The sun shone on the two in the ring, one with a serpentine smile and the other a dreary visage. Jarren and Lirale looked at each other before the commentator went on with his ramblings. "I'm sure that this fight will definitely be one for the ages! You both may begin!"
Brose was locked moreso on Jarren, a disgusted expression forming on his face while Callista was more apathetic in the matter. She was merely contemplating about his deal. Minutes lapsed however it would seem that neither were willing to make the first move.
*Crack*
Prepping his fingers, a dark awry glyph formed in his hands and his shadow finally came to life. It's hollow white eyes dazzling, it's starry complex an entrancing sight to behold. It stood motionless, waiting for Lirale to make her move. The crowd erupted into amazement however the two seemed indifferent to it.
Two more shadows came into play, two flanking his sides and one on the front. She began with teases, shooting feint projectiles at Jarren only to be devoured by the shadows, they stretched into nightmarish figures swallowing whatever came his way.
Still she hadn't lost faith as she finally began her attack. Her arm was swirling with glyphs, a high ranking spell as a wall of fire barricaded the two from the outside world. The professor had no problem seeing through her veil, Timothy however didn't fare off with the luck they got.
Inside her domain, she finally let loose. Unlike Brose's flames that burnt golden, her's burnt like hellfire, crimson with no form of satiation till the entire world was brought to ash. Pillars of fire shot from the firmament onto Jarren's location however he remained resolute as his figure was warped with an abyss like aura.
His shadow finally made a move and to which she was forced to block it.
*Boom-Boom-Boom*
Her projectiles of hellfire rippled through the shadow's body but lost into the starry eternity and never felt of once more. 'Does he have a secret exotic element?' She wondered as she finally released a massive wave of fire covering a fifth of the arena shooting towards Jarren and the shadow.
The scorching heat was unbearable from afar, some perplexed with Jarren managed to withstand Lirale for this long. "It's likely that it is the case I fear." Harven finally sighed, dark lines forming on his forehead. He and Timothy had come to conclusion that the glyph the two used never used malcore.
If they had managed to master malcore manipulation without the need to worry about malcore then this would do more than just make the entire kingdom go mad. A glyph that never used malcore was absurd, some perceiving it as a pipe dream but here two individuals were that it was possible.
But of course this would arise a lot of questions later on but first they had to maintain the safety of the two.'I wonder whether those of earth can learn this glyph an utilize it.' Timothy couldn't help but ponder knowing the impact of such a feat. Sure he served Reuthar as a slave but that didn't mean his flame for freedom had died out.
And with such a revelation if started to grow brighter the more he thought about it. Of course there would be push back but if they were to get to their hands on it then they would be the oppressors, not the oppressed.
The shadow emerged through the hellfire pillar and now close to her threatened to land a punch. Her hands were writhing with crimson flames, her very presence felt like a fallen god in this world. She vertically arched her arm forming a crimson fire blade in the hopes of slicing the being in two but it wasn't it's shatter that she was met with.
*Bam*
The punch wasn't anything of comforting making her fall back. However she quickly recovered and was now back on her feet looking at the shadow that had given chase. 'Looks like I'll have to deal with the puppeteer before I can deal with his puppets!'
Her figure gracefully darted across the arena, a trail of fire left in her wake as she drew closer to Jarren who welcomed her presence. The two sentries of shadows rose to life, instantly cutting her off to Jarren. She sent miniature humanoid figures to the two, exploding upon impact.
*Boom*
The arena shook, almost brought to it's foundation however the repair glyph quickly jumped onto the fray and repaired the cobblestone floor. Jarren remained rooted in place, his two shadows now strewn to the side. His figure was warped in stars and chaos like a veil of the night, his smile now a myriad of stars mocking her efforts.
The two exchanged fists, her arm nearing rupturing with a single punch. However retreat was out of her choices as she would receive a punch by the shadows. 'So it looks like he can't use his shadows when locked in combat.' Stealing glances to the side, she was grateful that she wasn't facing four people simultaneously.
As for the close quarters combat, it was nothing short of dazzling. She threw a punch licked in flames at Jarren who expected dodged onto to be met with an explosion.
*Boom*
The arena was sent into shambles, each wave more potent than the last. As for the domain, it kept on heating up as time dragged on into a miniature sun. "Urgh!" Most cursed as they couldn't see the fight go on, Callista however remained unbothered. 'Be who I'll want to be.' Her legs neatly crossed over and her head supported , she drew in a heavy sigh.
The flurry of attacks the two exchanged kept on going with no end in sight before the chain was broken.
*BAM*
A punch she hadn't seen from one of the shadow puppets. 'He faked it from the very beginning!' The muse of him only capable of manipulating them while in stationary was a lie and she bought herself into it. However it wasn't just one but all three that jumped onto the fray.
Now facing four fighters simulateneosly, she could only end her domain attack fast. The walls of fire started closing in, the pressure building up as the shadows kept her on her toes. Jarren pulled back and watched it all akin to a spectator with his hands folded behind his back.
She moved to the left, dodging one, another had already anticipated this and barely struck her shoulder.
*Bam*
The third sent her flying across the arena to Jarren who landed a punch sending her back to his shadows. Given that they never gave off any malcore readings, she was forced to keep her eyes on them and this was where she would fail. The third would take advantage of this and even if she managed to dodge it then the prior two still had their attacked lined up.
The domain covering nearly the entire arena had now shrunk to half of it's size. The sight of it more unforgiving as some students claimed to go blind with nothing more than a glance at the domain. Even some of the professors had a problem watching the fight drag on. "She'll lose at this rate."
Esdora finally commented, being one of those unaffected with the domain sun. "But then again she has nothing to work with so I can't really blame her." She added on making most of them sigh. Esdora took a closer look at Lirale before shifting her attention to Jarren. The way he manipulated his shadows grew more refined with time.
Not under progress of mastering them but showing what he truly had. A bait he used to lower Lirale's guard and now that she had expended a significant portion of her malcore reserves he could bring them into the light. With her exhausted state she would have a harder time dealing with three of them excluding Jarren.
But the biggest problem came with the damage she dealt. They knew that it wasn't childs play but never once had the shadows showed any signs of weakness or falter. They took incoming plague fire with no problem, physical attacks would phase through their beings and the puppeteer too was invulnerable.
*Bam-Bam-Bam*
The amount of punches she incurred rose the longer the shadows fought. They had now adjusted to her style of fighting, now only one needed to keep her at bay while the two rained a barrage of attacks on her. A graze from one left her open to the other two who showed no mercy.
The second landed a kick to her knee forcing her to kneel and the third applying pressure points to her body whittling the energy she had left. Jarren merely smiled from the sides enjoying her struggle. "Argghh!!!!" The fire domain closes rapidly, clearly aware that she was cornered.
The arena fell silent before a blinding light covered the stadium and a pillar of fire was sent to the heavens. Brose among most watched with hinder, forced to look away.
...
She stood, her breathes of fatigue palpable from the spectators seat while her opponent remained unfazed. "You gave me a proper fight. I'll give you that." His tone low and sultry as he glanced at the girl barely on her feet. His mind flickered with thoughts, each showing a reality where she lasted for no longer than a second against him and yet he let her play.
Lirale who clutched her knees with her hand painted heavily, the fire around her figure slowly waning. The three shadows stood still before melting back to his shadow. "But let's fight this the way it was meant to be." Jarren reappeared in front of her, forcing her to block his punch.
His shield had waned with the shadows, leaving the two to resort to a gritty fight. A jab to her jaw made her reconsider but her superior physique made it hard for a knockout. She threw her own but they were far slower than his, leaving he open to attacks on his end.
He grabbed her outstretched hand landing a solid hit to her ribs making her grunt in pain. This was followed with an overhead throw making her crash to the floor. She rose back up, steely determination burning in her eyes and he planned to make sure that they were far from extinguished, that the concept of reignition was implausible.
Weaving side to side, he switched up his fighting style to modern takes like boxing, kaedo and krav maga. Her mind was baffled with how rapid he switched, barely having time to adjust to his technique. "Well that's interesting, I wonder how he learnt our techniques?"
Eyes rolled in his direction, some with expressions of bewilderment and others curiosity. "His fighting technique may come off as erratic but that is because they are not of this world. They are of my fallen world thus to see someone wield them so effortlessly is definitely shocking."
Feeling the gazes, he couldn't help but explain his intrigue. 'The fallen world...' With how strange Jarren had been, his figure shrouded in enigma made Harven wonder his mind bending glyph had something to do with the fallen world. However Timothy knew that that wasn't the case.
A smile of intrigue crossed his lips, watching as Lirale slowly crumbled under Jarren's intense barrages. Careful or merciful was not in his deck as Lirale's body was painted with bruises and cuts. He showed no signs of stopping and she felt her own strength leave her body with each punch.
'Is this mockery of the heavens on me?' She couldn't help but wonder as her vision finally cut to black, her battered body crashing into the cold cobblestone floor. Jarren towered over her, his smile present but he never gloated, his smile was enough.