- Lucifer and Amaterasu -
The shadow yokai that was refereeing the match had expected a slow start for the two. He had refereed tens of thousands of matches, and in most that involved fire magic, he had noticed a pattern of hesitation among the combatants. Most beings would size each other up while clearly visualizing which moves to take. This match was not that.
Lucifer exploded in the sky with a burst of flames. Amaterasu joined him, spawning three orange rings as she climbed onto a flying ring. The two were immediately trading explosive blows with orbs and jets of flame. The smaller floating stones disintegrated while the streams of water created clouds of steam.
The shadow yokai left through a dark puddle, reappearing in a room full of other yokai. He grabbed a badger yokai from the group and returned to the training area with them.
"I'm going to need more protection for this match."
"WHAT ARE YOU-" The badger yokai was interrupted by the cacophony of explosions.
The two yokai watched as the explosions ripped across the area. Bits of stone were constantly flying up into the sky as more of Lucifer and Amaterasu's attacks collided. Chunks of the ground that had been hit started floating into the air, creating a massive debris field in the process. The badger yokai shouted something to the referee and the two disappeared into another shadow puddle.
Lucifer couldn't deny that Amaterasu was impressing him. He had expected resistance in the battle but her ability to keep up with him, despite her handicap, had him putting more thought into his moves than he had initially planned. Even with his begrudging respect, there wasn't a shred of doubt that he would win.
Amaterasu's face was fierce with determination. She knew that Lucifer had more powerful flames and she was set on getting him to use them. She hadn't been giving it her all in the fight, tempering her aggression so that she would be ready to meet Lucifer's blue fire when it came out. She was not losing, no matter what.
The shadow yokai reappeared on the platform that was now far away from the two's battle. He had brought another two yokai with him, a snake woman and a half-bird man. He explained the situation and the four referees moved to catch up with Lucifer and Amaterasu. The destruction of the battle had burned a smoking path through the debris field.
Lucifer's anger had kept him in a constant state of aggression. With every explosion, he would close the distance slightly. He sustained more damage than he should but nothing serious. A few slight burns across his back barely registered as he continued his push forward.
Amaterasu noticed Lucifer closing the distance. She wasn't sure if it was to her advantage or not to let him do so. The hesitation in her actions led to an explosion from one of Lucifer's attacks landing closer than she would have liked. The sting of the heat from her new burn made her next choice easy. She conjured a fourth ring.
The shadow yokai and his three assistants were flying on a stone far above the battle. The shadow yokai was watching closely.
"I haven't seen something like this since Susano'o and Michael."
Lucifer had been surprised by the fourth ring. He backed off immediately as one of the rings started to track his movements. He weaved the flames of the chasing ring while keeping his eyes on Amaterasu. He noticed her other two rings were now floating vertically in front of her. He shot himself downward.
Amaterasu saw Lucifer's descent as nothing more than a retreat. She grinned, confident that she had scared him. She pointed her rings down at Lucifer, opened her mouth, and blasted a beam of flame. The beam grew in size as it passed through the rings, becoming a massive ray of destruction as it shot toward the ground.
The ring that had been chasing Lucifer stopped, leaving him to look up at Amaterasu's immediately-approaching ray of flames. The shadow yokai watching above was halfway into a portal, ready to stop the match immediately after the attack connected, but was stopped by the snake yokai. She pointed at a sight that no one had expected.
Lucifer placed his hands together flat and pointed them into the ray. Before the ray could make contact with his body he split the flames in an instant, sending the now-two rays behind him. The destructive force of the attack left two giant scorch marks behind Lucifer. He looked up at the awestruck Amaterasu, pointed his palm at her, and began his counterattack.
A chain of blue fire wrapped around Lucifer's arm, constricting but not burning his skin. A small jet of concentrated blue fire flickered out of his palm. It had barely been a few seconds but it felt as if the air in the area had stopped. The only one who knew the true dangers of what Lucifer was doing, was Lucifer, which he was using to his full advantage.
"What is he-" Amaterasu was mumbling before being interrupted.
The ground shook as the roaring blast of blue fire shot out from his palm. The extreme heat of the flame was made apparent to Amaterasu and the referees as they felt the overwhelming warmth cover their bodies in an instant. As time slowed down in her mind, Amaterasu questioned why she had wanted this, before shaking her head and moving her rings to block.
The blue flames were diffused by Amaterasu's rings but not before being heavily damaged. The rings crumbled into ash. Amaterasu went to conjure new rings but was immediately met with two blue orbs exploding around her, knocking her off her ring.
Amaterasu shifted into her wolf form as she fell. Lucifer continued his onslaught of blue fire. Amaterasu's white fur was singed as she focused on weaving the flames a safe distance around her. Her fur absorbed a majority of the burns that Lucifer's attacks were inflicting. She felt an instinct to hold her breath, though she didn't know why.
Amaterasu landed close to Lucifer, steam rising off her blackened fur. She transformed back into a woman to remove the burning hair from her body. Before she could transform back into a wolf, Lucifer was within striking range.
A memory played in Lucifer's mind of a conversation between him and Lao.
- Lucifer and Lao -
(Past)
Lucifer was watching Lao throw a punch. "So that's the gist of it? Full body weight, move the hip, punch through them?"
"And aim for the chin if possible," Lao added.
- Lucifer and Amaterasu -
Lucifer connected his fist with Amaterasu's jaw. Even though Amaterasu was reeling from the hit she was still lucid enough to transform her left hand into a claw, swiping across Lucifer's chest as she stumbled backward.
'Was what that?' Amaterasu's thoughts were a jumble as she tried gathering herself.
Lucifer didn't miss a beat, stomping his foot forward and slamming his fist into Amaterasu's side. Amaterasu spat up as Lucifer's fist imprinted on her skin. She was quick to conjure one ring that she grabbed onto to retreat. Lucifer wasn't giving her any room to escape, shooting a large, unavoidable wave of orange fire at her.
Amaterasu dropped from the ring, using it as a shield to weave the flames around her. Her hand gripped the scorched dirt of the ground in anger as she formed three more rings. She was feeling a horrifying familiarity with the situation that drove her to abandon her reason. As her glare met Lucifer's, she saw a flash of Death.
"Go on," Lucifer mocked her. "I don't want you claiming you lost because of your handicap, so consider this time I'm giving you compensation."
Lucifer started walking backward, keeping his eyes on Amaterasu as he went. Amaterasu stood up with a shake as her mind struggled to focus. She took deep, uneven breaths. Had it been a normal match, she would have forfeited. As she centered herself, she tried to take solace in the fact that Tsukuyomi wasn't around, for he would have stopped the match by now.
"Ready?!" Lucifer shouted in an impatient tone.
'Why are you so strong?' Amaterasu shook her head. "READY!"
The shadow yokai turned to the other yokai. "Get ready to stop this before it ends the same way Susano'o and Michael's match did."