Tides Of Protomis LXXI

The Agium & The Emperor

Arctaius and Ignatius continued their face-off, neither saying a word. Then, as the already thick tension seemed to build more… Ignatius clenched his fist, bending his knees, and Arctaius began to raise his arms. It was then that the Emperor burst forward, smashing a fist into the youth's face, which promptly sent him flying out of Rizian. Ignatius would not waste a second in following him. Jumping out of the building and beginning a descent onto the road below. Arctaius was quick to stop mid-air, rushing upward, launching an uppercut aimed at the man's chin. But it was intercepted, the Emperor's mechanical palm entering the fist's path. Arctaius retracted his fist as he moved back, landing on the

ash-covered road below them. Selenium did the very same, landing about forty feet away.

As they watched for each other's moves, new arrivals began to make their way toward Rizian. Decidedly congregating around what would obviously be a battle. Flying over the stripped earth field were two proto-humans. Who were undoubtedly sensed, yet ignored, they already had an opponent in front of them, after all. To the Agium and the Emperor's left, there lay the remains of a skyscraper. Though it was likely towering into the clouds before the battle, there were only five floors left by now. It was here that two of the proto-humans the two sensed would land. Yu Liang, and Bijan Lafeyah. Though their opponents gave them no shortage of trouble, it seemed that they managed to win. In just enough time for this battle, it seemed. Liang looked down onto the street, his gaze moving to Arctaius and then Ignatius… they both knew almost immediately, HE was the source of the higher protomis.

"So here he is… The Emperor of the Kaemerge, and the herald of Ardam himself, Selenium Ignatius..."

Bijan followed the man's gaze, looking at the Emperor as well, before looking at Liang.

"Yeah, but… He's strong enough to be a danger to us all… This doesn't look good."

Farther away from them, three more members of the group began to draw closer, Alarick, Kazimir, and Zhao. Soon joining the two on the building. They glanced at one another silently, nodding. Alarick stepped forward, walking past the rest and stopping at the edge of the roof.

"You aren't wrong..."

Bijan put his hand on his chin as he continued his statement.

"I believe we need to collaborate if w-"

As the words ran through Arctaius' head, his eyes darted over at the youth. He soon began to speak, cutting him off.

"No… This is a personal affair. Stay out of this."

Liang arched his brows as he heard Arctaius' statement. He soon stepped forward as well, coming to Alarick's side.

"That man is nobody to take lightly. I can tell by his protomis how this little cult stayed afloat; he's stronger than any of the Apostles. And it's no small difference either… Knowing you, I'm sure you're more than capable of sensing that. Do you truly want to take that chance?"

Arctaius shifted his gaze, now focusing on the Martial Artist.

"But of course… The man who killed my family is right in front of me. Vengeance is within my grasp. There's no way I'd let this chance pass me by."

This seemed to silence them. Their gazes went from him to his opponent. The memories of his past ran through his head once again. Followed by him focusing his gaze on the man in front of him. Something which only caused his rage to simmer, more so than before. His muscles seemed to tighten as he wordlessly flew forward, the ground behind him ripped apart. Ignatius would take notice a moment afterward. He soon did the very same in response. The two fighters clash mid-charge, stopping each other in the middle of their former spots. Their palms crashed into one another, with the shockwave sent outward shaking the ground.

Regardless, they remained unphased as they dug their feet into the ground, trying to push the other back. Arctaius gritted his teeth as he attempted to keep his footing... The youth was a powerhouse, without a doubt. But despite how strong he was, Ignatius kept him in his place. The struggle continued for quite some time, the continued exertion of power began to crush the ground underneath them. A trend that continued until the ground under Arctaius broke, and he lost his footing. In no small part due to his opponent. At first, he only skidded a tiny bit… But it didn't take much longer for him to lose the struggle. The youth flew back, moving across the road as if he were a bullet.

Ignatius would pursue, more than willing to press the attack. However, as Arctaius' eyes darted over, he stopped himself, sidestepping and removing himself from the man's path. As he took notice, the Emperor stopped as well, pivoting his body and giving the youth a strike to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. But he did not stop there, continually pounding his opponent's torso with his fists. Before reeling back his left arm and hitting his chin with an uppercut that sent him back into the sky, his head fell back. And as the youth flew above, Ignatius followed. Arctaius began to lower his head once again. Hearing the rushing winds that resulted from the man's speed.

"The bastard's strong… Even so, I'm not finished yet."

With this much said, he moved out of his path and attempted to start his own assault, hitting the Emperor's cheek with a right hook…Only for him to float there, unfazed. Arctaius clicked his tongue, reversing and getting out of melee range. Ignatius's expression was blank. One could tell he was less than impressed with the display.

"I must have gotten soft if the likes of you can land a hit on me."

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Ignatius blinked forward, appearing in front of Arctaius. Taking him by surprise. Almost as if it were on instinct, he immediately threw a punch at the man. However, Ignatius grasped the oncoming fist, redirecting it and leaving his body open to his strikes. He soon reeled back with his free hand, twisting his body backward. His muscles tightened as the fist shot into the youth's stomach. Arctaius' eyes widened as his frame shook from the hit. He drifted back but would regain his posture, stopping himself a few feet out. The man was powerful, that much he would admit, but he wasn't going to let something like this shake him. Arctaius fired back, a slug aimed at the man's ribs. But this much was noticed the moment it was launched. Ignatius began to shift his torso, moving away from the punch, resulting in the hit being much lighter than he'd intended. The effects of the strike, or rather, the lack thereof, did not go unnoticed by Arctaius.

"Danm!"

Arctaius attempted to launch another attack, a hook aimed at his cheek, but the strike was stopped before it reached him. Ignatius began his counter-attack, beginning to shift his body back and forth as he fired off another strike, barrelling into Arctaius' chin and stopping his assault in its tracks. But he did not stop there, continually shifting his hips and torso as his onslaught continued. The face, stomach, ribs, arms, everything was a target to Ignatius. Arctaius found himself unable to stop them. He was not the only one affected. As the force that cascaded outward began to flatten the buildings, the city surrounding them. More so than the battle between the armies that had since retreated to other areas. Elsewhere, the five proto-humans that arrived on the scene earlier watched as this battle took place. They all had very similar thoughts about the action in front of them, given how prepared to jump in they seemed. Alarick's eyes went between the two fighters, but he ultimately kept his gaze on Ignatius.

"It's just like we thought. Ignatius is an issue."

Zhao focused his gaze on Ignatius as well, as he put his hand on his chin. His gaze was a calculating one. There had to be more to this than pure power alone… But that much couldn't be confirmed without further analysis. As such, he looked closer, watching the movements that the Emperor made. It was then that the martial artist realized something.

"The way he's shifting his torso around… Both when Corde attacks, and he makes attacks of his own… With this, we can assume that he's using That style."

Liang focused his gaze on him as well before glancing back at Zhao.

"Cessatempas… (Calm Storm). Given that art is hard to master, there isn't much he can do without knowing how to counter it. And given that art was thought to be extinct, I doubt he does. The high precision strikes that style employs will be a problem. Given his age and the time he must've had to master it, he's likely experienced in terms of its use. And that fact makes this much harder… I don't think it'd be an exaggeration to say that a master of Cessatempas can punish any attack that comes toward them…" Liang mused.

As they heard his explanation, there were not many words of disagreement. Somehow, they'd have to figure out a way to keep onslaughts like this from happening. Especially given how easily the onslaught continued when the Emperor got into his rhythm. Below them, Ignatius' attacks on Arctaius continued. As his hips and torso continued to gyrate back, forth, left and right, the strikes continued to fall all over the youth's body. And they'd begun to take their toll. A small amount of red liquid dripped from Arctaius' nose, along with minor bruises. No doubt a result of the repeated strikes.

"Dammit… I need a new strategy… I can't take much more of this… I need to begin fighting at full force… but his fighting style is an issue as well. I need to create some range until I figure out a way to counter that."

Arctaius would begin a plan of action to stop his opponent's attack, crossing both of his arms over his chest, blocking the strike. Though this did not leave his arms undamaged, leaving subtle yet somewhat noticeable bruises, and his body was shoved back by the force of the punch. Ignatius said nothing as he moved to follow, not realizing that it was his intent until it was too late. Arctaius thrust his palms forward, something shortly followed by rapidly building heat in front of him. Something was met with alarm by Ignatius.

"Solis Pulsar!!!"

The burst of yellow light flashed forward… Strangely enough, however, Ignatius seemed undeterred by this, even as the burning plasma flew toward him. Instead, the man simply pulled his mechanical left arm back. Something followed by a deep blue luminance beginning to grow around it. Something that was shortly followed by a white-blue ray of light flying forward as he thrust his arm.

"That won't be enough to stop me…"

Their respective bursts of plasma crashed between them. The two large forces become erratic. Arcs of electricity began to crackle, the lightning making its way into much of the surrounding area. However, the two fighters ignored this, as they struggled in their attempts to push the other out of the way. This only resulted in both of the beams dissipating. Both attacks ultimately remained ineffective. Arctaius did not stop there. Soon enough, more rays of plasma closed in on his opponent as he continued firing them, backing up all the while. Ignatius would pursue. The Emperor began to flash across the sky, avoiding the attacks, or stopping them with bursts of his own. Ignatius squinted his eyes at the man's power. He was better than he expected, to say the least, but for that reason.

"I need to end this quickly."

Soon, Ignatius stopped moving, or, rather, that was what it looked like to all of those there… Until the man appeared behind Arctaius' in addition to the latter being sent cascading into the ground, the ground under him rupturing. This action, or rather, the lack thereof, changed the expressions of those spectating this fight. Their looks were painted with surprise… This much was not unique to them. Arctaius had the very same expression of confusion as he lifted himself from the crater, looking up at his opponent.

"That… wasn't speed. Even if it was, I would've at least sensed some movement. How did he-"

His thoughts went silent for a moment, And as they resumed, Ignatius was on the ground in front of him, his knees bent. Once more, it looked like his opponent had somehow gotten past him, evading all of his senses. The confusion in his mind only became more pronounced as, though he wasn't in melee range, points of impact seemed to appear on his skin. His frame repeatedly shook as his body contorted. Almost as if he was struck all across his body once more. Regardless, he managed to stay standing. Ignatius glanced over his shoulder at his opponent.

"You should've accepted their support when you had the chance… Though, you would have only delayed the inevitable…"

Part B

"I knew that he was going to be a challenge beforehand… But this is just getting worse. On top of my disadvantages from before… There was whatever he used just now. If I don't figure that out, my chance of victory is lowered drastically. There was a strange feeling, but that doesn't tell me anything...."

A golden light began to swirl around Arctaius once again as he began his ascent. Ignatius swiftly took notice of this action.

"I don't know what you're planning...But it won't work."

Ignatius turned on his heel as he bounded up to follow the youth. Stopping directly above him, blocking his path. Arctaius gritted his teeth as Ignatius began to throw strikes at him once more, shifting his body once again. Arctaius, unwilling to take the strike, would attempt to elude him as best as he could. Limiting the man's strikes to misses, though narrow ones. However, his body continued to shake with the force, even as he avoided them.

"If he's not using whatever let him do what he did earlier… I'm assuming that there's some sort of drawback… perhaps a cool-down period? Either way, it'd be better to stop it somehow. But that much can't be done until I figure out the signs."

Arctaius would reverse, moving out of the way of a right hook aimed at his cheek. Ignatius' eyes moved to follow him as he moved back and clenched his fists, yelling at his opponent.

"I'm just getting started!!!"

Arctaius charged at Ignatius, who put both of his arms up, prepared for another punch… However, rather than doing so, Arctaius went to kick his side, and within a moment, the man took notice of the feint and moved to throw a kick as well, stopping his attack in its tracks… Though Arctaius felt the impact of the clash, it was much less pronounced than before.

"That was a good hit. However, it was much weaker than his punches… If I force him to keep using his legs, I have a much better chance!"

Arctaius soon backed up, reeling his fist back before driving it into his opponent's left cheek. His head turned as a result of the impact. He was ready to press his attack, throwing another punch aimed at his chin. But Ignatius stopped the short live assault by shifting his hips back, with his torso and head following, moving out of the way of his Attack. He soon grabbed the offending arm and smashed his fist into the youth's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Before he released his grip. Arctaius tightened his fist, his intentions clear. But before he was able to counter, the man appeared behind him.

"Danm!" Arctaius cursed.

To Be Continued