> What happens now…it shapes the river of time.
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Entering finally the complete “true” form a Criofiend could achieve, a form appearing of greater musculature than its predecessor, Bbenson brimmed with a seemingly unstable energy, scowling with unbridled irritation and annoyance, and marked by the wounds from the ongoing battle.
He turned to Fighter, for whom his current psychological drive was aimed, prompting the latter to put up a sharp guard.
With a trail of bursts, he flew towards the “empty” parts of the Field, the dark outer voids of a modicum of notable colorations. His travel was a continual push towards those parts at hypertensive speeds, like hyperlight on a different scale.
And deeper he flew, as the eyes of Fighter from afar were undivided from him.
Bbenson eventually came to a halt, spinning back around and causing his tail to perform a quick snap motion.
He positioned his right middle and index fingers at the centre of his forehead, beginning to concentrate energy on the spot.
So…he did eventually decide to end it now…, thought Fighter, watchful eye and all.
Hmph.
Then, he extended his arms forward, elevating them at an acute angle. And rummaged thoughtfully in the calculations of effectiveness of his current plan.
But Bbenson had finished his preparations, already pointing his energy-excessive fingers at Fighter.
The extent of the Field became something of wonder, greatly represented by a plethora of aligned shifting planes.
"HAA!!!,” cried Bbenson, with vigour and vitriol. He released the attack, a Celestial Cannon, travelling in Fighter's direction.
Fighter hurriedly clenched his two outstretched hands tightly into fists.
This action was prerequisite to forming a metaphysical barrier of ki, that had a great span for a more effective defence.
And so it was, seeming to spread the energy of the beam equally and expel it away whilst keeping the platform particularly safe from any decimation.
That form has terrible energy efficiency…so if I can just…, thought Fighter as he strained himself of keeping up his impermeable defence.
In a sudden burst of power, Bbenson, his eyes pure with furious intent, exponentially multiplied the power of his attack.
As a result, it gained just enough to shatter through the membrane Fighter had formed. This stunned the Sarhun, bewildered by his enemy's sudden surge despite the issues possessed by his current state.
But his time to react was limited, and he, the intended target, was finally seemingly hit. And a great rumble of the earth was felt, and rising from it was a cloud of dust as great as a mountain.
Bbenson would follow up to look down from above, monitoring the area beneath him.
The platform relapsed to its normal floating island form, leaving only the dust slow to settling.
His brows rose in the moment of instantly catching onto something of utmost notice.
The body of Fighter, appearing to be lying lifeless on the ground, covered in dirt, and bleeding profusely with some serious wounds. And a collective gasp was shared by audiences, no matter where they were.
"FIGHTER!!!" His allies of the fourth round's section cried in unison.
Bbenson on the other hand, smirked gleefully at the success of his attack, and this very development.
《The smile of pure evil!》
He began to float down towards the platform with his arms away from his body, entering a train of thought amidst negative reactions he began to receive. Hmph. I never fully expected that play to work. But…
The foolish monkey fell for it!
"Hm?" He quickly interjected himself, noticing something bizarre about the body in question, as though it has twitched in his sight. Is that…?
Suddenly, Fighter sat back up, much to the horrified shock of Bbenson. “Umph…”
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"Hi.”
In a swift instance the crowds and audience caught onto this odd twist. And their mood shifted, with the cheers rising once more, regardless of the nature of the situation, but rather its outcome.
Such was a sentiment easily shared by his allies, who found joy and relief in his survival.
"You…you…but how?!,” stammered and exclaimed a distraught Bbenson. "Misdirection.” Fighter stated simply, wiping the blood that flowed from a cut on his forehead.
He began taking his rise, wary of Bbenson in his gestures. "I simply ‘shut down’ some bodily activities for a brief second, and triggered them back into action with a short electric jolt from one of my dischargers.”
“This was mostly because I neared the time limit for the use of that power I employed, and it's not exactly something anyone would advise to make constant use of.”
However, despite what he was told, Bbenson's astonishment and confusion as a result of both situation and explanation were still very profound, and his expression made that very clear.
But he could see also the amusement in it all, so he chuckled once more.
"BEINGS OF THE OMNIVERSE!!! THIS BATTLE'S WINNER: BBENSON!!!,” announced Dgiag.
"Just so you know…"
"You failed to kill me. So my prediction was right. And that…is just one of the ways that I beat you.” Fighter declared, victorious in his presentation and boastful in his voice.
Bbenson found himself irked by those words, finding himself also tiring of the Sarhun's existence and presence around him.
Fighter himself then mulled over his statement. And my only true reason for losing was just power…
Oh, well. It's just to learn from it.
***
The next battle was ready to commence, as
Dgiag announced the next contestants.
The first contestant was the Arbo, Drachi.
《The Denki Tree, Drachi.》
The next was Yurupt, keeping his ever vibrant and exuberant demeanour, but no longer donning his signature cape.
《Sarhun Fool, Yurupt.》
And the third was Draxo, surprising with a change in apparel, now instead clad in a short-sleeved grey knee-long jacket of ethereal design, black padded body singlet vest with a jagged sleeve-and-edge ebony folded sleeve top underneath, fading military pants with a number of pockets, fingerless gloves and ashen boots.
《The Ascendant One, Draxo.》
"BEGIN!!!", exclaimed Dgiag from where he was within the Coliseum.
In an instant, the three who had positioned themselves in triangular fashion, darted towards their shared fulcrum. Their clash was near-immediate, and so was their swift exchange of intended glances.
They all swiftly forced each other back, and the applications of their different toolkits could now be put within the fray.
“AAAAAAAA!!!,” yelled Yurupt strenuously, as with bodily strain and curled-arm posture, he was quick to transform, into the same form he had against Dije, which also gave him an appearance much older than his natural age.
《The form of the Supreme Sarhun Kong, All-Tools at hand…》
Draxo on the other hand waved his right hand in a circular motion whilst carrying a deadpan expression, preparing to perform nearly any possible action an All-Meridian could.
《The transcendent user of the Meridian's full potential…》
And Drachi simply cupped his hands in front of him, making them perpendicular to each other, the right arm above the left.
《And an organism with the capacity to command great force…》
The eyes of each of these beings all spoke the same words, regardless of colour, race-specific feature or all else: I aim for victory, and victory alone.
《None of that truly matters, though. For these eyes…say…a thousand words.》
Yurupt was the first to act, darting straight at a fazed Drachi. The Arbo's defence was well done, projecting a barrier of natural forces around himself, one that also simultaneously repelled Yurupt away.
"Its that Force Control power of y’ers…Neat!!!,” exclaimed the Sarhun in appraisal of his opponent's skill set.
Draxo took advantage of this momentary lapse, swiftly appearing before him and kicking him away from the area.
Then, he hastily pointed towards the barriers Drachi had placed with two fingers, rightfully leaving the latter quite lost.
But this action was not of showboating, as with it he created an incursion in space that went through the barrier and propelled through Drachi's abdomen, creating a hole in it, bringing out astonishment of great degrees from the Arbo. And the ascended Ghouling did this all with exceeding nonchalance. "Your speed lacks, Drachi.”
Suddenly, Yurupt appeared before him holding up a sword possessing a blade of plasma and gas, and a white cross-shaped hilt with some tape on the hilt's end.
"YAAAH!!!"
Draxo sensed the danger beforehand and evaded the downward swing that followed Yurupt's yell.
The force of the swing, combined with the weapon itself, was so great it split the ground beneath them, creating an abysmal divide on the platform. One of the Excaliburs? Then, he must have access to at least a number of the known Excaliburs and Caliburns then…
Said platform quickly replicated a vaster distance to accommodate the slash that was still traversing its length.
And through the alignments on the face of all three, the tone and tune of this joust had now been set. Yurupt with cheery battle thirst. Draxo with a more serious tone. And Drachi with a pained but focused reaction…
《The nature of this battle to be uncovered…》
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