Yet Jakra simply took a deep breath and hurled what looked like a cone of bright blue Origin Flames.
Lith was prepared to counter them with his own, but it was pointless. The flames moved akin to a living being, wrapping themselves around Piercing Explosion without letting a single tongue of fire move past their target.
Jakra hurled the flames non-stop so that once the Spirit Spell hit his armor, it had become so weak that Piercing Explosion posed no threat to his Kingslayer armor anymore.
'What the f.u.c.k?' Lith and Solus thought in unison, before remembering that Jakra had remained a prisoner of the Golden Griffon for almost five hundred years.
The cursed academy granted upon its students an immortal body that would heal even when ground to dust, keeping them prisoners and driving them insane. During that time, Jakra had endlessly fought for everything, from food to the right to sleep.
His mastery over the Origin Flames had reached a peak that could be equaled, but hardly surpassed.
Lith then cast three volleys of the tier two Spirit Spell, Magic Missiles, to strike at the Emerald Dragon from every side. Even if a single Missile was unable to deal damage, the violence of the impact would create an opening that Lith would exploit.
Jakra shrugged at the fifteen emerald projectiles the size of a dagger and emitted a violent burst of Origin Flames from his body without letting them deal any damage to his armor.
Once again, the Flames eroded Lith's spells to the point of making them harmless.
"I'm sorry, little brother. You should have accepted my offer." Jakra took the kid gloves off and charged at Lith, aiming to end the fight before his status of Awakened could matter.
Meanwhile, Vladion and Scarlett attacked Thrud from opposite sides, forcing her to suffer the attacks of either of them. Arthan's armor took off the brunt of the damage, but fatigue and wounds kept piling up.
With no time to cast spells nor to cure her wounds Thrud was already panting heavily. Then, a gurgling sound and the clatter of moving glass made the contestants stop.
"I have risen!" Xedros's voice roared throughout the cave.
He laughed maniacally at the sight of his brand-new set of arms and of his gigantic body covered in golden scales. Now his appearance closely resembled that of Gentor, the Golden Dragon, one of Leegaain's most talented sons.
"Thanks, brother. You and your wife have played your part. Feel free to sit and leave everything to me. I want to put my new body to the test and those ants will make a fine meal." He said to Jakra.
"Don't listen to that idiot and keep fighting. He needs help just like you need to experience what an Awakened can do." Thrud said while ignoring the two-pronged attack from the Scorpicore and the Firstborn.
She activated the purple gem on Arthan's Sword to Blink away while also making the space unstable at the same time. The two Awakened could see both her entry and exit point, but not follow her.
The use of dimensional magic would have backfired, wounding them deeply due to the collapsed space. They could only curse the mastery behind the blade and conjure a quick wind barrier.
Xedros the Dragon sneered at Thrud's words and charged forward. He had the speed and the mass of a freight train while running with his maw opened, ready to swallow both the Scorpicore and the Firstborn in a single bite.
Vladion needed but a wave of his hand to stabilize the space while his left cross timed with Scarlett's headbutt to perfection. They hit Xedros's chin together, sending him to crash against the right wall with the same ease as if he was still a Wyvern.
"What the f.u.c.k?" Xedros felt his body full of energy and his mass was dozens of times greater now so he needed half a breath of Invigoration to understand what was happening to him.
Vladion had always been stronger than a violet-cored elder Dragon and even though Scarlett couldn't say the same, her body had reached perfect body refinement, just like Xedros's body after training it for decades.
Xedros's Dragon body, however, was mostly comprised of new flesh that had yet to undergo any refinement. Only the base from his old self still had the power that Awakening had granted it, the rest was no different from a non-Awakened Dragon.
"Oh, shit!" Xedros had barely the time to process his mistake when Vladion's right uppercut sent his head slamming against the ceiling and Scarlett's Shattering Winter spell froze his skin while sending shockwaves throughout his body.
"I stand corrected! I beg of you, help!" The Dragon released a burst of Origin Flames from his body to get rid of Shattering Winter and keep the Vampire at bay, but his opponents simply adjusted their strategy.
"Told you so." Thrud giggled as she Blinked behind Vladion and then Blinked again, taking the Firstborn away with her.
Thanks to the baby in her belly and to the activation of the vortex of her rainbow core, the short respite had been more than enough to bring her back to her peak condition.
"Oh, shit!" Scarlett echoed as she realized to be on her back foot.
Without Vladion, the Dragon had superior physical prowess, mass, and a battle experience that her flimsy 300 years couldn't compare to. Watching Xedros's moving, she had noticed how he was already accustomed to his new body.
The Father of all Wyverns had often been arrogant, but never conceited. During the various steps of Arthan's Madness, he had shapeshifted into a Dragon form to get used to the extra limbs and mass.
He had yet to fully master the Dragon form, but the practice allowed him to avoid making rookie mistakes and to adapt his strategies as a Wyvern to his new body. To make matters worse, she knew that her Light Mastery couldn't compare with Xedros's.
Lith and Scarlett were now in the same situation, facing alone a superior opponent.
Lith's body had already reached the maximum mass that it could achieve without the violet core and his aura had turned almost entirely violet, yet no breakthrough had taken place.
Jakra had still the mass and Origin Flames mastery advantage couple with the outstanding equipment that the pregnant Thrud had crafted for him.
'What's your status with the geyser?' Lith asked while racking his brain for a way to turn the tables.
With his over 900 years of life 500 of which spent fighting day and night in the Golden Griffon, Jakra's battle experience was simply overwhelming. On top of that, his swordsmanship had reached such mastery that often Lith stared at it in amazement.
'Bad. Even now that Xedros has gotten out, the Madness still sucks its energy. You need to destroy it. On my mark. Mark!' Solus replied.
Lith stopped stepping back and blocked the Dragonclaw with a strength that surprised Jakra. At the same time, he hurled a raging river of violet Origin Flames at point-blank range, engulfing the Emerald Dragon before he could react.
