"Flip Crip Rip Slip Mip Nip Kip Blip"
The most complex spell of the Dof'dug race.
Adam crashed into the base of a twenty meters high red pyramid, his barrier on the verge of breaking off. The moment his foot touched the desert floor, he doubled the barrier's energy as he was blasted back into the pyramid, cracking one of the stones. This time he was shaken so hard that he almost lost consciousness.
The culprit, Richard shook his head in disapproval. This was what he meant by training. He would just beat them until they could keep up with the pace. Besides, he wasn't even using ten percent of his physical strength. Suddenly he tilted his head to the right, a thin black line passing through where it was before. Another line was dodged by him as he moved his left leg ninety degrees to the side.
"Gotcha", he muttered as he disappeared in a mass of swirly sand. Immediately he arrived behind Zero as he could swung his booted leg on the other's buttocks. The moment his foot made contact, the formers form cracked like shattered porcelain as the fragments dissolve into sand.
He brought his right hand to rub a growing stubble on his chin as he exclaimed in a fake rendition of shock. "Well, I wasn't expecting that to be quite real, fifty percent the strength of the original, interesting".
Zero stood atop another pyramid, this one was pretty battered with chunks of stone stolen out of it by age, the flat top was occupied by him as he crouched amidst a thin haze that effectively hid him from all sorts of observations.
A large illusion was behind him, invisible to all observations and the source of the haze that shrouded him, styled in gold and silver paint, the card shimmered as though it were an illusion.
Major Arcana card.The Moon.
The card's power had also changed his attire as he sported a red suit and matching pants. Form fitted to his body with a white shirt and red bow tire underneath. The attire was completed with a red handcrafted formal shoe.
He watched as Richard crushed more of his reflections, silently analyzing the latter's strength. He swapped the card for another, and another tarot card appeared, this one held between his index and middle finger.
Minor Arcana card. The Merchant, King of pentacles.
A gold scepter and a coin appeared in his grasp a second later as he activated his ability. The coin is engraved with a pentagram.
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He released his hold on the moon card and the moment the Moon card dissipated, the haze hiding him cleared. At the same time, all his reflections dissipated. Then as if the merchant card was a currency, he tendered the card in front of him. Gradually the card became filled with countless beautiful golden and silver cracks.
Richard at this moment directed his gaze on the distant pyramid that Zero was located. So far he had destroyed eight reflections, but he couldn't pinpoint Zero's exact location because he refused to use beyond five percent of his strength sparring with them. More would be admitting defeat.
A smirk graced his face as he took one step after the other towards that pyramid, he saw Zero's action and felt a fluctuation in the air but he paid little focus on that sensation. A single step propelling him tens of meters ahead as his foot seemed not to touch the floor.
The moment he was several meters to his target, he lightly tapped onto the desert floor with his left foot. The act propelled him diagonally across the distance. The collision part was directly in Zero's location, the smirk transformed into a grin as he brought his right hand forward to grab his target by the throat.
At this moment, Zero's eyes focused as he seemed to relax. Holding his right foot out, he made to kick out in imitation of Richard's action when he kicked his reflections on the buttocks.
Richard's eyes widened in recognition as he barrelled into the kick. Unsurprisingly he stopped midair, his grin growing wider in victory. Then he saw it, a slight smirk surfaced on Zero's face. Confused, he thought about the reason his opponent was jubilant in the face of defeat for a moment, then the latter disappeared.
A soft tap echoed out across the desert as Richard was booted on the buttocks. He sailed across the sky, smacking right into a pyramid while cracking several pyramid stones in the process. The moment he stood up, something hard smacked into his chin, again he sailed across the sky as he tumbled head over heels into the desert floor.
Adam had recovered at a point in time, then when an opportunity presented itself, he made sure to capitalize on it. With his modified physique, he was able to draw out most of his telekinetic energy for that particular head smacking move.
Silently, Richard picked himself up and dusted sand off his clothes as he looked at his two opponents. He was actually quite impressed with their performance albeit he was taking things slow. Since they were a bit capable, he decided to get a bit serious.
Abruptly he disappeared from his position, not a single grain of sand was stirred. He was still using five percent of his strength, this time though, his demeanor had changed.
He appeared directly opposite Zero who at some point had gotten back on the flat topped pyramid. Slowly he pushed out his right hand palm into the air between them. The air congealed and like ocean waves and made for a collision with Zero.
An illusion of a ten meter tall card appeared behind Zero. It's was extremely detailed and it's presence emitted a vague pressure on it's surroundings.
Major Arcana card. Temperance.
Immediately it appeared, Zero's face stared expressionless at the waves. The waves congealed from air smoothened out and became normal. Richard already expected a sort of counter to his move as he clenched his fist and punched him in the face.
A thin barrier seemed to have materialized before Zero's face at that moment as the fist landed on it.
A muted explosion rang out in the air as the pyramid beneath Zero's foot collapsed. The shockwaves from the resulting collision decimating the sturdy structure.
Richard tsked as he readied his arm for another punch, this one imbued with a scarlet flame that wrapped around the length of his arm.