As Kimahri's challenge echoed off the mountainside, the edges of Alex's mouth curled upwards in a smirk.
"I accept." Alex declared as he used Spatial magic to warp Yuna away from him before she could protest. When she realized what had happened though, Yuna spun around and tried to intervene.
"Kimahri don't!" To Yuna, Kimahri and Alex were two people who were very important to her so she didn't want to see them fight each other, especially for such a stupid reason. However before she could even get close to Alex, Yuna slammed into what was an invisible wall that shimmered upon impact, as numerous magic circles appeared along it.
"I placed a barrier between us and the others, we wouldn't want our fight getting someone else hurt." Alex said to Kimahri as he stepped into place across from him, his excitement evident on his face while Kimahri's showed a brief flash of gratitude.
Saiyan and Ronso.
Two warrior races with great strength and pride.
From the moment Alex arrived in the Ronso village he knew that there would inevitably be a battle between himself and at least one Ronso, particularly Kimahri once he found out about the relationship between himself and Yuna. And from the moment he met him Alex had been dying to see what Kimahri's limits were.
Though there were several people he hadn't met yet, based on those he had Alex had concluded that Kimahri could very well be one of, if not the strongest person in all of Spira.
After the defeat of Sin both Wakka and Lulu entered retirement, and with them only fighting when the occasional fiend strayed too close to Besaid village their strength had more than likely stagnated or fallen slightly from when they were at their peak. Meanwhile Yuna had lost the majority of her powers after the Aeons she would summon were sacrificed in the battle against Sin, and Rikku sacrificed most of her knowledge and skills as a Thief in the process of making the respective Dressphere, meaning she had to relearn the vast majority of her skills.
This meant that Kimahri was the only one from their original group who had been continuously training and growing stronger since the defeat of Sin, as to the Ronso their strength and capabilities in combat were everything. Meanwhile Alex was sure that outside of their group, though there undoubtedly numerous powerful people, they didn't compare to those who had directly fought against Sin at their peak.
So, despite the fact that he was well aware there was still what others would call an insurmountable gap between them, Alex decided to show Kimahri and the Ronso what TRUE strength looked like.
There was suddenly an explosion as Alex increased his energy to the utmost limits of what he was capable of at the moment, making the mountains around them shake and shudder at his mere presence before the same phenomenon began to spread to all of Spira. If he hadn't erected the barrier between the two of them and the rest of the spectators, Alex was sure they all would've been blown off of the mountain entirely.
Almost immediately though he began receiving messages from his wives through the system asking what he was doing as they too felt his sudden increase in energy, which Alex asked Lauren to send back a reply stating he was just participating in a 'little' dual. Meanwhile what Alex and the others didn't noticed was all of the oldest and most powerful fiends scattered across all of Spira and far beyond also reacting to his sudden increase in energy, some feeling fear for the first time in their long existence, while others looked towards the source of the disturbance with interest.
Not caring about the effects his actions were having on the rest of Spira, Alex held out his hand and summoned a brilliant flash of golden flames, temporarily blinding all of the spectators until their eyes adjusted. When they could see again, Alex had reached his hands into the inferno of golden flames and grasped something, before the vast majority of the flames flickered out to reveal a beautiful and long golden sword, it's blade still flickering with golden flames.
His preparations complete, Alex looked directly at Kimahri once more, the Ronso having barely reacted to Alex's performance as he instead fearlessly prepared for battle, even as Alex declared while brandishing Ascalon,
"I am Alexander Morningstar, of the mighty and proud Saiyan warrior race! Are you ready Kimahri?" To respond Kimahri took a single step forward and unleashed a mighty roar, one that dwarfed the roar he gave to the Gug earlier while also brandishing his mighty spear, one of the most powerful weapons that existed in Spira, the Spirt Lance(A.N. Or in other translations the Longinus).
While his roar was still echoing off of the trembling mountainsides, Kimahri launched himself forward with such speed that even several of his fellow Ronso couldn't follow his movements. The ground and the cliffs around him shattered from the force of his movement as he rapidly approached Alex, his spear poised to make one single decisive attack to end the fight instantly.
As the most powerful Lance in Spira approached him, Alex's expression never faltered as he waited until it was less than an inch from his skin, before Ascalon flashed in his hands.
Faster than even the sound could reach them, Ascalon impacted the Spirit Lance to deflect it towards the side with a great shower of sparks. Kimahri's eyes just barely began to widen at the impossible reflexes, before Alex's fist impacted his face and sent him flying.
Just from that single exchange, the spectators had to struggle to hold their ground as the entire mountain shook from the force of the impact of Alex's fist against Kimahri's face. But it didn't end there, as Alex moved faster than Kimahri and appeared in the place where the Ronso Elder was about to hit the cliff side, only to raise his foot and bring it down right on top of Kimahri's flying body.
*KABOOOOOOOOOOM!*
*CRASH!*
*RUMBLE!*
As Kimahri's body impacted the stone ground, the entirety of Mount Gagazet didn't just shake, but massive fissures began to form from the force of the impact, while entire cliffsides began to crumble to form massive rockslides. As they witnessed Alex's strength firsthand, all of the watching Ronso were torn between awe and frustration due to the mountain they were sworn to protect being damaged like this, even as almost all of them ended up falling back onto their asses.
The most anxious ones of course were Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, the former two the most so due to how long they had known Kimahri from all of their travels together.
"This is too much!" Rikku complained as she rubbed her sore butt, but even as she did so Yuna only continued watching the 'fight' between Alex and Kimahri with bated breath.
When the dust cleared they all saw Kimahri laying in the middle of a crater that was the epicenter for all of the major fissures that had formed in the arena, with Alex standing at the craters edge looking down at him. Of course, the big softy that he was, Alex had held back to the precise point where Kimahri was still conscious within the crater as he struggled to get to his feet.
"Am I worthy yet?" Alex asked in a loud voice, making Kimahri look at him with narrowed eyes as he growled back,
"Kimahri....not defeated yet..." This time it was Alex who narrowed his eyes, as he truly did not want to push things further than this. Kimahri however was displaying the same indomitable will he possessed even as a child, using his Spirit Lance as a crutch as he tried to stand despite his numerous broken bones.
A second later he fixed Alex with a firm look that stated he still had something up his sleeve. Despite his desire to end the fight with as little damage done as possible, Alex smiled in anticipation of what Kimahri would show him next.
"LANCET!" Kimahri roared as he pointed his Lance at Alex, resulting a ray of light shooting out at Alex before returning to Kimahri a second later after it impacted him. As a mild sense of fatigue suddenly assaulted him, Alex fought the urge to laugh as he recalled one of the Ronso's greatest abilities, which was what allowed them to become some of the greatest warriors in all of Spira.
Lancet was an ability that all Ronso apparently possessed, allowing them to absorb vitality and energy from their opponents in the heat of battle. It was truly a reverser in almost any battle.
It's true strength though was that along with the energy they could take, the Ronso were also capable of learning brand new skills and abilities from their opponents that they'd be able to use for the rest of their lives. This made them the only ones in all of Spira that were even capable of learning attacks used only by certain fiends, while they could also learn attacks from other people as well.
As an alarming amount of energy filled him from using Lancet on Alex, Kimahri appeared more than a little surprised. However he knew this alone wouldn't be enough to turn the tide, so Kimahri decided to take this fight even more seriously.
"White Wind! Mighty Guard!" As he cried out the name of these moves several changes happened to Kimahri at once.
Firstly was the energy that enveloped his body as all the injuries he'd acquired so far were rapidly healed, then was the appearance of several barriers that surrounded Kimahri's body to protect him. The first was the spell Protect, which severely limited the damage he'd receive from physical attacks, while the second was Shell, which would similarly limit the damage Kimahri would receive from magic attacks. The final barrier though was called Nulall, which severely limited the damage he'd receive from elemental based attacks as well.
The entire time Kimahri was activating his healing and buffs Alex just stood there watching and waiting, eager to see more of what the Ronso were capable of, and Kimahri didn't disappoint.
Once his buffs were active Kimahri began to behave weirdly as his size began to increase, and the fur covering his body took on a different pattern. Within the blue and silver fur similarly colored scales began to form while the tip of Kimahri's feline tail grew several pikes, and a pair of scale covered wings sprouted from his back.
"So you copied that skill, huh?" Alex muttered to himself as the skill Kimahri gained from using Lancet on him became apparent, his 'Draconian Form'.
Once the transformation was complete Kimahri stood there as he examined his new appearance, standing quite a bit taller so that he was now the same height as the rest of the Ronso, and with a pair of wings that had hooked claws on the tips.
"Kimahri has grown stronger..." The Ronso Elder said with undisguised awe, as the 'Draconian Form' had also increased his strength along with the new capabilities that it gave him. Kimahri then focused his now reptilian eyes on Alex, a calm confidence filling his body as he suddenly moved so fast he disappeared.
"True, you ARE stronger now." Alex said calmly even as Kimahri appeared behind him with his Lance raised high.
*CLANG!*
The sound of metal colliding rang out as again Kimahri's Spirit Lance was blocked by Ascalon, except this time Alex didn't even turn to face Kimahri or deflect the attack.
"But there's something you need to remember Kimahri." Alex continued as he finally turned his head to face, his eyes now also in the shape of reptilian slits.
"'I' am the Dragon Emperor." Kimahri's eyes widened as a sudden sensation overcame him, something the likes of which he never felt before as his body suddenly almost instinctively tried to submit and prostrate before Alex.
Forcing the sudden urges down though, Kimahri immediately tried to use his new wings to take flight and gain some distance from Alex, but before he could something wrapped around one of his ankles and pulled him in the opposite direction. Again Kimahri was slammed against the stone ground with less force than before, but still strong enough that another crater was formed in it.
Looking up at Alex, Kimahri was shocked to see crimson red scales slowly forming along his skin, his nails elongating into lethal claws, and a pair of sharp curved horns protruding from his forehead. As his own transformation completed, a pair of red scaled wings sprouted from Alex's back, turning him completely into a humanoid dragon as he stared down at Kimahri.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kimahri roared as he tried once again to attack Alex, only to have his attack deflected as Alex simply flicked his now serpentine tail, then again as one of his wings moved to act as a shield.
*CRACK!*
*SMASH!*
Again and again Kimahri's attacks failed to land, and again and again Alex would immediately retaliate with his tail or wings. With each attack Kimahri took more and more damage, until the only reason he was still standing was because of his earlier buffs lessening the damage Alex's attacks dealt to him, but even those were beginning to falter.
Eventually Kimahri was driven to his knees, unable to bring himself to attack anymore as Alex slowly approached him, pointing Ascalon at him as he said,
"It's my win." In response to such taunting words, Kimahri spat out a mouth-full of blood that even contained a tooth. He then looked back up towards Alex, and despite the fact that every fiber of his draconic being wanted desperately to submit, he refused to as he said back,
"Kimahri never admit defeat. Never give up." When he heard that Alex didn't know if he should be irritated or impressed at the Ronso's stubbornness, causing him to furrow his brows slightly.
"Fine then." Alex said after a moments thought. "Have it your way."
He then began to raise Ascalon up over his head, until it was pointed straight up into the sky, and gathered power to his sword to deal one final blow. Behind him Alex could hear Yuna pleading with him not to, but he tuned her out as he finished gathering power.
The entire time Alex was gathering power Kimahri never looked away or closed his eyes, seeming resigned to what was to come once Alex delivered his next attack.
Then, as if in slow motion, Alex began to drop his arm down to deal the final blow to Kimahri, which would undoubtedly kill him once it connected.
As the sword fell a light more intense than anything else yet shone, as if Alex had utilized even the sun itself in his attack. For over a minute no one could see anything through the bright light, until it finally began to lessen in intensity before dying down entirely, to reveal the effects of Alex's final attack.
Needless to say everyone was surprised at what they saw, but none more than Kimahri as he saw the very tip of Ascalon less than a centimeter away from his nose, and Alex said,
"Well damn, looks like I missed. I guess this is my loss...." As he said that Alex stored Ascalon away while simultaneously canceling his draconian transformation. He then turned around and began walking back towards the gathered Ronso, even as Yuna raced passed him now that the barrier was also down.
She immediately dropped down onto her knees next to Kimahri to see to his wounds, which consisted of numerous lacerations, nasty bruises, and an entirely new set of broken bones.
"Are you alright Kimahri?" Yuna asked as she began using her White Mage Dressphere to heal him, to which Kimahri said as his own transformation ended,
"Kimahri fine. Alex however not worthy of being Yuna mate." As he said that Kimahri looked up towards Alex's back, having concluded that Alex wasn't worthy since he decided to admit defeat instead of dealing the final blow.
When he heard tat Alex paused and turned back towards Kimahri, before saying,
"And what makes you say that Kimahri? Just because I chose to think of Yuna's feelings over a useless sense of pride doesn't mean I'm not worthy of her." Of course Kimahri looked confused at Alex words, making him sigh as he approached them once more and continued,
"You refused to admit defeat, even though it was obvious you'd never be able to win. So the only options I had to win were to either beat you until you were on the verge of death and unable to fight, or simply kill you outright. Even though I could've healed you or even brought you back to life, Yuna still would've been incredibly sad to see such a thing happen. I decided to admit defeat so that Yuna wouldn't have to see that, because to me Yuna is more important than my own pride."
As he finished speaking Alex approached Yuna's side and planted a kiss on the top of her head, leaving his words hanging as they reverberated within Kimahri's mind. Of course he hadn't missed Alex's implication, that to Kimahri his own pride was more important than Yuna's happiness or wellbeing.
Clenching his first in anger, Kimahri then began to push himself to his feet, despite the numerous severe injuries still affecting his body.
"Kimahri wait, you're till injured!" Yuna tried to get him to stop, but Kimahri pretended not to hear her as he slowly approached Alex while using his Spirit Lance as a crutch, which looked as if it was going to crumble to pieces at any moment.
Once in front of Alex though, Kimahri stared at him intensely for a moment before dropping down onto his knees. The proud Ronso then pressed the stump of his broken horn against the ground and said in a clear voice,
"Kimahri admit defeat. Alex win dual, and is worthy of Yuna." The reaction to Kimahri's admission of defeat was akin to the world ending to Yuna and the spectating Ronso, as all of them knew he had never in his life admitted defeat, no matter battered and injured he became.
However he had chosen to put aside the very pride that prevented him from ever admitting defeat, to show Alex that Yuna meant more to him than his pride. This was the correct choice as Alex nodded in approval above him, and gently placed his hand on the back of Kimahri's head before saying in a firm voice,
"Rise Kimahri." As Kimahri rose from his prostration, numerous gasps and muttering so filled the air as everyone stared at him in awe, making Kimahri confused until Alex conjured a mirror for him to look into.
When he did Kimahri was stunned at what he saw, which was a whole foot long horn that protruded from his forehead, instead of the broken partial horn that he'd had for the last thirteen years. Along with that all of the pain in his body had vanished as Alex simultaneously healed all of Kimahri's wounds, before he then placed a hand on the Spirit Lance.
The Lance shone brightly for a second before the light faded to reveal it looking as good as new, though Kimahri knew as he gripped his weapon that it was enter than knew since Alex did something to it. Looking at him curiously, Alex just said,
"I may have made some improvements. You'll have to experiment with it later though." Bowing his head in gratitude, Kimahri then said,
"Kimahri grateful. Alex is good man, Yuna very lucky." Alex smirked at Kimahri's praise as he clapped the Ronso on the shoulder, only for someone to suddenly impact the both of them as she wrapped her arms around them and said,
"Never do that again, please." Though he wanted to assure her it wouldn't happen again, Alex was unable to make such a promise since he could see himself and Kimahri sparring quite a bit in the future, especially since he wanted to help make the Ronso grow stronger. Before he could though a voice suddenly declared,
"See! Elder weak! Unfit to lead Ronso!" Looking up, everyone Garik approaching them with a scowl on his face as he looking Kimahri's direction. Before he reached them though, Garik spun around and raised his fist up high as he declared,
"GARIK STRONG! GARIK LEAD WARRIORS TO ELIMINATE GUADO!" As his shout echoed off the mountainside numerous younger Ronso joined in as they grabbed nearby weapons to prepare for battle.
With this happening right in front of him, Kimahri was about to step forward to put Garik in his place. But before he could Alex tightened his grip on Kimahri's shoulder, and muttered to him,
"No, let me deal with this." Though Kimahri wanted to refuse because this was a Ronso matter, he was also curious about what Alex intended to do.
Walking right up to Garik, Alex was about to say something when Garik turned and looked down at him, scorn evident in his eyes as he growled,
"Ronso business of no concern to outsider. Stay out, or Garik will show outsider that not all Ronso as weak as Elder." As he said that Garik straightened his back to make himself look even taller, despite already being nearly a foot taller than Alex was already.
The act and Garik's remark made Alex cock a brow at the sheer ridiculousness of it, before he declared in a firm voice,
"Prostrate." In an instant Garik found himself on his knees with his face and horn digging into dirt, before he felt Alex's foot press down on his head. Alex then knelt down and growled at him,
"Garik weaker than Kimahri. Kimahri strong in both mind and body, but Garik weak in both." All the Ronso could do was groan into the dirt as Alex put just a little bit more force into his foot, before he turned his attention to every other Ronso present.
"Many Ronso died to Seymour Guado, yes. But Seymour Guado is gone now and will never come back. War with Guado will do nothing." As Alex let his words hang over the Ronso they began muttering amongst themselves, before he continued in regular speak,
"Do I need to remind you what the last war resulted in?" This time there was no noise whatsoever as the Ronso thought of the answer before Alex said it.
"Sin."
That single word hung over the entire mountainside as everyone recalled the truth behind the creation of Sin. And as that sunk in Alex continued,
"The war between Bevelle and Zanarkand created Sin, which terrorized all of Spira for over a thousand years. However this war would be even worse than that one, as the enemy would not be a nation full of capable warriors that would fight to defend their lives and loved ones." Alex then looked down at Garik with undisguised disgust as he spat at him,
"Garik's mission is not just to get 'revenge' for the Ronso killed by Seymour Guado, but to exterminate every Guado man, woman, and child in all of Spira. Tell me Garik, what kind of 'honorable' and 'proud' warrior will target those who can't defend themselves? A weakling? A coward?"
As Alex's words rang out the Ronso began to mutter them as well, some actually calling Garik and supporters weaklings and cowards for wanting to attack such people. It was that moment that Kimahri stepped forward, and stated,
"Alex right, killing Guado wrong and dishonorable. Ronso must learn to forgive." Again the gathered Ronso began muttering amongst themselves, before one of Garik's supporters stepped forward and demanded,
"Then what Ronso do now!? No Summoners travel to Sacred Mountain, no need for Ronso to protect! No war with Guado, no need to fight! What Ronso do!?" Every pair of eyes then turned to Kimahri for direction, wanting him, as their Elder, to decide what the Ronso were supposed to do from now on if they didn't need to protect Gagazet anymore, and couldn't go to war with the Guado.
However it wasn't Kimahri that spoke up, but Alex as he declared,
"That's easy! The Ronso will leave Spira and follow me to my homeland, Asora!" The shock the Ronso felt at Alex telling them to leave Spira was evident as they began to discuss this amongst themselves, before Kimahri asked Alex with an intense look in his eyes,
"What is there in this 'Asora' for Ronso?" With everyone again hanging onto his every word, Alex walked back towards Garik and placed his foot on the back of the still prostrating Ronso's head before saying,
"The Ronso are proud warriors, but weak. The people of Asora are strong, and will make the Ronso strong as well! Stronger than ever before!" When they heard that the Ronso grew excited at the prospect of becoming stronger and meeting strong opponents as well, as one asked him,
"Ronso will be able to fight strong opponents?" Alex's mouth curved into a wide smile at the question, before declaring,
"Let me tell you about them, the Rating Games!"
***
Several hours later the Ronso village was lit up with a festive atmosphere as night fell, and the Ronso prepared the feast Kimahri promised Yuna when they arrived, except now they were celebrating something else as well. On the side of a cliff making up the walls of the Ronso village, an image was being projected that showed one of the recent Rating Games that had been broadcasted in Asora, which many of the Ronso were gathered around as they eagerly watched the fights.
Naturally once they heard about the Rating Games the Ronso became very excited for the chance to compete in order to fight more strong opponents, as well as to earn honor and fame. So, after taking a moment to restore the state of Mount Gagazet using Regeneration magic, Alex returned to Asora to retrieve numerous recordings so that the Ronso could learn more about the games while watching some of the fights, as well as to inform his wives of the new residents they could expect.
Of course there was one Ronso who was also watching the games, but was standing apart from everyone else after what happened earlier. Garik.
After Alex told them of the Rating Games, he then broke off Garik's horn at the base as a mark of his shame and cowardice in wanting to slaughter the weak innocents of the Guado. However Garik wasn't getting the same treatment as Kimahri when his horn had been broken, and he had been exiled from Mount Gagazet.
Instead, Alex declared that Garik would continue living amongst the Ronso even after they moved, and would participate in the Rating Games as well. If through them he was able to prove his bravery and strength for all to see, then Alex would restore his horn for him like he had done to Kimahri's earlier. Garik however had a counter to his offer.
The Ronso declared that his horn would only be restored 'when' he grew strong enough to defeat Alex in single combat. With him swearing this before the entire Ronso village, Garik now had no choice but to one day defeat Alex to get his horn back. Even if he somehow found another way to restore his horn, like someone else using Regeneration magic for him, then Garik would be shamed infinitely more than he was now with no horn.
Now he was treated akin to an outsider due to his current status, with even his own former followers refusing to acknowledge his existence. Kimahri however promised Alex he would keep an eye on Garik, and that this experience would help the young and hotheaded Ronso mature and become even stronger than he was now.
As for the Ronso Elder, Kimahri had led the other Ronso in swearing their allegiance to Alex, which in turn led to him acquiring the 'Ronso Grand Elder' title as well, simply because the Ronso didn't believe in Emperors. This meant that to them he now held the greatest authority over the Ronso people, while Kimahri would be in charge whenever he wasn't around since he still their Elder.
Of course, Kimahri only swore his allegiance to Alex when he confirmed that Yuna was going to follow Alex away from Spira in the future, meaning that he was now able to continue keeping an eye on her by living in Asora as well. Kimahri then made Yuna turn crimson red when he mentioned that he'd be able to watch over and 'protect' her pups as well when she and Alex had them.
Speaking of, after their fight, and seeing the way Alex handled the other Ronso earlier, Kimahri appeared to have accepted Alex completely as Yuna's mate, and had even become even friendlier with him as well. This was something Alex appreciated since he and Kimahri got along pretty well once they actually started talking, and Alex even gave him some pointers on the 'Draconian Form' as well for when Kimahri used it in the future.
And so the festivities in the Ronso village continued well into the night, and with there being numerous games on the recording brought playing one after another, several of the Ronso even stayed up all night watching them as their excitement in getting to participate themselves only grew.