Xerxes poured his strength into his blade, clashing against Orpheus's bare arm. Despite the attack not really being much of a surprise attack, Xerxes wished for it to at least do more, but he remembered the opponent he was facing.
He was no ordinary person. Orpheus was likely born from the bowels of a twisted world, similar to himself. Why else would he choose this way of life, a life that made him powerful enough to subdue the tribe of the Gem'rafh, stripping them of their freedom.
Almost sensing Xerxes's thoughts, Orpheus exerted copious amounts of force into his arm, causing Xerxes to roll through the snow. In that moment, Orpheus seized the moment and rushed forward.
"Are you really attempting to probe your opponent's psychology in battle?!" Orpheus taunted.
Xerxes grunted, whilst Orpheus gave him something else to think about. Raising his leg, Orpheus carried it in an arc directly towards Xerxes's ribs, with the thought of driving it straight through him like an axe ploughing through wood.
Luckily, Xerxes was able to read the movement of Orpheus's lead leg, and he appropriately guarded his ribs with the flat side of his blade and his free arm. Then, Orpheus's kick collided.
The pain rattled through his entire body, making Xerxes yelp, as he was propelled through the battlefield, tumbling and turning through the snow. Orpheus quickly caught on and realised Xerxes's durability could not withstand his force, so he seized the moment. Tracking where the boy was about to land, he appeared in that position, ready to strike.
Xerxes had to think fast and utilise his abilities perfectly, because Orpheus's leg was raised, ready to come down like thunder.
Pushing through the initial shock of the kick, Xerxes activated his mana beast soul fragment to provide him with a larger quantity of mana. Then, with his free hand, pulsing waves of gale winds exploded outward, knocking both him and Orpheus in opposite directions.
Although being pushed back, Orpheus still brought down the kick, shattering the earth.
'It was not only a simple kick to injure me; Orpheus planned ahead. The ground is splitting, and whether or not I am able to stand, I will be trapped under the crevice. Do something fast, Xerxes!'
Activating another soul fragment in this situation would not work; there was not enough time, but he already had a hand with wind sprawling in it.
'Stall him, stall him so I have time to think.'
Using the wind that was already generated in his palm, he used it against the floor to lift himself several metres into the sky, and whilst airborne, he switched to fire, and roared, "Hellstorm!"
Raising his arm back, seven tangible arrows born from Tier 4 fire had formed behind him. To increase their power, he siphoned wind energy into the spell, ensnaring them in a thick layer of spiralling wind. Immediately, he cast it down, pure spellfire raining down on Orpheus.
The same irritating grin was carved on Orpheus's face, as if he had already pieced together how to block the spell, but Xerxes was not going to make it easy for him.
In union with the spellfire raining down, Xerxes propelled himself directly into the ground by using wind to make him soar back down to the ground. Swiftly, he activated his second soul fragment, the Orc soul fragment, utilising its emerged ability.
Soul fragments had a specific number of advancements. The strongest soul fragments had seven advancements to work through:
Woken soul fragments. [1/7]
Emerged soul fragments. [2/7]
Awakened soul fragments. [3/7]
Ecliptic soul fragments. [4/7]
Empyreal soul fragment. [5/7]
Supreme soul fragments. [6/7]
Sovereign soul fragments. [7/7]
Xerxes now had mastery over the Orc soul fragment, which was an awakened fragment, but using its awakened ability was too taxing on mana right now, so he opted for the second advancement ability, the emerged ability, 'Bloodquake'.
Raising his fist, Xerxes howled in a rage similar to the orcs and slammed his palm down, which caused a reaction that split and widened the earth even more. This indirect attack affected Orpheus's footing, something every fighter needed stability of at all times.
Then the seven arrows hailed down, honing in on Orpheus.
"How crafty you are, Xerxes, but do you not think a man had time to study your abilities all throughout the tournament!"
Orpheus finally deemed it fit to draw mana in, and this was the first time Xerxes had seen it: earthen magic.
A curved wall of earth appeared before Orpheus, blocking the path between him and the arrows. Two arrows broke straight through, but as for the others, Xerxes could not have expected what was next.
In such a short amount of time, Orpheus was able to make the arrows slide directly off the earth, and they were redirected directly at Xerxes, five flaming arrows of his creation.
Xerxes's eyes widened; Orpheus's control over mana and the precision he had was unfathomable. He had yet to face an opponent that could do this, and without any time to react, all Xerxes could do was at least reduce the damage he would take.
He gushed wind forward to slow them down to the best of his ability, then they collided with him, exploding the surroundings and himself where he stood. Xerxes yelped in pain; he never thought he could be on the receiving end of his own mana, but he had quickly learned that lesson.
The two arrows that hit Orpheus were less damaging than five, so he moved quicker, and then extended his fist, spikes of earth rising from his knuckles, then he pushed it forward. It tore through flesh and ground at the bones.
"A man applauds you for lasting this long, but you will be stopped here and now."
The dust settled, and Orpheus was right before Xerxes, his fist lodged within Xerxes's stomach.
But what Orpheus saw made him swallow his words.
Xerxes's eyes were not consumed with pain, though he felt it. His eyes were not filled with uncertainty, though someone who was not Xerxes may have felt that.
Instead, Xerxes grinned, "This Orc soul fragment, at the awakened stage it nulls my senses to pain. I admit I was caught off guard, but I am going to take control over this battle, bastard."
Xerxes suddenly slashed across Orpheus's thigh, carving through the quadriceps, and with his arm angled away from him, he drove his elbow forward, generating as much force as he could, then propelled it straight into Orpheus's nose, shattering the bone, as blood spewed everywhere.
Pushing through the pain, Orpheus extended his uninjured leg and kicked off from Xerxes's chest, creating distance between him and Xerxes. They both took time to gain their breaths, and in those moments, Xerxes quickly glanced down at his stomach, which was oozing with blood.
'I cannot rely on Airi to heal me; this is bad. I can only hold the Orc's awakened stage for a short amount of time, but after that, what will happen? Will I begin to lose more blood? Will I not be able to fight?'
Xerxes glanced at the battlefield and Orpheus, who was wiping blood off his nose.
'I cannot stop fighting.'
The Gem'rafh were doing their very best; the courage it took them to finally stand against those who had chained them was a battle in itself, and for Xerxes to even have the question of faltering was not a reality he could even entertain; they were relying on him. Thornfum was relying on him. Airi was relying on him.
Xerxes's ambition relied on this battle.
The grin on Orpheus's face had cracked, and he too seemed to be in thought, 'His power has certainly increased drastically in a few months; his phoenix surely has a part to play, like she is in this battle. When will he bring her out?'
Finally regaining himself, Xerxes knew he needed to push himself, so he activated his second soul fragment in unison with the Orc soul fragment, from a beast called the Blightstalker.
Though he only had [1/3] advancements, its base ability was going to be a drastic aid against someone like Orpheus, especially when using another Tier 4 ability.
'Burst fire.'
Orpheus tightened, sensing the potency of Xerxes, and he finally entered a stance that was grounded, tight, and defensive.
Then, with a blur of motion, Xerxes burst forward with Tier 4 mana blasting from his heel, combining it with the Blightstalker's dexterity. Xerxes was instantly at Orpheus's chest and slashed forward. Miraculously, Orpheus managed to evade.
'How? How can he be faster than this?!' Xerxes cursed mentally.
With frustration, Xerxes delivered a flurry of blows, but Orpheus tactfully evaded them, placing earth structures to block the motion of his swings, whilst using his body to outmanoeuvre him.
Xerxes leapt back whilst Orpheus drew in, and surrounding Xerxes, large concentric patterns of earth that raised high in the sky closed in. It was as if he was at the centre of a maze, and quickly Xerxes had lost sight of Orpheus.
In an attempt to break free, Xerxes hit the wall with a front kick that was powered by the soul fragments and fire, but with the density and thickness, the energy from the kick spread outward; it would take him time to get out of the maze with brute force.
And in that moment, Xerxes was caught off-guard; a kick imbued with so much raw force drove straight into his solar plexus, where his soul core was, which forcefully broke him out of the awakened stage of the Orc soul fragment, spewing his blood all over the gritty walls.
In the next moment, Orpheus was gone, and again Orpheus moved through the maze, reappearing and struck at Xerxes again, again and again.
All Xerxes could do was guard himself, but he could not fathom it; how was Orpheus moving so fast?
How did Orpheus know what he was going to do next?
What was the secret behind his power?
Xerxes shielded himself with as much fire and wind as he could muster, which would halt Orpheus for only a few seconds, and he reflected on the battle.
It was evident that Orpheus, like Xerxes, prioritised physical combat over mana; he was blindfolded, which stripped him of vision, and he always seemed to know how Xerxes would react, even when he was moving at his fastest speed.
But this maze was created to limit his movement; Orpheus must have known he could not keep up that level of dexterity outside, so he needed Xerxes contained. So besides the advantage of limiting his movement, what else was it?
Orpheus then moved in again, breaking past the fire and wind, which Xerxes was able to sense due to the disruption of the mana formation, and despite getting hit again, injuring Xerxes further, he was able to dodge slightly better.
His voice then echoed throughout the maze, "A man would kindly ask for you to give up, but after seeing everything in the tournament, it is not befitting of you. It was like the Gem'rafh; they were disobedient, they were unwavering...at a time, but I had learned where the weaknesses lie, and your weakness has been exposed to me. It is only a matter of time."
The echo grew louder and louder, so strangely loud...
It was almost as loud as the answer Xerxes needed.
Sound.
Xerxes's blood-stained face illuminated for a moment.
'I was only able to sense Orpheus slightly because of the disruption in mana when he closed in on me... I sensed it.'
The answer quickly came, and it was so blatantly obvious Xerxes almost laughed aloud, 'Orpheus does not rely on vision; I should have known... that is his main strength. He relies on his hearing: the sound my joints make when I ready myself for an attack, the sound of mana pulsing through my veins and which mana point they are heading to.'
In that split moment, Xerxes reflected on his battle with Tristan in the final stage of the Eclipse Tournament. 'Orpheus had seen me use Tristan's burst flame in the tournament, so that is how he knew I was readying my body for that initial attack I was going to land out there. That is his secret, and if I cannot move or react faster than sound, then he will always win.'
Xerxes then began laughing; maybe the pain was slightly driving him insane. Maybe the insight into Orpheus's strength was making him brim with confidence, but he now knew how to win. It was this.
"This is what I lost so long ago," Xerxes exclaimed, with crimson liquid staining his toothy grin.
"My emotions within battle. The pain you are causing me, Orpheus, you have brought me back to the feeling of urgency, the instinctual need of survival."
Wind then spread from Xerxes, all across the maze, and with the vastness of his mana capacity, no section was empty. Instead of directing the flow of mana to his palms or wrists, there was one key point on the body which was dangerous but still a place where mana could be directed to.
It was a dangerous endeavour, but when has Xerxes not done something dangerous in battle?
From his soul core, mana started to travel upwards, past his heart and to his brain.
Taking a deep breath in, Xerxes's eyes glowed slightly.
Xerxes felt the brush of winds against the walls; he tasted the iron blood in his mouth; he saw the individual grit of dirt in the walls; he smelt the earthy aroma of grass; and most of all, he could hear Orpheus's footsteps.
He could sense the wind dispersing as Orpheus stepped forward, and when Orpheus came with a kick that was about to finish Xerxes, he casually ducked, and because of the inertia, Orpheus broke through his own wall, damaging his leg.
"What?!"
Orpheus's advantage no longer lasted.
Xerxes did not even bother to run towards Orpheus; he simply walked.
Orpheus gritted his teeth and roared, "How can you evade?"
He then blitzed straight to Xerxes and unleashed countless attacks all in one, but with the wind all around Xerxes, he sensed where it dispersed from, which in turn made him predict the attack before it even landed.
Xerxes casually swayed and danced around the attacks, making a fool out of Orpheus, and perfectly timing the moment where Orpheus would let down with his attack, Xerxes threw his sword straight towards Orpheus as a feint, then burst around Orpheus with as much speed as he could muster.
Even if Orpheus could react, he had to focus on two things at once, either Xerxes or the sword, and he chose the sword.
Though Xerxes was more lethal than any blade. Placing his palms right by Orpheus's ears, Xerxes unleashed a sonic boom of fire and wind.
A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the maze, which quickly dematerialised, whilst Orpheus dropped to his knees, with his eardrums burst, deafening him.
It seemed as if the battle outside halted; the scream that was emitted from Orpheus acted like a bell, which made everyone attention diverge fo Xerxes and himself.
Xerxes then crouched down to Orpheus's level, slowly retracting the mana from his brain, and the blindfold slowly slipped from his eyes, revealing two spectral gold eyes.
Through a hoarse voice, Orpheus feebly asked, "How?"
Xerxes took a long and deep breath, then extended his hand forward, piercing directly through Orpheus's heart, crushing it in his grasp.
"Conviction."