★85
THIRD POV
Tenth day.
It was time to determine the winner of this ten-day tournament. About thirty minutes before, the seats were all occupied and the coliseum was lively, despite the silence. The coliseum had never been so quiet.
In one corner stood Raiden, the lightning anomaly. His eyes were focused, yet underneath chaos danced. His previous fights had ended in supremacy: Natsu, Majo, and Seiji all fell to the storm. But this opponent was different.
Across from him stood Tokito, the sword-wielding white flame mage whose mastery of the Way of Wind, Fire, and Sword had cut his foes. He had stood against the Scarlet King and survived for over four minutes. That alone made him eligible for the titles of the strongest demihuman in Star Island
This was the finals. No rules mattered now. Only resolve, skill, and the final blow.
"Set?"
Shinn asked and they each nodded, eyes glued to one another.
"Begin."
At the sound of the trigger, Tokito was the first to move, vanishing into a gust. Way of the Wind activated in silence. His body danced with the breeze, becoming semi-intangible.
In less than the blink of an eye, Raiden's body was cloaked in voltage, Pseudo Blaze. Blue lightning exploded across his form, giving him a terrifying momentum. He didn't see Tokito's sword but he felt it, a whisper of heat cutting across his cheek.
It all happened instantly.
'Gotcha.'
In the next heartbeat, lightning blitz passes Tokito's Zephyr Form.
'What? That wasn't my direction.'
Tokito turned towards the crash and red fluid dripped from his forehead down his eyes. His heart skipped a beat, it was impossible but Raiden did.
'Heh?'
He questioned, the spectators didn't actually see what happened but Tokito, the attacker, was also injured. That's just how fast his opponent is.
'Fast. But not faster than light.'
Raiden bounced off leaving a crater on the wall as he approached Tokito head-on. In a swift motion, Tokito instead turned back with a swing. Sparks flew and Raiden caught the blade with a lightning-clad arm.
"Nice reflex."
"Nice speed."
They commented on each other before clashing once again.
Tokito's pseudo blade clashed against Raiden's arms, sending sparks flying. Raiden countered with a sweep of lightning, but Tokito had already leapt over him, kicking downward with a burst of fire. Raiden raised his arm absorbing the blow but his boot cracked the ground, the impact rippling in concentric waves.
For every swing Tokito landed, Raiden answered with speed. The storm danced with fire. Flashes of light, shattering flame silent collisions. Then came another blood stain, Tokito lost a finger. He went in for a counter but Raiden was able to parry it after receiving a cut along his ribs.
These were too small to hold either of them so they continued. Tokito invoked Way of the Fire and flames roared around him. The ground melted where he stood. Every injury he suffered now fed his strength. His blade glowed brighter than the sun. He rushed forward and Raiden met him.
The crowd couldn't follow. They saw only pulses and flashes of red and blue. With each flash, the arena disintegrated further. Raiden's body began to tear from tiny cuts and smoke trailing from his skin. His stamina dipped but still, he endured. He's far from his peak.
Tokito's limbs were destroyed one after the other regenerated each time through sheer will and burning force. He should've collapsed but he didn't.
'You're fast, too fast. But you rely on that.'
'You hit hard, too hard. But you're too proud to guard.'
They saw each other's flaws and decided to take things to the next level. Tokito spaced out, his white flames burning intensely around his blade. The move that destroyed Scarlet's arm.
'That move. I won't let you.'
Raiden won't let it breathe; he approached Tokito, tapping in and out of True Blaze while hurling a barrage of lightning to prevent him from activating his attack while it buys time for him to activate his own.
In a matter of seconds, Raiden managed to prevent him from using White Flame Dragon while successfully encircling him with white threads. Tokito's defeat is now loading, he remained calm observing the prison.
Technically, the threads must all connect at a single point at the top before completely sealing off their target. That's the flaw Tokito was able to detect the last time Raiden used Ark Nova.
He activated the Way of the Fire and his own white flames dominated the red flames. With his blade still burning, he moved almost instantaneously, severing the last thread before escaping.
"Nothing from the past worked."
Raiden tried to blitz him again, but Tokito summoned a wall of living fire. Raiden crashed through, only for Tokito to meet him on the other side with a spinning kick of white fire. Raiden skidded back, the left side of his sleeve burned off.
"What are you waiting for? Afraid I'll burn through it too?"
Apparently, just like Majo, Tokito wants to see True Blaze for himself. However, Raiden didn't answer.
Tokito's frustration flared. He channelled white fire into his legs, leapt high, and hurled downward a barrage of flame spears. Each one impacted like a comet. Raiden vanished in a lightning blink, reappearing behind Tokito, aiming a bolt point-blank.
Tokito spun and deflected then slammed his shoulder into Raiden's chest, sending both of them crashing into the arena floor. By channelling all heavy amounts of lightning to his chest, Raiden was able to escape alive, albeit burnt a little bit.
They both stood slowly, battered and bruised. The crowd was silent, waiting and unblinking. Raiden's lightning flickered dimly and Tokito's flames thinned.
Then Tokito's voice, low and firm
"If you won't use it—I'll make you."
White flames hotter than ever surged from his body, melting his sword. He spread his arms, the huge flame retracting into his body until not a single spark remained. He became normal on the outside but only a few know what's going to happen. With a smile, he spoke.
"White Flame Annihilation."
The battlefield screamed and a wave of burning light expanded outward, erasing anything within its domain. Spectators recoiled in fear.
In that split second, the white threads vanished and Raiden switched to a different attack. He clapped once and five-layered white magic circles appeared above him, rotating faster with each second.
White lightning gathered not as force, but as divinity. Lucentis, Divinitrons, Arcanocysts and other Fragments are working perfectly, creating this magical scenario.
The weight was unbearable. He was hovering yet the ground caved beneath him.
Then he pointed towards Tokito and released.
"Execute."
From the heavens, a divine bolt descended, colliding with the dome of exploding flame. The collision was apocalyptic. It was a relief that Asteri expanded the arena further but it still wasn't enough. Light overtook thunder.
When the silence returned, the battlefield was nothing but a deep hollow crater. Tokito was on one knee, scorched, but alive. Raiden was completely unscathed, Pseudo Blaze still active.
"No way."
"Is Raiden really this strong?"
The ladies discussed, and the crowd cheered.
'He's still holding back.'
Tokito, panting, rose to his feet.
"Alright then. Let's end it properly shall we?"
He summoned the last of his power. A white phoenix flared behind him, flame given form. Bigger and brighter then Natsu's Divine Pyra.
Raiden responded with a smile. He closed his eyes one last time.
"Fine, I'll use it."
Without a word, white lightning coursed through his veins, bone and flesh. His body became light itself.
The phoenix charged and Raiden snapped his fingers, and thin white lightning lanced through the air destroying the phoenix in one clinical arc.
"Ah, yes. This is it."
Tokito's body erupted in a wave of white, red flames and wind. He's attempting to combine the two Ways plus his mutated flames.
As if reality couldn't stop him, the chaos settled within him and his flames were no longer white but a mixture of white, silver and translucent colour. A pearlescent white, almost ethereal. His body glowed faintly with the ethereal glow, his hair gaining more light.
"Here I come."
Unlike Natsu who's flames took his voice, Tokito had control over his. Like a god casually wielding their power.
(Thats doesn't means Natsu doesn't have control over his own. Note.)
The two charged towards each other, attempting to settle this for the last time. Their collision broke reality.
(Not actually brake, brake, but just a way to say it was epic._.)
Spectators would later say they saw a time skip.
But inside blow after blow, punch after kick, sword slash met lightning bolt. Raiden kept teleporting in fractions of time, avoiding fatal wounds, while striking. Tokito kept pressing, even when his left arm was severed, even when his lungs began to burn from within, countering the ones he could because the gap between their speed was insanely high.
'Pseudo Blaze started as mere lightning speed to light speed. The latter becomes the initial speed for True Blaze. It'll take ~9,000 lightning speeds to cover a light speed. Let's assume Raiden's speed isn't increasing, it'll be light speed × 9,000. What in the abyss—that's almost on par with us if you omit our ability to move in zero time. Just what the hell is Master thinking? If these guys become lab rats, they'll be able to take over the Cardinal World. I'm confident in that.'
Shinn thought, observing the fight.
With True Blaze active, it was only a matter of time before Tokito fall.
Raiden darted forward, every step leaving trails of blue lightning that carved cracks into the arena floor. Sigils flared around him one after the other as he dodged the roaring white flames, each near miss scorching the ground to molten glass.
Tokito exhaled sharply, his body glowing with divine heat.
Raiden smirked.
"You're burning out, Tokito."
Another sigil ignited beneath Tokito's feet, this one pulsing with Raiden's intent. A blinding column of lightning surged upward, swallowing Tokito whole.
The crowd gasped as the arena quaked.
Tokito screamed in agony but didn't give in. He pushed through the bolt, his blade cutting the thunder in half, scattering sparks into the air.
"It won't work again!"
He shouted, voice raw but unbroken.
Just then, the light dimmed. Raiden's voice came soft, almost amused.
"Ark Nova?"
He casted but nothing happened. The crowd waited, even the flames held their breath.
Tokito blinked.
"What—"
"Nah—"
Raiden's tone changed, a quiet grin stretching across his face.
From his fingertips, faint white threads coiled together, drawing tighter, thinner until only a single filament of pure light stretched between him and Tokito. It hummed with divine power, vibrating reality itself.
"This isn't something else—"
He raised his hand slowly, the light dancing in his eyes.
"—this—is still Ark Nova."
The world flashed white as Raiden snapped his fingers. No sound, no shockwave, just a silent, expanding bloom of divine energy.
A radiant burst consumed everything in front of him, washing the arena in divine wrath. The light erased shadows. Even the stars watching had to shield their eyes. It was too bright, Lucentis, the Fragment of Divine Light made manifest.
When it cleared, smoke drifted upward in ghostly spirals. At the centre of a vast crater, Tokito lay motionless, unconscious, his body glowing faintly in the hollow where Raiden's power had struck.
Raiden exhaled, lowering his hand.
"Still standing would've been impressive."
He muttered.
'I had to hold back at the last moment, sucking in the force back to my body. These guys won't make me go all out, I'll have to consult with sensei.'
Raiden hovered high above, looking down at Tokito.
The spectators burst into cheer, celebrating the victory.
"What's with the sad face? Be proud, you've won."
Shinn spoke to him before announcing. However, someone overtook him and began announcing.
"And that marks the end of this legendary tournament! After countless battles, unmatched displays of power, and the clash of titans beyond imagination, one warrior stands above all!"
He turned and pointed at the winner before raising his hand.
"Congratulations to our champion, Raiden! With lightning in his veins and fire in his soul, he blazed through every challenge, defied every limit, and claimed ultimate victory! To all our contenders, your strength was awe-inspiring. And to our audience, thank you for witnessing history. There'll be a break before the commendation ceremony. Please sit tight and enjoy the view as the arena remakes itself."
As usual, Eto spoke as he circulated the arena, waving at the spectators. Raiden descended to where Tokito was.
"Well played."
Raiden extended his hand. Tokito grasped it, and with Raiden's help, pulled himself to his feet. The crowd was still silent, awe-struck by what they had witnessed.
"You earned it, Raiden."
Tokito said quietly.
Raiden nodded.
"You made it real. That wasn't just a win—it was survival."
The two stood for a moment, shoulder to shoulder for seconds. Then, without another word, they began walking toward the edge of the ruined battlefield side by side, fire and lightning leaving faint trails behind them. The coliseum erupted in thunderous applause as the two warriors exited together.
To be continued...