Josec, Buern, Harry and Estelle had just arrived at the foot of the volcano. Above them, Fencer and the Masters struggled feverishly to hold Apollo at bay.
"Good the kids are here! Buern, go into your psychoraged state and aim your water at Kyem and I!" Fencer roared.
Buern nodded.
"SUPREME MARINE PSYCHORAGE!" she called as she focused her will.
She had the same calm look of fury on her face she had when she battled the four Black Captains. The air in the atmosphere began to condense. The moisture in the air gathered around her and formed an orb encasing her. The orb began to grow in size.
"RAGING LEVIATHAN!" Buern roared just as the leviathan, her psychorage burst forth from the orb.
She took in a deep breath, reared up and aimed at Fencer and Kyem. She breathed out a stream of water. The stream hit Fencer and Kyem.
"I won't be very useful in this battle" Master Ayumi said.
"Protect the kids" Fencer said.
Ayumi nodded and flew down to the students.
"I cannot directly interfere in the affairs of your world, you know that Fencer" Master Pheisl said.
"I do. It is enough that you support us with your will. Protect the children" Fencer said.
Pheisl nodded and flew down to Josec and the other students.
"I can distract Apollo but I don't have any attacks that can actually hurt him" Master Andrea said.
"You are a lightning affinity type" Fencer said.
"Under the right conditions I can also utilize the thunderstorm element but this continent's climate is still very arid so I can't do much" Master Andrea said.
"Any help would be welcome" Fencer said.
"I may not be able to directly interfere in your world's affairs but I can still aid you by enforcing your ability to act" Master Pheisl said and enforced Masters Ayumi and Andrea with water element.
He enforced the students as well.
"This way you should be able to deal some damage when necessary" Pheisl said.
Estelle, Josec and Harry psychorage improv.'d with Buern's help. They flew up to aid Masters Fencer and Kyem in battle. Buern attacked Apollo with streams of water but he was far too quick for her and evaded all her attacks.
"TCH! That leviathan is a real bother. I'd better crush it first!" Apollo roared and charged for Buern.
In an instant, Fencer was there to parry his attack.
"Don't even think about it!" Fencer roared and pushed Apollo away from the leviathan. Apollo's attacks were deflected and hit the ground scorching a large area of the landscape.
Fencer put up some distance between himself and Apollo. Apollo attempted to attack the students again but this time, Master Kyem parried his attack and drenched him with water. Apollo screamed in pain and drew back.
"You should give up Apollo. You won't be able to hurt the kids while we're here. We're the ones you should be fighting" Fencer said seriously.
Apollo smirked.
"We'll see about that" he laughed and flew higher into the sky.
Kyem and Fencer pursued him. When they were quite high, Apollo froze in his tracks and turned to face them. They were on guard, not daring to underestimate Apollo even once.
"You have improved greatly since the last time we fought Fencer" Apollo said.
"It has been ten years. Unfortunately however I am compelled to say you've gotten slower Apollo" Fencer narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, the last time I fought you in this form as well. It does indeed generate excess flame but all that flame….my power is diffused in this form. Back then it intrigued me to see a human with strength unfamiliar to me. You had so much potential, it would have been a waste to finish you off and before I realized it I had exhausted all my strength trying to test you while still in this form. It was quite irritating to discover that all my attempts to kill the land had gone to waste. I really had no choice but to withdraw" Apollo said with a smirk.
"Well you never really had any real concern for the environment you fought in. What happened was that it worked against you that time. I didn't even have to put too much effort into distracting you. You were already hellbent on my destruction" Fencer said.
"This time will be different Fencer. You might find this battle a little like something out of your worst nightmares if I had to frame it as honestly as possible" Apollo said as the flames around him began to shrink and become more focused.
The air around the area began to burn with intense heat and the Masters could now clearly sense Apollo's intent to kill.
"INVERTED PSYCHORAGE ABILITY…!" Apollo called with a smirk.
Masters Fencer and Kyem opened their eyes in shock.
"Don't tell me that you…a psychorage that serves Souryu has mastered the art of Jo-lan!" Fencer exclaimed in horror.
"Why are you so surprised Fencer? It is a rule of battle to know one's enemy and I've been curious…what is this mythical art that caused our downfall in ages past? Don't be deceived though Fencer…it is not the same Jo-lan you know that I now wield. This is the inverted Jo-lan art. If Jo-lan exists to aid man in confronting the Black Dragon, then this art exists to aid the dark psychorages in crushing man and Jo-lan!" Apollo roared.
Pheisl turned to Master Colette.
"From here on out, Fencer and Kyem are going to be facing a threat with which they are not familiar. Use your psychorage ability to enforce them" Pheisl said.
"ACCESSING EDGAR FENCER'S LIBRARY…COMMENCE INDEXING…RETRIEVING ALL DATA ON FLAME STYLE JO-LAN ARTS…" Master Colette began to focus.
"ARMOUR OF THE SUN!" Apollo called as the flames around him condensed to form bright flaming armour.
Apollo was now the size of a man. In his hands he held a flaming sword. In a flash, he phased past Kyem and Fencer and smirked. Fencer and Kyem were frozen in shock. Moments later, the terrible sound of blows echoed all around them. Masters Fencer and Kyem grunted in pain.
"It's time for your punishment to begin" Apollo said and turned to face them.
Masters Fencer and Kyem regained their senses and rushed to attack him. Just before their attacks hit, Apollo was seen to be walking past them. He stood behind them just as their attacks missed. Moments later, the sound of blows could be heard and Masters Fencer and Kyem grunted in pain.
"What's going on? Is he really hitting us or perhaps utilizing an unknown technique?" Fencer asked.
"Why are you so surprised that I can move so fast Fencer? All motion is as a result of heat. Without heat, everything comes to a standstill…to a stasis. The processing of food is as a result of heat, the decay of food is also caused by heat. In the absence of heat there can be no growth. Heat has an effect on aging too. Light, the fastest moving force in the universe is created as a result of heat and I am the ultimate embodiment of heat. After spending five years in a volcano, did you really think you'd stand a chance against my ability to cause motion?" Apollo said with a laugh. "It's sad Fencer…really sad. In your current state…you can't protect anyone" Apollo said as he turned his attention to the students and the other Masters. "Once the three successors to the phoenix clan's legacy are ended, there will be nothing to stop Souryu from dominating your world" Apollo said.
Master Pheisl turned to Buern.
"The current terrain is to Apollo's advantage. All this heat is only making him stronger. If Fencer and Kyem, if any of us are to stand a chance, we'll need your help Buern. From what I can see, you are able to condense particles of moisture in the atmosphere to your advantage. There isn't as much moisture as we'd like but I'm guessing the opposite is just as true. Buern, I want you to diffuse the moisture contained in your current psychorage into the air" Master Pheisl said.
"That would mean using up all the power of my current psychorage. I won't be able to do anything afterwards" Buern said.
"I know" Master Pheisl said as he stared at the battle in the sky with a serious unyielding gaze.
Buern inhaled deeply and the water surrounding her began to evaporate.
"Now Buern, by now Jason should have restored a substantial amount of life into the soil. That must mean there is more moisture in the soil now. I want you to absorb the water in the soil and diffuse it into the air as well" Master Pheisl said.
Buern obeyed.
"I can vaguely comprehend what you have planned. I hope it works" Buern said and obeyed.
The air around slowly began to become humid and overtime, clouds began to gather in the atmosphere.
"Can I ask why all of this is necessary?" Buern asked.
Master Andrea smiled.
"For this…God Weapon Rai! Human Form!" Master Andrea called.
The sparkling sword in her hand began to radiate with lightning and then it levitated and slowly transformed into a man with silver hair and armour that sparked with lightning.
"Rai, I want you to use the moisture in the air right now to generate a thunderstorm. We need it to fend off Apollo's attacks" Master Andrea said.
The man nodded and raised his hands towards the sky. A bolt of lightning struck him and in an instant he disappeared.
"…UNLEASHING EMMA COLETTE'S ULTIMATE FORTE! PSYCHORAGE ABILITY! THE GREATEST COPYRIGHT ENFORCER! SYNCHRONIZING KNOWLEDGE BASE WITH FENCER AND KYEM!" Master Colette called out.
"PSYCHORAGE ABILITY IMPROV! RUNE KNIGHT REGALIA MODE VER. KNOWLEDGE!" Master Fencer called out.
"PSYCHORAGE IMPROV. ALTERED CHAMELEON STATE VER. KNOWLEDGE!" Master Kyem called out.
A crimson mantle grew out of Master Fencer's armour and his armour turned crimson. Blue decorative lines began to extend all around his armour.
"Listen to me Fencer, Kyem, you are indeed getting hit by Apollo however he is moving faster than sound, perhaps faster than light so there is a delay between the actual impact of his strike and when you perceive it" Master Colette informed the two Masters.
"How do we fight something like that?" Master Kyem asked.
"Right now, you probably can't because you're lacking in physical ability in comparison to his so I suggest you begin by making a mental note of his speed. If we can calculate the space of time between his actual strike and the delay before the impact felt, we should be able to launch counterattacks by timing our own strikes to hit at the point of actual impact" Master Colette said.
"But that would mean we would have to somehow perceive when his actual strike lands. How do we do that if our senses can't even keep up?" Fencer asked.
"I suggest focusing your all into your sense of sight. That would mean you would also need to alter your perception of time to match his" Master Colette said.
"Easier said than done. It's one thing to theorize about all this. It's another thing to use it in actual combat" Master Fencer said.
"Which is why I suggest you and Kyem start putting up some distance between yourselves and Apollo. If you fly at your highest speed, it should slow down your perception of Apollo's speed as he chases after you" Master Colette said.
"That is doable" Fencer and Kyem said as they flew away from Apollo at top speed. Apollo chased after them. Fencer looked behind himself. Apollo was rapidly catching up.
"Trying to run away now are you Fencer?" Apollo mocked.
"Does it look like I'm running?" Fencer said with a confident smile.
In an instant, Apollo disappeared.
"Apollo does not have the ability to completely extinguish his presence so I doubt he has vanished or anything of the sort. He is probably moving at a faster speed than your eyes can follow. Cloaking his presence with infinite speed is dare I say, an original concept" Master Colette said.
"Do I sense a plan Emma?" Fencer asked.
"However, he will have to make contact if he wishes to attack you. The aim of concealing one's presence in battle is to attack from an opponent's blind spot. I suggest you and Kyem cover each other's blind spots. If you can sense his intent to kill…you should be able to parry his attack" Master Colette said.
Masters Kyem and Fencer flew upwards while facing each other. They were watching each other's backs.
"Like this we can cover our backs" they said.
"Apollo will most likely aim for our blind spots. Our current blind spots are above and below. At the speed we're currently flying at and if we take into consideration the direction in which we're flying, he can't do much damage if he attacks us from below" Fencer thought to Masters Kyem and Colette.
The sky above them began to turn dark as terrible storm clouds gathered. The wind began to blow intensely and thunder began to sound accompanied by flashes of lightning.
"Yes, the most likely place he will attack from is…" Master Colette said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Rai! Parry his attack now!" Master Andrea called.
"ABOVE!" Masters Fencer and Kyem roared just as a terrifying intent to kill permeated the skies.
A tremendous bolt of lightning struck just before the fatal moment. It succeeded in blinding Apollo and Apollo's attack missed just as he appeared.
"There you are you obnoxious flame!" Fencer roared as he and Kyem struck a blow to Apollo's face with all the strength they could muster.
The blow struck him and sent him flying.
"H-HOW…HOW DID YOU COUNTER MY ATTACK?!" Apollo roared in a rage as he struggled to steady himself in the air.
"You're right Apollo…you probably didn't fight me seriously ten years ago and I lack the strength to stop you on my own now that you've gathered your strength over a period of five years but look around you Apollo. Did it really look like I was fighting you alone?" Master Fencer said. "Your inverted Jo-lan enforces your own strength probably multiplying it many times over. The Jo-lan I know was born to counter insurmountable odds by fusing the thoughts, actions, abilities and wills of many into one. There is only so far you can go on your own" Master Fencer said.
"Then you've probably not known the terror of facing unparalleled strength! With my next move, I will turn you all and your Jo-lan into nothingness!" Apollo said as he raised his hands towards the sky.
"OBNOXIOUS FLARE OF THE SUN-SONG DEVIL!" Apollo roared and pointed his arms towards the earth.
The sky began to glow brightly and a loud sizzling sound was heard. The sound of the vapour in the air being burnt.
As everyone watched on, the sky turned into a sea of fire as a tremendous looking ball of flame slowly descended.
Josec raised his eyes to the sky. The scene looked familiar to him though he didn't understand why.
"ARE YOU INSANE APOLLO?! YOU COULD WIPE OUT ALL LIFE ON THIS CONTINENT!" Fencer roared.
"That is my purpose in the first place" Apollo said with a smirk.
As Josec, the reverted Buern and everyone else watched the sky in horror, Josec suddenly felt a familiar feeling on his shoulder. He opened his eyes in surprise and turned to see his mother.
"Mom!" he called out loudly.
Everyone turned to see Josec's mother. They were all very surprised.
"Things look pretty bad don't they?" she said.
Josec nodded.
"They look a lot less terrible now" Josec said happily.
"You have mastered adaptability, teamwork, heart, spirit, creativity and wisdom. It is now time to master the final lesson, the seventh 'stone' of the seven masters' seven canons. The seventh lesson is the ability to give the will of many form. You should be able to see it now Josec with your eye of heart. The technique your predecessors developed to confront the flames of the Sun-Song Devil" Josec's mother said.
"It's good to see you Luna" Master Pheisl said.
"The feeling is mutual Pheisl" Luna said.
"To give the will of many form, you need to acknowledge that the seven stones are different, that everyone is unique but at the same time, the seven stones exist for the same purpose, in other words we all have a common destiny" Luna said. "Now Josec…open yourself up and let this knowledge permeate your very being".
Josec's eyes assumed the likeness of the phoenix. He saw seven people and one of them was Ryu battling a monster that had two heads. The flaming head of a serpent and the windy head of an eagle.
"MICHAEL! NADIA! I NEED A WATER JUTSU!" Josec saw Ryu call desperately.
"DUAL COMBO JUTSU! DOUBLE HEADED WATER DRAGON JUTSU!" Josec saw the two call out as a great water dragon crashed into the head made of fire.
Josec watched in horror as their jutsu vaporized. It was a desperate battle.
"Michael, Nadia, I need you to use your combo jutsu again. I've got an idea" Josec saw a younger boy call to the others.
"Okay, we could use one now. Ready Nadia?" the boy called Michael said as he formed shapes with his hands.
"I'm ready Michael" the girl called Nadia called and formed a shape with her hands now joined to Michael's.
It was like they were building an image with their hands.
"Dual Combo Jutsu…" Michael and Nadia called as they seemed to focus.
Josec could see elements glowing around them.
"No, it's not a dual combo jutsu" the boy called as he joined his hands to theirs.
"DELTA COMBO JUTSU!" he called.
Josec opened his eyes in awe as the image of what happened next filled his mind.
"Everyone! I need us all to unite our wills! There's probably a way to beat Apollo's technique!" Josec called.
Master Colette heard Josec's words.
"Did you catch that, Fencer, Kyem? It seems Josec has a plan" Master Colette said to the other Masters.
They began to channel their joki. Their combined joki flew around the area and their minds slowly focused on one thing. They could all feel how different the other was but beyond that they could feel the common desire they all had to fight off Apollo's flame.
An image flashed in Josec's mind. He saw Ryu seated on his throne aboard Benedict's Ark. Ryu had a very serious look on his face. So serious in fact Josec wondered if that was the same playful Ryu he had met some days ago in his dream.
"Go…Torpedo!" Ryu called out.
Josec heard a loud roar and saw a tremendous fusion of light and snow leave the ship and head for the earth.
"PSYCHORAGE ABILITY FUSION!" everyone called out. "DOUBLE-HEADED SNOWSTORM DRAGON!" they called as the elements drew them together and encased them.
Their wills became one and the elements began to take form. With a loud roar, a double headed pure white dragon with purple manes leapt off the ground.
"IMPOSSIBLE! THAT FORM! THAT PSYCHORAGE IS A DRAGON SAINT!" Apollo screamed in horror.
The dragon opened its mouths and blew out intense ice.
"SNOWSTORM ELEMENT! FLAME KILLER!" it roared in the voices of everyone.
Its ice froze the ball of fire that was falling and froze Apollo. Apollo shattered into pieces of ice and a stone of fire fell out of his fragments. The dragon snatched the stone. The mixture of heat and ice caused the ball of frozen flame to rain on the earth as water.
The rain lasted for days and the land rapidly regained its fertility. The empty riverbeds filled up with water and the grasses began to grow.
MEANWHILE…SOMEWHERE IN THE CONTINENT OF STORMS
A terrible wind raged on. The inhabitants had hidden themselves in caves. The evil plaguing the land was in the very atmosphere but the evil could feel it that…
"This is strange, the air is becoming more stable. Could it be that…Apollo was defeated? After all his bragging as Souryu's strongest general. If Apollo has been defeated, then life will be restored substantially to an entire continent. If an entire continent regains its life, the air will be stabilized just as much but that also means…I will lose the ability to cause storms just as much. This is indeed a grave predicament" the evil called Aesakal lamented.
MEANWHILE…IN UNKNOWN TERRITORY
Another evil was brewing but unlike the storm that affected the air, this one affected the seas.
"IMPOSSIBLE! I can feel Aesakal's ability to destabilize the atmosphere drastically reducing in strength. I can still sense destabilization in the atmosphere so Aesakal is still alive so the root cause is…Apollo? Has Apollo truly met his demise? If Apollo is gone, then an entire continent is regaining its life. If an entire continent is regaining its life, then Aesakal's ability to destabilize the atmosphere and cause storms has been reduced by just as much. I doubt Aesakal presently can afflict the entire continent to which he has been assigned. He will be constricted to a certain geographical region which in turn means the lands he can't afflict will regain life so my ability to cause storms in the sea will be reduced by twice the reduction in Aesakal's ability. This is quite the predicament. Those Masters of Jo-lan and the phoenix brats turned out to be quite the pain" the evil called Syren lamented.
MEANWHILE IN FERUS VILLAGE…
A third evil could feel the change in the atmosphere but unlike the other two evils that lamented their impending demise, this one gloated.
"Apollo has been defeated. That must mean the Seven Masters of Jo-lan and the three phoenix brats have begun to confront my seven generals. Let it be so for now for once their futile quest ends, I will be the one to personally teach them true despair" the evil called Souryu gloated.