Beneath a sky swirling with heavy black clouds, the thunder roared as two warriors engaged in combat within the deserted pleasure district.
The wind whipped with a fury that matched their blows, and each impact rattled the cracked cobblestones and shook the dilapidated buildings around them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each hit landed with a force that reverberated through the empty streets, sending shockwaves that splintered walls, fractured pillars, and sent rubble tumbling from shattered rooftops.
"Yahhh!!," Budo covered in dust and debris lunged forward, the air around him thick with an earthy smell as electricity crackled around his gauntlets.
Swish!!
With a fluid twist, he swung his arm down in a powerful strike, his fist charged with lightning energy enough force to shatter stone.
Rumble!
The surrounding buildings, already weakened from the battle, shuddered violently. Bricks and mortar rained down, and one whole side of a building cracked apart, the debris rolling into the streets as the ground trembled under the force of Budo's strike.
Boom!!
Bulat sidestepped with a swiftness that belied his heavy armour, the spear spinning in his hand as he moved with deathly precision.
Swishh!!
He thrust his spear forward in a lightning-fast strike, aimed just below Budo's ribs. But Budo's instincts kicked in.
Budo angled his body, narrowly dodging the deadly point. He retaliated instantly, an uppercut charged with lightning arcing toward Bulat, the flash bright enough to momentarily light up the stormy sky.
RUMBLE!!
"Hup!!," Bulat ducked, shifting his stance mid-motion to bring his spear down in a powerful, sweeping arc.
Swishh!!
The spear sliced through the air, aiming for Budo's shoulder, but Budo raised his gauntlet, the electrified armour meeting the blow with a fierce clang.
Cling!
Sparks flew as the blade ground against metal, and Bulat used the momentum to pivot, pulling back his spear before thrusting forward in rapid succession.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Each thrust was faster, more precise than the last, a blur of deadly steel cutting through the rain-heavy air.
Swish! Cling! Swish!
Budo blocked and deflected with swift, efficient movements, his arms moving in perfect rhythm to meet each attack.
ZAAAPPPP!!
With a powerful step forward, he sent a burst of lightning from his gauntlet, forcing Bulat to leap back. Bulat twisted mid-air, spear steady in his grip, landing lightly as he prepared to face Budo again.
As the attacks stopped, with a powerful step forward, he unleashed a burst of lightning from his gauntlet, forcing Bulat to leap back.
'Shit!,' Bulat twisted mid-air, his grip on the spear unfaltering, landing gracefully as he spun to face Budo again.
'His movements should slow at any moment' Budo thought with rationality.
The next moment, they were on each other again. Bulat feinted to the left, his spear slicing low and forcing Budo's leg to shift for balance.
Swish!
In the split second it took, Bulat drove his weapon forward, but Budo spun with inhuman speed, dodging the spear by mere inches as he brought down an electrified punch toward Bulat's side.
BAMM!!
Bulat angled his armour, Incursio, to deflect Budo's brutal punch, though he couldn't fully absorb the force. He staggered back, feeling the reverberation shake his entire body as the impact left a dent in the armour's surface.
The general observed, voice frosty, "Even though my punches are doing damage, my lightning doesn't seem to phase you anymore."
"Hah…" Bulat exhaled, coated in dust, his breathing laboured but steady. He pushed back the exhaustion tugging at him, keeping his stance firm even as blood dripped down his forehead.
"Your thunder can't affect Incursio anymore," he replied, a faint smirk breaking through the weariness.
Adaptation and evolution was a rare ability of Incursio, an adaptation to whatever opponent he faced, one that Bulat had known existed but never had to use until now.
Only under Budo's relentless attacks had it finally surfaced, fortifying him against the searing bolts of electricity.
Budo scoffed, gauntlets sparking ominously. "Let's see if your armour can handle this." Without a second thought, he released a surge of electricity, the deadly energy arcing towards Bulat.
ZZZAAAPP!
In a blink, Bulat vanished, leaving only a shimmer of his silhouette behind. Swish! Reappearing just behind Budo, he struck, spear aimed precisely at Budo's exposed back.
But Budo was ready this time. He twisted with startling speed, his gauntlets intercepting the spear with a fierce cling.
CLING!
The force of the strike sent sparks flying, and the spear skimmed just past his shoulder, tearing a narrow slice into his armour.
With a flash of irritation, Budo retaliated, launching a bolt of lightning that blasted against the wall behind Bulat, sending chunks of smouldering rubble to the ground.
The air thickened, dark clouds swirling as the storm intensified. Heavy raindrops began to fall, soaking the blood and grime on Bulat's armour, pooling on the cracked cobblestones beneath them.
The rain only seemed to fuel Budo's power. Each strike carried more intensity, the moisture amplifying the surrounding charge. His gauntlets crackled brighter with every blow, lightning streaking through the air as he moved in to deliver another devastating punch.
Bulat ducked, narrowly dodging, though he felt the weight of the hit as it brushed past him, his armour taking yet another dent.
Bulat's grip on his spear tightened as he held his ground, adjusting his stance to absorb the hits. Despite the thunderstorm raging around them, he remained focused, meeting Budo's relentless attacks with his own measured moves.
In a flash, Budo lunged again, and Bulat disappeared, reappearing high above him, his spear descending in a powerful arc.
Budo raised an electrified arm, deflecting the blow just in time, then spun, landing a heavy punch to Bulat's chest.
CRACK!
The impact sent Bulat hurtling backward, crashing through what remained of a nearby wall. Dust and debris flew as he hit the ground, his armour now visibly battered, with pieces of Incursio starting to flake away, exposing his bruised skin beneath.
"Gahh!!" He coughed, tasting blood, his chest heaving with every strained breath.
As he staggered to his feet, Budo took advantage of the moment, moving in with a punch that struck the ground beneath Bulat's feet, shattering the stone and forming a crater that sent tremors through the already-devastated street.
"Incursio's stealth takes a heavy toll." Budo's voice cut through the downpour. "Don't tell me you didn't think it would drain you this fast?"
Bulat struggled to steady his breathing, his armour barely holding under the relentless assault. But through the pain and fatigue, he couldn't help but let out a small, bitter laugh.
Opposite him, Budo looked dirtied by the battle, but still unshaken, his gaze piercing and cold.
"Monster," Bulat muttered. And yet, a slight smirk crossed his lips as he felt a faint hum from Incursio, as though a voice were whispering, urging him to keep going.
"Yeah, the time has come," he said as the exhaustion that had gripped him moments before seemed to ease slightly, his muscles bracing for another clash.
Budo eyed him, momentarily wary, as Bulat straightened, lifting his spear with renewed resolve.
Swishh!!
But instead of lunging forward, Bulat took a step back, then another, and before Budo could fully register it, he turned and broke into a run, bolting in the opposite direction through the rubble-strewn street.
"....."
Budo's eye twitched, his veins bulging as he forced himself to stay calm. "Coward," he muttered, gritting his teeth as he watched Bulat flee.
Suppressing his irritation, he scanned his surroundings, the wheels turning in his mind.
He took a deep breath, raising his arms as he began to hover, his muscular frame lifting slowly from the ground.
Woshhh!!
The wind picked up, gusting with a new intensity as lightning crackled and swirled around him, building up like a storm.
"Oh, Adramelech," he chanted, his voice steady. "Summon forth your Almighty Thunder!" As he spoke, arcs of lightning spiralled around his body, the energy condensing, twisting into the form of a massive orb in his hands.
Budo focused, lifting the spear with both hands, its lethal energy vibrating through his grip. He turned his eyes coldly toward Bulat's distant figure.
"This is judgement!" he declared, his voice echoing through the storm. "Solid Shooter!"
Boomm!!!
With that, he released the condensed energy as a thick beam of electricity shot forward, so dense and dark it looked nearly black.
The bolt cut through the rain, illuminating the storm as it tore towards Bulat with deadly precision, vaporising everything in its path.
The remaining buildings and walls crumbled under the blast, debris scattering in the beam's wake.
But just as it neared Bulat, the beam flickered, faltering for a split second as Budo's body staggered mid-air.
He gasped, dropping slightly before forcing himself upright, his composure momentarily slipping.
He'd felt a sudden, sharp ache, one that made his vision blur and his balance waver. Regaining his stance, he glanced down, finally noticing the faint blue tinge spreading beneath his skin, dark veins webbing up his arms.
"Poison…" Budo murmured, gritting his teeth as he recalled the sequence of events.
How could this be? He'd made a point of electrifying Bulat's weapon each time it came close, a tactic he employed to vaporise any remnants of poison that might linger.
It was basic knowledge, when you electrify a weapon, the heat generated should incinerate any toxins before they could be delivered, so there was no way Bulat was the source of this poisoning.
But then the memory surfaced, the moment the dead brat's serpent had lunged at him. Budo had crushed it in a split second, dismissing it as a mere nuisance.
But now, as clarity cut through the haze, everything fell into place. The poison must have been engineered to delay its effects, designed to activate only after he'd expended significant energy, after he'd pushed himself to the limit. This was a calculated move to take advantage of his overexertion.
His mind focused back on Bulat. But even as he scanned the battlefield, all he saw was destruction, the crumbled walls, the remnants of their fight.
He searched frantically but found no trace of Bulat's body. The thought sent a surge of frustration coursing through him. "This… trickery," he spat, his voice seething with rage.
Even in the midst of his anger, he felt the weakness creeping in, an icy chill wrapping around his limbs.
He needed to regain control, to rid himself of this affliction. Digging into the pockets of his tattered uniform, he pulled out a small vial, an antidote he always kept on hand for situations just like this.
With shaky hands, he injected the liquid into his arm, feeling a brief surge of relief as he waited for the antidote to take effect.
For a moment, it seemed to work. The symptoms began to retreat, the coldness in his veins easing slightly.
But as the minute ticked by, that relief was shattered. The poison fought back with renewed vigour, clawing at him with more ferocity.
'Such vicious poison. It is good that I had killed that brat.' Budo thought as he realised that the antidote was ineffective against whatever this specific poison was.
"But for now I have to leave," Budo growled, teeth clenched against the rising tide of nausea and weakness.
He was left with no alternative but to place his trust in the medical specialists of the Empire.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed through the haze of pain and anger. He mustered his remaining strength and launched himself into the sky, soaring toward the imperial palace, the pain blurring his vision.
A/N: Well, that's how the confrontation wraps up. I would have posted this chapter yesterday, but Diwali celebrations kept me busy.
Now that the fight's over, things are going to start moving quickly.