Rebirth

Chapter 29: True Nature

Truthfully, I expected it to actually do more damage. That sadly wasn't the case. I locked eyes with Jarimu, holding the fist that was turbocharged with his magic, and looked around at the massive ice crystals around us, and whistled. "Nice. That was much stronger than I thought it was."

"How.. How did you catch that... That was one of my strongest-" I cut him off with a fist to the jaw. Moving forward, I looked up at Dai coming down, his fist swallowed in sand. I moved to the side, twisting and kicking his cheek, knocking him into his brother and the two tumbled hard against the ground. I sighed, looking at them. "You two really talk big, but you're not as strong as you think... Or, am I that much stronger than you?"

The two breathed heavy, slowly crawling to their feet. "Damn.. I really didn't want to do this.." Jarimu said quietly. Dai wiped his chin, "Last time we did.. We caused a ton of damage, and nearly killed our opponent.." They smirked, their fanged teeth growing sharper. As they looked at me, their eyes slit, and a magic aura shot up around them. Their hair rose, standing upwards in the air. Markings trailed along their bodies and faces in a similar tribal like pattern, Jarimu's in an icy blue, and Dai's in a dirty brown. The air around them became suffocating, but nothing I hadn't experienced before. The ground vibrated and pebbles shook. "Well.." I said, eyes wide. "Wasn't expecting that.."

There was a ringing in my head, and Zhaniah's voice filled my ears with an echo. "Be careful! These guys are stronger than before, much stronger!"

I watched them closely, blinking at the pair. They took a deep breath, ice and rock forming and swirling in their respective throats. "Ice Demon's..." Jarimu started. Dai followed, "Earth Demon's..." I stepped back some. "Wait.. Did they say..." They turned to me, two beams of ice and earth magic surging at me. "Rage!" I blocked, closing my eyes and taking the roar full force, an explosion rocking around me. Swearing loudly, I leapt from the resulting ice dust cloud, rolling along the floor and turning to them. "Their power increased that much?" I rose, taking a deep breath, and covered my face as Jarimu slammed his fist into my arms and sent me flying. Behind me, Dai appeared, kicking me high into the air and Jarimu jumped after. I dodged his punches, flipped and kicked his face, letting him fly downward. I freefell after him, eyes glowing slightly and spun. My flames developed a violet hue, and gripped Jarimu's leg, throwing him into his brother as I landed. I ran forward, the two quickly sending earth and ice shards at me. I moved as best I could, taking a few cuts and scratches, then slammed my palms against the ground and pushed myself up. "These two are serious..." Inside, I was considering to stop holding back myself. I didn't want to risk it, because I hadn't fully trained myself, but they weren't giving me too many options to go on. Jarimu smiled twistedly, "This one is for Ashley! Ice Demon's Judgement Storm!" From his palms, a wave of ice struck me, shattering into multiple shards and striking me from all angles, ripping and tearing my shirt and pants. My body numbed, and I fell forward, Dai coming around at my side. "Don't talk down to the twin Demons of Silent God.. Know your place, worm." He kicked, nearly breaking one of my ribs, and sent me flying into the ground. The dirt rose as I landed, and the twins stood next to one another. "That's it then? You talked down to us, but the moment we use our Demon Blood, you become nothing but an ant."

I didn't answer them. I kept my head low, regained the air in my lungs. I pushed them, and now they pushed me. Violet flames burst up around me, cackling wildly. I stood, breathing heavy and smirking. My fangs sharpened, eyes glowing brightly as familiar black markings trailed along my body. In addition, a gentle violet aura took shape around me as my flames began dying down. "Demon Blood, huh? Is that what you call that?"

The two watched me, wondering what I just did. I merely smiled at them. "Let's see how you fair against this."

"What the Hell is that?"

"This?" I looked at my hand, clenching and unclenching it. "This is your downfall. If you're both demons, what could be more powerful, especially if it wields darkness and light magic?"

They watched me. "Fallen.. Angel? So.. That means..."
"This change is Fallen Drive."

Before they could utter another word, I moved forward, palms gripping their faces and slammed the back of their heads into the ground. "You got a few shots in, but enjoy because that's all you're going to get." Growling, they broke free, jumping back and roared, their breath attacks racing at me. I smirked, catching Jarimu's, then turned to Dai and opened my mouth. "Fallen Angel's Redemption." A tri color roar of white, black and violet surged and slammed into Dai's attack, breaking it apart as it overtook him. I crushed Jarimu's roar with my palm, facing the ice demon as he advanced on me, ice sword in his grip. He swung, trying to land a solid strike, but I kept agile and dodged faster than he could move. Blocking with my forearm, the ice blade snapped in half, and Jarimu watched me dumbfounded. "How can you two be demons, yet still be so weak." I threw my right fist forward, slamming it into his cheek as he flew away and crumbled to the floor. Behind me, Dai was racing, hoping to land a blow. Instead, when he reached forward to claw at me, I brought my hand down in a flaming chop, and connected with his head. He went out like a light before slamming into the floor. His body changed back to its previous state, and I turned to face his twin, who was rising, eyes wide and filled with shock. "That's.. That's not possible.. We're the strongest.. We are!"
"In your delusions maybe." I crossed my arms. "You finally get it? You have no chance against me." He fell to his knees, his hair dropping and markings disappearing. The fangs in his mouth shrunk, and his eyes lost their bloodlust. I turned, eyes locked on him in case he attacked, and released my Fallen Drive. As the markings on my body vanished, I cracked my neck and turned away. The last words I could hear Jarimu utter was, "I.. I concede." Then, the crowd let out their cheers, and I made my way out of the arena. Part of me was disappointed. I was expecting a more life threatening fight, but that's what happens when people boast to their opponents. They get put in their place and beat down. Oh well, this is a win for my guild, so I couldn't care any less.