Max hit the stage hard enough to rattle the burnt wooden floorboards, and pain shot up his legs when he landed. Shards of colorful glass rained down around him, and time seemed to slow as he stood up, rolling his shoulders. His chest heaved as he recovered from the sprint across the rooftop and the jump through the window, and his eyes widened as he realised what he'd just done. That was… badass, he thought, and raised his staff. His eyes flicked around the room, taking in his surroundings. Devon was fighting a creature straight out of Max's nightmares, and Ren was standing between them, staring at Max, dumbfounded. The whole place was on fire, and smoke had begun to build up in the rafters. "Max, how did you-" Ren started to say, but Max just shook his head. "Not now," he said, and his eyes narrowed as he finally turned his attention to Elias Vane. "I got this. You should go help Devon." "But-" Ren started to say before shaking her head and running to Devon's aid. Max spun his staff, and tapped the end on the floor, making the runes flash bright. "Stand aside, you- You heretic!" Elias said, but his voice was uneven. His hands shook as he raised them in preparation for battle, and he had a pained expression on his face. "You know I can't do that, Vane," Max said, voice flat and emotionless. "Fine, I'll just have to go through you instead," Elias said. He lifted his hands, and the symbols on his palms lit up.
Max didn't give him a chance to attack. He lunged forward, and the air shifted as his staff swung towards Elias's ribs. Elias jerked backwards at the last moment, his coat billowing behind him, and the tip of the staff blew past him. Max followed through with the motion, twisting and sweeping the other end at Elias's legs. He narrowly dodged the attack, and retaliated with a small burst of flame, aimed for Max's face. The heat rolled forward, and Max slashed through the air with his staff, reinforcing the shaft with Flux. The fire stopped short, not reaching his body, and dispersed into the air. Elias's eyes went wide. "How did you just-" he started to say, but Max was already attacking again. He jabbed the staff straight into Elias's chest, and the iron cap flared with crimson energy. Elias stumbled back, and his boots slipped on the glass shards littered across the stage. "Enough!" he shouted, and all of the fear he'd had before was replaced with frustration. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, and the air tightened around them. His palms got brighter, and Flux began to collect at his fingertips. Max's breath hitched, and he slammed his staff on the ground, putting all of his energy and focus into reinforcement.
Ren felt the air pressure change, but she was too busy to do anything about it. While the demon had lost its main source of regeneration, it was still a formidable opponent. That, and Devon was almost completely spent, focusing more on defense rather than retaliation. The demon slashed at Ren, getting increasingly aggravated, and she barely dodged it. Its claws had clipped the edge of her ponytail, and the smell of burning hair filled her nostrils. She patted out the fire, and lunged forwards, her blade gliding in a clean arc towards the demon's leg. It cut deeper than before, and she felt the blade bite into bone. The demon roared and stomped down with its other leg, shattering the stone tiles beneath it. The whole building shook, and the heavy wooden beams in the ceiling began to groan in protest. Ren slid under the demon's foot, and plunged her sword into its stomach on her way back up. It growled in pain, clutching the open wound, and more sizzling black fluid poured out. Before she could retreat, the demon finally landed a solid hit on her, slamming its foot into her chest, sending her flying across the room, and cracking the wall behind her on impact. Before it could follow her, Devon caught the demon's leg with a chain, and pulled with all his might. It was thrown off balance, giving Ren enough time to recuperate. Then the flames surrounding them seemed to dim. A new light began to fill the church, and the Flux in the air flooded to the stage area, where Max and Elias were fighting. "Ren, is that-" Devon started to say, breathing heavily. Ren nodded, eyes wide, and shouted across the room. "Max! Get out of there!" And then a blinding light filled the room.
Elias released the ball of Flux that'd collected in his hands all at once. The searing heat of holy fire flooded out in a wave of pure energy, and hit Max. He leaned into it, and forced every ounce of his Flux into reinforcing his staff in a violent surge. The beam of light hit the staff, and its course split. The fire enveloped Max, and he could feel his pocket of safe space shrink as the temperature rose. His staff began to blacken, and cracks formed across the length of it. The fire only raged for a few seconds, but they felt like an eternity to Max, who was running dangerously low on Flux. As the flames began to slow down, Max breathed a sigh of relief. It's almost over… Then his staff began to glow even brighter. A brilliant hue of crimson seeped into every crack in the shaft. It vibrated violently, and began to produce a deeply unsettling hum. The iron caps started to rattle, and then… It exploded in Max's hands. For just a fraction of a second, Max was left exposed to the full force of Elias's fire. He desperately reinforced his body, and the burning sensation of Flux flooded his body, clashing with the heat engulfing him. His mind went blank, and every cell in his body screamed in agony. Max fell to his knees, smoke curling off of his body. Pieces of his staff littered the floor, still glowing. Max grabbed at the splintered scraps of wood, but there was nothing to be done. It was destroyed. "Wh- Why are you still alive?" Elias said, hands shaking. Max pulled his mind together, and started to stand up. The pain was gone now, and his brain felt numb. He tried to summon his Flux, but there was no response. He looked down at the scorched floor, his expression blank, and his mind clouded up as he tried to move. Elias stepped forward, and stopped just before Max. "It's over," he whispered, and tried to pull the energy into his hands again. The runes flickered, and went dark. He sighed, exasperated, and stepped closer, cracking his knuckles. "Just… Die already—" Then Max moved. He crossed the distance between them in two steps, filled with purpose, and drove his fist into Elias's face. His head snapped to the side from the impact, and blood ran from his nose. "Seriously? You're still-" Elias said, but was cut off by a punch to his throat from Max. He stumbled back, choking, and tried to summon his fire again to no avail. He was completely spent. Max's knee came up, slamming into Elias's ribs, and something cracked. Elias folded, winded, and Max grabbed his coat. He yanked him forward, and landed a punch on his liver. Then his stomach. His face. Elias swung wildly, desperately trying to retaliate, and managed to hit Max's jaw. Max spat blood onto the charred wood beneath his feet, and rushed forward with his fists up.
Ren hit the demon again, her sword carving a bright red line through the smoky air. The blade sank into its forearm, and she forced her Flux into the blade. In one clean slash, the demon's left arm was sliced off, and black blood pooled around it, bubbling violently. The demon roared in pain, and swung at her with its other arm, but the attack stopped short as Devon caught its arm with his chains. He was visibly exhausted now, breathing hard, and he was slowing down. The demon yanked on the chains hard, expecting resistance, but Devon let go at the last moment, causing it to stumble backwards. "Now, Ren!" he shouted, and Ren dashed forward. The glowing runes on her blade brightened, and she hacked at the demon's other leg as she ran past it. The blade cut through a thick tendon, and the demon fell to its knees. Ren turned and climbed onto its back, her sword catching the light of the raging fire consuming the church, and slashed downwards with all her might. The demon's roaring was cut off short, and its eyes went wide as its head was severed from its neck. The whole room went silent, and the fire around them went out abruptly. Ren hopped down and stood beside Devon, wiping the steaming black liquid off of her blade. "Alright, we should go help Max." As she started towards the stage, she saw Max fighting Elias barehanded. What happened to his staff? She started to think, but was interrupted by Devon's voice. "Ren! Get back!" She spun around, and was greeted by a violent pulse of pure Flux. The demon's body had exploded, sending out a devastating shockwave. She reinforced late, and slammed into a wooden support beam. Her vision began to blur, and something warm trickled down her face. The fire was back, burning brighter than before, and had spread to the ceiling. "Devon!" she yelled, and tried to stand up. "The roof!" The fire crackled, and a flaming wooden support fell from the ceiling, sending burning splinters of oak flying across the church. "We gotta move!" Devon shouted from the other side of the room, as more fiery wood rained down.
Max barely noticed the changes in the environment surrounding him, fully absorbed in his brawl with Elias. Max ducked a blow from Elias, and slammed his fist into his side. He felt a crack, and Elias took a sharp breath. Elias landed a hook to the side of Max's head, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. He lunged forward and headbutted Elias, sending him reeling back, then kicked him in the chest. Elias stumbled backwards, but Max caught his shirt collar, and hit him again. And again. And again. When he finally let go, Elias fell to the floor, and scrambled back away from him, the shards of glass on the floor digging into his back. "Please-" He started to say, and Max stepped forward. "What? Are you asking for mercy? After all the innocent people you've killed, you still believe you deserve mercy?" Elias choked out another breath, clutching his chest. "I just-" Then a loud crack rang out, and a massive chunk of the rafters fell from the ceiling. Max jumped back, barely avoiding being crushed under the flaming oak beam. Elias wasn't as lucky. He screamed as his leg was trapped under the burning wood, and clawed at the floor, trying to escape. He reached for the door, which was just feet away, but couldn't pull himself free. "Max! You alive?" a voice called out, breaking through the overwhelming roar of the fire. Ren stepped over the debris littering the stage, and Max finally pulled his gaze off of Elias to look at her. "For the most part," he said, and wiped his bloody hands on his pants. "This whole place is coming down. We gotta get out of here!" Ren said. "You can't leave me here!" Elias shouted, still struggling against the beam trapping him. Max looked back at him, and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah… I can." He started to follow Ren to the exit, but hesitated. He turned back one final time, and a smirk formed at the corner of his mouth. He mouthed just two words to Elias. Now burn.