Farther down the forest, beyond the main battlefield, Vencer stood on top of an open cliff, staring down at a man. The man wore a gray coat and black, cotton shorts. His face was rigid and held a constant expression of displease. The two of them were staring at each other with blank expressions. Vencer clenched his fist and scoffed, "Tch… I expected better of you, Volben. The God Of Earth has always been a symbol of neutrality and stoicism… But it seems you've completely abandoned that idea." The man below him grinned, "Really? I don't know where you get off telling me this, considering you let your title slip away by some sixteen year old brat. I can't even call you the Fire God anymore… Now you're just some mage, how pathetic." Vencer grinned back at him, "That brat is going to kill Shyzen. So I suggest you don't talk about him in such a light." "I couldn't care less what you say about him. We both know that kid's gonna die. So let's hurry up and get this fight started!" Suddenly, the ground around Vencer began to tremble. He glanced at the floor, and took a step backwards. But as he did, a piece of sharp rock shot out from the ground. Vencer channeled mana into his hand and smashed it into the rock, breaking it into pieces. He quickly turned back around to face the cliffside, but Volben had already jumped above the cliff and was walking towards Vencer. The two of them dashed towards each other, unleashing a barrage of mana-enforced punches soaring through the air. But as their confrontation continued, Volben began pushing Vencer back. He took a step backwards, and as he did, a piece of rock shot up from the ground, piercing into Vencer's back. He winced in pain, which gave Volben the opportunity to connect with multiple punches that sent him flying through the trees. CRSH, TSHH, DOOM! After flying for hundreds of meters, Vencer landed into another cliffside, "Gyah!" The wind was knocked out of him, as he landed into the snowy ground. Volben dashed towards him, raising both his arms getting ready to attack. But before he could swing them downwards, Vencer tapped his right hand on the ground and created a tornado of fire that surrounded him, pushing Volben back. Volben took a few steps back, and suddenly three fireballs shot out from the tornado, hurling towards him. Volben closed his hand and stuck out his index and pointer finger, pointing them towards the fireballs. Suddenly, a wall of stone shot out from the ground, blocking the fireballs. FFSHH, DMMM! As they connected, the wall began to crack, and after the last fireball hit, it broke apart into pieces and fell onto the ground. Volben took a step forward, getting ready to rush towards Vencer. But before he could, Vencer appeared behind him with his left hand gripped firmly against the back of Volben's neck. The Earth God's eyes widened as Vencer began channeling mana into his hand, "Combustion!" Just then, the two of them burst into a large swirl of flames that enveloped nearly 10 square meters of land. Volben cried out in pain, "Aahhh! Stalagmite!" From within the flames, dozens of spikes shot out from the ground, piercing both Vencer and Volben. And then, the flames dissipated, revealing Vencer and Volben. Both of them were pierced by the spikes with blood rolling down their body and into the snow. Vencer's left bicep, right forearm, and gut were pierced. Volben's middle chest, left forearm, and left leg had spikes lodged into them. Neither of them moved a muscle. Their injuries were too severe for either one to move. Suddenly, the spikes shot back into the ground, and both of them fell onto the snow. Vencer rolled onto his stomach, trying to get back up. Volben groaned in pain, trying to lift his torso up from the ground, "Vencer… belch…" Volben spat out blood, "...You're a fool. Shyzen is going to turn this country into what it's always strived to be… Peace will come to everyone. War will become a thing of the past, as a new era begins…" By now, Vencer was standing up, staring down at Volben with dimmed eyes and blood streaming from his mouth. "...Stop this fight, and we can bring forth an even greater future for this country." Vencer scoffed, "Tch… Do you really think I'd sell out the people whom I care for? You're still so dense, Volben." "I'm doing this for the betterment of our people, can't you see that!? Cough cough… Stop acting like you're some hero. This isn't a situation where you can bluff your way out of. Weigh the pros and cons… then you'll see that Shyzen's only doing what's best for The Thirteen Kingdoms…" Volben grunted and lifted his torso up from the ground. He leaned forward and planted his hands onto the ground, then pushed off them to lift himself up, "...I can restore your title of God if you join us. Doesn't that sound promising? We can even make you a king!" Vencer made a look of disdain, "You're pitiful. I lost fair and square against someone who is more talented. If you stripped them of their title and renamed me a God, it would be throwing away the very meaning of what that title stands for. Don't ever disrespect the Gods again." Vencer began walking over to Volben. He raised his right hand, and flames began to swirl around it, "Flamethrower!" Suddenly, a beam of flames shot from his hand. Volben dashed to his left, dodging the attack. He landed on his right foot and pushed off it, hurling himself towards Vencer while pulling his right arm back. Once he closed the distance between them, Volben sent out a punch hurling towards Vencer's jaw. But it was easily dodged, and Vencer countered with a punch into Volben's stomach that sent him flying into the air. In less than a second, he had flown nearly a hundred meters high. Vencer jumped up, meeting Volben in the air nearly instantly. He raised both his arms and swung them downwards, smacking Volben and sending him hurling into the ground. DMM CRSHHH! A crater nearly ten square meters long was created from his impact. Vencer fell from the sky, landing on his feet right next to Voblen, who was laying there, groaning in pain. Vencer leaned down and grabbed Volben by his hair, then pulled him up, "Seems like I've gotten stronger, huh Volben?" "Grrh… Shut the hell up!" DOOM! Vencer sent a fist into Volben's stomach, "Belch!" He spat out blood, and his eyes dimmed. Vencer sighed, and relaxed himself. Volben noticed this, and took the opportunity to catch him off guard. He punched Vencer in the stomach which made him release his grip on the Earth God's hair and stagger backwards. Then, Volben took a step forward and sent an uppercut to Vencer's jaw which sent him flying forward and just over the treetops. Volben dashed forward, disappeared and then reappeared just above Vencer, who was still flying through the air slightly above the treetops. Volben contracted both of his legs, then released them, kicking Vencer and sending him flying into the forest, flying through dozens of trees. He skipped across the ground, landing through trees with Volben running shortly behind him. Then, The Earth God dashed forward and caught up with him, sending a left hook into Vencer's temple that sent him flying in another direction, through the forest and over a cliffside. He was now flying nearly a dozen meters above the treetops below him, and Volben reappeared right above him, kicking Vencer into the ground. DDMMM CRSHH!
Volben landed on the ground, next to Vencer's body. He walked closer to the former Fire God and smirked, "It seems that things haven't changed. I'm still far superior to you." As Volben took another step, Vencer's eyes shot open, and he disappeared. Surprise rang through Volben's body, and he took a few steps back. Suddenly, Vencer reappeared just behind the Earth God with his left arm raised up, "Stalagmite!" And on command, a spike of rock shot out from the ground just below Volben's feet. His eyes glanced downwards, and he dashed backwards, dodging the spike. Now the two of them stood nearly ten meters away from each other, with their gazes fixated on one another. Vencer smirked, "Your cocky attitude's gotten worse over the years. Just because you caught me off guard once doesn't mean you've won this fight. I'm just getting started!" Vencer leaned forward, and dashed towards Volben. But the Earth God pointed the palm of his hand towards Vencer, and two walls of rock shot from the ground with each one on Vencer's left and right side. In nearly an instant, the two walls of rock shot towards Vencer. BBMMM! They slammed into Vencer, stopping him in his tracks. His arms held outwards, trying to prevent the rocks from crushing him. But as Volben continued channeling mana, the force being put into the rocks increased. And Vencer's arms started to shake. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold out. But after a few seconds, his arms gave out and the walls slammed into him. CRRSHH! A large gust of wind shot around the area. Volben made a wide grin while staring intently at the sight before him. Vencer was squished in between both walls of rock. His body was shaking with tense muscles as he tried to push the walls off him. But now, his arms were held out in front of him and the walls were pressed against his shoulders.
Volben pointed his left index finger towards Vencer, "Clod Drill." Small bits of rock raised up off the snow and into the air right in front of Volben's finger. The pieces of rock clumped together, forming a double helix that began to grow thicker. After a few moments, the double helix formed into a drill. And then, it shot towards Vencer. The former Fire God's eyes widened. And then, FFSHH! A giant beam of fire shot from the ground, enveloping Vencer and the rock walls around him while also disintegrating the stone drill hurling towards him. Volben furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. From within the fire, Vencer raised both his arms in front of him just above his shoulders with his palms facing himself. And as the fire began to simmer down, his words rang through the air with determination and strength, "Pyro." DWOMM! In that instant, the flames burst even more fiercely than before. And a black sphere began to form within them, getting larger and larger with each passing second. Volben stood there, staring with fear in his eyes, "You damn bastard… I can't let you show me up like that, c'mon!" He knelt down and placed his right hand onto the ground, then began channeling mana into it, "As all things subside, the Earth stays eternal. Allow me to bring forth your true power, O' Gods of beyond…!" He glanced over to Vencer, "...Here's my trump card… Tectonic Impact!" CRRSHHH! The ground around them began to rumble and shake. From beyond their battle, in the heart of the war where thousands of soldiers clashed swords, the ground began to shake vigorously.
Two soldiers who were locked in combat stopped for a moment out of shock from the shaking.
Back at their battle, Volben's hand was still planted firmly onto the ground. From within Vencer's flames, he dropped his arms and began walking towards the Earth God. But just as he left the radius of his flames, the ground below him cracked and fell apart. His eyes darted below him, and he dashed to a rock on his left. But the entire piece of land they had been fighting on began to crumble and split apart. CRRRCK, TSHHH! Pieces of rock split apart, flying through the air. The rocks began to fall through the ground along with Vencer, who was standing on a boulder. As the rocks sank lower and lower, Vencer dashed upwards, flanding on another rock, and then another higher up. As he tried to escape from the deepening hole, the rocks around him began to crumble in smaller bits. By now, the hole was nearly the same size as a mountain's base. Vencer tried to escape by leaping from one rock to another, but it was no use. The hole deepened too fast, and he realized this. Vencer landed on a large boulder falling into the pit and stopped, staring up at Volben who was looking down from the top of the hole. But Vencer smiled, "It's ready." And then he raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers, Flick. Suddenly from above the hole, a fireball hurled into Volben, sending him flying into a tree, "Gyah!" Volben winced in pain, but stood back up. However, another fireball was sent towards him. The Earth God jerked his body left, dodging it, FSHH! "H-how!? There's no way Vencer could use any spells from inside that hole…" He ran over to the edge of the hole and looked down at Vencer, "...How did you do that!?" Vencer, who was falling slowly deeper into the hole, grinned. Then he pointed his index finger up to the sky. Volben looked confused, but glanced upwards. And once he did, his eyes widened. A giant black sphere with flames surrounding its exterior was floating nearly ten meters above him. Just then, another fireball shot out from it, hurling towards Volben. He dashed backwards, dodging the flames. But three more fireballs appeared, flying towards him. The Earth God jumped upwards, dodging the fist. But the second one landed on his chest, sending him flying into another tree. The third one hurled towards him, but Volben raised his left arm up, and a wall of rock shot from the ground, blocking the fireball. Volben quickly stood back up and pointed his arm towards the giant sphere in the sky. He channeled mana through his body and into his hand, "Clod Drill!" bits of rock combined together and formed into spikes. Then they began to spin around, and shot towards the sphere. VVMM, thwomp! But as they connected against the sphere, every single spike disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Volben clenched his teeth and grunted in anger. The sphere shot out more fireballs, hurling towards Volben one-by-one. He dashed to the right, dodging the first one, and rushed forwards towards the hole. He jumped over the second one and raised his left arm, creating a stone wall that blocked the third. Once he landed back to the ground he dashed forward, jumping above the hole while staring down at Vencer who was smiling. Volben furrowed his brows and pointed his right arm down with an opened palm, "Enclose!" Once Vencer heard those words, his eyes widened. And suddenly, the walls surrounding him enclosed, flattening everything within it. DSH!
Volben stopped running and looked back up into the sky. Vencer's Pyro spell had begun to dissipate. Its exterior flames disappeared, and the sphere was shrinking. After a few moments, it completely dissipated.
"Sigh… Looks like things haven't changed. You were inferior to me until the very end, Vencer. It's a shame you couldn't see my dream. I was so sure you'd understand… But I guess that was too much to ask." Volben closed his eyes and sat down on a nearby rock. He let out another long sigh and relaxed his body, slouching his back.
Suddenly, heat waves began to rise from the ground around Volben. And every inch of snow in the area evaporated instantly. Volben's eyes widened with surprise, as his gaze lifted to face the figure that was standing nearly ten meters away from him.