Diablos, Yami's guardian, the de facto leader of their group and the most powerful among their numbers. Apart from Dark, he was the only one who could control these prideful and sometimes arrogant geniuses. Like his charge Diablos was a man of few words but whenever he did deign to speak, everyone listened lest they were fond of suffering.
"Hmph."
"Tsk." Out of respect and a small amount of fear both Fafnir and Leviathan stopped their antics. They listened to his orders, and silently watched the screen above, no longer bickering.
'They might not get you Pyro, but I do. I know that you'll reach that fabled level and fulfil your heart's desire.' Though she was made silent Fafnir internally acknowledged Pyro's efforts. He was a man that was hard to understand, hard to see beyond his stubborn and arrogant crap riddled exterior but since she bore a similar nature it allowed her to see through his outer shell.
To her Pyro was a man full of insecurities, heavy expectations and....fear. While his siblings slowly developed, grew and explored the world of Nova he was desperately improving his own strength, to be acknowledged as the older brother that he was, as a dutiful son and most importantly a shelter, a shield which could protect his weaker siblings from the reckoning that was yet to come.
He wanted to be the beacon, the man who held up the sky as the Light God's condemnation struck them down. He wasn't good with words and quite frankly was hardly friendly, but he cared, he cared deeply about their survival. Unfortunately the only method his muscle brain could understand, was force.
The audience watched the rest of the duel in silence, afraid to upset Diablos in anyway. And as predicted after a determined slugfest, Terra's blows gradually lost their weight, his rock armour crumbling faster and faster while his opponent Pyro seemed to only grow stronger and more vicious, his flames refusing to be snuffed out.
The difference between the two of them in regards to power wasn't all that large but the difference in battle experience and sheer determination to win was what granted Pyro victory today.
"Puahhh!" Finally Terra was blown off his feet, his body sent flying backwards as blood surged up his throat and violently passed through his lips. With his complexion ashen and his body filled with pain he craned his head up with great difficulty in an attempt to get up from the floor.
"Enough Terra, you've lost accept it." Pyro released the flames surrounding his body and lowered his axe. His breaths were laboured but he still held more than enough strength to continue his attack.
"Ughhh....ahnnn." Terra groaned as he tried to move his limbs but eventually passed out from exhaustion.
"....Father." With a strange expression on his face Pyro looked upwards and called out for Dark.
"The winner is Pyro, well done." In response Dark's voice reverberated throughout the duelling space, bringing an official end to the duel. Following that two magic crests appeared beneath the brothers and whisked them back to the ball room. Pyro was deposited next to his guardian Fafnir while Terra appeared next Dark who proceeded to personally heal his injuries before handing him over to Geb.
With Pyro back among his siblings everyone seemed to view him differently, there was less distain, less fear and more respect. Pyro's personality may not be appreciated hell perhaps even hated but his strength was the real deal.
"They're both mages."
"Hoh, interesting." Frost's curiosity was officially peaked. He and Indra were both capable of using high level magic but despite this they couldn't be classified as mages. Why because they fought with their weapons and chakra, mainly engaging in close combat, the antithesis of the standard mage caste.
Dalan and Shira however were your typical mages, their bodies were bursting with mana, they bore magical staffs as their weapons and stood a solid 20 metres or more apart as they engaged in battle. This was a long distance clash in a very different style compared to what they were used to. Frost had fought alongside mages before, but this was his first time seeing a duel between two of their kind.
Dalan and Shira would launch spell after spell at each other which would compete for dominance in the centre of the stage. A few spells would occasionally make it through only to be avoided or to strike against a prepared defensive spell. The battle appeared to be slower in nature, more attrition focused, chipping away at their mana reserves one spell at a time.
The loser would be the one who failed to keep up with the mana drain and or who lost their casting focus.
It was different and perhaps less interesting to watch but very educational. While Frost and Indra perhaps used two or three spells on rotation as battle aids for Dalan and Shira this was their bread and butter. Their repertoire of spells easily exceeded theirs multiple times over granting them a great deal of flexibility and options in battle.
And unlike the two of them they were not bound by their inherent element, further increasing their range of spells.
Seeing them and their battle brought back memories for Frost, memories of the night he aided Leo in taking down his uncle. There was an opportunity there to see Ryuu fight as a mage but unfortunately he was needed elsewhere and his strength at the time was lacking, making him nothing more than a hindrance.
'Perhaps I should spar with Ryuu next time I get a chance.' It was clear that his experience against true mages was sorely lacking and needed to be rectified.
Time passed and eventually all 6 duels were brought to a close, the victors decided and rewarded for their efforts as were those who came in second and gambled on the results. Both Frost and Indra managed to make another 10,000DP each from their bets thus happy smiles adorned their lips.
Once the last of the rewards were dished out Dark walked to the centre of the room and faced his children with a large grin on his face.
"We've had our family meal, discussed the guardian situation, enjoyed a Dungeon war between Void and Queek and now we've concluded a total of 6 duels...now it's time for what you've all been waiting for...." Suddenly the sound of a drum roll filled the room before Dark raised his right hand and summoned a massive board with all of his children's name's on it.
"The Dungeon core DP rankings!" Flashing lights went off behind Dark as announced it, assisting his dramatic fanfare.
'Haaaaa he really doesn't change does he.' Frost shook his head and internally sighed but still smiled, despite it being a bit much at times he enjoyed this side of his father.