“You know, this would be easy if you just fell over and let me win,” Iris teased as she cracked her knuckles.

“But then there won’t be any living with you after that,” Arylos returned with a smile.

“You have a point,” Iris responded while she planned her move. She knew Arylos would not strike first; she has seen him fight enough times to know he always counters but never attacks first and as willing as he is now, he still doesn’t want to hit her. She moved to the side and the two circled each other, waiting for the first move.

A fire burned in Iris’s chest, an excitement filled her. She wanted to do this and see just how strong he is up close. She looked into his glowing eyes as they glared at her and she loved that carnivorous glare of his.

She moved first, starting with a close punch to the chest but was blocked by Arylos’s left forearm.

Left side, she thought.

She moved to her right and moved out of the way of Arylos’s right fist coming towards her left side. She then followed up with an attempted punch with her left hand but was slapped aside by Arylos’s left elbow.

Right side, she thought.

She ducked close and moved out of the way of a follow up jab headed for the right side of her jaw. She found her opening and made two sharp jabs to his side before moving out of the way of his knee coming up to hit her. She took a few steps back to get some breathing room.

So, an attack from one side results in a counter from the other, she realised. It was a sound strategy; it meant that there was always an opening to exploit if someone was unsuspecting. This also meant that she would have to always be faster than Arylos and have to work on keeping up the rhythm or she will get hit when she least expects it.

Arylos eyed her down as his pupils turned to slits and darted around her, watching for any movement she could make and preparing a counter attack. Iris pushed forward to close the gap but Arylos moved to the side and pushed her to the ground with a shoulder tackle that knocked the wind out of her. Iris collected herself and jumped back up but saw that Arylos stepped back to give her room.

“Come on!” she called out. “At least try and properly hit me.”

“You’re still human, girl,” Arylos responded as he watched her intently.

Iris growled and her body erupted in white and blue flames, her hair taking on its silver colour and the flames burning away her hair tie so her hair ran loose. Her eyes took on the brilliant and haunting blue light as she stared at Arylos, feeling the power run through her veins once more.

Arylos laughed and Iris charged at him with blinding speed and their fists greeted each other with a deafening blast. Iris could feel the force run up her forearm like her arm should have shattered, but she held herself strong. She grinned but Arylos grabbed her shirt and threw the burning hybrid to the ground, breaking part of the stone road they fought on as Iris felt the shock from the throw.

Yet she couldn’t stop laughing.

As if insanity took her, she launched herself towards Arylos once more as the white flames consumed him and she struck him in his gut. Arylos returned strikes but always found air as Iris moved faster as she continued jabbing him wherever he was open. The two continued this back and forth, each time Iris dodging a slow strike from the Titan. She felt her excitement rise, realising that Arylos would be slower than her lightning.

Until he landed a hit square in her chest.

She felt the air knocked out of her as she was sent flying backwards and to the ground just in front of some of the onlookers as they moved away from her. She tried to breathe, feeling like her chest just wouldn’t move no matter how much she tried to breathe. Finally, she felt a pop in her chest and sucked in air, finally able to breathe again.

She turned over and saw Arylos coming towards her, his eyes darker and his smile menacing. Iris felt a shiver down her neck as she watched him, and yet she couldn’t look away. This fear she felt was backwards to her; she wanted more of it. She felt a tremble of anticipation in her legs as she slowly rose and looked at the monstrous Titan. She wiped saliva from her mouth as she corrected herself, trying to contain herself and keep her emotions in check.

“You can tap out anytime,” Arylos growled.

“And risk losing up to forty million Marks?” Iris returned while popping her neck and trying to keep her legs from shaking.

“Is this about the money or is it something else?” Arylos growled as he smiled.

Iris tried to mask her embarrassment as she ran towards him, white flames and all ready to consume him. Arylos sidestepped her again and kicked her in the gut, the force sending her flying even further backwards down the road and past the onlookers. She curled up on the ground as she shuddered under the sensation, trying to keep herself from vomiting from the force.

Slowly, the hybrid girl rose back up and corrected herself. She got goaded; he knew she would lunge at him and took advantage of that. She slapped herself in the face as her flames burned hotter and Arylos walked closer.

The Titan couldn’t help but admire the flames and her silver hair. Seeing her repressed flames burn this hot made him feel warm. As he walked towards her, he couldn’t help but bite his lip, a part of him enjoying this little show of hers. The knowledge that she would have to beat him for them to get the winnings made him even more excited; he wanted her to stop playing around and actually hit him. He wanted to see just what she was capable of.

He wanted to see more.

The two ran at each other and collided violently as the air cracked from their strikes. They kept returning each other’s strikes; a punch from Iris resulted in a strike from Arylos which resulted in a kick from Iris which Arylos returned with an elbow strike. The two struck each other with ever increasing intensity as Iris’s white flames bathed them and the crowd cheered on as the duo’s laughter rose high into the sky.

Bellona couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the two. She wasn’t expecting something this entertaining but it was certainly a show to watch. She felt a hunger between the two that only something this violent could satiate; Iris wanting to see just what Arylos can do and Arylos wanting to let out his repressed strength. He wanted to drop the pretence and be what he truly is for a moment and Iris wanted to feel like the divine she really is.

They wanted to be equals to each other.

Bellona laughed that her attempt to stop the street fighting only made things worse, but maybe it worked out after all. That was until she watched Arylos take a kick to the stomach that sent him through the air and he landed straight on Bellona, the Templarian exclaiming in pain as the large and bulky Titan crashed down on her.

Arylos groaned as he rolled off of Bellona and reached out his hand to her. “Are you alright?” he asked in between panting breaths.

Bellona grabbed his arm and he pulled her back up. “I’m fine, just keep this between you two, alright?”

Arylos smiled and turned to Iris who was beckoning him to come closer. He laughed and walked back towards the burning Iris.

“Iris, I am known as the ‘Titan of Fire’. Care to take a guess as to why?” Arylos teased as he came close to her, feeling the heat of her flames.

“Do enlighten me,” Iris teased while moving her hair out of the way.

Arylos reached out with his hand and her blue flames danced around his hand and up his arm. “It means you made a crucial mistake,” he teased with a smile. He clenched his fist and the blue flames suddenly went black and red as they billowed back towards Iris, replacing her light with the shadowy flames. She felt the pain burn like a thousand hot needles piercing her skin repeatedly. Iris groaned in pain as she fell to her knees, unable to work up the strength to get the flames away from her.

Arylos laughed and came closer to her as the dark flames danced around him. Iris looked up and she saw his carnivorous eyes reflect the flames with a twisted smile. He was enjoying this for some reason, and yet so was she. The burning pain was intense and brilliant and yet Iris could resist it.

She then had an idea come to her as she slowly rose to her feet. “Arylos, you also said that you’re male, right?” she asked with a smirk.

Arylos raised his eyebrow as his grip tightened and Iris could feel the stinging pain worsen as she screamed. She couldn’t help but lean against him for support as the needles burned her with an intense and brilliant pain she could never have imagined.

“What about it?” Arylos growled under his breath.

Iris felt a wave of excitement come back over her. “That means you made a crucial mistake,” she whispered in his ear. She felt a waver in the pain, just long enough for her to reel her leg back and she kicked him with all of her strength in the one area she knew all men share the same weakness.

Arylos flinched and the burning flames faded, letting go of Iris to her relief as she struggled to remain on her feet. She looked up and saw Arylos wear a pained expression on his face that slowly twisted into a scowl as the pain slowly came to him. He gritted his teeth until Iris could swear he was about to crack one of them.

He then hit the ground, finally letting out the pained groans as he held his stomach; feeble attempts to ease the pain. Iris laughed and fell to her knees in relief and exhaustion and looked up to the crowd of onlookers, shocked by what they had seen.

Bellona saw what happened and ran towards the two while holding onto her injured arm. She saw the Titan groaning in pain and couldn’t bring herself to believe what she saw.

She now had to pay twenty million Marks.

Bellona hesitated as she came down beside her broken friend as the realisation slowly came to her. “I-Iris has beaten Arylos,” she called back to the onlookers as they exploded in cheers of victory by some and cries of defeat by others.

Arylos took deep breaths as he tried to get his body to ease the sickening pain that put him on the verge of vomiting. It was a lingering pain not in intensity, but the sensation that his gut was being twisted from the inside. An agony that felt like Iris had quite literally stripped him of his manhood. He was so sure of this he had to mentally check and make sure everything was still intact and in working order. He rolled over and saw Iris looking at him while she tried to catch her breath, a big smile on her face.

“That was fucking cruel,” he squeased out in between groans.

Iris’s smile turned wicked as she leaned down to him. “You took advantage of my weaknesses; it’s only fair,” she whispered in his ear.

Arylos groaned in defeat, submitting to this girl who had learned how to control him.