As the king flew in mid-air, crystals started detaching themselves from his body and shattering into countless pieces. Just as before, the crystal shards started levitating and combining, forming a massive javelin made from blue crystal. Almost as if an invisible hand picked it up and threw it, the javelin soared through the air, rapidly approaching Vaar’s back. At the speed it was flying, it was practically impossible to dodge the javelin so Vaar didn’t even bother. He kept gaining distance on the still-soaring king, but before he could land a follow-up hit, he was struck by the javelin. It wasn’t as sharp as the king’s right arm, but the sheer force behind it made the javelin pierce through Vaar’s skin and come through the other end, though no longer the same shade of blue as it was before.

The javelin was completely coated in strange, black metal flakes which corroded the crystal until eventually, the javelin was no more. Vaar ignored the gaping wound on his back and leapt into the air, completely cracking the ground beneath him. The king tried his best to raise his shield, but similarly to the javelin, the momentum propelled Vaar forward with such speed that it didn’t give the king enough time to react. Vaar’s knee crashed into the king’s torso, completely cracking the blue crystal making up the king’s body and sending vibrations through the rest of the king’s body, causing small cracks throughout the rest of his body.

Just like a flying comet, the king soared through the air and crashed into the ground, making the earth shake and the dirt explode. With another heavy thud, Vaar landed on the ground and started dashing towards the king, but this time, the king was ready to retaliate. Pieces of his shattered torso came flying down towards the king and several large chunks of the crystals making up his body started rippling and shifting towards his back. In less than a few seconds, the king had two large protrusions on his back and the blue crystal shards floating around him gathered to create two, massive wings. The wings, just the like king’s right arm, looked thin but sharp and they kept on becoming thinner until they resembled a cicada’s wings, almost completely transparent.

Despite the wings being made out of crystal and being so thin, they moved flexibly and with a single flap of his wings, the king was flying in the air. Flying up higher and higher in the air, the king opted to carry out war of attrition, swooping down, hitting Vaar and then retreating back into the sky. His right arm could easily cut through Vaar’s skin without any of the strange metal flakes affecting him and even the wings were a useful tool in attacking Vaar, delivering several thin but deep cuts, cutting straight to his bone. The shield in his arms started to slowly dissipate and in its place, two additional cicada wings grew on his back, greatly aiding his mobility, speed and power. Besides that, the once cracked crystals were replaced with new crystals, his body became bulkier and heavier, his sword, larger and sharper.

As Vaar was getting assaulted with several attacks, he wasn’t simply standing still. Vaar’s body was a massive weapon on its own and each blow that landed on the king’s body cracked and shattered the crystals making it up. Still, he was the one on the losing end this time. The king was inflicting wounds quicker than his body could regenerate and close them and although the dirt he was standing on was covered entirely in crystal shards, the king simply wouldn’t die. Deciding to do something different, he placed his hand on his chest and his metal like skin unsteadily rippled. As soon as the king swooped down to attack him, Vaar used his hands to smash at the wings, completely ignoring his defense. The king’s arm inflicted several more injuries on him, but as the king stabbed out one more time, Vaar’s chest rippled and from it, a large, metal spike emerged.

Clearly, the king hadn’t expected this as he completely stopped his offense and focused on getting away, but unfortunately, the metal spike had already pierced through his body. A second later, several more ripples appeared on Vaar’s body and tens of metal spikes stabbed the king’s body, making the king’s body resemble a hedgehog. Vaar’s hands were doing their best to rip off the king’s wings, but they proved to be too strong and agile. The king used his four wings to batter Vaar’s body and propel himself backwards and into the air, though with several more holes in his body than he started out with.

This time, the king’s body didn’t regenerate. The holes in his body were there to stay, but the king didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the fact. His face was completely expressionless as he held out his hand, pointing it towards Vaar. He started flapping his wings faster and faster until Orou couldn’t see them anymore, until the wings had raised up a storm. The numerous pieces of crystal shards that were lying on the ground started shaking and stirring. As if they were in the middle of a raging tornado, they started to fly up and gather around Vaar’s body, starting to spin at a great speed. The crystal shards dug into Vaar’s flesh and made several, small cuts on his skin, though the crystals that touched him immediately dissolved from the metal flakes.

The few crystals that survived dug deep into his body and buried themselves there, most likely waiting for an opportune moment to dig themselves out and strike from within. Vaar had survived the crystal storm and in its place was an entirely different storm, made from the same metal flakes that dissolved the crystals. They gathered together into a single, solid metal ball and, holding the ball in his arms, Vaar aimed it towards the king. Using all of the strength inside of his body, he threw the ball towards the king and smirked as if he knew the result of his action before it unfolded.

The king wanted to move away, but he found that his wings had grown sluggish and heavy all of the sudden. The sickly glow that remolded Vaar’s body had surrounded his wings, hindering him from making any rapid movements. That being the case, the king was smart enough to completely stop flapping his wings and plummet down onto the ground, but the metal ball was already before him. The ball reflected the sun around it and once more, the strange ripple appeared all throughout the ball. From the ball formed hundreds of metal spikes, completely skewering the king’s body, forcing the king to show pain on his emotionless face.

Using the remaining strength he had, the king gripped one of the metal spikes and pushed against it, making the king plummet down onto the ground once more. Vaar was all but ready for the king as a massive ripple spread through his left arm. Going directly beneath where the king was plummeting, Vaar chuckled to himself and pointed his left arm up into the air. The king watched in despair and tried his best to make his wings work, but no matter what he did, they wouldn’t respond. Realising his present situation, the king stopped struggling and instead, he pointed his right arm towards Vaar, intending to exchange a blow in return.

The king had long since reached terminal velocity, but that would only make sure his fall was that much more painful. The ripple on Vaar’s left arm grew unsteady and as the king approached the ground, a massive, black spike shot up from Vaar’s arm. The king’s body landed directly on the spike, going all the way through the spike and crashing into Vaar’s body. Although the king was in immense pain from being impaled on top of a massive spike, he didn’t forget to return the favor back to Vaar. Even though he had lost some speed when he was impaled on the metal spike, he still had enough force to bring his arm down on Vaar. His arm slashed down, through Vaar’s shoulder, his torso and his legs, completely severing the right half of his body.