As usual, Talen was always ready to make the first step. And the moment his sole hovered above the space he intended to step into, Uriel's finger raised—sky-blue aura glowing around his hand.
'That's not Divine Invocation. Then Untimely End? I remember the Crown's signature and that's not it. If not that old shit's technique then what? What else could you have up your sleeve… Uri?' Tal half-smiled.
The King put the finger to his lips. "Don't take another step until after I finish explaining." He raised both arms before turning his hands, showing the back of the palm. The lightning bolt and halo markings etched into his skin glistened with his angelic Fate.
"Divine Invocation, Untimely End, Fate's Crown. Divine Invocation is a conjurer ability that's innately accessed to an angelic world. The only thing I do is manifest the portals and choose who to use. Untimely End is a manipulation ability. Whatever is touched by my left hand can have its property altered to something entirely different. As for the Crown, I can't tell you anything about that, for it's sentient and will withdraw its power should I tell anyone its secrets. But you already knew all of that."
'Naturally. You're just explaining it all so you can get a power boost when you inevitably attack. It's funny. I thought you'd have more techniques, but it looks like you're bottoming out—'
A spark of electricity flickered between Talen's hair. If he hadn't sidestepped at the last second, his entire face would've been obliterated by the bolt, which closed the distance quite instantly.
"You're quite a nuisance. Quit moving around already, won't you?"
Uriel raised two fingers. As untold golden portals opened behind the King, he smirked, allowing the Unconquerable to gawk at the hundreds of Angels emerging from the gates. Talen's fist cocked back and punched, destroying the Angel that was punted right at him. Blood dirtying his face, Amit looked down at his fist, then back at the King.
'They're weak. But in exchange for less durability, the Angels' strength is enhanced tenfold. A wonderful combo and devastating technique.' Talen thought back, remembering the false fight he endured against Atlas's puppet of Uriel. 'Atlas is a scientist at heart, but he resorts to violence whenever he doesn't get what he wants. He did the same with Uri. On the other hand, when Uri fights, he strategizes and tries to ascertain the best way to win. He's willing to do anything to achieve victory. Even kill.'
Uriel fired more strengthened Angels down the ring at the Unconquerable. Talen's interlocked fingers spawned a flat square-squared domain before him. By the time their forms crashed through the shield, Amit was already gone.
The King's wide-eyed expression quickly normalized as he tracked his foe's signature. Talen appeared behind Barron in that instant, smashing his fist into Uriel's spear at the same time the King slashed his lance. The following impact dismantled the rubber railing bordering the spectators from the fighters, but neither Talen nor Uriel flew out. They were only pushed back.
Uri smirked. "You're faster. New technique?"
"Something like that…"
Talen blitzed in front of the King. Uriel leaned back, ducking under the clean slash curving from the Unconquerable's sword. Residual particles of superheated Fate flew from the tip—barely scorching Barron's nostril with a miniature burn. Spinning back, Uriel's hand touched the ground, spawning a portal under him for another Angel to emerge.
"Rank-0 Angel Captain: Powers. Kill him if you'd like, I get his technique in the form of a weapon regardless."
Talen's hand raised, smirking at the King with a smug cadence. "Lesson Five: Harmony."
Something akin to a giant's hand fell from beyond the clouds above the underground tournament, digging through the concrete composing the road and forming a hole in the ground. In one clean move, the giant hand's palm opened, squashing Powers—instantly obliterating him.
Uriel's white hair flew back from the wind of Talen's conjuration destroying the summoned Angel.
'I see. He's finally unlocked the five stages of the Unconquerable. But that hand wasn't Disorder's. That must mean he's at least half-mastered his reality-warping capabilities.' Uriel's teeth clenched, still smiling. A lone drop of sweat streamed down his head. 'Reality-warping: he can bring anything he wants into the world, as long as it's not theoretically impossible. Spatial phenomena like black holes and gravity are inconceivable to mimic, but he can open portals to space. What a troublesome ability…'
Talen's pointer finger aimed at the King. Uriel grew wings from his back and charged at him, swinging the length of his spear for the lawyer to roll under it. Ending up on the ring's opposite side, the Unconquerable's head turned, watching his opponent shift around in mid-air and hover above the ring.
The lightning bolt etched into the back of Uriel's palm glistened. Widening his eyes, Talen entered the air with a leap, glancing back at the arena reduced to mud.
'He used Untimely End on the stage? Smart!'
Talen vanished once Uriel's sword sliced the air before him. Reappearing all around the King, Amit's arms and legs flew, attempting to shower his foe with a flurry of blows. Countless golden portals opened--predicting Talen's attack pattern and using the gates to block the blows. Amid the haziness of the Unconquerable's afterimages, Uri's left eye opened and caught Tal's wrist, suspending the lawyer's barrage. Uri released Talen from his fingers and threw him back to the ground. Once crashing into the floor, he backflipped away, watching the King land on the ground with a stomp before his fist flew.
The Unconquerable's wide eyes meant the silent activation of his defensive technique. One King Barron completely forgot about until an automatic-hit trio sunk into Uri's build, breaking four of his ribs and making his nose draw blood. Reeling back, Barron covered his nose with one hand, watching Talen advance with a flawless sprint across the ground.
Uriel's bloody snout healed. Noting the brief green amid the King's aura, Talen persisted, unhurriedly beginning to cock back his arm.
'He gets stronger and faster the more consistently he fights. I believe I now understand why Talen was able to contend with the Disastrous. They were likely both continuing to grow amid their battle together. It'd be admirable if Monstrum weren't an actual Monster. But if I'm fighting someone who can rival Malum Monstrum, what chance do I stand? Can I beat... the Unconquerable alone?'
Talen finished advancing. Once he reached Uriel, his fist pierced the air, throwing the air with the push from his arm extending through space. The Unconquerable's knuckles bypassed the King's every possible defense and connected in less than a second, echoing a sonic boom through the subsurface labyrinth.
Uri luckily managed to block the blow with a square barrier's erection. Talen stifled a chuckle and stepped back, instinctively covering his arms as the domain's opposite detonated, throwing the shards into Amit's gaze. The Unconquerable smirked, gradually lowering his arm.
'NOW!' Black hair swaying, Talen advanced, stepping forward but once with the widest possible grin. "Give me everything you've got!"
Uriel flew from the other side of the barrier and instantly flew, slashing at Talen's head at his flight's end. Talen slid between his foe's legs, spun around, stood up, and kicked Uriel in the back, sending him into the crowd.
The King grinned amid his glide through the viewers, feeling the air flap through his cheeks and then, invoking his wings to float above the area.
Talen's aimed pointer burst a single beam of Fate from the ground. Uriel retreated into a portal, causing Talen to turn around and attack the space behind him. The duo's arms that clashed with each other released individual shockwaves that produced a wide gust—blowing back the silent spectators' hairs.
Talen and Uriel jumped away from one another after that. They glanced at their bodies—specifically, the numerous wounds plaguing them.
Wiping the blood from his lip, Tal smiled, now standing upright. "I'd always wanted to know who would win in a fight—you or me. Last time Atlas was controlling you, so the victory he attained by using your body is null."
"Didn't we already decide that on the trip over here? You're repeating yourself, Tal. Don't tell me you're afraid of losing," Uriel said.
The lawyer snickered. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm just having fun!"
Talen punched Uriel in the chest he spontaneously charged, launching the King into the air before reappearing below him, grabbing Uri by the ankle, and then throwing him into another wall.
Adjusting himself, Barron landed safely, glaring at Talen before he advanced a second time. The moment Talen's knuckles scraped the sky-blue aura around Uriel, a portal appeared to swallow his fist—its golden twin manifesting behind the Unconquerable's head. The punch struck him directly in the back of the skull.
Uriel smirked. "You're faster than me. You always have been. But because of that enhanced speed, I was able to predict your attack before you made it. Nobody throws punches as cleanly as Talen Amit. The instant they touch your body, the innards collapse and the external shortly follow."
The King landed beside Talen's immobile body, releasing the wings previously stretched out his back.
"I'm surprised. Frankly, I thought the blow would kill you. I guess that shows what I know. Stand up, Talen. We're not done yet—"
A fleeting instinct directed Uriel to sidestep at the last second. If he hadn't moved, the miniature projectile launched from Talen's hand would've hit and blown through the King's skull, killing him instantly. Barron retreated. Crouching on the ground some feet away from Talen, he watched him rise despite his wounds.
Uriel's sky-blue pupils widened at the sight of Talen's fixed skull. 'He's alright? But that should be impossible. Did he heal the moment I opened the portal behind me and threw his fist into his skull? That's too much!'
"Oof, that was a big one." Licking the blood from his lips, Talen smirked. "I'd never been hit by my punch before. Sure hurts like hell. That was the last hit you'll ever land on me. Because I'm going to win!"
It's abnormal for Eightfold's members to not focus directly on finding and killing Atlas Amit. After everything that's happened, that should be their top priority. But Talen and Uriel made the decision unanimously, for as Eightfold's Head, their orders are absolute. To settle the score they previously had between them, this fight was mandatory. Nothing could advance to the next step if they didn't end the conflict between one another right here and now.
With the King and Unconquerable fighting; the other members on standby at the base, one could only wonder. Wonder where the other pieces of the puzzle were—and what they were doing.
While Eightfold's Head fought in the arena, halfway across the world, another story was slowly unfolding. A black boot crushed the leaf below him with a stomp, looking down the path cut into the forest from the entrance he stood at. It was vast but purposeful.
"Find anything yet?" asked Muhammad, leaning back against the car.
Atlas nodded. "Indeed."
Long raven strands swaying with the wind, the Progenitor shifted, looking back at his comrades crowded around the vehicle.
"The disgusting vermin I gifted with Fate through the Gate I constructed has finally been found. Though, they remain strong. One of them managed to use Enhancement to increase their strength and cut off Monstrum's arm. An impressive feat—if the attempt weren't fruitless." Amit approached his allies. "Listen closely, you all. We are not here to make friends or recruit comrades. Living puppets are too much work. So, I permit you…
Kill everyone you see. Show no mercy."