The battlefield was now a brutal clash of fire and nature against cold steel.
Arson and Sylvia had for the first time joined forces and were doing pretty well against Metal tribe.
Well, it seemed so at first, but now...
Arson's flames blazed through the air, scorching the ground and searing the metal-clad soldiers of the Metal Tribe, but every time one seemed close to falling, they somehow were growing stronger, faster, more relentless.
Sylvia, standing slightly behind him, lashed her vines at the soldiers, trying to bind their limbs, but the moment her vines touched them, it seemed to exhaust the life essence of her powers faster and worse, fueling their weapons and armor.
The air grew heavy with exhaustion.
Arson, bloodied and furious, launched another wave of fire, only to see it sucked into one soldier's metal gauntlet. The flames fizzled out, and the soldier lunged forward, landing a solid punch into Arson's side, sending him staggering back.
"Are you even trying?" Sylvia snapped, yanking him back before another strike landed.
Arson growled, smoke curling from his lips. "I don't need your help!"
"Clearly, you do," she shot back, eyes scanning the soldiers.
They weren't going down not from fire, not from vines.
Then, it clicked.
Sylvia's sharp mind pieced it together: "The reason they were getting stronger after every attack yet both of there energies were getting exhausted faster. There was only one possibility—The Metal tribe were absorbing there energy somehow."
Then, she thought "Even if that were the case, the soldiers should have a limit. Because nothing is infinite."
The way their armor hummed, the slight flicker of energy after absorbing energy they could only hold so much power at once.
Overload them.
"Arson!" she shouted, grabbing his wrist - the same wrist that still bore faint marks from the stubborn vines that once bound them together. "We have to attack at the same time."
Arson jerked his arm away. "I work alone."
"Listen to me, you thick-headed fool!" she snapped, fire burning in her voice. "They can't handle too much energy at once - if we hit them together, we can overwhelm them!"
Arson blinked, his pride clashing against the logic. "So you're saying... more fire?"
Sylvia clenched her teeth. "Yes, and more vines. Just at the same time!"
For once, Arson didn't argue.
When the next wave of soldiers charged, Sylvia's vines lashed out, wrapping tightly around their metal limbs, while Arson unleashed a burning torrent of flames.
The moment the soldiers absorbed both life and fire elemental powers at once, their armor crackled violently, sparks flying, and their mechanisms overloaded. The energy they absorbed began to turn against them.
One soldier convulsed, his gauntlet exploding in a flash of smoke. Another fell to his knees, his body vibrating uncontrollably before collapsing.
It was working.
Arson grinned, the thrill of destruction fueling him again. "I like this plan."
"Of course you do," Sylvia muttered, focusing harder.
For the next 20 minutes, they fought - side by side - with an unspoken rhythm.
Every time Arson blasted fire, Sylvia's vines followed - forcing the soldiers to absorb more energy than they could handle. The battlefield became a storm of smoke, flames, and wild greenery - destruction and creation spiraling together in a chaotic dance.
General Hard's smirk slowly faded into a scowl as his forces dwindled - his soldiers falling one after another.
Arson, his face streaked with blood and soot, gave a cocky smile. "What was that about me not being formidable?"
General Hard glared at him, metal spikes clicking into place on his gauntlet. "You're still nothing without her."
Arson's jaw tightened - but before he could retort, the last of the Metal Tribe soldiers collapsed, their armor short-circuiting with a final, metallic whine.
Silence.
All that remained was Hard - and two rulers standing against him, bloodied and exhausted, yet still standing.
Sylvia, her chest heaving, wiped a smear of dirt from her cheek. "Looks like your soldiers had their limits."
Arson added, "Too bad you don't seem to know yours."
General Hard's fists clenched - but for now, he was alone.
And Arson and Sylvia, despite their clashing wills, had just proven that even the most opposing forces... could be deadly when combined.
_ _ _
The battlefield, once a chaotic blend of fire and vines, now stood in eerie silence, save for the steady clanking of General Hard's metallic boots.
His armor gleamed even through the soot and scorch marks, an intimidating fusion of cold steel and advanced technology. Sparks occasionally flickered from his gauntlets, evidence of the raw power coursing through his body.
Arson, though bloodied and exhausted, kept his fiery grin. His legs threatened to give way, but his pride refused to let him fall completely - not in front of this metal brute.
Sylvia, panting heavily, summoned more vines despite her dwindling energy. The battle had taken its toll, but she refused to back down - not when the neutrals were watching, relying on her.
"You think your little trick with overloading my soldiers was clever?" Hard's voice echoed through his helmet, metallic and cold. "But I am not like them. I am far more advanced."
Without warning, his gauntlet whirred to life, and a flash of silver shot forward - a wave of razor-sharp metallic tendrils, cutting through Arson's flames like butter and slicing apart Sylvia's vines with a brutal hiss.
Sylvia staggered back, eyes wide. "What-"
Before she could react, Hard was on them faster than either expected.
Arson roared and flung another blast of fire, but Hard's armor absorbed the heat, the energy visibly pulsing through the veins of his mechanical suit. Then, with a single backhand swing, he sent Arson flying across the charred battlefield.
The impact was brutal - Arson's body skidded against the dirt, leaving a trail of blood. Still, even as pain roared through him, Arson clenched his fists, his flames sputtering but never going out.
"Is that all you've got?" Arson growled, coughing up blood but refusing to show weakness.
Sylvia, rushing to counter, lashed her vines once more - but Hard anticipated it, grabbing the tendrils mid-air and sending a surge of heat through them, burning Sylvia. She let out a cry, collapsing to her knees, her body burning.
"You both thought yourselves so clever," Hard said mockingly. "But I don't need an army to crush you."
Arson struggled to stand, his vision blurring. "I'm not done yet-"
But then, Hard did something unexpected.
He didn't finish Arson off.
Instead, he turned to Sylvia, grabbing her roughly by the arm and hoisting her to her feet. The vines that had once bound her to Arson now hung limp, severed and lifeless.
"What are you-" Sylvia started, thrashing against his grip.
Hard's mechanical fingers tightened. "Why waste my time here?" His helmeted face tilted down toward Arson, still struggling to rise. "You're not worth killing right now. But taking your princess... now that will wound your pride more than death ever could."
Sylvia's eyes widened. "I'm not his-"
Arson, still on the ground, managed to snarl, "She's not mine. She's just a bother. Take her, for all I care."
But even as he said it, there was an almost imperceptible flicker in his expression - a flash of something between anger and... something else.
Hard chuckled coldly. "Good. That makes this easier."
He turned sharply, dragging Sylvia behind him like a trophy, her legs barely able to keep pace.
The neutrals, still huddled together in fear, watched in stunned silence - too terrified to interfere.
Arson, bloodied and broken, remained slumped against the dirt - his pride forcing him not to cry out, not to demand Hard let her go.
But his jaw clenched. His flames simmered.
And when the neutrals glanced at him - the so-called Prince of Destruction - they didn't see a ruthless tyrant.
They saw something else.
A prince who, for all his arrogance, now looked alone.
The flames on his hands flickered like dying embers as he stared at the spot where Sylvia had stood before she was taken.