Tension between master and pupil has never been so thick between Yuso's master and the redhead himself; the two had locked eyes, peering into each other's souls for countless moments. The master's mind inevitably clicked, a revelation shooting through the elderly man's brain.
"What are you seeking for by wanting to have "freedom?"" Master spoke dubiously, his muscles clenched cautiously.
The red-headed male's eyes shone brightly, his Shirugeto threatening to whirl and discharge its mighty power.
"I don't believe I spoke in tongues—I no longer wish to be commanded by you, and if such a demand is not met, I do not object to the use of force." Yuso responded, the aura around his body radiating a noxious sensation.
The master contemplated his next set of actions, subtly sneaking a glance at the five rings placed on his right hand. Such a moment was expected by the master, but it was far too soon to experience it quite yet. He must have been slipping in his control over Yuso.
The elderly man parted his mouth and said, "Don't act brash, Yuso—I give you all the freedom you want; however, I merely need some assistance here and there."
"Then, surely, you no longer need my "assistance,"… Ryouiki Urayamashi."
Master, now identified as Ryouiki Urayamashi, flinched, his eyes darkening. "I thought I told you not to refer to me by that name, Yuso."
"Before or after you tampered with my brain, Ryouiki?" The redhead spoke with venom, his previously desolate countenance morphing into a rageful face with every passing second.
Ryouiki sighed, tightly clenching his right hand, causing the five rings to glow in unison. A fight with Yuso was something he desperately wanted to avoid. Perhaps Ryouiki should have restrained the redhead more, beginning when his crimson hair began to grow longer.
"Heed this warning, Yuso: This is not a fight you want to have."
Yuso's expression changed instantly. On his once irate face, a smirk breached through his brimming anger. He was being warned—told that he would lose if he proceeded, be defeated if he were to draw out a fight from Ryouiki—and that was too tempting for the redhead to dismiss.
Without warning, Yuso's Shirugeto spun wildly.
Ryouiki's eyes shot open, not wanting to commence a battle in the underground bunker. There were far too many valuable items within the subterranean facility, and the last thing the elderly man wanted was to destroy them all.
"No!"
*BRRRM!*
With haste, Ryouiki dashed forward, stopping mere inches before Yuso, and then proceeding to lift his ring-wielding fist up and strike the redhead in the chest, which launched him through the ceiling and into the air above.
Transitioning to the sky, Yuso straightened himself out, flexing all of his muscles and fueling himself with his red Aura Sense, his demonic eyes spinning faster than ever. Despite the situation, the redhead grinned, flashing his teeth.
"It is true… you have grown exponentially from those rings! No doubt would you have been able to do something so audacious without them!" Yuso proclaimed, forming a pentagram beneath his feet to hover in the air.
This fight was going to be destructive and violent, especially since Ryouiki could promptly land a solid blow on the redhead.
"If I had known how much you let your guard down, I would've left you on your own as much."
Suddenly, Yuso spun around, his eyes spotting Ryouiki just as a knee was shoved into his face, knocking the red-headed male into the earth a few hundred feet below.
The elderly man stared at the dirt below, waiting for Yuso to shoot back up.
And that was exactly what happened.
With a roaring shockwave—*BOOM!*—Yuso tore through the dirt with a red beam, directed at Ryouiki with the intention of wiping the elderly man out entirely.
With mere milliseconds to move, the man successfully blocked the expansive red beam with a red shield of magic, splitting the attack in half. Shortly after the beam dissipated, Ryouiki dropped the barrier and frowned.
"This shouldn't have to happen, Yuso!"
Just as Ryouiki spoke, hundreds of pentagrams filled the sky around him, each one discharging powerful beams at the elderly man. Immediately, Ryouiki hopped from the pentagram he stood on and dodged each impending magic attack with elusive movements.
As the man was evading the beams swiftly, Yuso emerged out of a newly formed pentagram and kicked Ryouiki with immense strength, throwing the ring-wielding man across the lands.
"This is going to end my way, just as it started with yours." Yuso muttered, kicking himself through the air in the direction of the fallen Ryouiki.
When Yuso flew toward Ryouiki, a giant hand of green magic pushed itself out of the ground, attempting to crush the soaring redhead. Only a short stretch of time had passed before the green hand was—*BOOM!*—blown away by a massive explosion inside its grasp.
"Come on out, Ryouiki!" Yuso demanded, standing on a new pentagram after annihilating the giant green hand.
The elderly man then tackled Yuso in mid-air. Ryouiki's back was adorned with a pair of green magic wings, presumably conjured by the green ring, which has the power to create aura prints of any kind. He slammed the redhead in his arms against several mountains, sliding Yuso's body against their sides.
Yuso gripped Ryouiki's white robe while being pushed against the mountainsides, redirecting the two and blasting the elderly man into the depths of the mountain range with a single blast from his palms.
*KABOOM!*
Debris was tossed everywhere, with stones, dirt, and dust consuming the area entirely. The storm of debris was blinding, an indication of the destruction that had ensued.
"Just how much power do those rings harbor?" Yuso queried rhetorically, his Shirugeto slowing down as he fell down to the earth.
Before Yuso could touch down, numerous red and blue beams of light escaped from the debris, speeding toward the redhead. Yuso kicked himself through the air, quickly avoiding the incoming light attacks.
Ryouiki began to fly out from the debris as well, his right arm reared back with a blue hue emanating around it.
"RAAH!"
Yuso had narrowly spawned several layers of pentagrams before he and Ryouiki, but each one was shattered as he flew through them, his fist destroying everything in its path. With no other option, Yuso shielded himself with his own arms, taking the brunt of Ryouiki's punch.
Pain shot through Yuso's arms instantly, a sensation that the redhead had fortunately acclimated to in the recent events, experiencing a handful of powerful warriors that had the opportunity to smack Yuso down.
However, this punch was too strong.
The red-headed male was punched upward, flying into the planet's atmosphere. When Yuso could see the stars of space, signifying his new height, Ryouiki returned, flapping his green wings mightily, attempting to punch Yuso once more.
"That won't work again, Ryouiki." Yuso stated, observing the elderly man grow closer.
Yuso forced himself to the left, dodging Ryouiki's punch. The redhead then grabbed the elderly man's extended arm and pulled him within arm's reach, brutally lodging his foot within Ryouiki's abdomen. Yuso then clenched his free hand and rammed his knuckles into the elderly man's face, sending the white-robed man spiraling back down to Earth's surface.
Yuso, like Ryouiki, began to descend downward, influenced by gravity. Yuso's entire right arm was encompassed by his red Aura Sense, a coat of magic charging his limb with utmost power. Then, pentagrams covered the redhead's right arm, embedded in his black kimono's sleeve.
"There are no more interruptions up here, is there, Ryouiki!?" Yuso hollered, grinning as his long hair flung upward during his fall.
Surprisingly, Ryouiki balanced himself in the air, staring back at Yuso, who was still miles above him. The first thing the elderly man saw was the potency in his opponent's right arm; the energy it gave off alerted Ryouiki quickly.
'The power of the Shirugeto is a curse that can be utilized to enter separate dimensions by tearing through the current one. Now he plans to use it against me!' Ryouiki realized, taking mental notes as he fell toward the ground.
Ryouiki conjured a Genso-Kyu that managed to fluctuate with the five different colors of the Aura Sense: blue, red, yellow, purple, and green, using all five of his rings, each color shining brilliantly. The heat emitted by the sphere made it almost unbearable to be near.
With both parties bracing for a massive clash, they continued to close the gap between them. Ryouiki flapped his wings to fly up while Yuso kicked himself down, both of them charging their attacks as hard as they could.
"This is the end!"
*KABOOOOOOOMM!*
XXX
Ha! Cliffhanger! Realistically, I'm making this a cliffhanger to enable my brain to make the rest of this fight much better. The latter half is something I need to seriously contemplate and think about how I want it to proceed. I don't want this fight to be too quick, but again, there is another monumental moment occurring straight after this one—both huge turning points in the novel! Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_