Though the Genesis' incoming pain train, in the form a giant fist, looked like it could crush a mountain, Ares maintained a strong will in the presence of it thanks to his Primordial Blade. Had he any other weapon in his hand right now the sheer aura of the Genesis would have overwhelmed him and caused his hands to shake a little in the face of an inevitable defeat. The mecha's punch would burst through his weapon, splintering it in half, before punching a hole through Ares' chest not unlike what Slick had done to him before just on a larger scale. As in the entirety of Ares' chest and stomach region would be pulverised into bloody dirt and his head and legs would just go flying off somewhere while the rest of him exploded. Not a pretty sight and not a pleasant outcome but it wasn't going to happen, not with a mini universe standing between him and his would-be cold-blooded killer. Ares' sheathed sword swung upwards and distorted the space around it, causing a tear in reality at it left a gaping entrance to the deep crimson Void in its wake. The two treasures gathered as much momentum and force as they could and collided with an impact that shook the entire coliseum.

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It wasn't an earthquake but it was just as disorienting as everyone was thrown about in their seats as sparks flew down in the arena where metal clashed, grating against each other in a bid for supremacy. With every second that passed with the two weapons ferociously aggressing upon one another and refusing to back down, the arena floor was crumbling away underneath the involved parties. The cracked web underneath Ares and the mecha splintered further, spreading to every corner of the arena and eventually resulting in the top layer of the floor breaking away. Despite the ground underneath both Ares and the mecha shattering into finely ground dust, the two were able to maintain their duel in the centre of the arena without missing a beat. The mecha's joints were grinding to to gain even a single inch while Ares grit his teeth and ignored the screaming pain in his muscles as he defiantly refused to give in. The determination on display here from both parties was admirable, and it looked like this could even go on for quite some time, but Mako had other plans and was seemingly going to interrupt this little stalemate. He had all the proof he needed that things were not in his favour right now and that he needed to act so chucked a rocket at Ares who dodged backwards to avoid it.

Sure the clash had looked even but considering the fact Ares had the disadvantage thanks to his rising swing, and also the fact that he wasn't imbuing his weapon with any disintegration magic yet, Mako knew this was a loss waiting to happen if he allowed the mecha to stubbornly stick to this fight. Ares would coat his Blade in disintegration at some point, whenever he felt like he himself had garnered enough information from this exchange, and then slice Genesis' arm off in one fell swoop. Granted, if nothing changed at all earlier then the Genesis would actually win out eventually. It packed more immediate power and its bursts of strength outclassed Ares by a fair bit. The correct strategy here was quick, direct trades to wear Ares down and batter his arms by making him block over and over. The tricky part here was not having the Genesis over-extend, miss, and get slashed in the side so it was a dangerous game these two were about to play. Neither wanted to get hit even a single time and both had distinct methods to go about hitting the other. The Genesis wanted to take the first strike whereas Ares wanted to take the second via a counter... The stakes of every swing here, by either side, were monumental and could even end this match prematurely depending on how things played out.

Ares constantly circled the Genesis like a vulture, taking various stances with the Primordial Blade and threatening different avenues of attack. Just because he wanted to strike second that didn't mean he wouldn't steal the initiative if he was given ample opportunity to. He wasn't one to pass up on any weakness or mistake but, unfortunately, that wasn't really applicable against a robot of Genesis' quality. It was heavily automated and would never make the same kind of rookie mistake a human might. There was no slacking in its A.I and it would never need to blink nor would it fall prey to an underhanded bait, it just stared emotionlessly at Ares with its head swivelling around to keep track of him. The rest of its body didn't move even a centimetre so Ares wasn't going to find the opening he was searching for. On the flip side, the Genesis was going to struggle to find an opening too but it was far worse for it than Ares. The Genesis had limited time here and couldn't keep up this charade forever, it needed to swing at Ares at some point otherwise Mako would be in deep trouble when it left.

Ares had no obligation to jump forward even though he really wanted to. He was feeling the adrenaline and wanted to lash out with it, so he'd been considering running up to the Genesis to feign an attack and force a fight, but he was restraining himself well here. He knew what was on the line and he didn't pull out the Primordial Blade just to throw away the match immediately after. He took things slow with the understanding that the Genesis had to come to him at some point. He could already tell that Mako was scurrying about in the background and looking for a good chance to hurl another rocket at Ares and distract him. Ares could definitely cut straight through anything Mako chucked at him but the problem came after what with the Genesis lurking around. It was a similar to position to earlier when Mako had both Rox and the Perish Wheel to focus on but he got lucky and had both exist in the same position at the same time such that his Genesis could crush them simultaneously. No matter how much Ares tried to relocate himself he couldn't ever get the Genesis and Mako to line up the way he wanted because Mako wasn't allowing it. Mako might not be the greatest combatant ever but he wasn't a blind moron either and could see clear as day what Ares was aiming for soi he stayed on the move to avoid it.

While Ares couldn't pull off his desired plan, that didn't mean he wasn't capable of resorting to other means. Chanting an art would take too long in this situation and the Genesis could stand in the way of it anyway, soaking up all the damage intended for the elf instead, but there was a certain something the Genesis could never block nor resist; Ares' pressure! His bloodline ability that raised the pressure to the bare minimum of what was required to affect the target was being helpful here and Ares could see it working as the Genesis' head was turning noticeably slower now that it was being assailed by Ares' golden pressure. This confirmed his suspicions that using pressure against this thing was his best bet. Or rather, he wasn't going to aim the pressure directly at the Genesis at all, it was Mako he wanted to hit but if the Genesis blocked it that would be fine also as it would give him an advantage in this fight instead of the cold war he was having with Mako. Regardless of who the pressure hit here, it would open up Ares to move around as he pleased and take the fight he wanted so, without further ado, Ares aimed at Mako and fired off a literal wave of golden pressure with a plan mind depending on how successful this attack was.

Mako kissed his teeth as Ares had gotten him good here. He was positioned such that he couldn't really dodge this and, if he let the Genesis block it in his stead, he wouldn't be able to see what was happening beyond the mecha. Plus the same was also true if he raised a wall to block this. Mako did potentially have a solution but he wasn't sure if he should risk it or not... His solution was untested but maybe a very viable fix for Ares' overwhelming pressure... Mako shook his head and decided not to. If he was in a do or die position with no other options he would re-consider but, right now, he would just allow Ares to get the situation he was striving for and have Genesis block the attack. The mecha acquiesced to Mako's command and heroically slid in front of him to take the brunt of the pressure. It mired the mecha down and bogged its systems, preventing it from moving even half as fast as it normally would.

Ares no longer waited for an invitation and ran up to the mecha with the Primordial Blade in hand, threatening a deadly swipe that would take out the mecha for good if it couldn't guard against it. Thankfully the mecha was just fast enough to lift its arm in time and divert a good chunk of its energy to summoning a small barrier over its arm. It couldn't really do much but expending a chunk of fuel for this felt worth it right now so it made the choice by itself. Mako was ok with this as he agreed with the logic and wouldn't have done it differently himself... Unfortunately, this happened to be a poor decision that was exploited readily by Ares who dropped the Primordial Blade onto the floor and ducked under the raised arm, throwing a palm at Genesis' chest with unknown intentions... It's safe to say nobody in the entire coliseum had expected Ares to do this in the heat of battle but it had paid off, and gotten him where he wanted to be, so they had to give kudos for the balls it took to even attempt this. He had no means of defending himself against the Genesis like this, without his Blade, so the risk factor was off the charts however! It was also a confusing ploy because people weren't exactly sure where he was going with this. The Blade had a hard time making a dent so what was Ares going to do to the Genesis without it exactly? His Echoes could rattle around inside it all they wanted but there was nothing in there that would break, let alone affect the operating systems of the mech... But that was naive thinking. A regular Echo might not do much but what about an annihilation Echo? On the surface, that didn't seem like it would do much either, as the Genesis could tough it out with relative ease... But what if this wasn't aimed at the Genesis to begin with? Yes Ares was hitting the mecha with it directly but the resulting blast would pierce through the mecha and there was a certain elf back behind it that was far squishier and more prone to exploding from such a powerful attack!

Mako was dumbfounded and took a moment to understand the gravity of the situation when Ares chanted "Annihilation Echo!" loud and clear for everyone to hear. He'd been played like a fiddle and lined up nicely behind the Genesis for Ares to pull this stunt off... Ares had given the illusion he wanted a one on one fight with the Genesis in any way he could get one but, in reality, he was striving for a sneak attack on the master. Mako had to admit this was a clever ruse that he'd fallen for and, honestly, he was in deep shit right now. The Genesis couldn't save him from this and he'd been taken by surprise to the point he didn't have time to cast an art. A regular wall wouldn't save him and neither would a small one from Terros. Mako had no more secret treasures up his sleeve so this was looking to be the end of the fight... Unless he resorted to that one thing he was considering earlier. It was rushed, incomplete, he hadn't really trained with it, and he didn't even know how effective it might be... All Mako knew was that he tested it one single time against Ares in the pagoda and blocked a single pressure attack with it before the clone ramped up his attacks and blasted him to smithereens properly... But it did work once before so maybe it would work again! It didn't need to stifle the attack completely, it just needed to enable Mako to live!

It's not like Mako had any other options here so he took a deep breath, raised the back of his palm towards the incoming attack, and joined his fingers together as tightly as humanly possible. This wasn't an art, it was just a teensy bit of pressure. What made Mako think he could fight Ares' pressure with his own? If he'd been asked that a week or two ago, nothing. Now, however? Now he had his mother's bloodline ability thanks to the pocket watch! Serene could create a very different kind of pressure compared to normal, a far more defensive one that even Ares had acknowledged as being pretty special when he first saw it. In fact, he even directly stated that this bloodline would do great things for Mako and the elf was proving that right here and now. From his hand, a watery, flowy gas was emitted and formed a circular shield. It looked poxy in comparison to the Annihilation Echo that had just come barrelling through the Genesis but most things would in comparison so that wasn't exactly his fault. The Echo had rattled around in the mecha for a short while but then left quickly after thanks to Ares maintaining a degree of control over the pressure inside it. He directed it out the Genesis' back and straight towards Mako whilst it retained a good deal of its original power. The Echo possessed similar power to the one he fired off back at Remmy's so Mako's work was really cut out for him, especially seeing as it wasn't even being dispersed to the same extent the previous one was over the course of its travel time. Mako bit his lip, swallowed with a nervous gulp, and held the shield firmly out in front of him as he braced for impact...

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

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Irrespective of whether Mako could fully block the art it was always going to do a significant chunk of damage to him, there were no two ways about it. He was using a last minute measure to square up against one of Ares' most powerful arts so some pain was to be expected here. Mako ate dirt as he rolled along the ground and banged his head against the floor repeatedly. He'd lost an arm but that was inconsequential to him both because he didn't really need it to begin with but also because he could just summon a new one. He couldn't summon one of flesh and blood just yet, that was beyond his current capabilities, but he could create a mechanical one as a substitute when he finally finished rolling. He was about to crash headfirst into the arena wall currently but was still analysing the seriousness of the damage dealt to him in a strangely calm manner. Something about being on the brink of death was a rather bizarre experience to Mako every time it happened as he felt all his senses dull as his brain went into overdrive. Sounds were muted, he couldn't taste anything other than his own blood, and his hands were numbed entirely. This sounded like the kind of thing that would be a death sentence but being trapped in his own head like this allowed his thoughts to organise with surprising clarity.

Mako checked and double checked the state of every organ and body part, complied a list of things that needed to be sorted out in order to stay alive, and then acted on it in one fluid motion all the while in a dazed stupor. His face was one of apathy and uncaring simplicity. He created a mattress against the wall to cushion his crash, created spare body parts and turned himself into a cyborg-esque elf kind of like a mini Bravo, and stood up to make sure he wasn't in an exploitable position if Ares were trying to follow up on his previous attack. Mako had replaced a part of his jaw, his arm, some toes, a kneecap, and filled a few holes in various organs like his lung and liver. It was a decently long list but nothing fatal unfortunately for Ares who was clicking his tongue. That shield of watery pressure had absorbed a lot of the impact and diluted the pressure thoroughly. Had Mako not been able to summon it in time, or even properly, Ares would have blasted Mako into pieces with that last attack. He could have ended this fight early and snuck a win through the backdoor. He still felt confident he could win anyway but making that convoluted process just a smidgen easier wasn't something he would turn his nose up at if he could have made it work!

Speaking of Ares, he was in a bit of a bind currently. Mako was reeling from the attack but the Genesis was taking measures to be a nuisance and pay Ares back for his brazen committal to disarming himself. The mecha was pushing Ares backwards to his own end of the arena without allowing him to head over and pick up the Blade. Ares could also call it back to him but he would need to catch it with one of his hands that were currently busy deflecting the mechas strikes with pressure. This was hard work! Even a single mistake and his hands would be turned to bony pulp! Ares didn't have the brain power spare to catch the weapon if he recalled it towards him. He considered trying to summon it back, and have it fly straight through the mecha in an ambush from behind, but Genesis was keeping track of that possibility and hovering slightly to the side so as not get caught by the dirty trick Ares was plotting.

"Esoteric Compression!"

Ares managed to deflect two fists at once, which gave him a small grace period to do as he pleased, so this art was the one he believed could alleviate the current strain on him. Pressure was already established as being effective against Genesis so a pressure oriented art that was as good as this one would inevitably halt the mecha in its tracks for a long enough period of time for Ares to regain his weapon. This assumption was proven correct as Genesis was forced to kneel down on one leg for a split second. It almost looked confused as it tilted its head. There was something in this world that could force it to bend its knee? If it could feel emotions it would be drowning in anger right now. It was to the point that it even raised its arm to drain the remainder of its fuel and launch a laser at Ares for his transgressions but Mako intervened and prevented that mistake from being made. Mako still needed the Genesis to force Ares into putting the Blade away so betting it all on a single attack wasn't the sort of strategy Mako was willing to play along with.

Ares slid over to the Blade and picked it up again only to find out that it was a bit heavier than before... Was it annoyed like the Genesis was? Annoyed for being abandoned?... Whoops... To be fair, Ares needed to do it in the moment! It was his best option! Also, this thing was one to talk. It wasn't the Blade doing the heavy lifting here, Ares was paying the price for every single swing! Selfish little bastard... Ares covered it in disintegration magic as he really wanted to end this fight with the mech here and move on as soon as possible. The longer this fight went on the less advantageous it became for him as he got more and more tired fighting against a robot that didn't care about such trivial matters. Mako had been injured but it hadn't drastically affected him any meaningful way so Ares had still lost more as a result of this treasure battle currently.

Ares summoned a tiny golden ninja frog, the same one he used against Veteran way back when, and used telekinesis to lift up multiple bundles of rocks. These were going to help disorient Mako as well as act as cover for the frog. He was just repeating the tactic he'd devised and utilised against Veteran but it was highly functional and great at keeping a foe occupied. The frog was hard to track and definitively kill so while Mako was fending it off, Ares would be given free reign to bully the Genesis. It did complicate his fight against Genesis though because he couldn't really control the telekinesis and use his pressure against the mecha at the same time... Annihilation enhancement was still fine but normal pressure? Not happening. He was just going to have to swing his Blade like he'd never swung it before!

Ares put his plan into action and fired off the rocky cluster at Mako who used hi watery pressure to crush any rock headed straight towards him. The other rocks lingered around him and there wasn't much he could do about this without exposing himself to the frog so he patiently waited for it launch an attack. As soon as the frog got jumpy, Mako would slam it with a pressure attack of some sort and end this farce but the frog was astute enough to not fall for it. The frog could wait forever if it had to, it was the one that wanted to stall here and buy time for Ares so it didn't need to make the first move at all. Just because it wasn't going to aggress, that didn't mean it wasn't going to be an annoying little shit! Instead of launching attacks, the frog simply hopped around the rocks, treating it like a jungle gym, and ribbiting at Mako form various angles to agitate him into lashing out. Mako wouldn't fall for this but he was getting pretty fucking annoyed at the croaking frog that wouldn't shut up! He swore to make Ares pay for this stupid creature at some point...

Meanwhile, Ares had charged the mecha and was duelling it once more. Mako was out of the picture but so was Ares' pressure. His enhancement was still running but that was good as it was going to get. Ares neatly deflected a punch to the side with the Blade and went for a lunge but, for the first time today, Genesis used its legs to kick out at Ares. He was forced to give up on his assault because trading blows wasn't ideal here. If it was just him Vs Genesis then sure but Mako was the puppet master here and taking a blow like that to the chest wasn't a smart move as he still had to fight the elf afterwards. Ares had to dodge sideways but that put him closer to the very same fist he'd deflected earlier and, to nobody's surprise, it lashed out at him once more. Ares blocked this strike with the Blade and was sent skidding through the ravished floor but it wasn't all bad. The disintegration coating on the Blade had left a few dents here and there on Genesis' fist and was working even if only a little. It was proof of concept, at least, and meant he could potentially sever a body part on this thing if he played his cards right.

Ares ran forward and appeared to be going for an overhead swing but that was merely a fake out, his real intention was a Gamble. The downward swing missed completely, coming up way too short, but Ares hopped up into the air as the Blade buried itself into the floor. The Genesis expected Ares to retreat, because he was dangerously close and couldn't do much with the Blade here if he pushed forward, and so it took the Gamble head on but it made a miscalculation here. Ares couldn't really utilise the Blade in this position if he flicked forward but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it anyway! Ares threw his whole body forward in one swift motion of the shoulder but didn't bother raising the Blade. Instead, he yelled "Stamp Out!" and shoved his Utilitarian directly onto Genesis' chest. It didn't blow the mecha back but it did temporarily stop it in its tracks, allowing Ares to kick off it and jump behind Genesis.

Ares was weaker overall but he was faster so he was making full use of that right now. Still, genesis wasn't incapable of defending himself from behind. Its arms rotated in its socket to strike at Ares before he could land but his first swing was dodged as Ares created a platform in mid-air with his Zephyr and leaped over it. The second swing looked like it had Ares dead to rights but a quick Double Jump gave Ares yet another tool to dodge through the air and avoid the danger. This third and final mid-air jump had bamboozled Genesis down to its motherboard and there were no longer any fists to swing at Ares who'd danced a full circle around it like he was putting on some hybrid trapeze / parkour show as he glided through the air. He very much resembled an annoying flying pest, like a mosquito, and was incredibly hard to hit due to the surprising amount of mobility he had off the ground and this wasn't even including Voidwalk yet. Speaking of the art, he did activate it so as not so fall down to earth as he wanted his next swing to be aimed up high. Ares swung the Blade at Genesis' neck but he realised soon after that he was an idiot.

Like most mecha, Genesis had the ability to detach certain body parts and fire them at will. Typically this was mostly used to create rocket hands that could punch people from far away but Mako had evidently tuned this thing's head to be able to do the same. There was a compartment on its head that could maybe open up to reveal a drill or something as it flew around attacking people but that didn't matter right now to Ares as his swing went sailing through the gap above its neck and under its head, hitting nothing but air. He'd been conned in such a cartoonish fashion! Drat! He had to make a great escape so he leant forward fully, performed a front flip, and kicked off the mecha again. He predicted an incoming counter attack and pushed himself down low to the ground to slide away, instead of kicking off high into the air, and that choice saved his bacon as a fist went flying above his head at blistering speeds. Had he gone up instead of down, and been completely predictable in his movement, he would be splattered against the wall right now thanks to a rocket punch from Genesis.

This was going to be a hard won battle but with the Primordial Blade in hand he was feeling great. His heart was pumping as Genesis was a strong foe who didn't buckle under the weight of his magic or the prowess of his annihilation enhancement. Mako couldn't really put up a fight like this thing could in close quarters so Ares was having one heck of a time! So much so that, much to the chagrin of his entire team, and the shock of everyone else present, he pulled out the damn stupid scythe! Idiot! Why on earth would he use the scythe when he had the Primordial Blade in the palm of his other hand?! Was he seriously going to use this immensely powerful entity, a mecha with power that was incontestable, as a training partner in a do or die situation?! Freak! Honestly, everyone was expecting the muppet Ares to die at this point and, quite frankly, good riddance! If he wasn't trying his hardest at this point in the competition he didn't deserve to win! Hell even Mako looked a little perturbed by this development off to the side. The only person not bothered in the least by this was Ares himself because, actually, he could feel something in his bones telling him this was the better option right now. He wasn't sure what was happening... But he could have sworn the Primordial Blade was whispering to him right now... And it was encouraging him to use the scythe! Who was Ares to argue with the interdimensional, countless millennium year old sword? Nobody, that's who! He put his trust in the Blade, that was now hanging at his hip, and did as was asked of him. He had no idea what was supposed to happen here but he had a hunch it wasn't going to be a minor matter. Then again, whenever Ares did something unplanned like this, it never was...