Flames, roaring beyond comprehension, guiding to eternal strength.

----------------------------------------

As King continued to blow out cold air to solidify that in front of him, it began taking palpable shape, being crafted into a weapon of sorts. An action David took keen watch of.

The process was complete, and the weapon in question dropped into King’s grasp. It was a warhammer, whose hammered end landed on the ground, and which the Stralean held onto firmly with the display of a sinister grin.

David smiled, seeing the act for what it was; an attempt at mimicry and mockery, aimed at his specific transformative ability.

Nevertheless, he tempered and reassured himself, looking to his adversary with a sharp stare.

And in an instant, he began making his way towards King and his icy weapon with a rushing sprint.

King slammed his warhammer onto the floor, causing immense devastation and simultaneously shattering the weapon into pieces.

Regardless, the force was still enough to procure damage. Damage measured of largely planetarian proportions atop an even vaster platform.

But David’s rapidity was enough to jump greatly aerially, hopping from fragment to fragment with ease, while evading smaller debris and .

He jumped back towards the surface in time, preparing for a punch of his own. King swiftly took note of this, and the danger that it forebode as he looked up.

Floating from the ground, he pushed himself far back and high enough to avoid the coming strike.

The platform had to terraform yet again, forming a thinner ellipsoidal disc with measures in the astronomical distances, and a greater horizontal extent than its vertical one.

David struck the ground with an almighty primacy, propelling the release of a magnanimous shockwave that reached and cleared away the majority of that platform, to the profound shock of King.

Even his nonboosted might is no laughing matter… He spoke so mentally, amidst landing back on a healing surface crouching and on his two feet.

Heh. A top-of-the-range…no, the top-of-the-range Nafiman's raw physicality is nothing to be underestimated, after all.

The platform’s re-terraformation was once again complete, restructuring the damaged surface in a rapid manner, and to the most miniscule detail.

Despite the great gap between themselves, David and King could still sense and detect each other, wary of one another's next motions.

Suddenly, King flew away, and flew away with great haste.

"Hey, wait!" David exclaimed, immediately following in consequence with a combined employment of energies to bolster his speed ever so much, and using dynabolic and chasm energy to leap into the sky and glide for the short-term.

Now becoming a chase, Dragon King kept far ahead, seemingly accelerating at a much greater pace while David struggled to keep up in terms of traversal.

Then to the side of the disc they moved, for they were near it initially, crossing over its edge and onto its vertical drop where David switched to a more grounded movement.

They continued on to beneath after a longer period of time, with David, despite his velocity and alternations between gliding and running intervally at the moment, still visibly struggling to keep up with King in their little race.

What's the intent here? This line of action, coming from him, is rather… David pondered deeply whilst not diverting his focus from his enemy's movements, trying to catch a pattern.

Wait…

He's attempting to note my limits? That is somewhat…unexpected, but retroactively that is logical considering the hand he’s been dealt.

In a sudden burst, King barreled into the platform above them, much to David's bewilderment.

He was flying back to the upper plane of the disc, traveling at his highest of rates.

David looked up with a blank glare, having already anticipated and prepared for such a ploy.

He too began burrowing through the platform, using a spiraling energy that revolved around his conjoined arms as his means to burrow while running through the path he made.

I’m not yet in range to use Chasm Rein or Conduction yet, so…

He carried on his task with diligence, despite having to do such a journey not once but twice. But he lost not his wit nor grit, for it was not of his character to do so.

Eventually, his eyes widened, in the realization of his targeted task.

He transposed himself back to the surface with no delay, finding himself there once again.

But as he arrived, he noticed a large shadow had formed near him, and a small number of tiny rocks falling to the ground.

He realized what it meant, and looked up to confirm his guess.

Above him hovered King, holding above himself a body of earth celestially sized, looking down with only one intent in mind.

King tossed it towards David’s stead with much power.

But David caught it with relative ease and insignificant strains, displaying once again his olympian capacity.

KIng irritatedly gritted his teeth at this sight. This again?

"Hut!" David grunted as with a swing he threw the body back at King.

Retaliating with a simple strike, King completely decimated the body, reducing it only to even smaller fragments and dust only.

David looked up, in full understanding that the two would now need to play their aces, and that the slower and less tactical would definitively be the most woeful.

Dragon King floated to the ground, spreading a wide devilish but joyous grin, and taunted aggressively with his naturally rough and untamed manner of speech. "I thought you betas were known for power. Thought you'd have ended me by now.”

"For much we're known, Dragon King.” David replied calmly with closed eyes and a lowered head, denoting the ruse. "And even at that, reducing us to 'lesser versions’ due to the few traits both our species share…"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Is a tad narrow-minded, I believe.”

"Ahhhh…"

"Are you then one of the scarier types?" King asked, with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, unfazing the collected David regardless. "At all. Whatever your play is, it is tiresome. (Seems your humor likely also needs some polishing.)"

The last statement visibly infuriated Dragon King, grinding his teeth in reaction to its nature.

"Plus, with your overall interdimensional reputation, and your actions against Polaris in the second round…"

"Realistically, you've earned no consideration. Yet…I shall do due diligence and give it to you.” David stated, with the greatest of calms embodied in his stature.

This bastard… Dragon King thought with even greater spite. "So what about Polaris, hm? I'd expect an Absorbant to survive all my attacks, but then again…”

“She was a female….”

Such vulgarity, too. The prince thought. "Those are foolhardy bundles of words, especially from your mouth.”

"Still, I am slightly grateful." "Hm?" The Stralean asked with a confused pout.

"Oh! Because we fight at equal power thanks to my punishment. Is that not it?" He spoke, tilting his head slightly backwards and to the side.

"Yes, somewhat…" David responds, still pondering his words. "Hm?"

"It's as though I've been directed…indicated to from above that a persona like yours must be…’humbled’ in a way.” David said as he looked to the wayside, piquing the interest of his adversary.

"Hah…you really are one conceited brat!" King shot back with an annoyed grin.

"And are you not a conqueror of unnecessity, driven by desire and malice, by darkness?"

"Choosing the path of wanton violence, needless destruction, usurping the government of your world, your Stral…"

"Yet, I look to ascend to my throne and total role, through a manner nothing short of affable, guided by the Grand-Deity Himself."

"You and I…clearly don't mix then.” King responded initially, though slightly bothered by his words.

"The hell. And so damn what? It matters little what I did to get to where I am, or what you care. I did it. Simple as that.”

"Not to mention, power matters in these cases…your frail body should know a thing or two.” He relayed with a smirk of smugness, and in a manner condescending and deliberate.

"What's that retardate talking about?" Probacon irritably asked in the seating, near to allies who had progressed as well.

"He's referring to David's past.” Fighter answered him, speaking from his seat through an externally linked psychic connection shared amongst the alliance. "Huh?"

"The fact that our ally had to cross his assigned fatal physical bounds to get to where he is now."

Probacon looked forward with a stumped glare.

Not fully understanding Fighter's words, he simply focused keenly on the projection instead, as maybe there he would get clearer answers.

David sighed, having predicted that possible act of attempted instigation. Old faithful, huh?

But nonetheless he was ready to speak, ready to shut down King in their war of words.

"Yes, I searched for strength, for it is still a necessity.” He replied, putting on an expression serious and focused.

"See?" King responded with a contented grin. "But!"

"Where my quest was aimed was nothing like yours, Draco the Destroyer. Its aim was at guaranteeing the achievement of many impersonal and interpersonal visions…"

Dragon King stared at him, confused but slightly intrigued. "Ha! For what, a fate you can never be sure of?"

"No. For one that can be molded, made possible and brought to accorded fruition, with my own hands."

"Eh!? Grahahahaha!! Nice joke!"

"Why do you think I had that frail body?" David asked.

"...Fate?”

"Yes…" David answered, closing his eyes for a moment. “Just think of it…”

"At birth, I was deemed a luckless anomaly by the archpriests of my world, prophesied to have a short lifespan as only within a godlike body, and not my flawed excuse of one, could such immaculate power and potential be hosted. Even still…I defied said fate. And for that was I rewarded, going from an anomaly…to the ultimate design."

《The desire to push beyond,…》 《The drive to temper the fixed…》

《Prince David Uno. Born to the house of the Twenty-third Royal of Primus. A child with a divine capacity, but a foredoomed path. Such that even afterwards, struggles still surfaced, and tragedy still came forth ever so often. But regardless of that, those two things he has always carried with him. All to reach that vision unattainable…》

"Heh. More nonsense talk from our dear dreaming prince. (Grand overconfidence, too.)" Dragon King retorted, growing ever more annoyed and irritated by those sentiments.

"Dreaming or not, I still fully know and believe that what I will will come to pass…" David replied with conviction, his tongue blazing as he clenched his raised fist firmly.

"Something your own self has locked your heart away from envisioning."

This statement infuriated King, who gnarled his teeth and scrunched his forehead upon hearing it, so angry that veins could be seen popping at the edges of his skull.

"THEN LET'S TEST THOSE IDIOTIC DREAMS, SHALL WE?!" King yelled, relentlessly charging at David.

David took a battle stance, with clenched fists held before himself at varying lengths and slightly widened legs, filled with anticipation.

King threw a straight punch full of intensity at his adversary.

But David blocked with crossed arms, as King continuously pushed him away with the attack’s follow-up.

Behind that block, a smile formed on the prince’s face as they went along.

He propelled himself upwards and out of King’s trajectory, leaving the latter to continue moving in his intended line of motion.

King quickly halted, turning towards the sky so as to not lose sight of his opponent.

From there, David hurled more balls of chasm energy at King.

Those exploded upon nearing King's vicinity doing so with an intensive force.

But he was left barely affected by them, simply flying from within the smoke in a dash, with his eyes overlayed by an energy of a maddened red hue.

David noticed him quickly, and prepared to act.

The two would engage in another spell of martial action, beginning with King throwing a punch that David dodged. Which was followed up by David attempting an ax kick, but King’s swift momentary withdrawal from its path. Another fist came forward from King, but the Nafiman was swift enough to block with his palms. He then parried his opponent's hands away. And proceeded to landt a reverse sweeping roundhouse on King's face, sending him forcefully towards the surface.

King landed on his feet, beginning his recuperative process.

David hurried back to the ground, debating that giving King too long would prove a detriment.

But by combining his bioelectric aura and Meridian-based electro power, King could and did release a strong wave of electromagnetic impulse.

It did well, managing to temporarily stun David and send him back.

He swiftly recovered, eventually planting himself onto solid ground once again.

King was not looking to be lax though, so he fired a high-intensity beam of optic heat at David.

David responded by firing off one his own, though one simulated through his psionic capabilities.

After traveling their distances, the blasts eventually clashed at a point, beginning to receive constant gradual heightenings by their respective progenitors in a majestic beam struggle.

Eventually, that intense energy would concentrate at a point of unequivocal singularity.

From the singularity, a novaic explosion would be triggered, one which reached and affected the two, and most of the platform upon which they battled…

----------------------------------------