The Last Duel
The battlefield was a no man's land of scorched earth and shadow, stretched beneath the crimson hue of a dying sun. Kay clutched tightly to the little tree branches because Kay never have a staff in his hand, whose obsidian surface pulsed weakly with the power of his cursed magic. Gino Everose stood proud before him, his gold robes billowing in the breeze whipped up by his brilliant aura.
"You don't have to go through with this, Gino," Kay said, his voice low, carrying a tone of desperation. "We were brothers once."
"And now we're the last of us," Gino replied, raising his gleaming staff that radiated the warmth of a summer sun. "One final duel, Kay. We'll see if that demon's magic can stand against the sun's might."
Kay's lips curled into a grimace. He hated the demon that lurked in his black peacock magic, but now it was all he had.
Without another word, Gino thrust his staff into the ground, sending forth a wave of golden fire Solar Crest. The flames surged toward Kay like a tidal wave of light, burning away shadows in their path.
Kay reacted in an instant, his black peacock wings unfolding in a blur of dark feathers. The air shimmered as he raised his hand, calling Abyssal Veil a vortex of shadows that consumed the flames of Gino. The two powers clashed mid air, the light fighting the darkness in a violent explosion that sent both wizards backward, skidding.
"You can do better than that!" Kay growled, launching himself forward. His wings spread wide, and with a mighty flap, he released Eclipse Strike a barrage of feather shaped projectiles glowing with malevolent energy. The dark feathers twisted unnaturally in flight, honing in on Gino like guided missiles.
Gino raised his staff, conjuring a blinding sphere of energy: Solar Flare Barrier. The feathers disintegrated upon contact, the dark energy dissolving in the light of the defense. But as it faded, Kay was in the air above him, hand raised high, dripping with viscous black energy.
"Plume of Despair!" Kay roared, slamming his hand into the ground. A wave of black magic erupted in all directions, the earth cracking as ghostly black peacock feathers rose from the earth like a deadly bloom.
Gino leapt into the air, his body engulfed in flames. "Enough!" he roared. His hands brought together, invoking the power of the sun into his palms. With one mighty thrust, he launched Solar Lance, a shaft of gold light concentrated in a tight beam that pierced into the heart of the battlefield, vaporizing everything in its path.
Kay barely dodged, twisting in mid air as the beam seared along his side. The demon's whispers grew louder in his ears, demanding he let it have its full head. His peacock wings darkened further, losing all iridescent shimmer.
"Allow me to show you what your sun cannot burn," Kay said now, his voice fully laced with the guttural growl of the demon. The staff planted into the earth, he invoked his greatest skill: Black Nirvana. The sky above shattered like glass, showing only a void of endless darkness. And within that void, there began to descend a monstrous spectral peacock, whose wingspan bridged the entire horizon.
Gino's eyes narrowed. He thrust his staff skyward, channeling the entirety of his magic into one final attack. "I won't let you win, Kay!" he shouted, activating Solar Zenith, a spell that transformed him into a blazing avatar of the sun. His body glowed with pure light, every step he took melting the ground beneath him.
The two clashed in a cataclysmic collision of light and darkness, their magic shaking the heavens. Kay's spectral peacock lashed out with its massive wings, each strike splitting the earth, while Gino's fiery form burned with unrelenting intensity, incinerating the darkness around him.
Their final attacks collided, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
The ground shook as Gino Solar Zenith flared to its peak, his entire form blazing like a second sun. "This ends now, Kay!" he roared, thrusting his staff forward to release Solar Judgment, a colossal beam of pure sunlight that seared the earth as it surged toward Kay.
Kay stood his ground, his wings spread wide, their edges crackling with arcs of black thunder. His body trembled as he gripped his staff tightly, channeling every ounce of his cursed magic. The demon's voice growled in his mind, urging him forward.
"Fine," Kay whispered, his voice low but resolute. "I'll use it. Just this once."
Raising his staff high, Kay called upon his ultimate skill. "Oblivion Blade!"
A surge of darkness erupted from the ground beneath him, spiraling into the sky, where bolts of black thunder crackled and struck the earth. The vortex finally condensed above his head, materializing into a huge sword jagged, otherworldly, and with black lightning dancing violently along its edges. The blade pulsed with demonic energy, sending ripples through the distorting air.
With a deafening yell, Kay brought the Oblivion Blade down; weight and force ripped through the air. Black thunder that engulfed the sword clashed with Gino Solar Judgment in an explosive catastrophe as the collision itself wove its way across the battlefront, ripping through the earth and uprooting trees.
It seemed almost for a moment that both powers were even, before the black thunder surged, completely devouring the gold light. The great sword cleaved through Gino attack and struck the ground with earth shattering force, sending a crackling wave of black energy flying outward.
When the dust settled, Gino lay on the ground, his radiant aura extinguished. His staff was broken, and his body was still, though his chest rose and fell faintly. Kay stood above him, the Oblivion Blade dissipating into black mist, leaving arcs of thunder flickering in its wake.
"You've lost, Gino," Kay said softly, his voice tinged with regret. "But this fight was never about taking your place."
Gino opened his eyes, his voice hoarse but steady. "Then why?"
Kay looked away, his wings folding around him. "Because I just need to prove to myself that I could end this. Than I could walk away." He turned, stepping into the distance. "Goodbye, Gino. You'll remain the Wizard Kaiser. This fight was just between us."
Kay turn his back to Gino, but suddenly turnback, " Gino can you lend me some money? i dont have any with me right now."
"You never change bro.. take this, that all i got from this moment.." Kay laugh and than start walking to leave Gino behind.
While Gino had watched the figure of Kay disappear into the distance, his eyes were filled with both sadness and understanding.