Red examined the man for a long time. The tall and slender man was nearly statuesque with a complexion like chocolate. His shirt and coat were in tatters, leaving the man with only loose black pants and metal boots. Below him, Yasuke lay face down in a pool of blood, with his sword stuck into the ground. Despite that, Red couldn’t help but focus on one particular feature, the flaming wheel that floated right behind him. It began to turn slowly as the man took up a fighting pose.

“You…I know you. I sensed your energy over there near Midas and Charan," The man looked around as a look of confusion furrowed his brow, "What did you do to my allies?"

Red laughed aloud, "If you mean the freak with the gold powers and the monster summoner, they tucked their tails and ran. And I don't think they're coming back for you."

Jeannot looked over at Yasuke, his body still lying down completely limp, "Based on that explanation I'm assuming you didn't actually defeat them. Unfortunately, we can't say the same about your ally."

Red got inches from Jeannot's face, and said, "Don't look at him, look at me Jeannot."

Jeannot disappeared into a pillar of fire and reappeared a distance away, the wheel behind him spinning significantly faster now.

Red summoned his blood armor and summoned a larger version of his kite shield. He put the shield up and rushed towards Jeannot.

“I need to figure out what’s up with that wheel. Does it make him stronger? Is it a part of his innate ability?” Red thought to himself.

Jeannot raised his arms from his side directly up in the air, summoning numerous tornados of fire in front of him. Red darted between the cyclones as they lazily rotated and spiraled around. In a second, he was back in front of Jeannot.

Summoning his massive blood lance, he swept wide, distorting and rending the air with the sheer strength of it. The sweep was so quick, Jeannot was injured by it before he could put up any kind of defense.

One of the spokes evaporated in flame as Jeannot placed a finger on his chin, “I think I’m starting to get it now! You have to be Celeres Red, the King of Crimson Blood right? I know you’re a legendary knight from Britannius and everything, but I didn’t know your power would be on this level!”

Jeannot grimaced as he summoned another pillar of fire to disappear into. Red placed his hand into it immediately, and transformed the pillar of fire into an ice sculpture, as well as terraforming a large area behind the pillar of ice hills of spiked icicles.

Jeannot stepped from the side, having narrowly escaped the attack, and clapped, "Wow, there's no doubt about it. You really are that Red. Our survey corps have been trying to figure out what you've been doing for the last eight years, but it turns out you've been building your strength in secret. I guess I should introduce myself, I'm Jeannot—"

Blood dripped down the sides of his mouth as Red sputtered out, "You can shut the hell up now Socotra trash, that moment's passed. I'm feeling it now, so I want you to show me everything, stop holding back. The next time I attack, I'm going for the kill."

“Calm down Red, your bloodlust is overwhelming me!” Jeannot called out jovially.

Red bit his lip and closed the distance between them in an instant. Jeannot put both of his hands into Red's chest, and pushed a white flame through his body, piercing through the other side in a concentrated stream.

Red fell to one knee as his armor melted off his body, holding his side as Jeannot stood over him. Day, who stood quite a distance away at this point, looked over at Red and winced at the injury.

"You know, I never even revealed what my ability is. I don't just control fire unlike what you might've heard. I can control all forms of plasma, including fire. In addition to that," Jeannot pointed to the wheel on his back, that now spun faster than ever before, "this wheel determines how much power I can use. The less spokes on the wheel, the more power I have at my disposal." He put a hand in its path, stopping the flame wheel and revealing that six of the eight spokes had disappeared.

Red stood up slowly, still gripping his injured side. He summoned a small spear and struggled to stand completely straight.

“Telling me your ability so you can get a little boost, huh? I get it, take every advantage you can get. You’re going to need it,” Red stumbled forward, vaguely in the direction of Jeannot.

Jeannot moved his hand away from the flame wheel, pointing a finger at Red. Red continued to stumble forward, struggling to walk in a straight line.

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Lightning materialized from Jeannot’s finger, hissing and crackling as it moved about uncontrollably. After a second, a large bolt of lightning shot directly from Jeannot's finger in the direction of Red. Through his foggy and blood shot eyes, Red stared at the attack as it approached him. He stared at it forever as it moved through the air in slow motion. He could see the lightning's erratic diverging paths as it got closer. With a subtle motion, he dodged it, and it struck the ground behind him.

Jeannot reeled back for a second, but quickly calmed himself. Jeannot rushed in towards Red, attempting to place a hand on him. Red stared at him, still stumbling forward with his spear, and reached out to grab Jeannot's hand before he could touch him.

Jeannot acrobatically flipped out of the way, panting heavily and now standing much closer to Red.

Red stopped walking and turned his head. There was no light behind his eyes anymore. It was as though he was barely conscious.

"Seven of the spokes are gone now, what's he planning to do?" Red thought to himself.

Jeannot silently raised a fist in the air, as a gigantic and menacing cloud gathered and loomed overhead. He held the position for a long time, and Red continued to watch him, completely motionless. After an eternity, Jeannot suddenly pulled his fist down into his stomach, sending a giant spark of lighting crashing to the ground. Before the lighting could hit the ground, Red appeared behind Jeannot and pushed him forward, causing him to be struck by the lightning.

Jeannot didn't react to the attack; he simply stood perfectly still, frowning. His hair stood on end and his body was completely singed, but his reaction did not change.

By now, all of the spokes had fallen off and power oozed out of Jeannot. An aura surrounded Jeannot and decayed all the organic matter around him. He opened and closed his fist numerous times, looking directly at his hand.

Jeannot squinted his eyes as he looked at Red, and his voice became significantly deeper, "This feels more like me. I am the perfect result of our creator, the cleric's machinations. The true evolution of man. I have deemed our power superior to the surface, therefore you will now be subjugated."

Red seemed to not hear Jeannot as his own power surged higher. His own aura was so intense it clouded his vision. Red looked at both of his hands, he couldn’t stop trembling and he was seeing double. He looked up at Jeannot and snapped his fingers, instantly encasing him in a giant pillar of ice that stretched up to the sky.

As Red readied another attack, Yasuke ran up behind him, yelling out, "Red!"

Red wiped the blood from his mouth and let slip a small smile, “You looked like a goner there. Was Day able to heal you that quick?"

Yasuke pulled out a chipped sword, "I didn't give her a chance. As soon as I regained consciousness I ran straight over here. I wouldn't feel right unless I did my part in finishing him off."

Red nodded and turned back to Jeannot, finding him burning through the ice pillar in a blazing inferno. Jeannot floated down in front of them, his power now at its apex and exponentially higher than it was even a few moments ago.

Before either side could make a move, a young man in a white robe draped in gold jewelry came from seemingly nowhere and placed a hand on Jeannot's shoulder. Red immediately recognized him as Charan and gritted his teeth. He leaned in close to Jeannot's ear and whispered to him for a second. Jeannot's eyes got wide and he relaxed his battle stance. Jeannot and Charan both nodded at each other.

“Midas wanted us to finish you off but I’m not going to let his impulsivity influence us to make a bad decision. Jeannot and I will be heading out,” Charan said to no one in particular.

Charan turned to Red and grinned, “Red, I will be back for you. Wait for me.”

With a snap of his fingers, Charan disappeared from the battlefield.

Jeannot now stood alone before Red and Yasuke, floating lightly in the air before turning his back and pulling out a small floating crystal. He nearly spat his words at them, "I'll be back for you two heretics. You are both an affront to the teachings of the cleric, so once we come back I'll personally make sure you are cleansed from our new world."

Smoke overflowed from Yasuke's body and flowed directly into his katana, adding an extra foot to its length, and yelling out, "We're not letting you go anywhere!"

Day finally appeared over a nearby hill, shouting out, "You can't use your powers yet kid! The strain on your body…"

Day's voice was drowned out as Yasuke struck Jeannot's floating crystal, creating a large crack in it. Day fell to her knees and held her hands over her ears as light began to emanate from the cracks of the crystal and it let out a screeching sound.

Jeannot let go of it and it began to float in the air on its own. He held his hands over it and tried to repair it with his magic.

Red took a look at the crystal and gasped.

“That’s a Philosopher’s Stone!”

Red transformed his spear back into his lance, and stabbed into Jeannot's body, impaling his entire chest.

Jeannot screamed out as larger cracks began to form and a large blinding light emerged from the crystal. The light was small at first, but quickly engulfed the entire area. As the light touched Jeannot’s skin, it burned him completely and totally, erasing his skin and muscle until only bone was left.

Red attempted to move out of the radius of the light but it was too late. The cracks in the Philosopher’s Stone became too much and it caused an explosion, bathing the nearby area in the light.

The explosion of light and sound distorted all of Red's senses and disoriented him, causing him to lose his sense of place.

Red blinked a couple of times, until everything started to come into view. He was back in the guild hall, but the windows and front entrance were boarded up, allowing only a small amount of light in.

Red looked around, barely able to see in the poorly lit area. Red spotted a man sitting at the bar, with his head in his hands. The man instantly was eerily familiar to Red. He walked up and tapped the man on the shoulder, and the man turned to him. He turned to Red, and smiled.

The man shared his face, albeit significantly cleaner, with blond hair and auburn eyes.

“You never forget a face right, young god?”

“Valafor?” Red questioned.

“In the flesh. Welcome home!” He threw his arms around Red.