If Amaro wanted to win, he was going to have to be smart. These two noxa clearly knew how to work together, and that’s exactly what made them so much of a threat. They had separated Amaro and his brother into favorable matchups for themselves.
He glanced over to Anitus who was now being choked out by the giant, his legs kicking as he thrashed about in a futile attempt to untangle himself. There was no more time to think, if Anitus fell here, then Amaro would lose too. He dashed over, but the devil was on his shoulder in a less than metaphorical way, grasping his shirt and pulling him back. Amaro pivoted, hooking to the head. The devil weaved only for that hook to divert course to his ribs instead. The devil grunted, but he kept his poker face. Amaro took the opportunity to connect with another body shot before continuing his mad dash to rescue Anitus.
Amaro put his full weight behind a tackle, hoping to give Anitus even a second more of air to survive on. Those four arms of the giant were a pain to deal with, but he managed to pry the choke hold off of his brother before it was too late.
“Bastard,” Anitus coughed, clutching his neck. He summoned magic to his muscles and smashed the giant’s stone helmet with a single punch.
The Devil charged through, but Amaro was ready with a point blank charge of electricity. He ducked a blind swing and returned a devastating hook to the devil’s gut. He doubled over, letting out a pain filled groan and wheezing
Amaro pushed forward, but this Noxa was a dirty fighter. With a snap, Amaro was eating another stone-gloved uppercut. He fumbled, but Anitus came crashing into their exchange with a charging cross straight to the devil’s jaw. Fire roared from his fist, consuming the devil in azur fury.
“Thanks for the help,” Amaro huffed.
Anitus spat blood into the snow, “Now we’re even.”
Amaro pressed his back to Anitus’s, “You’re a smarter striker than I am, and I’m harder to pin down than you are. Let’s switch opponents.”
“Fine with me. Don’t get grabbed. I will not save you if you do.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything more.”
The two launched off. Amaro filled his body with electricity, cutting his forward charge at the last moment and crunching through the stone armor of the giant. He backed off. Even if this armor insulated him from fire and lightning magic, it also slowed him down. He worked the legs first, retreating and snapping a hard kick to the giant’s calves. His arms might have been long and numerous, but they were not longer than Amaro’s legs. This giant did not know how to defend himself from a proper kick. Like chopping a tree, Amaro hammered his way through the stone armor right down to the bones. He could see it wearing the giant down. The way he stalked slower, how he tried to move his foot out of the way only to get spun on his heel by another strong kick. It was only a matter of time before the giant’s legs gave out.
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The giant finally caught one of his legs, but Amaro was ready. He jumped, twisting and sending his heel crashing into the giant’s jaw. Stone scattered into the snow as it fell from his body. The giant wobbled in place, his upper body tensed like he was frozen.
He was out on his feet.
Amaro pulled his katana and severed the giant’s horns. That was one down. He turned to help Anitus with the other Noxa, but quickly realized his brother didn’t need it.
The devil was a good striker, but Anitus was better. Between the explosive magic he summoned, and the technical skill of Anitus’s striking, Noxa stood no chance. Even more so now that the stone gloves had fallen from his hands.
“End it quickly brother! The others might need our help,” Amaro shouted over the wind. It didn’t seem Anitus could hear him, though. That was until the wind vanished completely.
“Come on Noxa, aren’t devils supposed to resist fire? Let’s see how much you can take!” Anitus snapped his fingers and consumed the devil in a blue blaze. The devil screamed, rolling into the snow in a vain attempt to put himself out.
When it was extinguished, all that was left behind was the burnt bubbling flesh of the noxa. Anitus outpaced his healing factor with ease. He climbed onto the Noxa and rained down hellish strike after hellish strike. Snap after snap, strike after strike. Anitus could have ended it by severing his horns at any moment now, but he was purposely prolonging the fight. When he finally stood up, the noxa was grabbing at his leg, like he was trying to use Anitus to climb back to his feet.
“Pathetic. You called us chrome tails earlier did you not?” Anitus grabbed him by his hair and kneed him in the face, “I call you a fucking dog,” Anitus spat, as the devil spouted blood into the snow, “And dogs walk on all fours,” Anitus swung a hard kick to his chest, putting the devil on his hands and knees, “See? Is that not better?”
“End it, brother, come on now!” Amaro shouted, “Stop wasting time.”
Anitus grabbed his sword. Thinking he was going to use it to sever his horns, Amaro did not think to stop Anitus. That was until Anitus grabbed the devil by his wing and cleaved it off, “Dogs don’t have wings either!”
The wound burned and bubbled where the blade had contacted him.
“Seems as if your devil blood does not like this type of steel. Shows your origins are closer to Malaki than real people. I wonder if it will ever grow back?” Anitus said, pressing the flat of his blade onto his back, “Maybe I should carve my initials with it?” The Noxa cried out, but Anitus stomped his head into the mud, “Bark, and I’ll let you keep your other wing!”
Amaro froze. This was too much even for Anitus. He had to do something, but he couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move?