Teo's samurai clashed with the minotaur relentlessly. Their size and attacks crushed the environment as their blades met on equal terms.
"I've got a feel of how it fights. It's merely a stupid brute with no real strategy," Teo said observantly.
He feinted at the minotaur several times, never intending to strike. Instead, trying to draw the minotaur into an attack.
His coax worked. The minotaur attacked in earnest, swinging its ax swiftly.
Expecting this, the samurai dodged to the side and slashed the minotaur's chest.
The minotaur stumbled backward. Enraged by the pain, it tightened its grip on the ax and swung with all its might.
Teo attempted to counter with his prana, but his body winced upon its manipulation. The effects of his earlier usage of true devil prana were still weighing him down.
The minotaurs blade struck hard, tearing through the samurai's armor while also damaging Teo himself.
"Nuisance," Teo muttered under his breath.
Similarly, although beginning to figure the minotaur out, Raijah's body ached from the encounter with the krakens.
Despite this, he continued to bombard the minotaur. Blue lightning rained down. Each bolt struck the minotaur with more force than the last.
Raijah already felt his power running out.
"I'll have to release it all soon," Raijah thought, "but I can't do that here."
He rocketed into the distance, expecting the minotaur to follow speedily.
To his relief, the minotaur rushed toward him in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, his weakened state prevented him from thoroughly outspeeding the giant.
The minotaur utilized its superior reach as it attempted to knock Raijah out of the air.
Raijah blocked the blade, preventing it from inflicting damage. However, the impact sent him tumbling down to the ground beside the wall.
Now beside the wall, Raijah felt he was far enough to avoid destroying the civilization at the center of the mountains.
His blue aura grew as the afternoon skies began to rumble. The rolling thunderclouds blotted out all signs of the sun. Strikes of lightning sent rippling waves of thunder crashing through the sky.
The ground shuddered slightly, and the minotaur felt a chill sweep through its body, the thick hairs on its arms rising as if electrified.
"Now," Raijah said calmly, "let's finish this."
Back in the valley and under clear skies, Val and Cora faced off against Nezumi.
Val failed to meet Nezumi's gaze, feeling too furious to look at him.
She fastened the sheathed blade to the belt of her pleated skirt.
"You want a fight?" she asked.
Nezumi's wide grin all but answered her question.
"Then that's what you'll get," Val declared.
She and Cora produced powerful bursts of speed, leaving small craters in their path. As if under a trance, Val and Cora moved in synchronized steps.
They initiated hand-to-hand combat with Nezumi, attempting to overwhelm him with their combined strength. They moved back and forth, striking relentlessly with kicks and punches.
Nezumi parried, but they continued to attack.
He evaded Val's kick which bashed into Cora's face and dodged Cora's punch which slammed into Val's chest.
Now on the offensive, Nezumi didn't let up. The girls dodged desperately and tried to counter, but Nezumi pressed on without yielding.
His attacks finally slipped past their guard, and he knocked them off balance.
He grabbed an arm from each girl and pulled them together.
The women bashed their heads together, the shock causing them to bite their tongues.
Nezumi jumped into the air and performed a split kick. Cartilage cracked, and blood wet their lips as they tumbled in opposite directions.
The attack created considerable separation, but they regained their footing and glanced up at Nezumi, who stood between them.
Nezumi looked up at the sky, his expression blank, "so this is doragonken."
He looked back down at his hands, smug from the feeling of being unstoppable. "I love it."
Nezumi glanced to his left and right. Val and Cora shared a perplexed expression.
"What is this?" Val pondered, "just yesterday. He was furious with everyone for being prohibited from learning doragonken..."
She caught Cora's determined gaze, which halted her train of thought.
"I know you two are close," Cora said, "but we don't have time for you to get sentimental."
She slammed her fist into the ground, "All we can do is beat some sense into him."
The ground surrounding Nezumi split apart. He fell into the pit, and it closed immediately, leaving only his head above the surface.
He looked up and saw Val plunging toward him, blade in hand.
She channeled her signature prana into the blade to increase its might. Purple prana swirled around her sword as she sliced at the confined Nezumi.
The attack blew away everything in the vicinity, creating a crater and causing smoke and debris to obscure Val's vision.
Although the drop of blood on her blade confirmed contact, she looked around and saw no sign of Nezumi.
Nezumi appeared behind her with a gash across his face.
"They work well together," he said, "I had to use my ririsu to escape that attack."
He looked toward his periphery, where he last saw Cora. To his surprise, she was no longer there.
The earth vibrated, and Cora emerged from the ground directly below him. She slammed her fist into his jaw, sending him spiraling upward.
Val followed up by soaring toward Nezumi and thrusting her blade.
While in the air, Nezumi dodged sharply and forced his knee into Val's face, knocking her out of the air.
Once he landed on his feet, he knew to turn his attention to Cora, but he was a step too late.
"Crystal Prana: Crystal Gauntlet!"
Cora molded her crystal prana into spiked armored gloves to strengthen her fist.
She threw an array of punches which Nezumi skillfully blocked and avoided, creating distance between them.
A purple chain suddenly ensnared Nezumi. Val held the chain tightly. Using it as a lasso, she reeled him in a circle.
Cora intercepted Nezumi mid-swing, and with a perfectly timed punch, she sent him tumbling through the air and out of Val's chains.
Nezumi caught himself quickly, landing on his feet and preparing his next attack.
Cora and Val zoomed toward Nezumi, who interlocked his hands.
"Wood Prana: Great Forest Creation!"
Several roots sprouted from the ground, piercing through any obstructions they encountered. The trees grew swiftly, giving Cora and Val no time to escape.
In moments, the roots became a dense growth of trees. They left no space for inhabitants, trapping Val and Cora within their masses.
Nezumi floated above them, staring at the forest that stretched several miles long and wide.
He brought his hand to his face and formed a fist.
"Wood Prana: Great Forest Destruction!"
The trees within the forest went limp. They folded over, and the treetops pierced back into the earth, causing the trees and the rest of the forest to spiral inward, crushing everything within under the forest's weight.
Nezumi watched as the forest continued to bury itself, when he saw a violet glow from within the forest.
"Ririsu Prana: Shōkyo!"
The forest's remains vanished instantly, leaving no traces of their existence.
Another purple light followed, so bright that it temporarily blinded Nezumi.
When his eyes readjusted, large columns of earth protruded from the ground, carving a path toward him in the sky. Although battered and bruised, Val raced through the columns as they grew taller.
Seeing no sign of Cora, Nezumi focused entirely on Val, readying himself to counter her attack.
As she neared him in the sky, Val chucked her sword. Like a boomerang, it whirled around Nezumi, missing him entirely.
"She missed," Nezumi lifted his hand, "and now she's finished."
"Sealing Prana: Release!"
Cora emerged from Val's sword behind Nezumi. She grabbed onto Ame-no-Ohabari, which Val had filled with her prana.
Cora sliced, giving Nezumi no time to sense her aura.
"Sealing Prana: Trinity Burst!"
Violet prana emerged from the blade, and Cora produced a burst of speed. She slashed Nezumi, slicing him and obliterating everything in her path.
Val and Cora landed beside one another, their bodies equally damaged. Ame-no-Ohabari landing in Val's hand shortly after.
Pieces of the earth columns crashed into the ground. Smoke spread across the area, but Val and Cora could see Nezumi's silhouette.
They looked toward him expectantly. Both wondering, "Did we get him?"
Nezumi emerged from the smoke. Although he grinned cheerfully, the damage to his body was evident.
His shirt and shoes had been decimated, revealing his bloodied body with widespread gashes and tears.
All that endured were the remains of his pants, torn and made into a raggedy excuse for shorts.
Despite his prevalent wounds, his grin widened.
"I love this feeling," he said.
"This feeling that no one can stop me."