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"You'll be dead before they're defeated," Tymon boasted as he applied spirit enhancement to his fists, Avarice following suit.

In the next instant, they erupted in a ferocious exchange of blows.

Tymon knew that he currently had Avarice outmatched not only in power but in terms of strength and speed too. He had the advantage; he needed to keep it by applying constant pressure, making it impossible for Avarice to concentrate enough to transform.

Avarice was surprisingly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. His strikes were precise and hefty, wasting no energy or movement. Clearly, Avarice hadn't wasted the millennia he spent in hiding. Tymon's body tingled in excitement as their fists finally clashed. What was that underlying sensation? Joy? Never mind that he needed to stay focused.

Moving at super speeds, he jumped back and landed into a squat as Avarice spun into a kick aimed at his head. There was a trail of liquid gold that lingered in its wake. Without hesitation, Avarice willed the fluid forward at Tymon, who dashed forward, ducking beneath them and closing the distance between them.

Before Avarice's legs returned to the floor, Tymon was prepared to strike hard, but Avarice had anticipated his movements and blocked with more liquid gold being used as an extension of his body.

Still, Tymon pressed on, adjusting quickly as he cast a small shadow that extended beyond them both. Avarice's grounded leg began to sink into the shadow slightly, but he reacted just as fast as he leaped up.

However, that wasn't enough to get away from Tymon as he shot spikes of his shadow skyward toward Avarice. Avarice reflexively blocked with his spirit-enhanced arms and legs as the onslaught of shadows shattered against his energy.

Tymon didn't waste this moment as he blurred above Avarice and began a flurry of attacks as the shadows kept him distracted. With nothing to turn to gold while in the air, Avarice was at an even bigger disadvantage. Irritably, Avarice successfully fended off many of Tymon's array of attacks, but flashes of the torment he'd gone through flowed through Tymon's mind, increasing his anger along with the strength and power in his blows until Avarice slowly began to be overwhelmed as the shadow spikes started to chip away at his spirit enhancement. Some even began to cut him because Avarice was too busy blocking Tymon's blows.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say I did something to offend you," Avarice taunted under the blows.

Just get him into the shadow, Tymon thought as he threw another punch. He aimed to keep striking as they gradually lowered back to the ground. Once they were close enough, he'd will his shadow to swallow them both, where he could apply Last Breath for a devastating effect.

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"You're distracted," Avarice called out as he returned a strike at Tymon, but Tymon was too fast and tilted his head just in time to evade.

"Dumb move," Tymon said as he landed a decisive blow onto Avarice's face, sending him crashing into the lab floor.

Before Tymon could will the shadows as planned, Avarice somehow sent out a disorienting wave of sound that had Tymon's ears ringing. The shadows beneath them faded as his focus dwindled, and he was forced to a shaky landing.

"What'd you do," Tymon demanded as he started to regain stability.

"Amazing, isn't it? Just a little tampering in one's ears will destroy their entire sense of equilibrium,"

Avarice smiled smugly, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Well? You coming, or are you going to stand there dumbfounded," he taunted.

Tymon steadied himself. He looked at Avarice, slightly perturbed. Why did he seem to be enjoying the predicament he was in?

He suddenly vanished and dashed toward Avarice, who was shocked when Tymon appeared before him and slammed him into the wall.

Tymon stepped back as Avarice fell to the floor, still smiling.

As Avarice stood, there were several spiked shadow blades pointed at his throat.

"Oh?" Avarice commented as he casually looked at them.

"I'm confused," Tymon stated as he threateningly willed the tips of the shadows closer to Avarice. "What happened to that anger you had back when I nearly killed Junichiro? I know you haven't forgotten."

"Oh, that? I've ensured their safety. With you here and them with my tech, none of you stand a chance," Avarice laughed.

"Hm." Tymon released all his energy abruptly, destroying the roof and most of the lab's walls. The sky darkened to an ominous degree in response to his power. "You have no idea how wrong you are."

Avarice's smile faded as he looked at the state of his lab. Tymon noticed the ground around Avarice's feet changing into gold as Avarice's power started to rise.

Reacting quickly, he sped toward Avarice and connected a powerful kick to the stomach that sent him flying for miles as Tymon flew out in pursuit. When Tymon caught up, Avarice was recovering from the daze in time to block his next strike, which sent Avarice rocketing earthward.

Avarice crash-landed on his feet hard enough to uplift some of the dry earth beneath him. He looked up at the darkened sky to see Tymon descending a hundred feet away.

Without speaking, Tymon released more of his energy, casting a wide shadow over the ground. He leaned down and slipped his right hand into it.

"Good, there's some here," he muttered as he extended his command over death into the shadow. Seven mummified corpses and skeletons rose from the ground the next instant, each overflowing with Tymon's dark energy.

Avarice's eyebrows raised.

"I didn't know you could do that," he commented, "Though, it's a shame you have to hide behind the dead to take me on."

"Haven't you spent millennia hiding behind humans?" Tymon voiced as the shadow receded and his soldiers turned their attention to Avarice. "Changing a few to manipulate them under the guise of 'family' and even concealing your actions behind scores of them who you granted power to."

"...I liked you better when you were strapped to a table," Avarice spat in irritation. He touched the ground, causing it to turn to gold. It spread for fifty feet around him before stopping.

Tymon observed as the golden dry grass and rocks liquified and morphed into the form of dozens of featureless soldiers to fight for Avarice.

"Fine, a game of subjects then. You're not the only one who can summon pawns," Avarice stated as his golden ranks charged at Tymon's undead. Tymon's soldiers were quickly crushed by the bombardment, but unlike Avarice's ranks, Tymon's were charged with some of his power. Even when they fell, they got back up to continue fighting until they eventually destroyed the golden ranks Avarice created.