Sein watched as Joy prepared and cast multiple spells, none with immediate effect, a detail that puzzled him but didn't distract him. Gripping his golden sword, the boy charged toward the mage.
At first, nothing hindered him, until he unknowingly severed a thin energy thread, releasing a cloud of purple smoke around him.
—Cough cough...Poison?— Its effect was noticeably weaker thanks to his high resistance, but to avoid complications, he slightly activated his ability to purge it completely. However, his heightened senses detected energy blades already homing in on his position. With no time to dodge, he raised his shield, blocking every attack.
When the smoke cleared, the sight stunned Sein. Now more alert, he spotted countless threads crisscrossing the battlefield, each connected to an unknown trap. Despite already laying hundreds, Joy kept weaving more, positioning them so any approach would force him into evasive maneuvers. Combined with her spells, he'd inevitably trigger them sooner or later.
—(Getting close will be tough this time...but what's her endgame? She knows poisons and curses barely affect me)— Sein resumed his advance, carefully avoiding traps, only to be corralled by stone pillars forcing him right. He activated a trap: spectral hands materialized, yanking him skyward. A chill sweat broke across his back, but he activated his ability again to break the curse. The delay cost him, another energy blade volley forced him behind his shield.
This pattern repeated several times. Each small advance led to another trap. While Sein always broke free, it left him vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
—(Starting to see her strategy... She's betting everything on me exhausting my spiritual energy before she does. That's why she barely uses pillars and why most trap effects are weak, they only matter if stacked, which I don't allow. Her plan's inching toward success)—Though slow on the uptake, Sein finally deciphered Joy's scheme, yet found no optimal counter—(Could rush through like Shoun... Pfft, who am I kidding? I'm more of a wrecking ball... Should've saved the speeches for post-battle.)
Joy gave Sein no time to strategize. She fired six energy spheres at irregular intervals to disorient him while simultaneously weaving new trap threads and scanning the battlefield for optimal positioning. The ongoing clash between Kaze and Jack constantly reshaped the terrain, sending debris flying and raising temperatures beyond the red demon's initial hellscape until even the peripheral air became unbearably scorching.
Yet Joy persisted. Though her spiritual energy drained rapidly and her temples throbbed from exertion, this was her only path forward alone.
—(I lack Sein's adaptability or combat prowess. My sole chance is exhausting his energy... Even if I break myself in this fight, I'll buy time for Jack and Jace to eliminate that thing. This is how I chose to fight!)— Resolve hardened in her eyes as she extended her staff—"Torrent of Destruction!"
Violet energy beams rained down on the pensive Sein, who deflected them with his golden sword and shield. He kept advancing, repeatedly triggering pre-set traps. Though Joy constantly expended spiritual energy, her spell efficiency and lower output meant she drained slower than Sein, a fact he now grimly acknowledged.
—(Aaaaah, so frustrating! Shoun would've solved this in seconds... Well, Shoun is Shoun. Thinking is his strength, just like Deuz and Robin. I never fit that mold)—His gaze measured the trap-laden distance to Joy—(Earlier I thought of myself as a wrecking ball... Maybe that's the answer).
What Sein did next would've made Shoun facepalm. He activated his shield at full power, channeled healing energy into his sword, and augmented himself with spiritual energy and his secondary ability, precisely fulfilling Joy's strategy by burning through his reserves at a catastrophic rate. Yet Sein didn't flinch.
The boy charged at full power toward the mage, catching her off-guard with his newfound speed. Yet Joy quickly regained focus, launching spells as Sein triggered every trap in his path. But like a wrecking ball, he didn't stop, instantly curing every poison or curse, while his sword and shield ability deflected offensive magic.
Joy considered fleeing, Sein couldn't sustain all his abilities simultaneously for long, but realized he'd catch her before exhausting his energy, guaranteeing her defeat. So she gambled, pouring most of her remaining reserves into one final spell meant to stop him.
They locked eyes, knowing this was their decisive clash. Sein ran with a confident smile, his shield ability making his body glow like the sun. But this time, Joy refused to be blinded, she was determined to win.
Sein reached Joy just as she completed her spell. The collision between the wrecking ball and the magic engulfed the area in smoke.
Silence fell over their battlefield until the haze cleared, revealing one figure kneeling from exhaustion while the other scratched their neck awkwardly.
Sein watched Joy struggle to breathe. At the last moment before impact, he'd activated his shield's counter function, accumulated spells from their entire fight nullified her final attack. It left Joy nearly drained, while Sein retained just enough energy, a decisive margin in this scenario.
Both knew the outcome: Sein was the undisputed victor.
***
Moments earlier, Shoun had plunged himself into overload. The familiar, agonizing sensation of his core nearing explosion threatened tears, but he masked them with a manic grin.
—Pum pum!— He made nonsense sounds while lunging at Jace. Though surprised, the blue demon stood his ground, summoning ice pillars to impale Shoun—who agilely used them as springboards, leaping between them with Balance Voltage Impulse.
At his unleashed maximum speed, he reached the demon in an instant, but before he could plan an attack, another wave of flames greeted him.
—Not this time!—Gripping Iron Fang tightly, Shoun channeled electricity into it, the same amount as his usual strikes, then decisively executed the new technique he'd been refining for weeks:
Balance Voltage Thunder Fang!
With swift, fluid motions, he slashed vertically and horizontally through the air, releasing the katana's stored electricity as blades that cleanly severed both fire and ice. Only Jace's anticipation saved him from the assault.
—Haaah— Panting, Shoun landed on an ice pillar opposite Jace. The pain in his body intensified incrementally, momentarily soothed by Balance Voltage, yet the red demon's relentless flames kept pushing him toward overload—(I'm not unhinged enough yet. Need more!).
Determined, the overloaded Shoun lunged again. Flames and ice intercepted him, but he tore through, absorbing fire and converting all energy into momentum to close the gap.
—I noticed your brother covers you every time I get close. But you really think he can keep saving your ass forever!?
As if on cue, Shoun advanced while unleashing multiple Balance Voltage Thunder Fang slashes at the blue demon, who desperately maintained distance. This forced Jack to intervene repeatedly, finally giving Kaze the opening he needed.
Removing his Mantle and draping it over Cutting Wind, the sword harnessed hurricane-force winds. Not only did this suppress the hellfire surrounding them, but Jack himself, though not directly hit, began bleeding from superficial cuts wherever his skin was exposed.
But his offensive didn't end there. By manipulating wind through Cutting Wind, Kaze manifested two constant gales, one on each side of the blade. Only then did he strike. The masked warrior swung Cutting Wind, and both wind currents mirrored its movements like spectral duplicates of his signature sword.
All three blades struck Jack simultaneously. The demon blocked desperately with sword and spear, but the task proved nearly impossible, not just from the triple assault, but because the wind blades moved unpredictably. Though he could see Kaze's swings, their parallel motions remained just beyond his defense, leaving his arms and abdomen lacerated.
Now with breathing room, Shoun unleashed his frenzy against the composed Jace. Their first physical clash began, Shoun swung Iron Fang without hesitation, the frenzied katana growing deadlier as it thirsted for the demon's blood. Jace molded ice into a lance to intercept, but the artifact shattered under the sword's supernatural weight and its wielder's fury.
As expected, Jace stomped the ground, summoning ice pillars that Shoun dodged effortlessly. When the blue demon fired point-blank frost shards, Shoun cleaved through them mid-air, only to be blasted back by a point-blank frost wave. The attack caused minimal damage but dazed him just long enough for a barrage of pillars and ice spears to rain down.
Jace waited patiently, preparing follow-up strikes... until a concentrated lightning bolt pierced every pillar and impaled his abdomen.
Beyond the ice forest, Shoun charged another Balance Voltage Thunder Fang, but this time, instead of releasing slashes, he channeled all electricity into a single thrust. The resulting attack became a straight-line railgun of lightning, its power focused into one unstoppable point.
Shoun fired two more thrusts. Though vision was obscured, his core's spiritual energy guided both strikes, piercing Jace's left shoulder and right thigh.
—Aghh!—Jace collapsed. Attempting to rise, his wounds rendered him immobile. Looking up, he saw Shoun approaching with hollow eyes, a sight that shattered the demon's calm. Pain from injuries and ability overuse overwhelmed him.
Jack perceived everything: Joy's severed connection, his brother's defeat by Shoun. Yet he couldn't intervene, Kaze had him cornered.
—(Why!? Why!? We trained relentlessly! I mastered my rage, refined techniques, strengthened team bonds! Why am I never enough!?)—Jack's defenses faltered until wind blades struck almost unimpeded. Still, the red demon refused surrender—Damn it!
Finally, Jack stopped restraining himself. As a Dominator, he didn't need to suppress rage, he needed to unleash it at its peak.
With a roar, he weaponized his bleeding wounds. Blood fused with flames, escalating their heat from red to blue, then violet. The inferno consumed everything, even Kaze's rebellious winds fed the fire now. A colossal fireblast forced Kaze to retreat, using his Mantle to shield himself and Shoun.
—Aghhh— The younger groaned. Though his apprentice rank granted heat resistance, even that was failing. Kaze expanded his Mantle into a dome for temporary protection—We're close. Energy levels?
—Half. Jack's should be lower... How's your body?
—...I've had better days, but I can keep going—This brief respite allowed Shoun's battered core and body to recover slightly. Meanwhile, the brothers' situation wasn't much better.
—How are you holding up, brother?
—The wounds hurt, but otherwise I'm fine— The blue demon placed his right hand over his shoulder injury and activated his ability, numbing the area so it wouldn't hinder him. He repeated the process for his other wounds—...Do you think we can still win? Even now, they're outperforming us.
—...Of course. I have this power now, and I see a way to defeat them. I just need your ice to support me. Can you do that?
—If you ask like that, I can't refuse—With his brother's help, the blue demon rose. Jack, meanwhile, channeled all his flames, activating his apprentice ability to summon his massive violet greatsword.
Despite the distance, Jack began slashing with the greatsword, sending waves of purple flames crashing against the wind dome. Kaze and Shoun resisted as best they could, fortunately, the extended Mantle dispersed most of the fire. But they couldn't relax entirely. Ice shards slipped through the fiery torrent, bypassing the Mantle's protection and forcing Shoun to personally cut them down with Iron Fang.
This pattern continued until Jack plunged his greatsword into the ground. The earth itself erupted with his power, flames overwhelming the youths' defenses. And thanks to the greatsword's unique traits (Ignore Defense and Growing Stronger Prolonged Combat), their protection gradually began to falter.
—I-I don't... don't get it— muttered Shoun, partly dazed by the heat. Kaze wanted to ask but couldn't risk breaking concentration—...How does Jace's ice survive in Jack's flames?
The question had nagged him throughout the battle. Initially, he'd assumed Jace's ice was simply cold enough to resist melting near Jack's fire, but that explanation made little sense in hindsight. Especially now that the flames burned hotter, yet ice shards still pierced through them unscathed.
This puzzle became critical. While Jack posed the greater threat, Jace's relentless attacks from multiple angles prevented any counteroffensive. Neutralizing the blue demon first was essential.
—There's something I'm missing...— he voiced aloud. Though Kaze didn't understand, Shoun persisted, until the answer struck him when he observed Jace himself.
The flames distorted his view, but he clearly saw the blue demon standing unharmed within his brother's inferno.
—I see now! Kaze, Dominators can control spiritual energy so precisely they choose how it interacts with surroundings, right? That's why Jace doesn't burn, Jack "insulates" his flames from his brother's. Same reason the ice won't melt.
—...Yes, that's how it should work. Did you think of something with that?
—Can you do something similar?
—I'm a Dominator too. It should be possible.
—Good. Here's the plan...
On the other side, Jack and Jace continued their assault. They'd gained the upper hand, Kaze would soon fall. Jack poured more energy into unleashing ever-stronger flames while Jace supported with ice. But suddenly, the fires began extinguishing—clear sign Shoun was converting them to electricity.
This wasn't new, so Jack simply intensified the flames. Surely Shoun couldn't absorb everything, he'd overload first. Yet something unexpected happened: the converted electricity wasn't being absorbed. Instead, blue lightning crackled uncontrolled through the air.
Both brothers halted, watching warily as thermal energy became lightning, then ambient spiritual energy followed suit. More and more erratic bolts filled the space until.
—Credit where it's due, you two fought well. A deadly duo in many ways. But your elements are polar opposites— Shoun announced with mock pity, his voice cutting through the storm. Simultaneously, a wind surge gathered the scattered lightning, coalescing it above everyone's heads. Each new bolt was immediately swept into the growing maelstrom—Fire and ice are an impossible pair to wield simultaneously. But lightning and wind? They're natural partners.
The sky turned electric blue. The vortex expanded—then, at Kaze's command, the entire storm crashed down upon the brothers, heralding their combined technique's debut:
Kaze X Shoun: Thunder Vortex!