As if a trigger had been pulled or a wheel cap turned, countless light fragments flew to Mane and drowned his entire figure in light. Several small explosions rang out as Mane was baptized in the light of the tree that never went out. Along with his baptism came the dimming of the light in the cave as the Light Tree slowly gave up its essence, much to the alarm and dismay of the Emerald Crystal Monkey Queen.
*Roar!*
Unleashing a loud roar filled with fear and anxiety, she rushed towards Mane, the two drones that surrounded her moving even faster than she was. She disregarded her huge size and darted towards the Supreme, not worrying about the fact that her actions were causing the cave to become more unstable or that she was bumping into the ceiling so many times. Her goal was to get to the one who wanted to rob them off their means of growth.
"Prideful Sword: Dance of the Half-Moon"
A calm voice contrary to the anxious state of the Monkey Queen rang out from within the white light capsule, and a very thin sword light flashed past the walls of the cave. The beam of light was dimmer than all the ones Mane had produced before, yet occasionally a few sparks surrounded the sword light and lit up the place. It moved like an elusive shadow. Like one drunk with wine it moved randomly and unusually. So much so that its trajectory could not be discerned. And it was with such trickery that it travelled forward and struck the two drones.
*Whish*
As though it was nothing but a gust of wind, it passed right through both drones – the sword light – and kept travelling towards the Monkey Queen.
The charging Monkey Queen snarled angrily at the incoming sword light. It was as thin as a strand of hair; maybe even thinner. If it wasn't for her incredible vision as a Heaven Realmer, she wouldn't have even noticed it. But she could feel that the power contained in it was a tad greater than the previous sword light! Although it wasn't as bright as the sword light born from Wrath of the Half-Moon or as long, the power it carried was more threatening. And she knew that she couldn't be lax. The drones that had been sliced into two equal halves and were falling a few meters in front of her were perfect examples of how brilliant this attack was.
Sonic Blast!
The Monkey Queen wasted no time in unleashing her first attack. This was how she dealt with his previous sword lights: weaken them and then destroy them. But unlike before Sonic Blast didn't explode upon impact. It didn't weaken the light at all! Rather it was sliced through by the sword light which just kept travelling towards the Queen!
The Monkey Queen's shock couldn't be explained. Sonic Blast wasn't a tangible form of matter. It was energy. Pure energy converted into a blast! A solid sword light shouldn't be able to disperse it like it was cutting through a doughnut. And the blast was meant to explode upon impact. Yet it hadn't. It was as if the sword light had constricted the power of her energy blast.
*Roar*
Silver's mother roared passionately and span her rod at such a great speed that all that could be seen of the great weapon was a blurry golden light. Several earth walls ascended from the ground below and positioned themselves before her. There were about 8 earth walls in total. And though they were made hastily, they were dense and not easily broken. A golden light surrounded the walls even as the sword light crashed into them, reinforcing their defense. All the while the Monkey Queen was stopped in her tracks – unwillingly of course – but stopped nonetheless. She kept spinning her rod and gathering momentum. The familiar golden yellow light of earth surrounded both she and her weapon. And several streams of Edict rushed to her side.
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
*Whish*
Mane's singular sword beam was like an unstoppable general. No matter how dense the walls were, it passed through them all; slicing through like they were nothing but cakes of butter! And though it grew weaker with every successful conquest, it maintained its course. It was so dim that it looked like it would go out any minute now, but it just kept moving.
The Monkey Queen was well aware of the failure of her walls. But that was okay. She hadn't expected them to do the job or she wouldn't have been preparing her actual attack. Gathering the last bit of the assembled Edict she took a huge leap forward and smashed her rod directly onto the sword light.
*Bang*
There was a violent collision. For the first time since its appearance Mane's sword beam was stopped in its tracks. It had run into something it couldn't cut through. Although this was the person it was meant to defeat, it couldn't. For this person was no ordinary foe. She wasn't a wall that lacked little resistance or a helpless drone. She was the Monkey Queen! And the crown which shown ever brightly on her head was proof of her nobility and power.
*Roar*
The Monkey Queen was forced back by a few yards. Even though the sword attack had been weakened by many times before getting to her, it was still strong and she was forced to retreat, cancelling out the meters she had covered in just a clash. Sticking her rod to the floor she cried out loudly as the figure of the one who threatened to steal their tree was unveiled.
Once the light disappeared, Mane's figure was exposed for all to see. Mane had taken much from the Light Tree, but it seemed he still had discretion. For the tree still provided this place with light. Although it was several times dimmer than before, it was gradually increasing in intensity; a revelation that calmed the previously uneased hearts of the Monkey Queen and every other Crystal Monkey here greatly. After all, the Light Tree was what provided them with their strength. Without it, they would be stuck in their current levels forever. So seeing it going out was a scary experience for them. Even Silver who wanted out didn't want to see that happen. And all were relieved that it didn't. But even their relief didn't ease their grudge towards the one who had given them such a scare.
Standing several meters away from the Monkey Queen was a teen clad in the dark aura of Takeover. His eyes were red from the power of his Glow, and his hair shared that very same color still. The blue flames that previously coated the black aura were no more, but that didn't make Mane any less threatening. For in place of the flames was the element that birthed fire.
Several lightning bolts appeared intermittently around Mane's figure. Whenever they did, a white light would flash briefly within his eyes before disappearing. The lightning consumed every part of him: his clothes, his body, and his weapons. The pitch black blades looked like swords made by priests, for they shone brightly and exposed a whiteness that was not at all their nature. Looking at them now, no one would be able to identify them as the dark swords that Mane used. For they were as white as the Light Tree itself. And their cries of excitement filled the hearts of the monkeys with dread. And in that respect, even the Monkey Queen was the same.
She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but Mane seemed much more dangerous than before. If she had to venture a guess, she would reckon that her unease was born from the sparks that were generated around him from time to time. His physical transformation wasn't that spectacular to her. After all, he had been clad in blue flames only recently. But the fact that he could use lightning was a huge danger. The lightning sword light she had struggled to destroy was a perfect example of the kind of danger that lightning was.
It was a powerful element that sought nothing but distraction, and she knew it couldn't be underestimated. She didn't know how the Light Tree was able to bestow lightning onto someone. But it had. And all she could do now was deal with that someone.
"How?" Hildegarde was dumbfounded as well. If Mane's flames from before were like sitting in a hot room that brought discomfort, his lightning clad form was like being trapped in a slow cooker that slowly drained you of your life. It was much more threatening!
The thing was, Mane's lightning was at the bottom of the barrel when compared to his proficiency with the other elements. Even wind was better than lightning. Yes, Mane used wind to complement the other elements, but he used it much better than he did lightning. He was only able to use lightning freely whenever it rained and he could directly sense it. Other than that, his proficiency level was pretty average and was only at the Intermediate Stage. It was progressing quickly, but it could be quicker.
But now Hildegarde felt a change. The lights that surrounded Mane were born of lightning for sure. And it was lighting at the Mastery Level! It was unbelievable. A dream that wasn't a dream. And Mane was the lucky dreamer.
"I could feel lightning within this tree the very moment we stepped in here," Mane slowly explained.
When they first arrived, he could feel himself drawn to the Light Tree; almost as if there was something beneficial for him. He couldn't quite understand it, so when he and Lily had decided to stay a few days, he had approached the tree. He used True Eyes on it (he didn't tell Hildegarde this as he explained) and he found out that it was filled with Lightning! The light of the Light Tree never died because it was a resource born of Lightning. The sparks of lightning in its core were transferred to its leaves, and they converted this into actual light energy. But when these leaves were removed from the tree they lost their connection to their main source, so one wouldn't be able to tell that the light it produced was from Lightning – and Mane was no different.
Mane could feel the anxiety of his bloodline. As one born of lightning, it sought to consume whatever was in the tree. The issue was that Mane had no idea what was going to happen were he to give in to his urges. Would the tree die, or would it still be able to go on. And if it could go on, how long could it go on for. After all, it was of vital importance to the Crystal Monkeys, and he didn't want to ruin it.
However, he had given in at the end. The duel was nothing but an excuse for him to surrender to his cravings. And when he did, he realised that he had been worried for nothing. The Lightning source within the small Light Tree was so vast that Mane couldn't devour it all even if he wanted to. Not only was it vast, it seemed to have regenerative abilities, explaining how the Light Tree was capable of providing light for all eternity. He had been lucky. Not only did he get what he wanted, but the Light Tree was also safe.
"I see," Hildegarde smiled gleefully after hearing Mane's explanation. "That is great for your bloodline then!" she added and Mane nodded his head. His bloodline was an improbable one and the main reason for his immense talent. Yet somehow it had improved after being baptized by the Light Tree, and he had grown stronger. For now that he could use lighting without having to depend on the weather, his battle prowess had gone up yet again.
*Bang*
Mane stamped his feet onto the ground and moved. His control over lightning hadn't been fine-tuned, so the path he stomped had a deep footprint in it. And every step he took left similar effects on the ground. He covered the distance between he and the Monkey Queen within a second, much to her dismay, and slashed his blades at her.
"4 Way Cut: Perfect Square"
A thin square shaped beam travelled speedily and crushed into the Monkey Queen.
The large size of the Monkey Queen proved a hindrance yet again. Whilst she wasn't faster than the current Mane, she was fast enough to avoid a blow like this. For she was still a Heaven Realmer. But with no space between her head and the ceiling, all she could do was receive the attack head on.
*Boom*
The Monkey Queen was sent flying into the walls which shook violently upon receiving her weight and forcefully stopping her retreat. The rod she held onto was in her hands no more, for it had been knocked away. It lay on the ground a few meters away from her. Her vision was blurry, and her sense of balance disorganized, yet she could still make out the lightning clad figure rushing towards her.
Mane sheathed his swords and returned to basics. His opponent was unarmed, and since it wasn't a fight to the death he had to be unarmed as well. Clenching his fists and covering them with lightning, he made a giant leap towards the Emerald Crystal Monkey Queen who was currently dazed. Without an ounce of mercy he struck her with his most violent fist technique.
"Splintering Fist!"
*Bang*
And knocked the Queen out.