The pile of ash began to move and Jason appeared, shaking the ash from hair. Everyone was stunned beyond belief and before anyone could do anything, Jason looked at the stunned Anthony and said, "Time to begin round two." Then Jason lunged at him.
Anthony was still stunned. He started to move to counter Jason's attacks, yet his reaction speed was slow. His mind was racing trying to catch up to reality. 'He died. I'm certain of it. So how? How can this bastard still be alive?' And Anthony wasn't the only one with these thoughts.
—
A soft giggle echoed from next to Jiang Yue. Addie had her hand covering her mouth. Her pink eyes were glistening with amusement. "Oh how delightful. He is blessed by the one who rejects death itself. Oh I want him even more now." She lowered her hand and returned to a dignified pose. Then turned to look at Jiang Yue. "You knew didn't you?"
"I learned a little bit ago." Jiang Yue said observing the crowd briefly before focusing back onto the fight. "It wasn't like I kept it a secret hidden from you on purpose. I just didn't have the time to tell you."
"Are you kidding me?" Addie said teasingly. "Even not telling me about him for a second was a crime in of itself." She then looked back at the fight in the arena. With a single thought in her mind. 'Let's see if he is worthy of being the vessel.'
—
Jessica all but collapsed with the rampaging emotions stirring in her heart. First she watched Jason die and her heart all but stopped with him. Then she watched his body burn and be reborn from the flames. Her heart can't take much more of this. She grateful that he's alive. Yet, gratitude doesn't calm the racing heart of someone watching the one they love die before their eyes. She gripped the railing in front of her so tightly that it was surprising it didn't bend. Her eyes wide in disbelief and shock as was forced to watch the fight continue without being able to do anything to help her beloved.
—
Anthony's brain finally caught up to reality a few seconds after Jason began his counterattack. Despite having the drop on Anthony, Jason didn't manage to break through Anthony's defense. His punches and kicks bounced off of Anthony's blue scales.
"How did you do it?" Anthony asked as he threw a punch at Jason's face. Jason dodged the blow and countered it with a pure white flaming fist to his abdomen. The attacked bounced off harmlessly. "How are you even alive?" Another punch was thrown. Jason dodged and countered. "I know you died. So what kind of bullshit are you pulling?" Another punch thrown followed by another counter. "What illusions did you put me through?" Another punch was thrown.
Jason saw that Anthony no longer had a proper stance when he fought now. It's like he fought like a wild animal. There was no purpose to his strikes anymore. It was as if he relied on instinct rather than technique. Jason wanted to take advantage of that. He just needed to break through Anthony's defense. Analysis and Assess had already helped him see the path to victory and the plan was in motion. Jason just needed time for everything to come together.
—
Meanwhile in another part of campus, the forge burned hotter than it ever had in recent years. This was because of the dragons fire that was being used as one of the ingredients to forge a weapon. The weapon in question was finally shaped to perfection and was ready to be cooled.
Professor Ulfgar took the blade out off of the anvil and dropped it in the tub fuilled with crystallized water. A loud hiss came from the tub of water as the blade cooled.
"An interesting method," he said to Sophia. Using phoenix bones and dragon fire to heat the forge. Normally such methods would never work and cause an explosion."
"It's because dragons and the phoenix have more in common than we initially thought." She said as she finished making the shaft. The mounting hardware and hand grasps were already made. Now that the weapon was cooled, it was time for the two of them to finish their project.
"Hold on a little longer little bird."
—
Anthony's rage started to explode. The one thing he hated more than anything else, was when things didn't go according to plan. Jason's very nature began to defy everything Anthony planned for. Nothing was going right.
"Fuck this!" Anthony screamed throwing caution to the wind. He jumped back creating distance as he opened his mouth impossibly wide. A massive water jet erupted from his mouth and shot forward at Jason.
Jason couldn't dodge it in time and the water slammed int his chest with such force that his ribs cracked in seven different places. Jason flew backward ten feet before hitting the ground and laying on his back.
-15 HP
MASOCHIST PASSIVE EFFECT ACTIVATING.
+3 HP
Jason groaned in pain before a soothing effect took over. Anthony walked over to him with a massive water ball in his hand. "See if you come back from this," he said with a grin. "Personally, I hope you do so I can keep doing this all day. How lucky must I be to be this fortunate?" Anthony had a grin on his face that didn't track his eyes. He lowered the water ball directly into Jason's mouth. Anthony started blocking Jason's airways with water, slowly drowning him. Jason began to squirm on the floor. His hands were clawing at his throat, trying his hardest to breathe.
Eventually he couldn't hold his breathe any longer. Water filled the inside of his body. Jason squirmed less and less before stopping completely. His heart stopped as well.
Jason died once more.
Anthony wasn't taking chances this time. He surrounded Jason's body with water, placing him in a trap. Anthony meant to kill him as he gets revived again.
—
Sophia and Ulfgar finished putting the weapon together. It was time to give it to him. Sophia grabbed it and started running out of the forge. She hoped she wasn't too late.