"You will pay for this!" Jake screamed at Mane. The very fact that he didn't address Mane as 'brother', but used a pronoun was more than enough to convey how furious he was. His fury was well within reason, for his other half lay on the ground unconscious. They might be superficial wounds, but what did he care? He dashed towards Mane at incredible speed, closing the distance of approximately 40 metres within a couple of seconds.
Mane's expression changed at the sight of his colleague- rather, his enemy for today- rushing at him. Without any inner energy, there was no way he would be able to avoid this attack. It was similar to Frederick's surprise attack at the beginning of the spar. Since he wasn't expecting it, he couldn't avoid it. All he could do was brace himself for the impact, by putting up his guard with his arms crossed to form an x. His arms shone dully with a brown hue, evidence of the fact that most of the earth element armour was concentrated on his arms.
*bam*
Mane was hit hard. His little body skidded across the duel grounds, and only came to a stop after travelling almost eight metres back. He coughed up a mouthful of blood after coming to a halt. A dizzy spell hit him, prompting him to fall to his knees in a half bow. His coughing fit didn't end there, as he coughed a few more times, with blood thrown up each time.
Jake regained his clarity upon seeing Mane's state. His anger for his friend was no more, only replaced by remorse. He rushed towards his friend to make sure he was ok.
"Wait!" Abe's attempt to stop the young boy was ineffective. Not only was Jake ahead of him by several metres, he also acted before Abe moved.
"Gotcha", Mane smiled when he saw Jake before him. His fist, which was brown in colour, headed towards Jake's chest. Under normal circumstances, Jake would have been able to easily sidestep the attack. Unfortunately, in his concern for his friend, he had let his guard down, allowing the fist coated thickly in earth to land on his chest.
*bam*
Jake was knocked back about three metres, testament of the power behind the attack. He swallowed the blood that had congealed in his mouth, though a bit of it found its way out onto his lips.
"Are you okay?" Abe asked in concern. Jake nodded in response to the question. The boy finally understood that Mane had lured him into a trap.
"You spoke in that infuriating manner to get Jake to attack you. You planned to deal with him with that attack." Abe orated with absolute certainty.
"Indeed. I just needed him to come close enough. I knew that if I could successfully rile him up, he would launch an attack. Unfortunately, I underestimated you, my friend. Your attack was so quick, that I didn't have adequate time to prepare for it. I had barely covered my arms with earth when you struck me, causing more damage than I anticipated. But since the damage had been done, I still had to carry on with my plan. Again, the attack had left me so disoriented, that I could barely summon the earth in my attack, causing far less damage than I had hoped. An attack that was meant to knock you out, only caused some minor injuries."
Mane's words were laced with regret. Things did not go as smoothly as he had anticipated. That only proved that his team was indeed a good one.
"If I am not wrong, you have exhausted the last bit of earth you had. So, what are you going to do now?" Abe questioned, curious to know what Mane's trump card was.
"You really are bright, Abe. Yeah, I lost control of the earth armour after Jake's attack. The last bit of what remained, was also depleted when I struck him in my dizzy state. As for what I'm going to do now, well…"
Mane smiled brightly without finishing his statement. He breathed in deeply and continued, "I will show you what true wielding is!"
Abe was unsettled by Mane's smile. Every time they seemed to have the advantage, it was never truly so. He could only hope that whatever Mane's trump card was, it wouldn't be enough.
"Eligo igni! Egne me ut! Adiungimus ut! Ignis Draco! Basileus…vocat…te!!!"
Mane's voice was loud and resounding. It contained a strange charm. His tone was commanding and full of power. His melodious voice called to the flames. As for what his call meant, only he knew. Abe didn't know what Mane's goal was. One thing was for certain though. It wasn't good news for them.
"Damn. Don't let him finish whatever he's doing!" Abe screamed at Jake, his speech nothing like that of a refined prince of a great empire. He dashed towards Mane at full speed, intent on stopping whatever the young captain was doing. Jake's speed was in no way inferior to his. Mane was about 45 metres away, yet in under two seconds they had already reached his position. One thing was faster than the duo though- the fire.
The long forgotten fire that burned away docilely at the grass, suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own. Like snake, it hissed and cackled, and dashed towards Mane's direction. It formed a wall around the blue eyed boy. The strange movement of the fire forced Abe and Jake to stop in their tracks.
"How is that possible?" Jake asked, some blood still trickling down his lips. His question was a legitimate one, for the fire moved in a circle, completely engulfing- no, surrounding- Mane. They could barely make out their captain's figure from the flames. From what they could make out, Mane's barely discernible figure had an arm being waved in a series of circular movements. His motions seemed to mirror the movements of the fire. Nay, it was the fire that mirrored his movements instead, following his every command.
"Is this also wielding?" Jake's question was laced with doubt and uncertainty. And who could blame him? What he was seeing was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Such control, such power, and all done without an ounce of inner energy.
"I don't know. Whatever it is, it has to do with the strange language he spoke earlier." Abe's answer showed just how little he truly knew about this incident. He was just as surprised as Jake. And just as ignorant.
"Is this why he is able to fight against us even without any inner energy? What is this trickery?"