In an instant, before Leonardo, Hugo and the other elders could even sit down, a tornado of flames swirled on the arena from Chris and Deker's clash that happened in a split second after drawing their swords.
"Well, well, someone isn't pulling their punches today," said Chris, his sword locked in grinding friction with Deker's.
"Hahaha! It's not every day I get to duel you, so…" Deker, his blue eyes glinting with excitement, retreated before diving back in for an attack. "I'M GONNA ENJOY MYSELF TO THE FULLEST!"
"Heh! Fine. Bring it on!" Chris smirked, the air around him becoming hotter as his sword clashed once again with Deker's in an explosive shockwave once more.
Back in the VIP Lounge…
"Oh my, seems like it's already started," said Leonardo as they sat down, observing the already intense showdown between Chris and Deker that had only just begun.
In the meantime, Hugo slightly glanced at the VIPs one at a time, his thoughts drifting before focusing on the match.
'Dorian von Argos, leader of the Argos Faction which spearheads the Sentinel Investigative Bureau. Claude von Howards, leader of the Howards Faction which is in charge of the Realizer Public Management Office. Roselia von Ludwig, leader of the Ludwig Faction which controls the Genesis Magic Corporation. And Greg von Rotsguard who leads the Jaegers Association. All of them capitalize and control one aspect of our society, and above them, is the Enfilia Royal Family who oversee and regulate them. To think that all the members of the Cardinal Alliance are here, I truly am lucky to have the honor of sitting among them."
'But even with all that power, it still won't be enough for what lies ahead. But for now, let's leave these thoughts in a corner of my mind and just focus on today's event instead,' he thought before fully focusing on the exhibition match.
During that time, Chris and Deker were engaged in a fiery battle that left everyone in awe, the clash of fire and wind creating a heated inferno that was held back by the barrier.
'Monsters…' thought Ace as he observed the fight from where he was, seated alongside Ellie and Shaw. 'That's the only way to describe them. I already knew that they weren't giving it their all when I fought against them, but I didn't expect them to be this strong.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue discreetly. 'Too bad their values wouldn't align with my goal under normal circumstances.'
"Wow!" exclaimed Shaw who had a beastly red gaze in his eyes, his expression and face full of excitement, surprising even Ace who glanced at him.
'Guess a monster will still give birth to another monster, huh?' thought Ace, noticing the small yet powerful reddish-orange aura that slowly emanated from Shaw. 'As the saying goes: Like Father, Like Son.'
As the battle went on, Chris and Deker were only blurs that were crossing swords with mastered technique and impressive power. Chris's attack melted the ground while Deker's attacks shattered it. There was absolutely no way to intervene between them.
In an instant, Deker sprinted around Chris at such high speed that it was impossible to follow him with the naked eye. He continuously used the wind to propel and accelerate himself, trying to pierce through Chris's defense.
On the other hand, Chris tried to follow Deker with his eyes and other senses. His head continuously followed the direction which he was looking, his focus never breaking for even a second.
'NOW!' In a single step, Deker darted towards Chris, in a stabbing motion. The wind around him had formed into a drill-like vortex that crushed the ground around it.
If for most people it would have been impossible to follow Deker's moves, for Chris, he immediately sensed the attack coming in from behind him.
With the sword closing in on him, Deker evaded the strike by a hair's breadth as he summoned a gust of wind that propelled him away from Chris, his feet grinding against the ground after his one-hand backflip combo.
"Wheeeew~!" Deker let out his breath in relief as he wiped off the droplets of cold sweat that were running down his face. "Hahahaha. That was a close."
"Not close enough if you ask me," retorted Chris under the roaring wild crowd which had been silent in awe for a while.
"Damn. Aren't you being too harsh on me?" playfully said Deker.
"Heh! I'm still long ways from that," teasingly replied Chris.
"If you say so," Deker grinned, his gaze locking with Chris' who was smirking. "In any case, time to go at it for real."
Deker threw the sword he had in hand, closing his eyes in total focus as a surging blue aura started emanating from him, making the wind swirl outwardly to the point where the spectators could feel it blowing ever strongly.
The aura that was surging around Deker combined with the swirling wind swirled created a giant tornado that made even the sky darken. Within that tornado, a glowing blue gaze locked onto Chris which made his face grin anxiously.
<…Divine Warrior's Chronicles>
In a single motion of the arm, Deker blew away the tornado that was around him, the wind that was blowing strongly becoming a testament to the strength that he had now fully unleashed.
As the wind calmed down, where Deker stood was now an armored warrior wearing blue-silver armor with a semi-great sword of similar color in hand.
His armor was made up a sleek helmet which perfectly framed his face, allowing only his determined eyes that glinted with power and confidence to be visible, a robust chest plate connected to the shoulder and back pieces formed a complete upper body defense, a functional waist guard provided lower body support, leg guards that extended slightly above his knees, and forearm bracers which fully shielded his arms.
Each piece of his armor seemed to offer agile protection while they also seeming to empower Deker's already impressive strength. In contrast, the semi-great sword he carried in hand, ornated the same way as his armor, seemed to even be able to cut the wind itself.
"Well, I went all out. Don't you think it's time to do the same?" Deker raised and pointed his sword towards Chris.
"I know, I know," Chris scratched his hair, also throwing away the sword he had in hand. 'Well, then… let's crank up the heat a little bit.'
As he invoked, intense burning flames swirled around Chris in an instant, the ground beneath his feet becoming molten lava. The heat was incomparable to when they first started their match. It was only thanks to the barrier that surrounded the arena that the spectators weren't greatly affected or endangered by the growing intensity of the fight.
<…Parchment of the Phoenix>
Within a single sweep of the sword, Chris showed up in a new form. His body was covered in an ethereal cloth that unconsciously reminded the spectators of the ornate feathers of the phoenix.
It was golden blazing cloth that was accentuated by the mixed golden and red long sword that was in his hand. His usually short brown hair, was now longer, reaching his back in a flaming golden manner. And similarly to his entire form, his blue eyes now glowed with a mystical intensity that inspired only one thing… the grace and dignity of a legendary being.
Chris and Deker didn't exchange a single word. Their eyes seemed to carry the words that they wanted to say as they only took a single step that blurred their forms into the shockwave that was followed with a giant and resounding KABOOM!