Malachi closed the distance in a blur. His staff dragged a trail of primal energy behind it, the pressure sharp enough to make the air quake.
He barked out,
"Journey's Art, fourth form… Crushing Blow."
The staff seemed to gather layers of invisible weight as it came down, each one adding a deeper gravity to the strike.
Nikko's pupils shrank to pinpoints at the speed he moved, her instincts screaming.
She threw up her right arm, catching most of the force, only for the bone to snap with a sharp crack as the impact launched her like a fired cannonball.
BOOM!!
She slammed into one of the arena's mountains, stone folding inward as she became lodged in its side.
Malachi didn't give her a heartbeat to breathe.
"Journey's Art… seventh form." His staff shot skyward, swelling until it dwarfed him—until it dwarfed even the mountain he aimed at. "Heaven Breaker."
The mountain-sized staff crashed down.
