Back on the ground...

Simon had fully lost himself.

A hundred percent of the skull covered his face like a mask, with detailed tribal markings, similar to tiger whiskers.

Purple & black fire, crumbled the ground apart, with him as the epicenter.

"This is not a good time for this, Simon. Wake up now!"

Koji yelled at the top of his lungs, as he faded in and out of consciousness, trying to keep control of his dark energy.

He unsheathed his sword, just in time, using the flat part of his blade, to block Simon's flaming strike.

Rocking him over dozens of kilometers into a side of a hill.

He grunted, from the pain, but quickly got back up.

"He's way stronger than before and seems like his power is rising by the minute. That's going to cost him more life."

Simon landed in front of him, screeching with an otherworldly sound, as winds picked up from the energy, he released, glaring Koji down.

"No use talking, huh? Let's make this quick."

Koji braced himself charging himself with six drums of electricity, hovering behind his back.

He cracked three open, releasing monsters of his imagination, made out of cobalt blue electricity, charging at Simon.

The skull mask's mouth opened up, creating a fast-rotating sphere of purple and black fire in front of its face.

Then shattered it, blasting a beam of incredibly hot fire, erasing all of Koji's beasts.

He dodged, flanking and closing in with lightning speed, aiming to break off Simon's mask.

Simon quickly dissipated the beam, and blasted thrusts of fire under his feet, to quickly roundhouse kick Koji's sword out of his hands.

'He's intelligent, just like Tobi was, he thought to himself."

Koji recoiled but quickly tried to follow up by throwing a punch with all of his might, carried by lightning, as Simon did the same, reinforcing himself with purple & light black fire.

The impact sent shockwaves, across the continent, as they continued to trade blow for blow.

Bruising each other, until Koji cracked apart Simon's mask, with a flare of electricity escaping his fist, as it sailed past him.

Simon broke apart to make some distance, clutching the spot that cracked, as it crumbled away, releasing dark energy like smoke out of a chimney.

He roared angrily, then placed his palm to his side, creating a massive purple and black sphere of fire, then condensed it, to fit hovering over his hand.

Koji sighed.

"It seems like you still have your old instincts. That means you're not completely gone are you?"

He raised his hand in front of him, facing his right palm to the sky.

"What's it going to take, Simon?

An incredibly massive lightning bolt struck down, stopping short only before his palm, and filled into a blue sphere, like water being poured into a jug.

"Static: Denki no Taiyō."

He threw forth his left hand, signaling the remaining spheres, hovering behind his back, to home in and stop Simon's incoming charge.

Blurring from spot to spot, Simon dodged each of them, making his way closer to Koji.

Koji finished condensing the sphere, then leaped forth to meet Simon's attack.

Fabricating a beautiful explosion with shades of indigo and purple and black ripping apart the entire landscape below them, sending them flying back from each other, and leaving Koji knocked out.

When he came to, Simon was standing over him, finishing injecting an adrenaline booster in his arm.

"Listen up, I'm only gonna say this once. Thanks for stopping me."

The skull on Simon's head had completely broken off, revealing all silver hair, as he settled into third gear.

Koji grinned.

"It was really hard not to kill you, ya know."

Simon scoffed

"Yeah, sure."

He looked off into the distance, towards Amaara's direction.

"It's getting intense over there."

Koji threw his senses in that direction as well, realizing what Simon was talking about.

"We have to hurry."

Simon nodded.

"No kidding. Let's go."

Over the skies of Valtorin...

Amaara dodged blasts of fire and electricity, whipping past her, at sonic speed.

They let out enormous explosions in the distance.

She clasped her hands together in front of her in a prayer formation.

"Ignite: Apexes of the Sky."

Carnivorous birds of all types manifested in purple and black flames and flocked toward Drakarna, crashing into her and initiating drive-by strikes.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Drakarna shot at the birds until she was overrun and opted to smack them away in a panic as she got annoyed, by the constant tiny stings of lifespans leaving her.

Amaara threw her hand back, creating a purple flaming javelin with a black tip.

She raised the javelin eye level, up above her shoulder, as she began her run.

Trails of fire left her feet, as she stepped hard in midair, releasing the javelin at her maximum momentum.

"Ignite: Javelin Throw!"

The javelin whizzed through the air, dipping down towards Drakarna, through the constant flock of flaming birds.

She looked up at the last moment, deciding to freeze all of the birds at once, however, melting through the makeshift ice dome she had created, out of frozen birds, the javelin, melted through like butter, lodging right through one of her eyes.

Drakarna's scream echoed throughout the land, but Amaara didn't give her a chance to recover, launching another javelin without hesitation.

Her ice dome exploded in all directions, slowing down and throwing off the javelin's trajectory, as it missed her by inches.

"I'm sick of you. I need to get rid of you quickly."

She raised her right hand gathering energy, then cupped it with the other.

"You can't escape this!"

Amaara looked around her, and as a massive cage of ice formed around her, she smiled and burned her flames hotter, aiming to melt them.

However, it maintained its shape, as more layers were added on top of it.

"Ocean Pressure!"

Drakarna yelled, as pressure began to press her body all over, crushing her, while several twisters sprung up, keeping her immobilized and putting out her flames.

She started to panic, looking for a way out, making her way towards the edge of the cage, in front of Drakarna.

She pounded her fists on the glass, until it bled, spurting her last flames on her last strike, breaking a hole through.

Amaara burst out, gasping for air, and shaking off the pain of several broken bones as she looked back up at Drakarna with a smile.

Drakarna was seething with rage, manifesting thousands of fire, ice, and electric volleys and launching them at her without hesitation.

Amaara began zigzagging away, preparing a fast-rotating, condensed purple ball of fire in her right palm.

The volleys soared past, crashing down below, as she flew lower to the ground.

Her hair fluttered in front of her face blocking, her view for a moment, as she turned around, watching the remaining volleys lining up behind her, as she turned around, placing her right hand forth.

"Ignite: Violet Blaze!"

The sphere hovering in front of her palm razed down the volleys in one swift motion.

As the horizon cleared, she started to let up, not noticing Drakarna, sneak up behind her, with lightning speed and Machia's sword drawn, raised high above her head, charged with fire and electricity.

"Why are you still alive!"

She screamed as Amaara blocked her strike, drawing her sword just in time, however, the force was too much for her to handle, sending her crashing down to the ground.

Amaara remained standing, trying to use her sword to stop her momentum.

She raised her sword up, blocking another strike, from Drakarna, beaming down on her with her full might, followed by another dozen heavy sword strikes, Drakarna unleashed on her.

"You filthy creatures, are always ruining my fun. Give up! You can't defeat me!"

She swung even harder against Amaara, breaking the stalemate, and pushing her back a dozen meters, as her sword crumbled apart.

She sheathed her hilt, wishing not to lose it.

"You're wrong."

Drakarna looked confused by her response, with her eye socket, finally restored.

"Huh?"

Amaara started to gather energy, grimacing from burns, appearing on her skin.

Time was running out.

"See... You just don't know how to have fun. Me, personally, all I can think about is which city, Osei and I are gonna tour next."

She crossed her arms, posing to think.

"We just checked out Rome after visiting Paris. Hmm, maybe Venice or Dubai?"

Amaara stopped to hop out of the way, as Drakarna swung a strike of ice, cutting through the ground and half of the hills past her.

Amaara clicked her tongue, mocking Drakarna.

"See, I told you can't have fun."

Drakarna lost it, her body twitching and moving unnaturally, she was starting to reach her limit.

"Shut up!"

Nevertheless, she continued sending slices of each element in her possession at Amaara, alternating randomly, trying to catch her off guard, but to no avail.

"Stay still!"

Amaara kept laughing dodging away, trying to make some distance and run Drakarna's timer out.

Drakarna completely stopped, shuddering with anger.

"They killed them. My siblings. Fine then."

A creepy feeling washed over Amaara, as she felt enormous pressure pour out of Drakarna.

There were no good intentions.

Drakarna started to rise to the sky while creating a massive violet flaming, electric sphere. Pressurized and condensed, within a light sphere of ice, rotating at faster than sound speed.

"Terra Decimation!

Her voice, was full of anger, as she threw her hand down, toward Amaara,

Amaara gritted her teeth.

"This is not good. Where are they?"

She placed her hands together at her side, manifesting a violet sphere of her own,

It started cutting burns into her palms, as she tried to speed it up.

"Ignite: Kalu Konda'

With a quick motion, she thrust her hands forth, and cracked open the sphere, unleashing a powerful beam, which pushed back the incoming sphere of destruction, without success.

Drakarna's laugh, rung through Amaara's ears, while her attack left clouds of mist, as Amaara's beam, tried to burn through.

Amaara cursed.

"Even after sacrificing 9 years, it's still not enough. What else do I need to do!"

As if they were answering her prayers, Simon and Koji dropped down beside her, with spheres of their elements already prepared.

"Ignite: Ignis Ultimus!"

"Static: Raiō no Ikari!"

Amaara looked to her sides, smiling at the sight of her comrades.

"Y'all are late!"

Simon grimaced, trying to shift into a comfortable position, to hold the weight of the incoming attack.

"Sorry, there were some complications."

Koji was shocked that she was pushing back such a monstrous attack all on her own.

"Looks like we came at the worst time."

Amaara shook her head.

"She's at her limit. One more push should do it."

She exhaled deeply then stopped her beam completely.

"Hold this for a sec will you."

They looked at her shocked and confused.

"Wait what?"

They said in unison, as the pressure increased causing them both excruciating pain, without her aid.

Above her right palm, a dark violet sphere, began to swirl, condensing every second it got bigger.

The pain from her side effects, was almost unbearable at this point, with her body, visibly trembling.

She bared it, telling herself, not to give up.

She looked at the boys, who already had enough on their plates.

"Help me with this, won't you."

They rolled their eyes, wondering if she was seeing the position they were in.

Each of them slowly took one hand off of their beams and pointed their palms towards her rotating sphere.

Sphere, suddenly enlarged itself, this time, crackling with electricity, as Amaara condensed it once more, keeping it in place.

"Thanks."

She said, before rocketing off into the sky, around the colliding attacks.

She raced at the fastest speed he could muster, reaching behind Drakarna in a blur.

Drakarna whipped around, incredibly quick, surprised to see Amaara moving freely.

"How?!"

Amaara shot the sphere at the cockpit holding Kari's motionless body, faster than the eye could see, with Koji's assist.

"Your party is over. Time to send you back to where you belong!"

Pouring in the remaining energy she had left, she yelled out loud.

"Combo Series: Lightning Inferno!"

The sphere shattered the cockpit open, as Drakarna was sent flying near the prisoner's camp, landing with a devastating explosion, ripping through the camp and tearing down mobile buildings.

Koji and Simon let up, sighing with relief, as Drakarna's attack dissipated.

Amaara rushed over to the explosion site, regretting the direction she sent her in.

As she witnessed down below, bodies and rubble, littered the camp.

A massive hollow building, looking like a miniature supermax, crumbled apart, revealing a massive opening.

Amaara could only feel one life signal, emanating from the building.

'A survivor.'

She thought as she descended down, through the gaping hole.