Renatus and Sora stood face to face.

“There can only be one.”

Sora punched Renatus away. He was squashed between two buildings the next instant. The buildings exploded. The earth rumbled. The ground rose like a wave, with buildings still attached. He stretched an arm out in front of him. He flicked his finger. A giant beam pierced through the wave of earth. It started to crumble. It then froze and disassemble in the air. Renatus walked through the gaps in the earth wave. He waved his hand. Chunks of earth fired at Sora like bullets. Sora sprinted towards them.

“Sun Dance.”

Golden flames enveloped his body. He leaped into the air. His feet touched a debris. It was set ablaze. He swiftly moved to the next debris. The same thing happened. Sora climbed the debris leaving a trail of flames behind him. His movements were swift and light as if he was dancing. He quickly reached the summit of the earth wave and floated in the sky. He lifted his arms overhead and moved them in separate directions until they drew a circle. A ring of flames appeared in front of him.

“Phaeton’s Demise.”

He thrust his hand through the ring. A giant red beam fired towards the earth. Renatus’s body flickered. The beam hit the earth. An enormous explosion of flames resulted. The flames vanished in an instant. Sora turned his head. Renatus threw a fireball at him. It expanded. The sky was set ablaze. Renatus clenched his hand and the flames froze. The block of ice shattered. A beam rushed at Renatus. He thrust out his hand.

“?!”

Sora returned to his human form and dove to the side. He transformed into a beam the next second.

*Boom!*

An explosive sound reverberated followed by an intense wave of heat. A metal tower nearby melted in face of this heat.

(So he condensed the flames of the explosion and flung at back at me? He then absorbed the heat from those flames and trapped me in a block of ice, only to weaponize that heat….He’s able to do more complicated techniques with alchemy now.)

Renatus lifted his hand overhead. Black clouds filled the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Sora’s eyes widened as tornados descended from the sky and hit the earth. Lightning bolts struck them and started dancing inside them. He spread his arm and the lightning-clad tornados formed into serpents, all glaring down at Sora.

“At this point, what’s the difference between him and a god?”

He smirked.

“There is a difference.”

A sun mark appeared underneath him.

“Godly power.”

“Devour him.”

The serpents dove towards Sora. The sun mark lit up.

“Aethon’s Cry!”

A flame pillar was erected with Sora in the center. The pillar transformed into a horse. The horse flew up to clash with the serpents. It stomped their heads with its hooves and ripped them apart with his teeth. Lightning, wind, and flames clashed in the sky as the beasts clashed.

(First, Phaeton and now Aethon. He’s using techniques inspired by Apollo’s myths. Can he imitate all of his techniques?)

Renatus smirked.

“Let’s test it out.”

He clasped his hands. The entire city started to rumble.

“Is he causing an earthquake?”

Sora saw cracks open up in the ground. The earth swoll up. Slopes raised to the sky. The heat started to rise.

“Wait…”

The light seeped out of the cracks.

“It can’t be…”

The air became harder to breathe in.

“That crazy—”

The slopes shook and lava sprayed out of them. The slopes were volcanoes. Magma seeped out of the cracks. And then-

“Fuck!”

The city erupted like one enormous volcano. A devastating explosion of magma swallowed the entire city. The buildings, roads, and everything else were swallowed up by lava.

“Hahahaha! How’s that?!”

Renatus laughed as the sea of lava flowed underneath him. A section of the sea opened up. Sora emerged with flames all over his body. He was covered in burns.

“Looks like even the sun gets burn sometimes.”

Renatus burst out laughing again. Sora looked up at him with a fierce glare. A guitar appeared in his hand.

“Huh?”

This confused Renatus.

“Ialemus (Funeral Song).”

Sora plucked the guitar. A sorrowful tone echoed through the world. The world dimmed. The sea of lava dried up and turned into stone.

“Wha—”

Renatus vision blurred.

“I’m losing strength.”

His body froze. The sigils on his body faded.

“What’s happening to Renatus?”

“Ialemus, son of Apollo and one of the Muses. He’s the personification of an ancient funeral song.”

Alec answered Sophia.

“It looks like Sora created a technique that affects lifeforce similar to death magic.”

“Ugh…”

Renatus fell out of the sky. Sora blasted off the ground. He gripped his guitar and slapped Renatus with it. The guitar broke and disappeared into light particles. Sora slammed his palm in Renatus’s torso. He was swallowed up by a miniature sun. The sun forced him towards the ground. He crashed into molten rocks below. The sun grew forcing him through the rocks and burning him. Sora snapped his finger. The sun exploded. The molten rocks returned to being magma. Renatus sunk into the sea of lava.

*Boom!*

The lava was forced back by an explosion. Renatus emerged with burns all over his body and on fire. He looked up at Sora who was standing on a floating fireball. He smirked at Renatus.

“How quick the tables have turned.”

Renatus’s eyes became bloodshot.

“I’m going to kill you.”

He blasted off the ground.

“With my two hands!”

Sora dove towards the ground. The two threw punches. Shockwaves spread out and the air shook.

“If it’s a fistfight, I’m more than happy to obliged!”

They flew back and rushed at each other again. Renatus fired lightning from his fingertips. Sora slapped it away with a flaming fist. He blocked a kick with his forearm. He grabbed Renatus’s foot and flung him into the lava. Renatus twisted his body and glided on the lava surface. Sora rushed at him. Renatus formed two lava pillars beside him. They rushed at Sora like serpents. Sora turned into a beam and evaded them. He returned to his humanoid form the moment he was in front of Renatus. He threw a kick. Renatus ducked under it and hit him with a palm strike. A shockwave ran through Sora’s body. He followed up with an uppercut. Sora was forced back.

“Huh?”

A flaming lasso wrapped around his Renatus’s. Sora pulled him towards him and hit him with a knee to the face. His head swung back. Sora hit him with a hook to the temple. Renatus snapped his finger. An explosion erupted between them and forced them apart.

“I’m not letting up!”

Sora flew at him with rings of flames dancing around him.

“Summer Solace’s Waltz!”

He flipped and formed a blade out of the rings. He swung the blade using his entire body. The blade cut through Renatus.

“Ahhh!”

Renatus screamed as flames engulfed his innards. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Sora by his face. An explosion blew his head back. He grabbed Sora pierced him with his hand.

“F-Fucker!”

Sora did the same. The two locked eyes.

“Die!”

“Drop dead!”

Explosions erupted in each other’s bodies. Blood sprayed out of their mouths and stained their opponent’s face. They stumbled back. Their breathing was rigid and they were fading in and out of consciousness.

“Stubborn bastard…”

“I was about to say the same thing. Just drop dead already.”

“You first.”

Sora put his hand over the hole in his body.

(If this form didn’t grant me the regenerative abilities of a godkin, I would’ve dropped dead already…I’ve definitely reached the limit now. But, I’m certain it’s the same for him.)

“Let’s remove all the pretenses.”

Renatus spoke up.

“We’re both on our last leg here. So how about one last clash to finish everything?”

“Isn’t that a bit too cliché? One last exchange to finish everything?”

“Scared?”

Sora smirked.

“Your funeral.”

(This works in my favor.)

He gathered most of his power in his right hand. The rest was in equally distributed to his legs. Golden flames covered his hand. The sigils on Renatus lit up again.

(First, I’ll focus all of my remaining energy on gathering as many flammable gases around me as possible.)

He smirked.

(Look at that…After everything I said to Ashur, I’m risking my life with this move…Aren’t I a huge hypocrite?)

He chuckled to himself.

“……..”

Sora silently took a step forward. Renatus’s eyes narrowed.

(Now!)

Sora’s body flickered. He moved at the fastest speed he had all day. He moved so fast that it was as if the world came to a halt and only he could continue to move. Yet, Renatus could easily follow him with his eyes. He watched as the golden flames around Sora’s hand formed a blade. He cut the distance between them and swung his handblade.

“Sun Clever!”

Renatus laughed.

“I was waiting for that!”

A colorful vapor gathered in front of him.

“See you in hell! Atomic Explosion!”

Sora’s eyes widen. A blinding light engulfed the two of them. As it did, smiles appeared on their faces.

*BOOOOM!*

A catastrophic explosion erupted. It swallowed up the entire city and shook the very dimension. The space started to distort. The explosion was bent out of shape. The scenery changed to a meadow. That meadow was instantly scorched as flames spread all through it. After a few seconds, the world was engulfed in flames that burnt silently. The audience silently scanned the flames with their hearts in their throats. They questioned if either of the two could’ve survived.

(Announcement! Two emblems have been destroyed as a result of a double elimination! As such, both the Primus and Tertitus Team have received 50 points! However, since the Tertitus team has lost its last member, they are hereby eliminated from the competition!)

The announcement was like a hammer beating down on everyone’s heart. They continued to search until two figures were spot not too far away from each other. Both figures were scorched but they could be seen breathing.

“The two knew that the other was going to try and end it so they secretly switched the purpose of their final move to defend rather than to take out their opponent. Thanks to that they both survived.”

Alec saw it. The moment the light was about to devour them, Sora’s blade morphed and formed a barrier around him. Renatus’s body was instantly covered by a metallic substance. They were then swallowed by the explosion.

“Renatus was designed to auto-repair as long as he’s alive and Sora has the regenerative abilities of a godkin. They’ll be out of commission but they’ll live.”

He felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned and saw Al-Shura grinning at him.

“Yeah, but your team was eliminated.”

He pointed at himself.

“But Ashur is still in there.”

Alec smirked.

“Yeah, but he’s facing a very dangerous opponent.”

Alec patted Al-Shura’s shoulder.

“I wonder how he’ll handle Miko’s Right-Hand-Man? I can’t wait.”