DING.
The bell rang. And within a split second, the arena's participants erupted forward.
Rikushi shot forward first, his eyes glowing a furious orange as his coat flared behind him. Fire burst from his feet, propelling him across the sand as his black blade ignited mid-draw. His five elemental rings glowed on his hands like stars. His voice thundered:
"Archangel [FLUXED]--AWAKEN!"
Wings of fire burst from his back. The gem in his sword pulsed bright, then exploded in radiance. His hair lifted, fire crackling in streaks of crimson and orange.
Beside him, Valentine cracked his knuckles. "Let's let loose."
He quickly paused himself and punched the ground. The air warped around him as a dense aura burst outward. His body shined with deep red light, sigils burning into his arms and shoulders as his muscles tensed. "Archangel [CURSED]--ACTIVATE"
Kaide stepped forward, both hands gripping the hilt of his sword. His eyes dimmed to black. His breath slowed. Then--he laughed.
"I'm finally able to let loose!"
His blade split clean in half with a sharp snick. The aura around him flickered red, then black, then gold as he said, "Unchained." His hair shot up as his eyes were covered in a golden light.
Kaide vanished with a crack of pressure. His next step left a crater in the sand, as his afterimage was last seen thrusting forward towards his foes.
Rumoto stood still, axe on his back. His eyes closed. Then they opened--no longer calm and no longer holding back.
The veins in his arms lit up like lava cracks. The Ice on his gloves turned from dull blue to violent red.
"Unchained," he whispered, and the ground beneath him shattered, with cracks in the ground intruding outward.
Para hovered just behind them all. He raised his hands high, a small prayer on his lips.
"Let this Light shine above all."
Beams of light enveloped his body as radiant armor grew from thin air--plates of celestial gold and starlight silver encased him entirely. His wings flared out, six in total, glowing in harmony. He gripped his staff tightly.
"Radiant Ascension: COME TO ME"
Across the battlefield, Team NTG5 wasn't waiting.
Blaidd stepped forward quickly, daggers spinning in hand. His long coat split glowed blue as a burst of icy wind circled him.
His breath fogged. His pupils changed. And then--his back split open, forming large, white-frost angel wings rimmed in crystal-blue light.
"Archangel [BROKEN]--APPEAR"
Snow formed under his feet, and the arena floor under each step began to ice over.
Glonk popped the amulet on his neck. The runes on it flared red, then began counting down.
"Timer's on, two minutes."
Jin smirked, as he put on hand on the hilt of his sword, keeping it sheathed until the right moment.
Musi cracked her neck, with her staff shimmering a light hue of gold.
Radiant light burst from under her skin--each step she took sending small pulses of gold energy through her veins.
She was nervous but determined to stride forward, "I'll prove to my dad that I'm ready..."
TLK raised his hands. A golden circle appeared in the sky, and his halo snapped into place above it. Lightning fell from the sky and activated the golden circle, violent bursts around him as he whispered:
"Unchained."
His body glowed, his movements shifting in smooth, calculated rhythms. Light curved around his frame. His halo floated back into his hand, now charged like a loaded weapon waiting to be unleashed.
The two teams stood across the battlefield, with each second having the distance being closed.
Ten warriors, all at their limits from the very first second.
The crowd didn't even scream, as they were breathless, scared that either blinking or letting out their breath will cause them to miss what happens next.
Then--Valentine grinned with excitement as Glonk was directly in front of him.
"Time to prove who's the strongest."
For the first time, a grin of excitement is seen on Glonk's usually expressionless face.
Valentine and Glonk launched forward, breaking away from their teams with explosive momentum.
Their fists collided in midair--an impact so immense it rippled a shockwave through the battlefield, hurling sand and debris across the arena.
Jin unsheathed his blade, a gleaming katana that clashed against Kaide's twin swords with a sharp ringing.
Para and Musi met next, beams of Light Magic slamming into one another as their magic fought for dominance.
TLK hovered above, launching radiant blasts at Rumoto, who darted between them, his axe gleaming as he leapt from strike to strike.
And in the center of it all--Rikushi and Blaidd clashed, their blades locked and intercepted one another. Rikushi's glowing estoc held fast against Blaidd's katana.
Blaidd grunted, "Ready to go all out, pupil?"
Rikushi pushed forward, matching the pressure. "Maybe this time, you'll learn something from me."
Both slowly lifted into the sky, the feet no longer touching the ground, their wings keeping them as stable as they could under the intense strikes and power.
"Show me the power you gained that one night," Rikushi shouted.
Blaidd narrowed his eyes. "Show me yours as well."
Their bodies pulsed.
Rikushi transformed--his form radiating shadows as Erebus awakened within him. His estoc elongated and twisted into a jagged blade of living-night, his body shrouded in arcane darkness.
Blaidd followed, wings splitting and reforming into crystalline feathers of purple ice. His daggers and katana melted together, reforging into a single greatsword of Steel and Ice as Boreas took hold.
On the ground below, Glonk's amulet--Doom-inion--flashed and cracked. The countdown had reached its limit. His eyes flared open, cosmic energy surging around him as his full power ignited.
Across from him, Valentine rotated the dial of his pendant--three clicks.
His veins turned black-purple as flames began to leak from his eyes, not like fire, but like black stars burning from within, waiting to explode like a supernova.
Above and below, magic churned violently.
Black lightning and Starry Space forked between the clouds above.
Waves of Light spiraled from the sand below.
Ice storms clashed with radiant beams of Fire around.
And the void--the raw chaos of the cosmos--swirled through it all, as if reality itself was being torn apart from the weight of their powers.
The arena had become more than a battleground--it was now a warzone forged by the new gods of Nova Terra.