The celestials had all left the room to attend to their duties before the imminent battle leaving behind the mortal kings. The three stayed in an eerie, yet mutually accepted silence.
"I'm going to take a look around." Adam said as he was leaving.
Then Kael had an idea. A smirk crept its way unto his face as he began to speak.
"How long ago has it been since we last tested ourselves." Adam stopped in his tracks.
"Decades last I checked."
They turned their heads to Aris as he said that.
"I don't think this will end well?" Aris voiced.
"I agree, there's already a hierarchy and it certainly hasn't changed." Adam said pridefully.
This earned him piercing glares from both kings.
"We don't need any unnecessary injuries." He continued.
"It's better that than going into battle soft! I'm sure you get where I'm coming from."
Kael said as he walked right up to the first man, staring him down. Adam looked up with an arrogant glare as he twitched his lips and scorned.
"I'm sure the garden's been treating you well." Kael stated as he folded his arms.
"But I'm also sure that such a comfy life has dulled your edge."
He raised his head and laughed aloud, revealing a massive scar across his neck.
Kael continued with a mocking gaze as he snickered.
"Well, now he's gone and done it." Aris commented.
Adam looked away, thinking to himself before giving an answer. He looked up at Kael's towering stature as he spoke.
"Sure, I guess I need a warm up, and a two on one battle should do the trick. Try not to disappoint me."
"YOU COCKY BASTARD!!!"
Kael lost control before throwing a fist right at Adam.
"There shall be no fighting outside the training grounds. You should know better."
A confident voice instructed.
They all turned to the person, positioning themselves properly. Then each bowed before them.
"Now listen here; my former students shouldn't be trying to rip each other apart."
There stood the embodiment of valor, her radiant spear in hand as she looked towards the kings.
"Yes master." The three replied in unison.
"But I am interested, has the ranking amongst the kings changed since the last we met." She questioned curiously.
"I doubt it."
Adam stated, garnering the attention of the warriors beside him.
"That's quite the confidence there, but how can you be so sure?" She asked.
Adam took a long pause, clenching his fists as they oozed with infinite strength.
"Because, I am the strongest, and only God himself is worthy of being my equal!"
He announced without a hint of discourage.
The others were completely taken aback. He dared to say such before their master who so happens to be one of the Lord's first creations.
"I apologize on his behalf, please don't be too ha-"
*HAHAHAHAHAHAH*
"Now this is interesting. Let's see you back that up." She said excitedly.
A few moments later the three of them found themselves in a fortress like battle arena. An expansive platform suspended in space, featuring a rock-solid floor and walls. Each built with the strongest marble and reinforced with divine steel.
The boundaries are marked by glowing, translucent energy columns that shift in color, creating a barrier round the stage. The arena comprises of floating islands of various sizes, providing tactical advantages such as cover during combat. Central to the arena is a massive platform filled with battle equipment and training dummies.
Outside it were endless rows of seats for the audience, which were of course the angels. They were extremely excited at the prospect of seeing the famed mortal kings duke it out.
"I gave the newborns a break today just for your battle, so please give them an entertaining show."
Even celestials need training, with the exception of the very strongest every angel needs training to fit their role once hand crafted by the Lord.
On the central platform were the three of them, waiting for Chayyliel to give the command.
Adam was on one side, while the other two opposed him.
Kael, cracked his muscles as his body was trembling in anticipation, delighted by the idea of battle.
"Frostheart, do not interfere. I'll wipe that pride of his clean off."
Kael said confidently, pointing right at the man.
The Frostvale had no reason to object; if a beast wants to hunt alone then who is he to refute it? He only hopes that he won't end up running away with his tail between his legs.
"Very well, but if things get out of ha-"
"BEGIN!"
Kael rushed at Adam instantaneously, appearing as a blur as he travelled. He bared his razor-sharp fangs at the man, reeling back both fists as he sprawled out a gatling set of blows in an instant.
Each attack contained the strength to wipe out entire worlds at the slightest graze, and as they launched the shockwaves shook the entire arena violently.
But all of this was for naught, as Adam dodged every single attack without moving his feet from where they were planted.
"Heh."
Adam threw a single strike, a fist so deadly that the aura alone cracked the entire arena as it impacted the warriors' gut. The shockwave reverberated throughout the entire realm, such that even the ends of the endless heavens could feel the vibrations.
Kael was dumbfounded as he blacked out for a brief moment before being sent flying across the arena like a ragdoll. Adam flash stepped, reappearing at the other end of the arena, preparing to finish him off in the next attack.
Kael opened his eyes.
They both trained under the same master and developed similar fighting styles, so he could amply predict what was coming next.
Instinctively he charged up a massive Qi blast in his hand before using his other hand to flip himself upright.
Using the fully charged attack he blasts Adam point blank. The residual energy further destroyed the arena as Adam's silhouette was lost in the display of raw power.
Kael then landed on his feet as he caught his breathe. His ribs were completely shattered by a single attack. His organs were ruptured beyond feasible repair, explaining why he was so weakened.
Falling to one knee he braced himself, knowing that that miserable excuse for an attack didn't do jack shit.
"When did he get so damn strong? The gap between us has never been this wide."
*COUGH*
*COUGH*
He coughed into his hand, but was terrified by what he saw. Blood, and lots of it.
"FXCK!" Kael shouted enraged.
Then the dust and smoke began to settle, a barely visible figure emerged. His arms were crossed for a moment, blocking the attack and leaving him unscathed.
"Is that it?" He said with those cold, lifeless eyes.
A new feeling rushed over the Thornshrade, a feeling that his race had never experienced before; fear. His stomach sunk to the floor before the foe in front of him, his pupils dilated and his heart rate tripled.
He gave ragged breaths as blood began to spew from every opening on his face.
"No, I will not give such a pathetic display." He said frustrated.
Weakly he stood up, ignoring all the pain round his body.
"Shit, he's not gonna use that is he?" Aris said worriedly.
The entire arena began to crack under the pressure of Kael's aura. White tattoos manifested on his skin, encroaching his arms and legs like mystical tapestry. His claws extended into a sharp, more beastly state as he bulked up considerably.
"So, you finally used your primal form?" Adam asked excitedly.
A special trait off his species that can only be developed by the strongest members. It unleashes their maximum potential and increases power output by an impressive margin.
The audience was in complete aw at the display before them. They had only ever expected such power from the archangels, let alone mortals.
However, that feeling of aw soon turned into one of solemnity. One by one they realized just how inferior they were to the ones before them. As angels thousands of years older it was a mark of shame that mortals who haven't even reached a hundred surpassed them by this much.
"Dammit, those bloody creatures."
"How dare they disgrace us like this."
"The impudence to even step foot in the heavens."
"They should know their place."
"I hope they fall on the battlefield."
This was only the beginning of a long line of prejudice evolved from their own inferiority complexes.
The auras of the two mortals clashed in a fierce battle of dominance as their gazes met. Kael looked towards Adam with a massive grin plastered on his face.
"Now here comes the real fun."
"I'm looking forward to it." Adam responded with a grin of his own.
As the two charged towards each other they both sensed a strong force coming their way. A massively powerful beam of cold energy came their way.
(A/N): Yes, cold energy/Qi. This is a term used to describe attacks that withdraw pure energy from its area of effect.
"Well, why do you two get to have all the fun?"
Aris said as he hovered in the sky with thousands of frozen icicles blocking out the skies. His eyes radiating a bluish aura while he looked down upon the two. His hair swayed violently in the wind as one could almost see a hint of madness.
The two had managed to dodge the attack that moved several times faster than light, their blood boiling as the battle dragged on.
"I hope you can handle a two vs one Adam." Aris said.
"Of course he can, he is the strongest." Kael said jokingly.
"Bring it."
Kael rushed in for a frontal attack as he charged multiple Qi blasts all round him, while it rained icicles crafted from cold energy down on the man.
Time seemed to stop as both kings and their attacks slowed to a halt.
"I guess there really isn't anyone who can challenge me." Adam said dejected.
He went to each Qi ball and Icicle, and using a single flick he dissipates each and every one. Before finally coming back to his original position.
To the others it looked as though Adam took in a breath of air. His body began to vibrate violently before splitting into tens of thousands of apparitions of himself. They dispersed and immediately countered the many attacks that were thrown at him at once before disappearing.
"Incredible." Aris said as he descended.
Kael reached Adam and launched a flurry of perfectly coordinated punches and kicks that make his past attempts pale in comparison. Adam countered appropriately, blocking and parrying each and every strike with sharper ones.
Kael seeing this did the same, as each attack exchanged between the two is executed to such a perfect degree that it can put any other martial arts to shame, including those crafted by their master.
They caused ripples across space as they vanished across the entire arena with every clash. Then they split, heading to the very edge of the opposing sides of the arena. Without any hesitation the two launched towards each other at ludicrous speeds, about to collide with dimension threatening forces.
Then a sudden blast of cold energy filled the scene, erupting from the ground which forced Adam to halt. Then instantly another attack from behind entrapped him and the entire other half of the arena in thousands of ticks worth of ice.
"Oi, what gives? You interrupted us just to put him in an iceberg." Kael said annoyed.
"That may be what this would've been the last time we met, however you two weren't the only ones that got stronger." Aris revealed.
"I honed my cold Qi every day, till the point that it could extract every bit of energy with maximum efficiency." He said with enthusiasm.
They looked on at the frozen image of Adam, as he stood there unable to move.
"This means that my ice is now at the lowest possible temperature. Absolute Zero."
Aris laughed hysterically; his calm façade completely gone.
"He'll waste his energy trying to get out of an indestructible cage, and when I release him, he'd have used it all up!"
Kael had had enough, grabbing Aris by the arm, his grip firm and tough.
"This is not how I fight." Kael said with a deathly stare.
"If you're going to survive in a real war, then you need to realize this is how to win."
The two stared each other down as their Qi flared up, electrifying the surroundings, as the skies darkened.
Chayyliel had been watching from the sides all this time, but decided it was time to intervene. She needed a functional team for this war, not a group of resentful soldiers, but then she and everyone else saw a miracle.
It started of as a small chip, which grew larger and larger. The sound permeating through the air as streams of pure mortal Qi outpoured. Then without warning the entire structure shattered into infinitesimal pieces, and at the center of it all was the embodiment of power.
Adam stood there radiating endless energy as a mere excess of his aura. His majestic hair billowed in his aura as his body emitted a fiery heat.
"Huh, now that was a little bit interesting."
The two instinctively stepped back as Adam clenched his fists, shaking the heavens.
"How about I get serious." He said with an emotionless look.
"Bloody hell, we're fxcked aren't we?" Kael said in shock.
"I knew this was a bad idea."
Aris murmured; his confidence now gone.
Adam walked forwards, each step shattering the floor, each stride shaking the realm. Most of the angels had already passed out from the sheer intensity, leaving only Chayyliel watching anxiously.
"Omnipotent Fist."
Adam soared through the arena at speeds which were considered impossible. His fist tore through the fabric of space-time as it reached infinite speeds.
"NOOOOOO!" Chayyliel screamed as she couldn't do anything to stop such an attack.
The two kings lost all the will to fight in that moment, they only hoped their souls would remain after their deaths.
"I believe that is enough."
A figure spoke as he drew his sword from It's sheathe.
In an instant it was over, the strike was stopped, entirely nullified by none other than archangel Michael. His blade drawn, instantly slicing Adams' throat, causing a torrent of blood to bleed out. As his life force drains away, he falls to his knees, before collapsing entirely.
Michael catches the body before looking at Chayyliel.
"Get Raphael over here NOW!!!"
She hastily flies off to find the divine healer before things get really bad.
To everyone else Adam was defeated in a single moment, but that was not the case.
As Adam accelerated to infinite speed, he completely lost control of his power, going all out against his opponents. When suddenly a blade aimed right for his eyes at the same speed.
He managed to dodge it, but it slashed through the air again, aiming for another vital point. He parried the strike this, redirecting his focus at the wielder, but again the sword came. Over and over hundreds, thousands, millions of times Adam avoided the blade until he got completely tired out.
"What is that technique?" He wondered before loosing consciousness
Kael instinctively gripped his neck as he saw the archangel, a slight show of tension around the warrior.
"You're lucky this time the blade isn't being pointed at you." Aris remarked, to which Kael nodded.
Soon Raphael arrived, using his incredible healing abilities to keep Adam alive. He managed to do it, before taking the body to a more accommodated resting place.
Michael glanced at him once more before leaving.
"He's definitely strong, I needed to use that technique just to barely stop him."
Whether or not one considers what Michael did as excessive, it's clear that having a body to heal is better than having two souls completely erased from existence.
After such an eventful day they all decided that it was best to rest before the upcoming war. They needed to be at their best after all.
"Well, it seems like my brother has acquired two very skillful warriors." Said a malevolent existence.
Within the deepest crevices of the Ashstone Citadel he sat on his throne, awaiting the readiness of the army of light so he can exterminate them at their best.
"Soon, he too will know what it feels like to lose the thing you love the most."