Kiliano was standing there, wearing torn black pants, and a black coat white white fur on its collar. He was looking upwards, atop the cliff at Shyzen. The God Of Gods had a surprised look smeared across his face, and he began thinking to himself, "Impossible… nobody in The Thirteen Kingdoms knows a cancellation spell, I've made sure of that! Unless… Kiliano… you truly are a monster! Did you figure out such an advanced technique by yourself…?" He smiled, "...I really don't want to kill you. You're truly magnificent… A teenage boy, capable of mastering the most complicated abilities known to mankind! It's unheard of. Not even the Scions that I've met could compare!" Kiliano smiled, "Are you ready, Shyzen?" Kiliano didn't wait for him to answer. He pulled his foot back, and disappeared. Shyzen's eyes glanced behind him, and then, CLANGG! Kiliano had reappeared just behind Shyzen, and their swords clashed against each other. Sparks shot out in all directions. Strong winds swirled around the two of them, as they continued their clash with more and more force. Kiliano gritted his teeth with a smile as he pushed off his back foot. Shyzen was slightly overpowered, and Kiliano sent him flying over the cliffside and into the clearing below him. DMM! Shyzen skidded across the ground, quickly catching himself, and looking back up at Kiliano. The Flaming Sword God of the North leaned towards the God Of Gods, and dashed forwards. In an instant, Kiliano closed the gap between them, and their swords slammed against each other once more. DM-D-D-D-DMM! Sparks flew everywhere. Their sword arms became a blur, as they clashed against each other dozens of times. Kiliano took a step back, which allowed Shyzen to push forward. But Kiliano pushed off his back foot and applied even more pressure on the God Of Gods, and slightly cut his cheek. Shyzen's left eye flinched, and his smile grew even wider. Kiliano's onslaught began to grow even more violent, as his blade skimmed past Shyzen's face and through the ground, dozens of times. CRSH! Their aura suddenly grew much stronger, leaving the ground around them in shambles. "Incineration!" Shyzen yelled out, and a giant swirl of flames shot out from the ground. The fire quickly began to envelop Kiliano, but he pulled back and dashed away before it could. He darted almost a dozen meters away, waiting for the flames surrounding Shyzen to dissipate.
After a few moments, Shyzen's figure appeared from within the flames, and he slowly walked out, reappearing in front of Kiliano. The two of them maintained an intense eye contact while Kiliano took a step forward. Suddenly, the two of them disappeared, andi n that same instant, the sounds of metal clashing rang through the air.
From farther down the clearing, Nazeem slowly stood back up. He was breathing hard as sweat rolled down his face, "Lura… are you okay?" "Mmph… Yeah, I'm fine." Lura was sitting down with her legs in front of her. She was making a grumpy face while watching the battle between Kiliano and Shyzen. "How's it looking…?" Nazeem said, referring to Kiliano, "...Is it winnable?" Lura made an annoyed look, "Honestly… I'd start praying to whatever fake-ass religion you believe in. Kiliano's definitely leagues beyond us, but he's not using his flame spell thingy. If you ask me… that probably means his mana's still not recovered. Not to mention his wounds are definitely slowing him down. I'll say he'll probably last another minute… at most." Nazeem sighed, "Aw, c'mon Lura. When has Kiliano let us down? Don't forget… he's been preparing for this fight for years! He won't go down that easily." Lura scoffed, "Well… he did… Or did you forget what happened earlier when Kiliano confronted Shyzen the first time." Nazeem let out a deep sigh, "Alright, well let's just watch and see if we're all gonna die." Nazeem sat down beside Lura, and the two of them continued watching Kiliano's battle. "I wouldn't be so pessimistic…" Solomon was walking towards them, with Sarik helping him stay upright. "...I think I should tell you something." Nazeem and Lura looked over at Solomon with intrigue, "Y-yeah, what is it?" Nazeem said with a curious tone. "Kiliano hasn't been fighting at one hundred percent power. Far from it in fact… That boy's been running off absolutely no sleep for the past week." "W-wwhat!? Why!?" "You can thank master Torrid for that. His training methods are rather harsh, and they often force his students to practice with minimal sleep." "So does that mean Kiliano's been fighting without sleep this whole time!? Even now!?" "Not quite… Master Paarl managed to heal him up pretty good. He used an alleviation spell on Kiliano which acts as a replacement for sleep. So now, Kiliano's fighting like usual, without his sleep deprivation holding him back." Nazeem looked back at Kiliano, "Yeah, I think you're right! Something's different about his movements… He seems more agile than before." "That's right… But we still have a problem…" "And what's that?" "His mana is almost completely depleted from his first battle against Asfodel and Shyzen."
C-c-c-c-CLANGG! Kiliano and Shyzen clashed swords, dozens of times every second. Sparks flew in every direction, as Kiliano took a step back to recover his stance, and then he pushed back in, forcing Shyzen on the defensive slightly. Shyzen gritted his teeth and swung sideways, aiming for Kiliano's neck. But he bent his knees and ducked below the blade, dodging it and countering with a lunge towards Shyzen's stomach. VWOMM! A pillar of flames shot from the ground, surrounding the two of them. But Kiliano dashed backwards just before it could hit him. He stood up straight, with Excalibur in his left hand, and began walking circles around the pillar of flames that was enveloping the God Of Gods.
After a few moments, Kiliano had walked halfway around the flames when Shyzen's darkened figure appeared from the pillar. He stopped circling, and waited a moment. Shyzen walked out from the flames with a malevolent smile running across his face. And then, a sudden wave of shock hit Kiliano. As he looked towards Shyzen, he noticed something different. His eyes were a deep blue, and his aura had completely changed. "Here it is…" Kiliano thought to himself, "...Shyzen's finally decided to show me his power…" A wave of heat suddenly pushed off of the God Of Gods, "...Let's see… what your Hellfire can do." Kiliano took a step forward and clenched his fists. Mana surged throughout his body, and began to form into deep orange flames. FWOSH! "Ignition…!" Kiliano yelled out, and his flames quickly enveloped his entire body. "...Are you ready, Shyzen!? Our battle is finally gonna get good!" The two of them stared deeply at each other and smiled.
DOOM, FWOSH, CLANGG! Kiliano flew through the air, landing into a giant boulder. He quickly pressed his right hand against the rock, and his flames disintegrated it in an instant. Shyzen came rushing towards him, and their swords clashed once again. CLANG! Sparks flew through the air, but Kiliano held his ground. The two of them darted past each other, quickly turning around and rushing back in. Kiliano swung sideways, forcing Shyzen on the defensive. He blocked the attack, and countered with a lunge. But Kiliano jerked his body to the right and pulled his sword behind the right side of his waist and dashed backwards, "Quickdraw!" A spurt of white light shined through Shyzen's torso, and quickly disappeared. "Belch!" The God Of Gods spat out blood, as red liquid began to pour out from his stomach. Kiliano took a big step forward, raising Excalibur over his head, "Cleaving Strike!" Excalibur turned a glowing white, and mana began to form from above them. The mana quickly formed into the shape of a sword, with its tip pointed towards Shyzen. Wasting no time, Kiliano swung downwards, and the giant silhouette of a sword dropped down onto Shyzen. CRSHH! An explosion covered the clearing, leaving a giant dust cloud around them. FWOOSH!
Strong winds rushed throughout the battlefield, clearing up the dust and revealing Shyzen and Kiliano once more. The God Of Gods was walking closer to the Flaming Sword God of the North. His smile was even wider than before, and his aura was emanating out with an ominous black glow, "Truly impressive… I'm glad you got your act together before I killed you by accident. Kiliano… I'm so unbelievably happy right now! Fighting like this… against an opponent so young and talented, that can actually threaten my life… It's a dream come true!" Kiliano smirked, "I'm glad I can be so useful. But I wouldn't be smiling if I were you." "Oh…? Why is that?" "Because last time I checked… You had a gaping wound in your stomach. I don't think this battle is gonna go the way you wanted." Shyzen made a confused look, "What do you mean? A gaping wound…?" He looked down, and began patting his stomach, "I assure you… there are no wounds on this body." Kiliano's eyes widened. Shyzen's stomach had completely healed. Not only did his last attack not work… but the wound he inflicted earlier has lost all trace of existence. Kiliano gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Well… it seems your healing magic is better than I originally thought. But that's fine… it'll just be more annoying to kill you." Shyzen giggled, "Alright then… prove it." Kiliano's eyebrows twitched, but he wasted no time and rushed towards Shyzen.
C-C-C-CLANGG! Kiliano was getting pushed back. Shyzen's attacks had more power to them, and with each strike, Kiliano was on the defensive. Shyzen sent a barrage of blows swinging his way. Kiliano planted his feet onto the ground and widened his eyes to focus. T-T-TNGG! He managed to deflect every blow, but Shyzen didn't let up. He swung sideways, towards his head. Kiliano ducked down, dodging the attack, but Shyzen sent his left knee straight into Kiliano's chin. The Flaming Sword God of the North was sent flying into the sky nearly fifty meters. Shyzen jumped up, grabbing Kiliano's ankle while he was still flying upwards, stopping his momentum. He looked back towards the ground, and swung Kiliano downwards. CRSH! The Flaming Sword God of the North crashed into the rocks below. Shyzen dropped to the ground and walked over to the crater that Kiliano was laying in, "Come on boy… keep up!" The God Of Gods walked into the crater and over to Kiliano, who was struggling to get up. Shyzen grabbed him by the back of his neck, and tossed him out of the crater, rolling across the ground a few meters. He stopped his momentum, and quickly stood back up. Shyzen rushed forward towards him, and the two clashed again. TNGG! But Kiliano was off balance, and was caught off-guard. Shyzen noticed his off balance stance, and pushed much harder with his sword. Kiliano gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his footing. But he was forced back, and fell to the ground. "Oof!" SHNG! Shyzen held his sword to Kiliano's throat, standing over him with a delighted smile on his face, "Truly impressive! You managed to hold your own for a little bit there. Kiliano… please allow me to train you as my apprentice." Kiliano furrowed his eyebrows, "That's never gonna happen! I'd rather die than have you as my master." Shyzen pulled his sword back to his waist, "I don't think you understand… I can turn you into an amazing swordsman. I can teach you techniques and abilities that nobody in this country has ever been able to master. You'll grow strong… much stronger than me. And we will rule this country fairly. The two of us will go on conquests… traveling from country to country, spreading our rule and expanding our legacy! Please Kiliano… Don't make the wrong choice here." Kiliano's eyes were pointed to the ground. He furrowed his eyebrows, and looked up with hatred in his eyes, "Don't worry… I haven't." Suddenly, Kiliano's body grew blurry, and he disappeared. Shyzen scoffed, and began looking around. "His presence isn't completely gone… He's here, somewhere." Just as he said that, Kiliano appeared from behind him, dashing forward with Excalibur pulled to his waist. Shyzen twisted his body, pointed his opened palm towards Kiliano. VWOM! Black flames dispersed from his hand, pushing away Kiliano's attack and forcing him back. Shyzen pulled his arm back and dashed forward, unsheathing his sword. TNG! They clashed blades. Sparks flew everywhere, and the force from their swords sent strong winds rushing through the clearing. They continued their bind, pushing on each other with more and more force. Kiliano's eyes furrowed even more. Shyzen's smile had disappeared, and now his expression was one of disappointment. Kiliano backstepped, stopping their bind. He pulled back and swung three more times. Upwards, downwards, and sideways from left to right. T-T-TNG! Shyzen blocked each one and stepped in. He raised his sword arm and slashed downwards. Kiliano jerked his body to the right, narrowly dodging the attack. He planted his feet onto the ground and countered. Shyzenback stepped, dodging the tip of Kiliano's sword. But the Flaming Sword God pushed closer, swinging two more times. Once downwards, but Shyzen dodged right, and once more sideways. SHNGG! Shyzen blocked his attack, creating another bind between them. Kiliano continued putting pressure, forcing Shyzen to backstep again, stopping their clash. The Flaming Sword God dashed forwards, but before he could reach Shyzen, his body disappeared. The God Of Gods widened his eyes and quickly scanned the area in front of him. But in that instant, Kiliano reappeared behind him, rushing forwards with Excalibur pulled to his side. He swung sideways, catching Shyzen off guard and sending a small spurt of blood gushing from his back. The God Of Gods immediately turned around, swinging downwards towards Kiliano's left shoulder. VWOM! But he disappeared again, instantly reappearing a few meters away from Shyzen, holding his sword by his waist, looking almost casual as his flames emanate off his body. Shyzen's eyes held a sense of disdain, as their deep lapis color shines with a darkened glow around his face. He stood up straight again, facing Kiliano front-on.
After a few moments, they both grew impatient, and rushed in. CRSHH! Their clash rang through the forest, as strong winds pushed against trees and rocks. Shyzen backstepped and rushed straight back in, swinging downwards. Kiliano jerked to the right, doing a complete 360 as he pulled Excalibur to his waist and swung sideways. The God Of Gods clenched his teeth and took the blow. Red liquid shot out from his side, but he didn't flinch. Shyzen pulled his sword above his head and swung downwards. Kiliano's eyes widened from shock. SHNGG! Kiliano's left arm flew across the air as if in slow motion. The two of them watched as it slowly fell back onto the ground, leaving a pool of blood from its stump. Excalibur rolled off from his severed hand, clanging onto the ground. Kiliano gasped in pain, grabbing the place where his arm used to be and trying to stop the blood in a panic. His eyes were wide and they now had bags over them. Shyzen took a step forward and leaned towards Kiliano, "I told you… to make the right choice." DOOSH! He sent a knee into Kiliano's stomach, and sent him flying. But just then, a hand grabbed the Flaming Sword God by his foot, stopping his momentum and pulling him back to the ground. It was Paarl. In his right hand he was holding Kiliano's foot, and in his left was the severed arm, "Kiliano Monfril… I need you to get your head in the game! It isn't over!" Kiliano looked towards Paarl with a gleam in his eyes, and nodded. Shyzen growled and rushed towards them. ZZZPP! Suddenly, lightning struck the ground in front of him, stopping Shyzen's advance. Nazeem appeared before them, with lightning emanating from his body with a light blue glow. Paarl grabbed Kiliano's severed arm and placed it back onto the spot where it used to be, "Stay still… Nazeem can hold off Shyzen." Kiliano nodded.
Shyzen and Nazeem clashed. Lightning shot out in all directions as Nazeem's fist pressed against the flat of Shyzen's blade. They both stepped back, ending their clash. But Shyzen quickly rushed back in, swinging downwards. Nazeem dashed right, but the God Of Gods swung sideways, forcing him to duck downwards. Suddenly, lightning filled the air, and Nazeem sent a fist straight into Shyzen's undefended stomach. He skipped across the ground a few dozen meters, his feet sliding along the ground and slowly stopping his momentum. After a moment, Shyzen dashed forward towards Nazeem. The two of them clashed again. Shyzen broke away from Nazeem and sent a flurry of slashes towards him. Nazeem bent down and placed his left hand onto the ground in front of him, sticking his butt towards the air. His light blue aura suddenly grew more violent, and he disappeared, instantly reappearing behind Shyzen. He sent a fist straight into his back, and the God Of Gods went flying. He slammed his feet into the ground, stopping his momentum, and rushed towards Nazeem. He swung sideways, but Nazeem ducked down and countered with a left fist to his ribs, and an uppercut to the chin. Shyzen swung again, but Nazeem dashed backwards, dodging it. Shyzen grunted and dashed forwards. Nazeem tightened his fists and roared out. ZZMMM! Lightning zipped through the air around them, and they clashed once again.
Paarl held his hand over Kiliano's shoulder with a green aura emanating from them. Sweat was rolling down his cheek as he focused. Kiliano was holding his severed arm while gritting his teeth from pain, "M-master Paarl…" His voice was stiff and it sounded like he was uncomfortable, "...How long will it be until you're done?" "Do not worry Kiliano. I should wrap this up in a few more moments." CRSHH! Just then, something crashed into the ground behind Paarl. Their eyes widened. It was Shyzen, with blood dripping from his sword's blade. Paarl flicked his tongue and stopped his healing spell, quickly turning around to look at the God Of Gods. He leaned towards him, preparing to rush in, but was stopped with a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry Paarl… but this fight's mine." Kiliano walked up, towards Shyzen with a smile. Paarl looked at Kiliano as he walked away. The unsure look on his face disappeared, and he smiled, "Right… Go win this." Kiliano didn't look back, but he gave Paarl a thumbs up with his left arm.
Shyzen and Kiliano stared each other down, waiting there for a few moments. And then, Kiliano's aura violently burst out from his body in a deep white color. Shyzen dashed forwards, and they clashed again. TNGG! Kiliano backstepped, breaking their bind, and sent a slash downwards, creating a wave of mana hurling towards Shyzen. The God Of Gods twisted his body to the right, dodging it and rushing in. He swung sideways, but Kiliano jumped upwards, doing a backflip and dodging his swing. While in midair, Kiliano glanced at Shyzen, making eye contact with him, and swinging his sword sideways. Shyzen jerked his torso back, narrowly dodging the attack. Kiliano landed back onto the ground and instantly dashed forwards, keeping his body low. He swiped upwards with Excalibur, but Shyzen parried it. Kiliano dashed to the right, twisting his torso and pointing his right hand towards Shyzen with an open palm, "Fireball!" A huge sphere of flames instantly formed from his hand, and went flying towards Shyzen. The God Of Gods raised his right arm, swinging downwards, dissipating the fireball. Kiliano dashed forwards and the two of them clashed again. Each of them sent a barrage of attacks at the other. Hundreds of instantly disappearing slashes covered the area, as both of them swung at each other. Dozens of small cuts littered the ground around them, with more being formed with each passing second they continued their barrage. Kiliano's eyes darted around, trying to keep up with Shyzen's swings. After another moment, the God Of Gods smiled, "C'mon Kiliano… why are you on the defensive? I thought you were going to defeat me." Kiliano scoffed and smirked, "That's funny considering you can't land a single blow on me." And then, TSS! A cut appeared on Kiliano's cheek. TSS! Another appeared on his right shoulder. TSS! And another wound was formed on the left side of his neck. Kiliano winced slightly, and looked back at Shyzen. His face was stern and he looked much more serious than before. His piercing blue eyes instantly filled Kiliano with a sense of fear. Just then, their barrage grew more intense, which made it harder for Kiliano to keep up. He gritted his teeth and dashed backwards a few meters. Shyzen flicked his tongue in disappointment, "If you can't keep up then we're done here!" In an instant, Shyzen disappeared. Kiliano took a step back from fear. But just then, a hand tapped his back. Shyzen reappeared right behind Kiliano, with his right hand placed on his back, "Hellfire Incineration." FWOSHH! Black flames instantly exploded around Kiliano as Shyzen dashed backwards.
From farther away, Paarl screamed out in terror, "Noo!" Lura walked up behind him with widened eyes, instilled with fear, "K-Kiliano…?" She looked over at Paarl, "...H-he's gonna be okay, right?" Paarl's face was distraught, "Lura… those flames are Hellfire. Nobody survives that. Not even a Fire God like Kiliano. The properties of Hellfire disintegrate anything it touches. That's why it's so dangerous." The sound of rustling rocks rang from Paarl's right side. Nyleah had fallen to her knees at the sight of Shyzen's black flames. By now, the fire was nearly twice the size of a house. They were emanating violently from the ground. Shyzen was walking away from the fire with a disappointed look on his face. Lura furrowed her brows and scrunched her nose, "You bastard! I'll kill you!" She took a step forward, but Paarl stopped her, "It's not worth it. You'll just die for nothing." Her eyes were shaky and her knees were wobbly. A tear fell from her cheek as she clenched her fists even tighter, "It… It can't be over like that. We fought so hard… and won nearly every battle. It isn't fair… How is he so strong?" Her voice was filled with despair." THUD! Nyleah's fist slammed against the ground. She was on her hands and knees, with tears falling from her face and onto the ground. "It's over! The South has won its victory…!" Shyzen looked over at the three of them, but paid little attention. He continued walking away.
Nazeem appeared from behind Lura. He was holding his stomach with blood slowly trickling down off his legs, "Sigh… I-I can't believe it. I really can't believe it… we lost." His voice was shaky. In his mind, he began to think, "There's no way. Kiliano… did you really let yourself get killed? Ever since we were kids… I always thought of you as someone more than just a child. You held a sense of pride and honor than nobody else I knew could ever hope of achieving. You were so mature yet so innocent. But at the same time… you were strong enough to protect anyone… no matter how hard. I can't believe it… I won't believe it!" He gritted his teeth, and yelled out loud, "Kiliano… Stop playing around, and finish this goddamn war!" His voice rang through the clearing. Just then, the black flames grew slightly more violent. A pair of deep blue circles appeared from within the flames, and a slight wave of aura pushed off towards them. Lura and Nyleah looked up in shock. Nazeem smiled, "There ya' go." From within the black flames of Hellfire, the two blue orbs began to emerge. And after a moment, the silhouette of a man appeared. After another moment, that silhouette emerged from the flames. But its entire body was completely enveloped in the Hellfire, with nothing blue, its silhouette and blue eyes being visible outside of the flames. Paarl's eyes widened, and he whispered something, "Impossible."