"Palthor is going…going…going…GONE!" I exclaimed.
"Kingston!" Loki snapped after hearing my joke. "Is this duel a joke to you?!"
"Obviously…well I mean i think you are one at least." I said with a shrug.
Loki gritted his teeth at me and started to say something when a black lightning bolt streaked through the sky and slammed into Bahamut. The force of the blast staggered Bahamut and made him take several steps back in order to stabilize himself and nearly stepped on the King's Glaive.
"Fuck!" Alberto exclaimed, holding onto Bo and I tighter as wind gusts nearly knocked us into the air.
Palthor came flying out of the lightning and flew high into the air. Lightning still sparking off its body as it flew circles around Bahamut. It immediately started casting a offensive spell sigil and unleashed another exploding fireball that cascaded down his body with smaller explosions. It didn't stop with one fireball either, it fired one after another until it had blanketed Bahamut's entire body.
On that note Bahamut let loose a monstrous roar that blew away all the smoke that from the explosions that obscured him. Seeing that Bahamut was once again unharmed by its attack Palthor roared and tried to dive bomb it. That however didn't go as planned. Bahamut swiped one of his skeletal wings and slapped Palthor across the face and sending it flying into the side of the mountain.
"Annoying insect!" Bahamut snapped.
"Don't kill it quickly." I said, standing up from the ground. Bahamut smiled, showing the dozens, if not hundreds of rows of teeth in his mouth and snapped his wings open.
To everyone that didn't know what attributes he could channel seeing him open skeletal wings without any flight membrane between the finger bones would look odd and confusing. However that confusion would be dispelled a moment later. Bahamut started channeling gravity attribute mana throughout his body and the wings on his back started to glow. A glowing film started to stretch across the bones of the wings before settling between the fingers where the flight membrane would be, becoming a new membrane.
This new flight membrane looked ethereal. It was black but dotted with ever shifting bright spots and colorful swirls that mimicked the night sky when viewed through a kaleidoscope. A miniature nebula contained on a sheet.
Bahamut flapped his wings and took to the skies like a bullet. Soaring high above the mountain peak his massive body blocked out the light of the moon and cast the entire clearing in his shadow. He reared his head back and roared at the top of his lungs. The sound was deafening, even with Bahamut being as far away as he was.
"It can fly?!" I heard someone exclaim.
"Its enormous! How can it support its own weight let alone fly?" Gasped another.
"Who cares! Did you see it's wings, they're like a starry night sky." Another exclaimed happily.
Palthor burst from the crater it created when Bahamut slapped him into the side of the mountain then quickly flew up to meet Bahamut in the sky. It tried to charge at Bahamut's head while casting a offensive spell sigil. Bahamut reared a claw back and slapped Palthor before it had a chance to finish the spell and sent it crashing into the mountain peak before skidding down the side and crashing into a cliff halfway up the mountain.
"Chase, what attributes can Bahamut channel?" Bo asked.
"Gravity, void, incinerate, and phase." I replied.
"And he's using gravity attribute to help him fly, so he can't channel another one." Alberto observed.
"Are you sure about that?" I asked with a devilish smirk.
A bright flash brought my attention back to the fight. I looked up at the mountain and saw a exploding fireball launch from the cliff Palthor was on and fly towards Bahamut. Bahamut reared his head back while taking a deep breath then breathed a stream of black flames down at the approaching fireball. The fireball was quickly snuffed out or rather broken down. The flames that Bahamut was breathing were an application of Void attribute mana unique to him. The black flames were breaking down the flames back into the mana particles that made up the spell and then reusing the mana to increase the power of the flames.
With the added power from the broken down fireball, Bahamut's black flames surged down towards Palthor. Palthor had the sense to dodge, jumping off the cliff it flew away from the mountain and over the clearing. The black flames slammed into the cliff a few seconds later and rolled down the side of the cliff. The black flames licked and flickered over the rock of the mountain, glowing with an eerie pale light before extinguishing itself moments later.
"Holy shit!" Alberto cursed as he saw the damage done by Bahamut's flames.
The peak of the mountain; which had gotten swallowed up along with Palthor's fireball; was gone. At least a hundred feet of the tip was broken down and destroyed by the extreme power of the void. Everything the flames rolled over was devoured and devastated, leaving a deep valley carved into the side of the mountain when the flames dissipated.
"It basically reshaped the mountain!" A voice exclaimed from the other side of the clearing.
"That power means nothing if it can't hit my Palthor!" Loki snapped at the one who spoke.
"Bahamut's slapped that ugly franken-lizard all over the mountain several times already!" Bo exclaimed. Loki sneered at Bo but the little kid rolled his eyes at the paragon in response.
"Plathor! END IT ALREADY!" Loki barked.
Palthor flew low to the ground, passing just over the clearing in response to Loki's command. As he passed over I saw it casting an axiom spell sigil. The brief glance I got at the spell sigil made my skin crawl.
"Bahamut! That spell sigil is dangerous! BLOCK!" I yelled up to my evo.
Palthor fired a trio of red lightning that ran parallel to the ground before curving and flying towards Bahamut's underbelly. Bahamut started channeling void attribute mana, a black cloud spewed from every scale on his body and shrouded him in a black shroud that no light could escape. The lightning bolts flew into the clouds and we're immediately broken down into mana and reabsorbed by Bahamut.
"What the fuck?!" Loki exclaimed. I immediately covered Bo's ears and glared at Loki.
"Language! There's a child present!" I exclaimed. Bo grumbled and slapped my hands away.
"I'M NOT A FUCKING CHILD!" He barked, earning a slap from both Alberto and me.
"Stop fucking cursing." Both of us said with a casual annoyance that came from correcting Bo constantly.
"Palthor's spell! What happened to it?!" Loki demanded.
"It was swallowed by the endless void that is my genius." I said with a sagely tone. Stroking an imaginary beard like a wise philosopher.
"STOP FUCKING AROUND!!!" Loki barked while stomping his foot on the ground. "PALTHOR KILL THAT THING ALREADY!"
"Bahamut, have a little fun." I said in response.
The black cloud that surrounded Bahamut dissipated, reveling Bahamut again. Palthor flew towards the larger evo while casting a offensive spell sigil and preparing to fire more fireball bombs at Bahamut. Bahamut quickly flew higher, narrowly dodging the fireball bombs and quickly flew high into the atmosphere.
Palthor flew after him and tried casting another fireball bomb but quickly realized while I told Bahamut to have a little fun.
Logan
"David what the hell is going on?!" Beaufort barked as he pointed up at the flying monstrosity of Chase's.
"How am I supposed to know? Does any of this look like it would fall under the expertise of a techno-splicing scientist?" Dad griped without taking his eyes off the battle taking place in the skies above.
"That star cursed bastard claimed he made it using that ancient Liger shark he won from us! How did he change the looks of it?!" Beaufort demanded.
"Again, how would I know?" Dad replied.
I was sitting under the tent that Beaufort had my team erect in order to protect himself and his security from the rain. There was a single row of chairs under this tent, my father, Beaufort, Ziana and I sat in those four chairs. The rest of my squad, including Cross were standing around the tent ready to defend if needed.
"Unique body modification magic…" Ziana muttered. I glanced over at my wife and saw her looking down at her hands absentmindedly. She seemed to be in a bit of a trance, like she was trying to work something out in her head.
"What did you say girl?" Beaufort asked in a condescending tone. Ziana looked up and an expression of panic spread across her face.
"Oh…umm…nothing! I'm s-s-sorry!" Ziana stuttered. Beaufort arched a brow at then rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Thor's breath David, you couldn't have brokered a marriage for your son to a woman with some backbone and sense?" Beaufort grumbled. Ziana lowered her head at Beaufort's remark.
"She's the only of Caldifax's daughters that isn't a splicer." Dad replied casually. I couldn't help but notice the way Ziana's hand clenched the hem of her dress. I clenched my jaw to fight against a wave of anger build up inside my chest.
"What did you mean Ziana?" I asked, making my tone slightly commanding. She flinched slightly but glanced up at me, she looked more nervous than embarrassed.
"It's n-n-nothing Logan…" Ziana tried to deflect.
"Ziana…!" I repeated in a deeper tone. She shifted nervously in her seat before letting her shoulders sag.
"Your Half-brother c-c-c-created a uniq-q-que body modification magic. It can change evos…" Ziana stuttered.
"Is this related to that unique star clown crystal bear stuff you told me earlier?" I asked. Ziana frowned at me, the nervousness she'd been showing earlier disappearing with a flash of righteous indignation.
"Star farm crystal bearer, Logan. And no. That's unique to him. I'm pretty sure he used that magic to modify all of his evos. None of them look like what a normal specimen of those evos. His Liger shark is the best example…" Ziana said.
"That splicer magic bullshit can change a evo that much?" I asked. Ziana sighed and shook her head.
"Its not magic bullshit. That's pretty much proof…" Ziana said then pointed up to the sky.
Loki Paragon's evo was flying in an erratic pattern across the sky while trying to dodge Chase's evo. Which was somehow able to keep up with Loki's despite being twice its size and bulkier than a two story building. It wasn't just fast but also maneuverable, able to turn on a dime in the most seemingly impossible ways.
"How does this body magic work?" I asked Ziana.
"It alters the genetic structure of living beings using mana. It's one of the most advanced forms of magic in the world since a single mistake could result in monstrous disfiguration or death." Ziana asked.
"If it's so advanced then why is Chase able to do it so freely?" I asked.
"My guess…he's a genius and the star farm crystal bearer." Ziana said. I groaned and shot my wife a look. She returned the look then pointed up at Chase's evo. "I know of no other that could create something that powerful, genius is the only word that describes him."
"Careful Caldifax, someone could take your words as being supportive of our country's greatest enemy." Cross warned. The harshness and gruff tone of his voice made her pause.
"It's Kingston, Cross!" I said sternly, shooting him a glare. Cross shot me a glare back while curling his lip up at me.
"Ziana, how much do you know about this body magic?" Dad asked, interrupting Cross' and mine's moment.
"Admittedly not much, only practitioners of body modification magic truly understand how it works." Ziana replied, some of the fire returning in her eyes.
"Is Chase's claim of that evo being a tier five evo feasible?" Dad asked. Ziana didn't respond right away. Instead taking a moment to think about her answer.
"Yes…the magic can be used to add features and DNA from animals to humans…so it stands to reason a skilled practitioner could add animal DNA to living Evos." Ziana replied.
"Shit…" Dad grumbled.
A loud explosion brought everyone's attention back to the battle happening in the skies. The explosion, I quickly found out was from Chase's evo slamming Loki Paragon's evo into the side of the mountain. The impact left a crater in the side of the mountain more than twice the size of Loki's evo and made the earth shake more violently than a category six earthquake.
Chase's evo flew over the clearing and hovered above Chase and his two lackeys for a few seconds before landing so softly I didn't even hear the grass rustle under its feet. Chase looked smugly up at Loki Paragon while the man looked like his head was about to burst from sheer rage.
"Is it over?" I asked.
A loud inhuman roar coming from the crater answered my question. Loki's evo was alive but looked more like tomato paste being turned back into tomato's. It's body healing, rapidly and rather painfully.
"If the best your evo can do is smash mine into a mountain then it doesn't have what it takes to win this fight!" Loki exclaimed. Chase yawned and covered his mouth with his hand.
"Just like you don't have what it takes to beat me." Chase said then looked at the man standing next to him. "You want to do the honors, Alberto?"
"Yes…" Alberto replied then stepped in front of Chase and pointed towards the Paragon's evo. "It won't die unless you destroy that crystal in its chest. Bahamut, in the name of the Revolutionary Paragon; Chase Kingston; I order you destroy that evo! End it's suffering!"
"In mine master's name I obey!" Bahamut exclaimed then jumped into the air and flew high above the mountain.
The evo reared his head back and spewed a stream of black flames down on the mountain below. The flames swallowed up the mountain peak and rolled down the mountain, engulfing everything in pitch black flames. The other spectators of the fight started to freak out when the flames reached the base of the mountain and started to roll down into the clearing.
Cross and the rest of my squad moved to protect Beaufort while I moved to grab Ziana. It was a gut reaction, protect my wife, but one that I hadn't expected to have.
Thankfully Chase's evo stopped spewing flames and they didn't quite make it into the clearing. The mountain looked like a illustration of Hel from the thirteenth century. Black smoke billowing into the night sky above, blotting out the starlit sky and darkening the moon while midnight black flames engulfed and devoured everything on the mountain. The unholy flames glowing giving off a blistering chill instead of scorching heat like I expected.
A lone figure burst from the field mountain of flames. Letting out a agonizing screech as it flew toward the clearing. The figure was obviously Loki's evo though it was completely covered in flames. It quickly lost control of its flight path and crashed into a section of the clearing, rolling all over the ground in a attempt to extinguish the flames.
"PALTHOR GET UP!" Loki barked at his evo but it was no position to listen.
A shadow rapidly covering Loki's evo was the only warning everyone had as to what was about to happen. Chase's evo's front paw slammed down on Loki's evo's back, crushing it's spine and as well as it's chest cavity. I heard a faint sound like glass shattering before the black flames completely devoured the evo, not even ash was left behind.