“Impossible!” Jakoss roared, the noise audible from even a mile away. “You cannot be this strong as an F Ranker!”
“I am.” Sam’s eyes lit up as he flared his Dao. Truly searching within himself for his connection to his Dao, he manifested armor of red and blue, coating his form in power. His hammer became part of the construct, limned in the ethereal light of his Dao’s concept.
Sam drew in a deep breath through his nose and then expelled it through his mouth. He teleported forwards, towards Jakoss, and swung his hammer.
The other man teleported as well, cocking back a fist. A swirling nova of light formed within it, and it looked as if the man was cradling a star between his fingers. This attack was on an entirely different level to what had been used so far. Sam took this in stride, and prepared his own finisher. He drew upon his experience with Sky Splitting Vengeance, before it had turned into Manifestation of Vengeance. What emerged was halfway between the old, far weaker skill, and the new one that was too strong for his body and soul to channel. Even then his body trembled beneath its weight, his current injuries magnified.
As both men emerged from the darkness of the ether, they loosed their attacks towards one another. Reality bent, torn apart by the clash of two Dao Seeds empowered by mana and other energies besides. Then the fist touched the hammer, and released its energies.
The first thing that happened was a wave of heat that turned the ground for a mile around to glass. Then a thunderous boom as the sky itself parted, a vacuum forming around them. An observer in space would have witnessed a flower of exotic energy blossom upon the surface of the planet. A pillar of light erupted into the sky from the impact sight, mimicking a quasar. It flashed up towards the heavens, piercing the sky itself. However, the majority of the power was still contained within the clash, fighting for dominance.
Jakoss and Sam started to vibrate rapidly, their bodies coming apart from the pressure. As the others fought, they retreated from ground zero, running for their lives. Sam pushed forwards with all of his willpower, relying on his Dao to overcome Jakoss’ strength. It was not a battle that should have been possible for an F Ranker to take part in, but it was happening regardless.
Sam gritted his teeth, and dug deep into his Mantra, ignoring the pain of his wounds. Then he simply let go of the energy contained within his hammer, letting it escape in a cone of power. That set off the energy wielded by Jakoss, erupting into a titanic conflagration of incandescent power.
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Sam used the last bit of his focus to teleport to safety, emerging a dozen miles away. A rumbling howl burned into his ears as a wave of light and heat scoured the land. Manifestations of Dao energy formed in the area, creating soldiers of rampant energy that warred on a conceptual level. Ghostly fighters assaulted one another, each death a victory for the opponent’s Dao. Sam’s army was larger than Jakoss’, and it was clear who would win in that regard.
It was only then that he realized that his legs were missing. Sam looked down, and paled as he witnessed the ruined stumps that stood where his legs had once been, with the remainder of them atomized by the clash.
Jakoss teleported in a moment later, a look of glee on his face. The rest of his body was not in such great shape however. His body-soul melded form was covered in a patchwork of cracks, and was riddled through with Sam’s Dao. His right fist blazed with power as he brought it down towards Sam. “I congratulate you on your power, but it is over. A powerful ant is still an ant”
“No,” Sam replied as he pulled on a conceptual thread of Dao energy still remaining in Jakoss’ body. “Now it’s over. A powerful fool is still a fool.”
The E Ranker fell apart into tiny pieces, the sneer still on his lips, the largest part left of him. Then Sam followed him into the abyss, succumbing to darkness.
The battle between the remaining fighters raged on despite the drama of the Dao manifestation, with everyone fighting to the death. The Overlord had drawn power from Sam’s victory, and now he was matching Makra’s strikes, each success driving his power ever higher. Despite the blood that ran down his face, and the broken bones that crunched within him, he was unbowed.
Meanwhile, Anthos, the weakest of the three E Rankers, was in rough shape. Countless wounds littered his body from the assault of the captains, with each one having contributed equally in that regard. However, in terms of who was the most instrumental, Lao was far ahead in that regard. Every time Anthos attempted to strike one of the weaker members of the party, he would interpose himself. Anthos was then forced to withdraw, or risk killing himself. The amount of damage he took was proportional to how much was dealt to Lao, so even if he did end up crippling the man rather than outright killing him, he would suffer far more damage.
This allowed for the likes of Jeffrey to fight from the back, using his ranged weapons to great effect. Although the damage was muted by the lack of weak points on the E Ranker’s body, it was still there. Almost all of the original captains were present, with only Thomas Aquinas missing. As usual, he was in his tower, continuing to tinker with machines that would expand the reach of the faction. His Dao was at the high Fragment stage, but it was not geared towards combat. It had changed since his tournament days into something more suited towards widespread industry.The same went for people like Okina, who while instrumental to the survival of the faction, were not fighters.