Zephyr: The Elemental Clans

193 - Welcomed Aid

Xyder Zephyr - POV;

"So you remember all of it?" Dagan enquired softly as we stood side by side; all the while keeping an eye on our opponent.

"From threatening Zephyrus and going on the run to defeating you on the mountains and attacking Zephyr City; I do. Some of it is a bit hazy though, like my battle against my grandfather and all of the moments in which Tenebrae took full control. What about you?" I asked.

"Every second has been burned into my memory. All our struggles up to the moment I died. You found yourself some powerful allies then, huh? That woman, Geraldine, and the boy who was loyal to her," he noted.

"Indeed," I nodded, "I'm sure you have many questions and I swear that I will answer them all. I'll tell you and everyone else about everything... but for now..."

"For now, let's show him how much we've grown!" Dagan grinned as he completed my sentence. We bolted towards Neo-Zephyrus, however with my slightly superior physical attributes, I quickly moved ahead of our Epitome of Terra. Our enemy looked at us as if we were insects acting in futility, before launching himself in my direction.

He was fast... unbelievably so infact. His speed had been imprinted into my mind after my first encounter with him. It was this imperceptible quickness that had costed Evelynn her life. However, this time things were much different. While he had been appearing to teleport in our past encounter, now I could see his movements as they occurred even though it was still somewhat of a blur. But, that didn't matter. This alone was enough. This alone confirmed that we could do this!

Neo-Zephyrus appeared infront of me in a second, throwing a point-blank punch with tremendous power behind it. Almost instinctively, I threw my torso backwards and allowed myself to skid down onto one knee. I kept my back near and parallel to the grass as I slid below his strike and maneuvered behind him. Twisting around rapidly, I fired my foot in the direction of his skull, only to be intercepted when the first Vessel reached around himself and took firm hold of my ankle.

Wasting no time Dagan seized the opportunity, jumping into the air and bringing his elbow down hard to our opponent's neck while he was preoccupied. As if he bore eyes on the rear of his cranium, Neo-Zephyrus grabbed onto the boy's neck without even sparing him a glance, and he swung us both into each other at full force before flinging us apart.

We tumbled and rolled for a moment but we were both quick to find our footing, and once more rushed the formidable male, with hopes of overpowering him using a pincer attack from both sides. It was clear that Neo-Zephyrus was aware of our intentions, especially as he smirked to himself, yet he stood adamantly and with no intention of leaving his position. This was certainly cause for concern and we figured that he had to be planning something. Even so, we decided to move forward with our plan and while Dagan assaulted his right using a flurry of punches, I unleashed a relentlessly looping combo of fists and kicks to his left.

Neo-Zephyrus was overwhelmed.... or at least he should have been. The reality however, was that he was not only matching our combined capabilities but perhaps even surpassing it. With one arm and leg each, he succeeded in perfectly parrying both Dagan and myself. We refused to give in but so did he, and no matter how long we kept up our stikes, he continued to block at a much greater speed.

"This is impressive. You seem far more capable than when we fought just a moment ago," Neo-Zephyrus hissed, as we exchanged blows, "Did watching the girl die make you push past your limit this much? No, that's not right. Currently you're hardly trying and yet I can see that your current capabilities far outclass the limits you possessed only some minutes ago. It's almost as if you've spent months advancing and training your strengths and prowess. I don't know how you did it, but I do know that if I let you do it again, things may become unfavorable. I'll end you here."