"Karna!!!"
On the scarred battlefield, Arjuna raised his arm, wielding boundless destructive power, laughing maniacally.
His terrifying magical energy surged, the shadow's scope expanding until it blotted out the sky like night's wings, launching a ferocious assault on Karna.
The inky shadow writhed like a black dragon soaring through the heavens, bearing endless destruction as it charged Karna, forcing him to retreat repeatedly, wary of clashing with the ruinous force.
"Karna! Karna! Karna! Karna! Karna!! What's wrong, Karna?! Why won't you face me head-on? Where's your vaunted golden armor? Why not pit it against Shiva's power?!"
Arjuna cackled, shouting Karna's name, one hand manipulating the shadow's relentless advance, his expression growing ever more unbridled.
Normally, even seeing Karna, he'd call his name a couple times and stop.
Shouting someone's name so loudly and repeatedly was, no matter how you sliced it, mortifying. Not only would others find it awkward, but Arjuna himself would cringe.
A noble, perfect hero couldn't be seen in such an embarrassing, discourteous light.
A true hero had to mind their image.
But now, things were different.
The shadow buried deep within had shattered its cage, darkness and destruction pouring forth. He'd cast aside restraint and suppression, fully unleashing his deepest self.
The complete Arjuna!!
Gone were the shackles of Kshatriya royalty, heaven-blessed hero, or Indra's son. His sole desire was to crush the loathsome figure before him, Karna!! Every thought bent to that end.
To achieve it, he didn't hesitate to unleash the suppressed darkness within, wielding the uncontrollable destructive power.
The shadow spun rapidly, fierce gales howling.
Shiva's destructive power gathered endlessly in his palm. Arjuna could feel its immense strength, and his body's gradual disintegration.
Yes, forcibly using this alien power came at a cost.
He was Indra's son, not Shiva's. This destructive force was merely Shiva's boon, not something a demigod like him could master.
The price for driving such world-rending power with a demigod's body was evident.
His Saint Graph, body, and consciousness were eroding under the shadow's assault. The more he expended, the faster the collapse. At this rate, he'd soon turn to ash.
But so what?
Even if it meant his own destruction, so what?
His sole thought remained,
To consume that glaring sun!!
He'd spare no cost.
Not just Shiva's power, Arjuna abandoned his pride, discarding royal combat techniques for victory by any means.
As the shadow forced Karna back, Arjuna sprinted across the ground, blue lightning crackling around him. He became an electric arc streaking across the plain, targeting Karna.
Such terrifying speed, combined with dodging the shadow, left Karna unprepared for Arjuna's approach, and then…
With a blinding flash, Arjuna appeared before Karna, seizing his arms with both hands.
Bang!!
Karna's head reeled as Arjuna's forehead slammed into his, the sudden headbutt dazing him.
Then came…
"Agh!!"
Karna let out a startled cry as a cloud of shadow-laced sand sprayed from Arjuna's sleeve, blinding him.
The destructive power stung even his Brahmastra eye.
Arjuna followed with hair-pulling and a groin kick, relentless.
Such shameless tactics, such methods, flowed freely from this heaven-blessed hero.
Honest tactics? Those that couldn't harm Karna were useless. For Arjuna, this wasn't a spar or battle, it was a slaughter, the most exhilarating slaughter.
Lowly tricks? He didn't care. Whatever worked, he'd use.
Groin kicks, sand-throwing, hair-pulling, eye-gouging, any move that hurt Karna was fair game.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Seeing Karna caught off-guard by his string of dirty tricks, momentarily overwhelmed, Arjuna grinned, his attacks intensifying.
Though despicable, the moves were effective.
To others, he might seem no different from vile rogues or street thugs.
But these tactics, unseen by noble heroes, proved devastatingly effective.
While a shadow-formed hand gripped Karna's body, Arjuna yanked his hair, diving toward the ground.
Bang!!
They crashed, kicking up a dust storm.
Karna's golden armor shielded him from much harm, but he swallowed sand on impact, his disoriented eyes flashing pain and surprise.
This showed his earlier move wasn't futile, just less potent.
Good, very good…
As long as it worked, it was enough!!
If once wasn't enough, he'd strike twice, thrice, or more, until Karna fell.
As the fight raged, Arjuna's tactics grew vicious, employing moves he'd sworn never to use in life, his methods sinking ever lower.
But these couldn't secure an easy victory.
Karna, enduring the onslaught, adapted to Arjuna's rhythm, breaking free from the one-sided beating.
Why? Why?!
Even with despicable tactics and an unleashed dark persona, abandoning honor and shame, he still…
Why?! Why could this hateful man keep fighting?! Why was his will so unyielding?!
Damn it!!
Though loath to admit it, Arjuna saw the gap between them.
Karna was too strong, unreasonably so.
His sun-god-gifted golden armor nullified most attacks, his mobility far surpassed Arjuna's, and his god-slaying spear posed a dire threat.
The gap spanned speed, defense, and attack, a stark difference in raw power.
Even unleashing his dark side and using despised tactics only bridged the strategic gap, not the fundamental disparity.
His flurry of dirty combos dazed Karna, but despite the initiative, Arjuna couldn't land a decisive blow.
As Karna adapted, he used his superior mobility to disengage, disrupting Arjuna's battlefield rhythm.
This enraged Arjuna, but he was powerless.
Though Shiva's power let him bypass the golden armor, Karna's speed was leagues ahead.
No matter how strong an attack, it meant nothing if it missed.
Though maddened, Karna's battle instincts remained sharp.
He sensed the shadow's destructive force and each move's threat, dodging accordingly.
Using his mobility, he regained the advantage, thrusting his god-slaying spear at Arjuna.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
The shadow surged, kicking up debris, but Karna used a peak as leverage, nimbly dodging with a twist, closing in on Arjuna. His spear flashed like lightning, landing deadly strikes.
In an instant, Arjuna's wounded body gained fresh gashes.
"Ugh…"
Spilled blood widened Arjuna's eyes.
Feeling his Saint Graph fading and his worsening condition, his expression darkened.
If the fight continued, Karna would kite him to death, leading to the defeat he dreaded most.
To win, he needed a way to counter Karna's speed.
But how? Easier said than done.
After more clashes, Arjuna's body bore new wounds, his condition deteriorating under the destructive force's toll. His Saint Graph's collapse loomed.
In such intense combat, his broken body teetered on returning to the Throne of Heroes. He couldn't drag this out.
During their relentless clashes, an idea struck Arjuna.
Raising his palm, he wielded his divine bow, barely parrying Karna's onslaught, biding time for a breakthrough.
But Karna's speed was blinding, his attacks airtight, making counter openings near impossible.
Yet…
"There's a way, isn't there…"
Watching Karna charge like a comet, Arjuna's lips curled into a sinister arc.
Swish!!
The god-slaying spear thrust with lethal force. This time, Arjuna didn't parry but hurled his white divine bow like a dart at Karna.
"Huh?!!!"
Arjuna abandoned his weapon?
An Archer, reliant on ranged combat, discarding his bow?
This bizarre move stunned even the maddened Karna. A visceral unease gripped him, a deathly threat looming.
Karna sensed an inexplicable danger but couldn't pinpoint it, nor evade.
At such speed, how could he retract his spear?
The comet-like spear struck the airborne bow, ringing with a piercing Clang!!!
The spear's full force unleashed a magical surge, cracking the fire-god-gifted bow's surface.
But seeing his bow damaged, Arjuna showed no regret, only a mocking grin.
"Hahahahaha, Karna, you think you've won? Don't be naive!!"
He formed a strange seal, using a technique learned in Uruk.
"Broken Phantasm!!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!!
A deafening roar. Karna's eyes narrowed as the white bow glowed, swelling before him.
A visible destructive force brewed, poised to explode.
Karna realized the lethal unease stemmed from this.
"!!!!"
He tried to shift and escape, but Arjuna wouldn't allow it.
Laughing, he pushed the seal forward, roaring, "Explode!"
Boom!!!
A thunderous blast. Blinding thunder and shadow erupted from the bow's explosion, Shiva's destructive shadow snuffing Karna's armor's radiance, nullifying its protection. A fierce thunder mingled in the blast, both forces intertwining, detonating before Karna.
"Ugh!!"
A white pillar swallowed Karna's vision. Without his armor, his body was vulnerable, the blast's impact and heat drawing a grunt.
The kinetic force knocked the spear from his hand, sending it flying.
"How's that, Karna?! My Broken Phantasm?!!"
Seeing his gambit succeed, Arjuna laughed, snatching Karna's grounded spear, flashing a wicked grin. "Now neither of us has a weapon!!"
The technique, learned in Uruk, shattered a high-magic Noble Phantasm, using its stored energy as an explosive to devastate the enemy.
It was called Broken Phantasm.
Normally, he'd never use it, even at death's door.
A true warrior never abandoned their weapon, their trusted ally, even unto death.
But now was different. He was done.
Utterly done with meaningless formalities!!
To kill Karna, he'd do anything. If his ally had to be sacrificed for victory, so be it!
Infusing Shiva's destructive power beforehand, he detonated it as Karna closed in, using the shadow to eclipse the armor's light, disabling its defense for the explosion.
A risky, reckless move.
But it seemed to work…
Seeing Karna, unprotected for a moment, take the full Broken Phantasm, Arjuna's grin widened.
As the dust cleared, half of Karna's body was blackened, his pained expression confirming the thunder's havoc on his innards.
Like Arjuna, Karna was now gravely wounded.
Perfect, absolutely perfect!!
Now you're on your last legs, I haven't lost!!
Gripping Karna's spear, Arjuna roared skyward.
Rolling thunder crashed from the heavens, as if celebrating, as if singing.
___
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