Chapter 78 - Battle Of Egos

Sleep that night came with a plethora of thoughts nagging away at him.

"Home."

The question he asked himself now, is what home was now to him.

--The place where I holed myself up in my room, wasting away as I became the laughingstock of my hometown? Or the place where despite hardship, I've actually grown--actually made something of myself?

Rain poured again that night, pelted against the roof of the cave as the refreshing winds of precipitation soothed his skin, guiding him into a gentle sleep.

However, a restful embrace only met one of them, as Sirius waited for his companion to fall into slumber back adjusting his uniform, stepping out of the cavern into the light showers that shifted into a downpour.

"--You really tracked us down. Not a good use of time if you ask me."

Sirius called out to whoever was hiding within the drenched foliage, standing out in the open as water cascaded down his neat uniform.

"You're the only pair staying out of fights this year. You do know "Monster Hunt" is specifically made to train newcomers, right? What good is it to coddle Ren like this?"

Obscured by the darkness of the night, the man stepped forward, his heavy boots parting the mud under his step as he carried a silver lance over his shoulder. It was easy enough just to tell by the large silhouette that it was the armor-clad Outlander, Sora.

"Coddle? The kid beat an elder giant. I just don't see any use in pitting him against opponents that he can't so much as scratch."

"That's not your decision. I've trained Ren for months now--he isn't one to shy away from a fight if it means he'll grow from it."

"It is my decision. I'm his partner."

"It seems more like you're making this choice for him. Doesn't sound much like partnership to me. Admit it, Sirius, you see your own brother in him, don't you?"

The air fell still from the crimson-haired man's last comment, droplets of water becoming vaporized by the violet static from Sirius as they met with his coat. It was clear as day that Sora wanted a fight, and there was no talking out of it.

"Where is his partner?" was the one thought that etched itself into Sirius' mind as he maintained eye contact with his potential opponent. If he blindly engaged with the heavy-armored Outlander without knowing what lies waiting in his surroundings, it could result in a quick defeat.

However--that was only a problem if he engaged first, dropping that baggage from his mind as Sora appeared in front of him, lance in hand.

Aimed for his abdomen, the abrasive spear pierced the rain-filled air, completely missing its target as Sirius vanished before Sora's mind could even process the fact that he was gone.

"--I'm taking this elsewhere."

The monotone words met Sora's ears before an impact pounded itself against his breastplate, sending him crashing through the sea of trees.

He questioned his own senses--no magic was heard being cast or felt in the air, yet the power displayed by the lightning-mage was nothing but mystical. The trees couldn't handle the dense man who was sent flying back, breaking through the thick base of each tree he collided against before finally landing in any open field.

"Argh...that smarts, that really smarts."

Standing up, the mud which stained his ivory armor washed off in the heavy downpour. A bolt of purple lightning struck the ground in front of him, bringing forth Sirius, his drenched hair now sticking up from the static that coiled around him.

"You wanted a fight, didn't you? Well, I'm right here."

"--Merciless, aren't you?"

Sora let out a laugh before summoning an iron shield in one hand, and a broadsword in the other.

"You're the one who showed up at night--!"

Moving forward as he spoke out, Sirius met his opponent halfway in the battlefield, watching as the armored Outlander swung his silver blade overhead. It was far too slow, watching as the drop of rain glided through the nightly air, landing atop the blade as it guided itself towards him.

Little got in his way as he evaded the attack as if it was in slow motion, placing his palm near the sturdy breastplate that protected Sora, maroon static emitting between his hand and the white steel.

Then he unleashed it.

"Ba'al: Exile."

There was no space in time for the sword-wielding, skyscraping man to react to the incoming release of magical energy, as the shadow-engulfed field lit up with a luminescent violet--all of the rain that sought the ground below vanishing at the sight of the cast spell.

Condensed to that one singular point between the hand which conjured the spell and the man's armor, it felt as if a hundred-thousand bolts of lighting hammered against his chest at once, all in succession, within a single moment. The air was pulled from his lungs as the ferocious impact sent him into the air once more.

Lightning was supposed to be a catalyst for burning or shocking, yet what was used against him was more akin to an indescribable amount of blades carving away at his armor, leaving his breastplate ripped open, burnt by the spell.

"Bastard."

Sora did away with his armor, letting it sink away into nothing before summoning a new set of different, leaner armor over his body. In contrast to the bulky armor he usually wore, which turned him into a tank of a knight, this new set looked as if it were wrapped around his skin.

Replacing the usual pale sheen was now a dark silver, the grooves of the thin armor filled with streaks of obsidian.

"The Empyrean Armory: Mode Silver," Sirius remembered as he saw the coat of protection which wrapped itself over his opponent, soon covering his head as well before being fully formed. The polar opposite to the standard protection that Sora clad himself in, Mode Silver focused completely on agility rather than overwhelming brute strength.

That much was proven as Sora flickered from his spot in the air to just in front of Sirius as if a portion in time had been removed completely.

"Helios: Sun Prison!"

A spark from Sora's palm shifted into a raging flame, shooting out and forming a spherical prison around his opponent.

"If you want to concede victory to me now, that might be a good idea. My Sun Prison can reach temperatures up to ten-million degrees Celsius. I'm sure not even you could withstand that kind of heat, Sirius."

Surrounded by walls of translucent flames, caging him into the closet space, Sirius looked around before returning his gaze to his silver-clad opponent.

"You don't really think it'll be that easy, do you? I'm hurt you somehow think so lowly of me after all the times I've sent you to the ground."

Any rain that decided to fall upon the prison of solidified flames vaporized instantly, creating a mist of steam around the sphere.

"That was then, this is now. I can see your pride is no less than before though."

Sirius only smiled at that last remark, raising his hand up to the ceiling of the prison of fire, feeling the heat press itself against his reinforcement.

"I'll give an ultimatum of your own then. I'd advise you to step back unless you want to be reduced to ash."

Following his warning, Sirius unleashed a flurry of magical energy from his body, wild sparks of electricity gliding across the interior of the prison.

"Hear me, brother of the sun goddess, slayer of the malevolent serpent."

"Bastard, you're really planning on using great magic, here?!"

"--Mountains and rivers shake under your authority, just as the knees of the men who stand against you."

Continuing with the almighty incantation, the dark clouds that carried the rainfall began to spiral above the battlefield, coiling as flashes of violet thunder roared within the somber skies.

"Don't think I'll just stand here and watch!"

Clenching his fist, Sora amplified the heat which radiated inside the Sun Prison, the flames began to eat away at his opponent's reinforcement--who paid no mind to it as he continued.

"As I utter your revered name, bring your wild wrath down upon the world, ravage my enemies with might unseen."

A loud hum left the rampant clouds, as if the skies were roaring down in response, conjuring powerful winds that tugged at the trees deeply rooted into the soil of the world. The look in Sirius' resolute blue gems were the final warning he gave to his rival.

"Susanoo-no-Mikoto: Rain Down Upon The World, Your Divine Cataclysm."