A wall of fire. A magical sight. A miracle in itself. An unbelievable scene it was. Flames of gold slowly merged together, a distinct shape beginning to form. Abe and Jake could only watch in amazement. They couldn't get any closer to the flames. The sheer amount of heat it gave off was beyond anything they had ever felt. Even from this distance, the fist of earth that coated Abe's hands was melting away, like a piece of iron in a hot furnace.
"Incredible. My flames are nowhere near as hot as this" Jake said whilst swiping off the sweat that had started to form on his forehead.
"IGNIS DRACO!!!" Mane's voice was heard once more, the authority in them conveyed to the flames. The shape of the fire was finally made clear.
"Is that a…?" Jake had barely posed the question when Abelard replied. "It is. Only one creature of legend fits this description."
The figure forged by the flames was fire itself. It was majestic in every way, with its wings stretched out in grandeur.
*ROAR*
The shockwave generated by the roar was crippling, pushing Jake and Abe back by several tens of metres.
"On me!" Abe screamed at Jake. He placed his hands of the ground, as he used his defence technique, "Seven walled fortress!"
Before Abe, seven walls of earth were summoned. The first wall which was directly before Abe was at least five metres in height and had a thickness of about a metre. The wall before it was higher and thicker by at least a few metres, a pattern that was dominant in the walls that followed, with the furthest and first line of defence being the greatest of them all.
The technique that Abe utilised was gifted to him by his current opponent- Mane. The blue eyed boy had presented the technique to the Western Empire's prince after the latter had successfully broken into the above-mortal stage. Since Mane gave him the technique, Abe was not naïve enough to think that his captain and friend wouldn't take it into consideration. Yes, this was his first time making use of the technique before his friends. And yes, Mane wasn't aware that he had successfully studied the skill book to the point of utilisation. But Abe was no fool. Mane was the team's strategist. There was no way he planned a duel without taking these factors into consideration. Unfortunately, he had no other option. This was the strongest defensive technique in his arsenal. Zandor was a low level planet after all. The skill books that were available to its residents were not very advanced considering that they were a 'low level race', whose greatest wielders were only at the peak of the mortal realm. Well at least until this group of freaks had arrived. Not that the world knew anyway. Abe could only hope that the walls would be enough. He was leaving it entirely to fate.
Abe looked visibly exhausted after casting the technique. Not only was this skill incredibly difficult to master, it was extremely draining as well. It was nothing strange, since it was a high rank skill book.
"Don't attempt to do anything. I am unable to aid you in combat. Reserve your strength. You're our sword now. If the walls hold, I want you to attack with everything you've got. Inner energy or not, wielding of that level would psychologically drain him. Remember the technique Mane gave you?"
Jake nodded at Abe's question. His expression was resolute. His countenance told Abe all he wanted to know. His friend seemed to have mastered his technique as well.
"Good. Use it. That is the only chance that we have." Abe stated as he stood up shakily, his eyes hazy. Jake kindly helped his friend up, as the duo watched the flames.
"To be able to push us this far with no inner energy is very impressive. I wonder how he did it." Abe was truly curious. He was certain that Mane was utilising a different sort of energy. As for what it was, he'd have to ask the culprit when the duel ended.
"It's Brother Mane. He's just too awesome" Jake wasn't so curious though. He voiced out his usual phrase, brushing the entire ordeal off as a case of Mane's awesomeness. After all, how many could do what the blonde haired boy had done. They hadn't been to any other world, but they were certain that those who could achieve such a feat were few and in between.
"Well, he is very impressive indeed." Abe admitted. The evidence to their words was the dragon forged from the flames that headed towards them.
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"Not bad at all. Abe was able to study it successfully. And to achieve seven walls at the first stage is very impressive."
From within the flames, Mane's blue eyes glowed yellow like the fire itself. The weird colour of his eyes may very well be the reason he was able to see whatever was happening outside the fiery dragon so clearly.
"Indeed. I must say, his comprehensive abilities are top notch. If your friends are all the same, then they are better than we thought" the 6th said with a bit of surprise in his tone.
"True. They are geniuses to be able to grasp high rank skills in such a short time. That is, if they all like Abe here have comprehended the skills" the 1st commented.
"They have" Mane stated confidently. His words prompted the 2nd to ask, "How do you know?"
"I just do. How can my friends be ordinary?" Mane orated with surety. He believed in his friends. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given them the techniques. His attention returned to the battlefield, where he truly needed to be.
"Ego Basileus. Imperium ego te. Ite, hasta dracoum!!!" Raising his arm and taking a stance as one holding a spear, Mane declared in his vigorous voice. He threw the imaginary spear forward as he spoke. The fire dragon was unleashed. It was the spear.
*ROAR*
The dragon of flames roared as it rushed towards Abe and Jake. It flew with incredible speed, its trajectory as straight as a well wielded spear. In less than three seconds, it was before the first wall.
*BOOOM*