"Sooo... How strong is Taro, anyway?" Harvard asked, turning his head 180 degrees towards Envy, accidentally freaking out a few bystanders nearby and promptly having his head turn back to normal with Solomon's interference.
"Well that depends on how you look at him." Envy replied, unfazed with the child's movements, as he'd leer his eyes over the two's bond, watching them rush at each other again to set up their magic. "Explosions, Fire, Strong Durability, Experience as a King-"
"No, no. I mean the rank stuff." Envy would be quiet as Harvard brought it up, making the boys ponder just as much, before the Card Magician continued. "When everyone had to leave while I had Fleisher out, they were mentioning something about ranks. Which one is Taro's?" Once again, his question fell silent, yet the living Tar would hold up a few fingers to let him know of the situation.
3.
"Right now, he's fighting on a handicap. Without his gauntlet, he's forced to fight in close quarters. Even without it, I think you guys can still see why he's a big threat." His comment would be proven as Taro would take sight on Adel's claw, aiming to use his own to cleave off the faces left behind. Adel would try to maneuver his body so that only one of them would be cut away, letting him use the small space to attack back, a claw straight into his abdomen, stabbing straight through to reach and poke at his stomach, his nails shrinking back down to his skin. Despite such a spear, Taro grinned as he'd exhale out his smoke, inhaling it back, and clicking his teeth. He was going to incinerate the man directly, and no matter how much he tried to pull back, the Human Vritra held his arm down just enough to prevent escaping. One of his lives was going to be spent, yet the pain is still going to persist.
"Dragon Magic: ...Gorynych."
A Blast of flame erupted down to his face, watching Adel burn away again and again, the Dragon redoubling his energy output to strengthen the flames, the hole left behind getting bigger and bigger, reaching deeper into the Earth's core, letting the Giant erupt back in rage, a geyser of hot magma jutting out. Taro nailed his very feet into the ground, letting both his and Adel's body be coated in such a fire, no voice let out from either side. Adel's faces disappeared one by one, until he finally had the opportunity to move his scorched hand, slashing off his other hand and leap away, leaving his body into a smoky black. When the geyser subsided, the Dragon merely sneered as he'd let the two cool. Such grave injuries, and yet all they did was smiled. It wasn't a mere fight for approval anymore, but rather a game to the Dragons. A way to pass the time as they'd laugh away the day, their faces matching the cheery sun. One face was left behind, yet Adel could care less. His body nearly collapsed in on itself, clawing at the ground as he'd stare at the Human Dragon. Taro would try to approach again, but fell much the same. The poison left behind dug into the Vritra so much, his stomach acids have become infected. It was using those acids to trail up, forcing him to vomit into the hole he made, his energy left behind. His poison has made sure to prevent him from using his smog, less it would infect his very lungs and kill him from the inside.
A victory condition, should one wished to preserve their life.
"A-...AH....AMAZING!!! TRULY MARVELOUS!!! BOTH ARE STILL ALIVE!!! BOTH HAVE SUFFERED THE WRATH OF THE VERY PLANET, AND THEY STILL REMAIN BREATHING!! ADEL SERPENS, THE HYDRA THAT CAUTERIZED HIS VERY FLESH! OUR VERY KING, HIS BILE AND SALIVA NOW COURSING WITH THE DEADLIEST VENOM!! BOTH ON THEIR LAST LEGS! BOTH ON THEIR LAST BREATH!! BOTH ARE READY TO DIE, ALL FOR THE SAKE OF PROVING WHY OROCHI IS THE BEST OF ALLLLLL!!!!" A roar of cheers were made, as well as a horrified expression from Solomon and Zazel.
"HE'S GOING TO DIE THERE!?" Solomon shouted.
"I mean... I don't think we're allowed to intervene, and the guy looks like he's ready to give at any second..." Stolas would explain, yet his friend, nay, his brother, couldn't hear it.
"HE CAN'T! HE HAS A WIFE! HE CAN'T JUST DIE NOW! HEY!!! SERPENS!!! LOOK UP HERE!!!" The Biblical Sorcerer grew frantic, his eyes darting around as the first person who understood his pain was going to give in. Zazel, however, grabbed him by his shoulder, calming him. Solomon would look back at the Demon and attempted to retort, yet not a word came out of his mouth. Zazel raised a finger, a pause, as he'd point back down. Solomon was seeing what the Prince has seen beforehand. A look of animosity, a look of pure pride, as the two tried to get back on their feet. Taro wiped away the spew he spilled out from his blackened throat, spitting out any excess, whilst Adel charged his energy once more, feeling his heart, sensing that Boros was alive, albeit faintly. It suffered the same damage his owner has, yet it was willing to fight it out until the last breath he was able to take. The two stared at one another, nodded in affirmation, as they'd ready themselves. "Wha... They're still trying to..."
"Have you ever seen how Harvard fights?" Zazel asked, prompting a quick glance from both the Card Magician and the Sorcerer, with the latter confused, and the former wondering why he called his name. "When he fights, he does so in wonder. In joy. In happiness. When he fights, it's like a living game where the main goal is to win by beating the opponent. If he enjoys it, that's when he's allowed to let loose. We already saw what he was like at that point." A referral to the monsters within Harvard's deck, with the boy laughing sheepishly as he understood his tendencies to get carried away. Zazel continued despite such a glare Solomon gave to the Magician. "This is no different. They're fighting because they want to now. They've got reunited at long last, and they don't want to waste a second of what's coming next. They don't see themselves trying to hold back anymore. They fight because they can. They fight because they could."
"In other words..."
"...They're happy. If he were to die... He probably wouldn't regret it. He got his wish, and now he wants some dessert for his life."
"...That's what you felt when you met Adel again, wasn't it?" Solomon's question was only answered in a brisk nod. While he was enjoying such comfort of fighting alongside those that are strong, in such a selfish fashion, he always dreaded Adel internally because of such a comparison. Both feast on the very world they were in, with Harvard enjoying every single detail and strategizing away a solution, and Adel simply gorging himself on combat after combat until he felt like his body can't take anything else. He remembered his first fight with the Serpent clear as day, unable to forget such a wound on his back for the time he spent on this planet. To be on the receiving end of a person willing to push themselves to the brink for a mere sliver to win.
It was haunting. Justified, yet haunting nonetheless. His interest in Humanity has went further, his care now curious. How much does the Human Spirit have left when it is at their final stages of life?