longer beat as if it were in a neverending nightmare. Rather, it felt as if he were flying along in a crystal-clear dream.

Rynn’s eyes widened in shock, and he brought up a wall of stone. As effortlessly as a child jumping a fence, Kiro leaped over, slamming down with a condensed ball of mana. The technique ignited, and the very earth seared as it blasted outwards in a bloom of azure flame.

He breathed in, and the excess mana flowed back to him, seeping through his pores to fuel the elixir even further than before. An onslaught of barely-visible needles emerged from the smoke, and he met them with another gout of fire.

Without missing a beat, he advanced. Rynn jumped back, but for once, Kiro was quicker. A quick burst of mana shot through his legs, and he shot forwards, towards the man and away from the pursuing flying sword. Four beams of elemental power shone in front of him, and he weaved through them with casual ease.

This elixir… it was as if he had lived his entire life on a dance floor, and only now had he learned the steps. The flow of battle resonated with him stronger than ever before, and as Rynn hurriedly backpedaled, a sense of victory filled him.

He flashed behind the man, his leg burning with brilliant blue light.

“This is for all the pain you have caused me.”

The kick impacted, and Rynn was sent flying into the cliffside, faint sparks trailing his limp body.

Kiro lengthened his stride in pursuit, but Rynn removed himself from the rock, flaring his aura and waving his hand. The flying sword. As expected, the blade looped back towards them, and he ducked under it, closing the distance with a burst of fire. His shroud burned even brighter, and even more storm mana seeped into his body, consumed by the flames to power his movements.

A punch. Rynn struck out with his right hand, and Kiro grabbed his wrist, throwing him back into the cliffside with a resounding thump.

“This is for Seira.”

With the entirety of his spirit’s power, he brought his hands together, shooting out a thick gout of all-consuming fire. A wall of earth rose to block it, but it crumbled under the sheer force of the technique, and Rynn roared as the attack crashed against his reinforced skin.

Steam rose from the man as he conjured water around him, and Kiro stepped closer, increasing the heat of his flames even further. His core slowly drained, but the elixir worked to refill it, drawing in both wind and fire to convert into extra energy for his techniques. Seconds passed as he gradually melted through Rynn’s defenses, advancing towards his former friend with gritted teeth.

Then, finally, the flames died, and he dashed forwards, revealing the technique he had been preparing.

“And this is for Aer!”

His right hand glowed with fire mana, so densely packed that his fist was physically shaking as he tried to contain it all. Rynn’s eyes widened as he blurred closer, and his killing intent flared. This was a crude replica of Seira’s final fist, but concentrated to a sharp needle-like point and backed with the incredible power of the Silver Storm elixir. If Rynn could block this, he might as well just kill himself and save him the trouble.

An earth-reinforced palm came up faster than expected, but Kiro just poured even more mana into his fist, screaming with the effort. If he couldn’t find a crack in Rynn’s defense, he just needed to create his own.

The technique unloaded itself in a compressed jet of heavenly flame, violently shooting from the point where their hands met. The very earth rumbled at the impact, and a flash of pain shot down his arm as something snapped. Still, whatever damage he had done to himself, Rynn must have felt tenfold.

Then, the grip on his fist tightened.