Bringer of Death

Otherworld Saga, Part 4: A Chorus of Incineration

Otherworld Saga, Part 4: A Chorus of Incineration

Maraikoh bent backwards, his mouth wide as he howled in laughter. "You honestly think I'd be intimidated by a little wimp like you!? There's no way you can win this, especially not by trying to trick me into forfeiting."

Vegeta's expression dripped with apathy. "I was extending mercy, fool. Your loss, but don't say I didn't warn you." He dropped his hands to his sides, smoothly forming two small blue orbs of energy. "So be it."

Vegeta's first two attacks were easily dispatched by the Western Quadrant saurian. One was deflected into the grandstands, where it exploded harmlessly behind the ever-calm Grand Kai; the other blast Maraikoh swallowed whole. But the prince had expected no less; the balls of energy were only the tiniest fragments of his power. It didn't take him long to demonstrate just how outclassed the reptile was.

When Maraikoh charged, Vegeta dodged with practically no effort, then easily gripped him by both wrists and flipped him end-over-end out of the ring. Stunned by how easily this North Quadrant pansy had overpowered him, the reptile could barely dig his claws into the ring in time to prevent a ring-out.

He fared no better in his next physical onslaught. Vegeta made a mockery of the larger warrior, sidestepping kicks and punches easily while leaving his arms crossed on his chest. When the prince finally decided to block, it jarred every bone in the reptile's body...but not nearly as badly as when he received a single kick to the middle of his back, making his teeth rattle violently as he skidded across the tiled surface of the ring. When he got up, his whole body felt bruised.

'Damn it!' the fighter cursed inwardly. He prefered to overwhelm his opponents with brute force, but on special occasions he had been forced to rely on his other abilities. 'I'll have to use that technique! Yeah, he'll be toast in no time!'

The lizard lifted his right hand in front of his snout and took a deep, slow breath. Suddenly, golden flames erupted from his open jaws into his palm, forming into a white-hot sphere. Maraikoh pivoted and slammed his blazing fist into the center of the ring.

WHOOOSH! There was a blinding flash, and flames erupted from under the saurian's feet. A circle of fire spread out across the ring, engulfing it almost instantly.

"He's done it now!" exclaimed West Kai gleefully over the growing roar. "Maraikoh's Solar Hurricane is unstoppable!"

"Don't be so sure," retorted King Kai with a snort. "Vegeta could put that out with a mere sneeze if he wanted to."

Vegeta took to the air almost immediately, but not before the spreading flames reached his feet and singed the bottoms of his white boots. Below, the surface of the ring was a blaze, tongues of fire snaking up in tendrils from the center around Maraikoh.

"Hmm," the prince grunted, eyeing the ground. 'This could be promising.'

"Only I can put this fire out!" boasted the saurian loudly. "Now that the fire has caught, it'll keep growing hotter and hotter, feeding me its energy until I burn you to a crisp! Your time's limited now!"

Vegeta chuckled. 'On his own, this wimp was hardly worthy of losing to me. But with this fire feeding him, he might actually give me a good workout. A warm up, I suppose—it's certainly enough to heat things up.'

The flames at the edge of the ring thinned, and fire swirled around the reptilian warrior's frame. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and released a violent spray of fire into the air toward Vegeta. The flames beneath him quivered as their heat was channeled up into the blazing attack.

The fire streaked in a red-orange path fifty feet in the air, twice as wide as most energy beams. Vegeta's body was completely enveloped as if he'd just been turned to ash. The reptilian fighter grinned in satisfaction before being suddenly kneed in the center of his back, sending him tumbling through the flames before he regained his balance and they surged up beneath him again.