"Hei!"
"Hah!"
Ray and Mane clashed mid-air, right in the centre of the room. Blue and red flames spread all around the room and burnt everything they came into contact with. The marbled floor melted at speed visible to the naked eye due to the sheer intensity of the flames. The already haphazard room was thrown into more disarray by the power that was being concentrated in the small room. A battle of this scale was definitely too much for the room to take. The melting ceiling was testament to this fact. Although the flames didn't get to every corner of the room, that didn't stop them from spreading their fiery influence anyway.
Mane and Ray traded blows mid-air. Punch for punch; kick for kick. In a split second they had traded almost three dozen blows between them. Even as the laws of gravity pulled them down, their battle raged on, all the more intense than before. Once they landed onto solid ground once more, they both jumped backwards to gather some momentum, and drove at each other once more. The sound of fist clashing against another fist; leg against leg; head against head, was resounding. The brutal battle between father and son continued. Any who witnessed such a sight would definitely not believe that the two were related, and much less believe that they were father and son.
"Amazing" Outside the room, and protected by Alexis' barrier, the twins watched slack-jawed as they witnessed this impressive sight. The union of red and blue flames was beautiful to those who weren't caught up in it. Yet even they could feel the heat that was being transmitted. For even the barrier couldn't hide that fact.
Jake was awed by what he was seeing. "My flames are nowhere near this level" he admitted. He was at the above-level realm, so it made sense that his flames wouldn't be as powerful. But he had to admit that was he was seeing was beyond him. They had been coming to Mane's house every weekend. And every time they did come, their horizons were broadened. And whenever they thought that they had probably seen it all, they would be proven wrong the following week. And once again they were marvelling at what was before them.
"There is no way my water elemental arts can stop this level of fire" John stated.
"You guys are being too hard on yourself. Mane is much stronger than we are. We would be capable of this when we also reach his level" Abelard wasn't shaken by what he saw. In his opinion, Mane was only this powerful because of his wielding level. As long as they got to his level, they would also be capable of doing this much.
"He has grown much stronger. And didn't he say that fire wasn't his strongest point?" Frederick pointed out. Indeed. Mane had stated emphatically on many occasions that he was more comfortable manipulating the ground he stood on, than he did with fire. Yet the display of fire power was overwhelming. It was clear that Mane had grown much stronger at control of the fire element in just a short month.
"He looks so much better with red hair than he does with blue. And when did he grow so muscular?" Selina was a bit surprised by Mane's change. Mane was a handsome child. There was no doubt about that. But his good looks were all attributed to his face. His body was that of a child, with no visible muscles. However, in just a month, Mane had grown much taller than he was. His initial four feet eight inches frame had grown by five more inches in just a month. Mane was now five feet two inches in height. An impressive height boost for one so young. He looked much more masculine now. Even to the point where Selina was a little attracted to him. She shook her head frantically whilst reminding herself that Mane was still a child.
Alexis was amused by Selina's actions. The others couldn't see it, but she could. It was as loud as the blast of a trumpet and as clear as the noonday sky. As intriguing as it was, she wasn't going to get mixed up in her son's romantic life. Besides, the girl didn't really have feelings for her boy. She was only temporarily smitten with his changes. Those kind of feelings settled down quickly. Plus, she was also astonished by what she was seeing.
Her son was definitely stronger than she thought. She didn't have a skill like spirit scan, so she wasn't sure of the specifics. But she was certain that Mane's fire was a bit too strong for his current level of strength. How did she reach this conclusion when she was nowhere near being involved in the tussle? It was simple really. She drew this conclusion from the simple fact that Mane was able to face her husband head on, and not lose out. In fact, it actually looked like Mane's flames were hotter than Ray's! It was fascinating really. Ray had a natural affinity for lightning due to his father. But the Brute King disliked his father when he was young. Once he found out who his father was, the Brute King rejected everything that he felt was given to him by his father. That included the powerful lightning glow that had been passed down to him. And so he trained, and trained until he was conversant with a power that he produced himself. He created his breath by studying the fire element and thriving in it. His fire was so strong that he was able to contend against Hades himself- and win! Yet Mane was capable of releasing such intense flames. Flames that overshadowed Ray's power.
This was why she knew that Abelard's words were mere fantasy, without a single ounce of truth. Even if Jake was at the peak of the earth realm, there was no way he would be capable of dealing such damage unless he worked on his understanding of fire as well. But she did understand Abe a bit. There was no way Mane would allow his friends to grow inferior to him. He would definitely share his insights with them. This gave them some hope that they would be able to fight those beyond their level as they grew stronger. But she wasn't going to be the one to dampen their spirits by telling them that there was no way their power will be as strong as Mane's. Not only were Mane's flames strong, they were increased by threefold due to Takeover. So they were much stronger than usual. They would have to figure that out for themselves. As for how long that will be, it wasn't that far away. They had improved massively themselves. She looked at the only silent one in the group. The boy's eyes followed Mane's figure intently, almost as if he wanted to carve the image of her son into his memory. She remembered that his name was Aegeus. And he had been disturbing her son for a while now. She smiled wryly when she thought about Mane's ugly expression upon seeing the boy here. She knew her son was going to have a throbbing headache after the duel.
"How on Zandor does he train? He is much stronger than he was a week ago. Did he have another breakthrough?" Abe wondered. That will surely be the only logical explanation for the level of strength they were witnessing. Either that or-
"He never was at his full strength. Even more terrifying will be that he still isn���t at full strength." Abelard was absorbed in his thoughts when Alexis' melodious voice shook his wondering mind back into the realm of reality.
"Look closely. The match is about to end."
Inside the training room that was no longer worthy to be classified as a room, the two figures were still locked in a stalemate. But this didn't last long. Mane's aura gradually grew stronger, and slowly overwhelmed Ray's. The crazed look on his face was unsettling, yet the one he faced paid no such attention to it, for he also had a similar look of insanity etched across his face. Looking at the two right now, they definitely were father and son. Mane finally broke past Ray's defence and delivered a blow that was as heavy as a mountain to Ray's jaw
*crack*
The sound of bones being crushed was loud and clear. Yet Ray wasn't the only one injured. Even as Mane crushed his jaw, the Brute King paid no attention to his injury. Rather, he left himself open so he could deliver a strike as well. He sent a heavy fist unto Mane's midsection, fracturing a few ribs.
*crack*
Both father and son leapt away from each other after their bone crushing collision. Mane wheezed painfully, yet his smile was still as twisted as it was before. And Ray looked unharmed, although his jaw was clearly in the wrong position. Both of them bent forwards slightly, and rushed at the other. They gathered all the energy they could master as they jumped at each other like crazed beasts who had been starved for several days.
"Brimstone!"
"Brimstone!"
*Bang*
The smaller fist collided with the bigger one. And at long last, the blue flames wiped off the red flames. Fire burnt fire. It was a remarkable sight. Mane's blow knocked his father out of position, sending the arm of the Brute King backwards and leaving him wide open. Mane wasn't going to let such an opportunity slide.
"Brimstone: Penetrating fist!"