King of Fighters (Mission/Elyx)

As the the barrier descended, Ardere noticed the two forms in front of them were human. Thank God, he thought. It was about time they fought two humans, and they seemed to have quite the aura about them. Perhaps they would prove to be powerful opponents. Elyx took off immediately towards the blonde one, which left the white eyes one to the fire mage. Drawing his sword, he took off towards the man. The man just stood there, as if waiting for him to attack. Hmm. Running around in a circle, he created a circle of dust around the man. Arcing in with a sword slash, it was deflected. His opponent dodging each sword slice just barely, took note of how quick he was. Rather than continuing to dodge, he defected the blade strike. Sending the red long sword into the ground, it stuck straight up. Probably expecting the god slayer to be useless without his blade, it was quite the contrary. He was just as trained in hand to hand combat as he was swordplay, even if he was a Samurai. A flurry of strikes came towards him, and rather than allowing these powerful strikes to pass through his flame body he dodged the brunt while blocking the others. Taking a martial arts stance, his sword was across from him. He would have to make it through this man to regain his sword, and that did not appear to be an easy task. Bringing up a leather covered arm to deflect a round house kick, he slid in to jab the white eyed man right in the solar plexis. He jab was blocked, but unfortunately it persisted until he at least hit the man in the stomach. While it was not a significant blow, any blow to an opponent was a good one.

Using his blocking arm, Ardere flipped the man over his head. Gliding through the air, he landed on his feet perfectly before charging the brown haired mage. Quickly snagging his sword, he unleashed Hell upon his opponent. A wall of black flames burst from the ground as his blade was swung. The man was obviously burnt, but appeared to use a shield of ki around his body to soften the blow. As the fire turned the earth black, the crowd cheered and went wild. Removing the top of his training ghi, the white eyed man revealed himself to be quite muscular before striking the ground repeatedly with his palms. Shock waves were unleashed, shattering the ground to pieces and sending the guild master tumbling backwards. Spiraling through the air, he landed against the wall with his heels to it. Kicking off the wall with all of his might, a small crater formed as he soared through the air. Striking forward with the blade, he was elbowed directly into the ground. Coughing up saliva and having the wind knocked out of him slightly, the god slayer rolled back. Quickly regaining his breath, his eyes narrowed. He had underestimated his opponent, that would not happened again. As a strike came towards his face, he caught the man's arm before piercing it with his blade and pulling it out. Yelling in pain, the white eyes man jumped backwards to wrap part of his ghi around the wound. Using ki to seal it, he panted slightly. The two mages staring each other down, it seemed the fight had truly begun now.

Orange eyes staring down his slightly blood covered opponent, Ardere pulled his blade up. Gripping the handle tight, he feet dug into the ground. His pitch black aura blazing around his pale body, the fire mage looked more frightening than usual. However the man before him did not seem afraid, instead his blue aura shone around his body like a bright light. The two took fighting stances before kicking off of the ground, soaring towards each other as the dust and bits of earth flew behind them. Both mages were quite powerful, but he would not lose to the white eyes martial artist. The two engaged in a series of strikes, forearm to forearm and blade caught between fingers they were moving at quite the high speeds. The audience was cheering wild as for once the wind and fire wizards had found themselves upon two somewhat powerful enemies. Gritting his teeth, the guild master's head band and brown hair shook each time they exchanged blows. His flurries of sword strikes being deflected and dodged, he swept his opponent's legs out from under him before taking a palm strike to the chest. Coughing up saliva, he slid back to regain his breath. Spitting on the ground, he wiped the saliva off of his face. Kicking off the ground with all of his might, it split into small pieces behind him. It looked as if the master martial artist would catch his blade and toss him. But as soon as it was caught, the brown haired Samurai let go and spun around. The back of his fist hitting the side of his head, the white eyed martial artist was knocked back. Catching his sword mid air, Ardere thrust it forward. The blade being caught between two hands, he twisted the blade. Cutting his opponent's hands, he stepped in to side kick him in the sternum.

Knocking the white eyed man back with his kick, he coughed up a bit of blood. Waiting for the man to come towards him, the Fire King held his blade up. The blue aura around his opponent was increasing, to the point of where even his eyes had turned azure. Well shit. The white eyed martial artist burst towards Ardere with a flurry of strikes that he could not dodge, he could only block as many as possible but he did take a few hits. Luckily with his fire body, the hits went through him to deal half damage and burnt the man. Even with his burnt fists, he kept on striking. It appeared that if he kept going, the fire mage was going to be beaten. He was forced back several meters with this unbelievable rampage of strikes, but he would not lose here. Sorry old man, but I'm not losing here! Punching forward with a fist of crash energy, his strike was blocked but it did not matter. The amount of power behind his strike was enough to knock the man back several dozens of meters until he hit the wall. Forming a massive crater in the wall, the stone split as he was stuck in it. The man then fell to the ground unconscious, the fire king had won. The crowd cheering and going wild, he cracked his neck. Stretching his arms, he looked to Elyx to see if he had beaten his opponent. If the violinist was finished, the two would move on to the quarter finals.

And that's the end of the first four rounds! Now we begin the quarter-finals, then we move on to the semi-finals, and then the final battle with the crowd favorite champion! Ardere exited the arena, and moved into the viewing area rather than stick around in the waiting room. The announcer was making a speech about how much more intense these fights would be, and it made the fire mage wonder how hard these upcoming battles would be. Hmm. I wonder how strong these guys are gonna be. We probably wont have any real problems until the Semis, and we'll be busting our asses then. I haven't really heard much about the champion though. Pale fingers running through his thick brown hair, the guild master gazed down at the arena. The quarter finals signaled the beginning of the true tournament, the fights that everyone was just dying to see. He was curious as to how intense the fights would actually be, it was not often that he went to tournaments, let alone underground ones. Tapping fingers against his chin, the first fight of the quarter finals begin. This meant that there was only sixteen contenders left, 8 of which would move on to the semi finals. The last battle would signify who fought the champion, a master of fighting mages. What little he knew, was shrouded in mystery. He was sure if he had been here the past ten years or made friends here he would know, but all he could do was go off of what he heard around the area. That was not much. Sighing slightly, he watched as four mages engaged in combat. The four began to tear up the arena with their ferocity, it was actually quite intense. While his previous fight had been quite the battle, it was nothing compared to what lay below.

The first fight left the arena in ruins, three of the mages unconscious with only one still standing. It was quite a feat to watch a man beat two other mages and get the revenge he wanted for his partner. Stroking his chin, Ardere hoped he did not have to face that man. And as the announcer stated the winners, he would also call for Elyx and Ardere. Looking to his partner, he tightened the straps on his armor. The real challenge begins. Don't get your head blown off before the Semis. Obviously a jest, he liked to think that the two mages were getting along quite well. Descending the stairs, he would find himself next to his partner within the arena in a matter of moments. The barrier separated the two and their opponents, if any monsters had made it this far then they were to be feared. The martial artists thy had fought before were quite the pair, and if any beast could defeat people like them then they were in for one hell of a fight. Hopefully the two behind the barrier were just as strong if not a bit stronger than the white eyes man and the man with gauntlets. Unsheathing his red blade, the guild master cracked his neck. Let's go. Taking a deep breath, he waited. Sliding his armor covered leg back, the Samurai tightened up his muscles. Taking a fighting stance, the barrier would descend and the battle would begin. It was the quarter finals, their opponents were not playing around anymore. They would have to pull all the stops to win.

The barrier disappeared to reveal two opponents, a small man and a rather large looking Wyvern. Ardere found it strange that one of the beasts had made it into the Quarter-Finals, but it obviously had for a reason. Fortunately the Violinist made the first move towards the flying beast, the shorter man running to intercept. The shorter man with a mustache thought he was going to stop Elyx, but in front of him appeared the Samurai driving the heel of his foot into his chest. Sending his opponent tumbling across the ground, he made room for the Black Rose wizard to continue fighting his opponent. Charging the short man, he drew back his sword as they two began to trade off blows. After exchanging so many blows, it became evident that the man was a wind mage as after each strike, a burst of wind would follow. Fortunately the god slayer's flames were not weak to wind as some were, in fact it could be unphased by it. Bringing up his muscular leg, he brought it back down for an axe kick. The short haired man smiled and chuckled as he effortlessly blocked the kick, sinking into the ground a bit. Spinning his hands, the guild master was sent flying along with a gust of wind that shot across the arena. Regaining his balance mid air, he landed against the wall before kicking off. The wall shattering and bits of rubble scattering, he let out a slight yell before he ravenously began to strike at the short man. Each strike was block or knocked to the side by a gust of wind, but he continued to grow more ferocious with each wing. His increased speed was becoming quite apparent as he landed a few cuts on the shorter man's shoulders. Wind and flame separating the two, it was now obvious that Ardere was going significantly harder than his previous matches. The man had likely been viewing his matches, and gained a bit of insight into his fighting style. This time, he would be unpredictable.

Dashing forward and to the side, he came at an angle with his sword strike before being blow back a bit. The man with the mustache began to charge up a wind attack. Taking a stance, the fire slayer readied himself. As the wind came soaring towards him, it appeared to be concentrated wind in the form of an orb. The small orb of wind could likely shoot straight through steel. Rather than blocking it or dodging, he spun his hands covered in flames in a circle. A circle of flame formed, it caught the orb of air. Flame God's Yggdrasil! Charging the orb up with fiery energy, a black explosion erupted from it. Flames gushed across the arena, the ground was ripped to pieces. Green coat flapping, the man attempted to block the abyss of flames with wind, but his attempt was futile. The explosion sent him tumbling backwards, with a fair amount of damage on him. Ripped earth, black and torn. Ardere stood in front of his opponent with his sword up and his hand held high. The echoes of the crowd's cheering piercing his ears, he did not waver. The king of fire dug his foot into the ripped earth, and took a wide fighting stance. A surprised face and torn martial arts clothing, his opponent stood up. Floating in the air a bit, he was making use of his wind magic to hover. Unfortunately for him, taking to the skies would not help when the god slayer could scorch them.

His feet stamped into the earth, Ardere's black aura began to blaze across his body like a bonfire. During this, his opponent in the green martial artist outfit swirled towards him. Soaring wind behind the man, he charged towards the fire mage. Standing his ground, he waited. As much of an aggressive fighter as he was, he knew when he had to sit back and wait for his opponent to strike. This was something he had learned over the years, and from his master. He never realized how important it could be to switch it up until he became a guild mage and experienced fighters he never thought he would encounter otherwise. Taking in a deep breath, his opponent was slicing up the ground with how powerful the winds emitted from his body were. Gritting his teeth, he leaped upwards and his heel would collide with the man's forearms. Smirking, his opponent seemed to think he had the upper hand. Unfortunately for him, the kick sparked an explosion of epic proportions. Flame God's Impeding Scorch! Black sending shot from his heel, ripping through the area within the arena. The black flames had a strange lighter tint to them, which was more evident in larger attacks such as they one he used. The man was able to use wind to stabilize himself, but it was becoming more obvious that he was reaching his limit. The guild master however, was only tired with a few scraped and bruises. He had no real injuries, at least none that would impair him. If he was going to make it to the semi finals and then to the finals, he needed to be in fighting condition. The Champion was supposedly strong enough to take on hordes of high ranked mages, hopefully with Elyx who seemed to be strong enough they stood a chance.

Charging towards the wind mage as he tumbled, Ardere leaped upwards to come down with a strike, but was sent backwards by a burst of wind. Feet sliding against the ground, he waited for his opponent to get back up before coming in with a flurry of sword strikes. Each strike just barely behind deflected by a blast of wind, he slid into towards his opponent. Sweeping his legs out from under him, he performed the finishing blow in the form of a kick. The crowd cheering, he sheathed his sword. Waiting to see if his battle partner had finished in this round, the two would be announced as the winners. That concludes this round folks! Now, we enter the semi finals. The winner of this will go on into the finals, to fight our one and only Champion! Elyx and Ardere have some time to rest up, but their match starts immediately afterwards! Looking to the Black Rose mage, he let out a slight sigh. Looks like this is it, let's beat these next two bozos and move on to the champion. I've got plenty of bruises but no real injuries, I'm guessing those will come in the finals. After walking back to the waiting room, the two would be allowed to rest up for a small amount of time. Afterwards, they would be called back into the arena for their finals fight before facing the Champion. This was it, if he had to use powerful spells to make it to the boss, he would.

The barrier descended, and two opponents were revealed. A man and his tiger, a flaming tiger at that. Ardere arched a brow, the two appeared stronger than any of the enemies they had faced before but that wasn't much of a difference. There was something off about them, almost as if their looks were deceiving. This much became evident when the fight began, the fire mage charging the shorter man with spiky black hair. Watch out Elyx, there's something up with these guys, be car- A punch smacked against his chest, he had been distracted for the moment but that would not happen again. A large hole appeared in his face, which would reform in flames. So that's how it is eh? Gritting his teeth, he thrust his blade into the man's shoulder. His muscular body was sent back, but the blade barely pierced his opponent. Whoever this guy was, he was durable. Arching both of his brows, a flurry of punches was unleashed upon the Samurai. While he was almost immune to physical attacks due to his fire body and intense body modification from crash magic, the small bit of a hole in his resistance was enough for him to begin to take a bit of damage. While it hurt, the wounds were only bruises and he would push through them. Repeatedly striking at the man with his blade, he exhaled a massive amount of flames onto his opponent. Flame God's Bellow! The flames scorched across the earth and smacked into the shorter man, blocking the brunt of his attacks, he seemed to be harmed somewhat. Smirking, his opponent took a wide stance. What could he possibly be doing. Staying wary, the guild master clutched his blade tight.

Yellow energy began to build up around his opponent, such a massive amount of energy that even he was slightly intimated by it. Any inexperienced mage would have crumbled at such power, but he was no inexperienced mage. While he felt the strength, he did not stand by and wait. Charging towards the shorter fighter, he thrust the long sword forward. His blade was caught, with such ferocity the ground beneath them began to shake and crack. Finally, a powerful opponent had appeared. Punching the guild master, the man let out a massive beam of energy sending him tumbling across the arena. The man of fire flew across the ground, tumbling until he regained his footing. His body reforming, a sigh was let out. So I can finally use some strength. Rolling his neck back and forth, popping sounds were emitted. Using his full speed, unlike usual he appeared in front of the man with now glowing blonde hair. Unleashing a flurry of strikes and punches, he sunk low to slice across the ground. Returning to a higher position, his blade and the man's forearm collided. The ground beneath them cracking even more, his teeth gritting began to hurt his jaw slightly. Loosening his grip, his body became fluid. A punch flew to his face, but it would be caught. No thanks. Flame God's Judgement! Black fiery energy transferring from his hand to the man's forearm, an explosion unlike the likes any of the audience had seen thus far. An explosion that covered almost the entire half of the arena he was fighting in, even Elyx would likely notice such an explosion especially as it was strengthened by his tattoos. For the first time, the flame tattoos on Ardere's neck and face began to glow. His spells had always been strengthened by them, but now that he was in use of them they made their appearance. The explosion he caused turned the earth black and the walls cracked. The man formerly glowing yellow, had his hair and aura turn to normal as he leaned against the wall battered. Unfortunately he was not defeated, he still seemed to have quite some life left in him. Now, the true tournament had begun. While his opponent was distracted, he looked to his battle partner to see how he was faring against the flaming tiger.

Eye twitching at how easily his partner had beaten his enemy, it seemed he had been unlucky in getting the stronger opponent. Unfortunately for this man, Ardere was not in the business of losing. Clutching his blade tight, he took a stance. He was about to strike, but the shorter man with spiky hair laughed a bit. He was struggling to stand, why was he laughing? The once dark haired man began to channel blue energy around his body, the entire arena shaking as he did so. His opponent's hair turned blue and stood up even more, the power radiating from his body. Whoever this man was, he was quite powerful. Charging towards the blue haired fighter, he would appear in front of him dishing out a flurry of punches. Even with his high physical resistance, the blue haired fight began to push him several meters back before using a laser blast to send him tumbling backwards. Slicing the blast with his blade, the blue energy was sent in two directions prompting two explosions of equal proportions. Taking his stance back, the blue haired opponent was observing him. He may have been covered in bruises, but he was still kicking. The other contestant was likely trying to figure out how he was doing so, but it would be too late. He dashed in front of him, and dishes out flurries of sword strikes. Spinning and sucking low, he came at the man from every angle. Most of the blows were dodged, but many had to be blocked. Finally, one hit across the man's cheek drawing some blood. First blood had been drawn. Running his fingers across his face, crimson blood across his fingers, the blue haired fighter began to charge up and attack. Holding his hands out, energy began to gather in the form of a ball, as if to attack him

Rather than waiting for this attack to come and destroy him, probably along with half the arena, Ardere charged in. Sheathing his red blade, the fire mage drew his hand back. Sorry pal, but I'm making it to the finals. Flame God's Crash! Flame engulfing his arm and body, he became a rocket of flames scorching across the arena. Scorching the earth beneath him, he moved so fast that his attack hit the man in the chest just before he launched the large orb. The energy attack dissipating, the now black haired short man was flung across the arena. As the most and flames began to retreat, only the guild master was left standing. Letting out a heavy breath, the crowd went wild. The two mages had won, and they would be facing off against the Champion now. That's it folks The winners are Ardere and Elyx! Now they move on to face the one and only Champion! The King of Fighters! The two were announced as the winners, they had finally made it this far. They were waiting for their opponent to show, the strongest of them all. This guy should be an actual challenge, so be careful. Stretching his arms, the final battle would soon begin.

An armored opponent emerged from the opposite side of the arena, there was no barriers, just an entrance. Ardere unsheathed his red blade, taking a deep breath. He could tell just by looking at the armored man that he was strong. The god slayer was going to jump out and eat the stream of flames slung at them, but it appeared Elyx had other plans. Rather than running out, he hung back and sucked in the massive amount of flames. It seemed their opponent was a fire mage, and from the taste of his flames quite the powerful one. Wiping his face, the Samurai took no time in unleashing hell upon this man. Stay back a moment! Requesting that his partner stay back, he charged in towards the armored man. Coming at him with a sword strike, the man caught it with his armored hand. The ground beneath them cracking, he struggled against the man's strength. Even with his beyond S rank strength, the guild master struggled. He was tossed backwards, and a stream of flame with him. Sucking in the stream, he twirled through the air until he landed back on his feet. There was no way to take this guy on physically. Now! Calling out to the violinist to attack, they would have to dish out some serious blows to beat this guy. Clutching the handle of his blade tight, he would slash a wall of black flames towards the man. His attack, and whatever Elyx dished out would soar towards him. The man was surrounded in a red aura, almost like flames. The aura began to strengthen, and he slammed his fists into the ground.

Flames circling around him to block the attacks, the King of Fighters would leap high into the air. His strength was unparalleled, and he chose to come at the flame slayer first. Soaring through the air, Ardere only knew to exhale a gargantuan amount of flames towards him. His flame god's bellow soared towards the man, streams of fire fighting against it, it would barely hit the man. Whatever this guy was, his armor was strong. He was able to fend off most of their attacks, but he landed in front of the Samurai crushing the ground beneath him. Grabbing the guild master, he was going in for a heavy punch. Allowing the grip to go straight through him, his fire body had come in handy. Dishing out a few sword strikes, he began to crack the armor of the fighter. Unfortunately, the stronger man would kick him across the arena. Using his forearms to block, he had taken some damage. The black armor began to crack on their opponent, and now with some distance put between the two, Elyx could attack him from behind. Unfortunately, he doubted the man would sit around and allow this. With the slight cracks in his forearms, this battle was going to be painful. The three mages formed a line almost, with the biggest fighter in the middle and the other two on opposite sides. The crowd going wild, the fighter turned his attention to the wind mage. If he had not already been dishing out attacks, he was about to receive some. The flaming tattoos lit up along his face, the true fight had begun.

Staying back as Elyx unleashed his horde of attacks, Ardere sheathed his blade. Perhaps this man was not as strong as they had thought, albeit he was the strongest so far. Considering the blow he dealt to the fire mage, and how badly he was draining the violinist it had been one hell of a fight. Getting the heck out of the way, he slid to the back. A strike through the black armor and it shattered, the ringing of the strike sounding in his ears. The man fell, but his partner was out of energy. Running to him, he smiled. You did it Elyx my man, now get some rest. He froze. The clanking of armor as their enemy stood up, an attack that should have felled him did not. The armored man was bleeding, but once he took off his armor he felt stronger than before. With his partner out of commission, it was up to the guild master to finish him off. Stay back, I'll deal the final blow. Taking off his armor, he stripped down his upper half. His bare chest was exposed, muscular and pale. Ripping the red headband out of his hair, he kept his arms covered in Samurai armor so his speed boost still applied. No one has ever broken my armor in all of ten years, you two will pay. Letting out a sigh, the god slayer watched as the man summoned a flaming sword. Hmm. So it seems I'll have to go all out you, and a fire mage at that. I'll give you this, you're stronger than any single opponent I've faced, but you'll meet the same fate. Holding his blade out to the side, it was engulfed in enough flames to counter his opponent's blade. So don't disappoint me. Gritting his teeth, his black aura would reappear and so did the other man's. The crowd was silent, as the two flames clashed.

The two sword of flame clashed, the earth beneath them scorched, it was becoming apparent that the now armor-less man held an advantage over him. Unleashing Hell with a flurry of flames attacks, Ardere was being knocked back repeatedly. Even with his affinity for flames, too many bursts of flame were coming towards him. I never thought I'd use this again, at least not for a long time. Sucking in all of the flames, every fire attack that came near, he devoured them. Even the fire sword that came towards him, he sucked in. The flaming aura surrounding his enemy, he devoured it as well. The champion seemed confused, but he knew he could beat the fire mage with his physical attacks. Unfortunately for him, it was the beginning of the end. A black aura began to shimmer across the Fire King, his hair turning black and his eyes red, the tattoos on his body glowing red as well as his skin became grey. The power that the audience was now in shock of, was God Force. Any mage within a mile radius would feel the intensity of the power he was emitting, and even the Champion could not help but smile. With the combined power of his tattoos and force, his fire attacks would be unstoppable, at least for this enemy. The man resummoned his flame blade, and came towards the god slayer, who would disappear. Running at intense speeds, he attempted to move Elyx away from the area. Stay here, friend. His voice, sounding almost demonic with vibration. Turning back to the Champion, he charged towards him. Slashing his massive flame blade towards the champion, a mountain range of black flames would erupt from the ground, ripping it apart. He attempted to block it, but he would still be hit. Dashing towards the man, Ardere unleashed a flurry of flame attacks. He would receive flurries of punches and some would hit, but he was still going. Even as his body was beaten and battered, force kept him going. Unleashing more strikes, he knocked the King of Fighters upwards.

Blasting flames from his feet, he would press his blade into the Champion's back as he blasted to send him upwards. I'm winning this tournament Pulling his blade back, he thrust it forward. Possible the biggest attack he had performed in his mage career, a drill of black flames burst from his blade. With the increase of strength from his tattoos and force, this drill shattered the casing around the arena, and busted a hole in the ceiling. The black flames scared the entire audience, leaving them in awe of it's power. The attack took up the entirety of the area above the arena, enough to make the area go black with corruption. No one would be harmed, but it was an awfully close call. The now former champion was instantly knocked out by this attack, as he was drilled through the ceiling. Falling back to the earth, he was unconscious. Ardere fell back to the earth as well, leaving a small crater in his wake. He had won, Elyx had done the first half, but the second half was his victory. Panting heavily, he fell to his knee. The crowd screamed, loud enough to be heard throughout the island. The announcer announced their victory, as the guild master used his sword to keep himself up. We did it. Smiling as he panted, the arena floor and ceiling was in ruins.