Ice Crystal: Chaos Storm (book 2) Finished

Chapter 31

Sparks flying; steel clashing; blood flowing. Lox has definitely improved since our last bout. I have to be careful about how much I attack him. His anti-magic abilities will hamper any effort to kill him. I'll have to almost beat him to death. What's worrying me is that he hasn't activated his full power yet. Is he seeing how strong I am or is he just toying with me?

"I grow bored of this back and forth." He yawns and steps away from me, "Allow me to show you the true power of the first born! First Circle Configuration: Release!" The amount of power being released this time is more potent than the last fight. He truly has his full powers back.

"Relaria?" Ritoru shows up behind me shielding his face from the flying debris.

"Grab everyone you can and get as far away from this area as you can!" I squint from the light coming from Lox's body, "Twelfth Circle Configuration: BERSERK!" A giant magic circle appears above me high in the sky. I hold my hand up as Chaotic lightning strikes my palm. Energy surges through my body as my power grows. When the circle disappears, Chaos symbols appear on my arms and legs and the birthmark in my eye once again stretches across my face. Violet static arcs around me and my armor turns pitch black.

"Seems like you got a new trick." Lox smirks and appears in front of me, "Gotta be faster than that!"

I dodge his strike and slam my fist into his gut. The air from the impact creates a crater around us, "What was that about getting faster?" I lean closer to him, "Better watch what you say dear brother." I spin and land a kick into the side of his head. He skips across the ground and comes to a stop inside a nearby cliffside.

The rock around him crumbles as he pulls himself free. "Berzerk eh?" He chuckles, "Father really gave you an arsenal didn't he?"

I appear in front of him before he could say anything else. The ground rips apart from where I was standing. Violet arcs of Chaos crackle in the air and between the flying rocks. I spin and slash downwards at the bewildered man. He blocks Artenagon, but he can't keep up with my speed. I flip in the air and land a kick underneath his chin. Blood flies out of his mouth along with a couple of teeth. I land neatly on the ground and charge into his body with my shoulder.

"Shadow Step." I whisper and appear behind him in his shadow. I pierce his body with Artenagon. He screams out in pain and dislodges himself from the blade.

"I wasn't at full strength when we first fought." I flick the blood off of Artenagon and face him, "You're out of your league now."

"I wouldn't say that." He spits out a clot of blood and readies his sword once more. Greir is already showing signs of shattering. I'm sure the sword was legendary in the past, but now, it's a shadow of its former self.

I sheathe Artenagon and begin charging power into it. "Heavenly Slice!" If I can break his sword, he won't be much of a threat. The attack slams into his blade and explodes on contact.

"Magic doesn't work, remember?" Two blades pierce my back. I spin and face him. Greir had shattered in half, but the blade transformed, "This is Greir's full potential. Once it's broken, it becomes two blades greatly enhancing my anti-magic and my abilities. Did you really think you were going to get rid of me so easily?"

He's able to keep up with me! Our clash tears the land apart. The once beautiful plateaus is now a desolate wasteland. Smoke fills the sky, blocking out the sun. Neither of us can land the decisive blow. Deep canyons are formed from our attacks.

"Chaos Flare!" The magic circle appears instantly. The blast tears the ground to pieces as the beam of energy flashes towards Lox. He prepares himself and slashes downwards. The slice of Chaos tears through Chaos Flare as if it was nothing. He had to have imbued that attack with anti-magic.

"Is that all you can muster?" Lox lands in front of me without any scratches on him. His healing has gotten faster now that he's fully healed. "If you're having this much trouble with me, you won't stand a chance against Korvic. He may be second born, but he's the strongest out of all of us."

"What do you mean?" I give him a puzzled look.

"It seems that Father never told you about us." He grins maliciously, "We were created to be war Gods. The weakest were the first born and as Father created more of us, the more the balance of power was upset. I'm the weakest at First Circle. You're supposed to be the strongest and our leader at Twelfth Circle...but alas, you've decided to fight against us and take the throne for yourself."

"You were all killed for a reason." I tighten my grip on Artenagon, "You're all corrupted and beyond reasoning. I'll make sure you stay erased this time!"

An arc of violet lightning stretches across the sky as I slash at Lox. The lightning wraps itself around the dark blade. Lox tries to block the attack with his anti-magic, but the sword tears through his defences. "Impossible!"

"Your power doesn't protect you against mother nature." Lox's blood sprays onto the ground. He falls to one knee and starts chuckling.

"Now it's getting interesting." He lunges forward and slams his fist into my gut. I wasn't expecting that. I smile as I grip his arm and twist around it. I plant my foot into the ground and feel his arm tearing. As soon as I heard his bones crack, I spin and land a kick into his face. I follow his face and slam it into the ground. Cracks form around us as his anger rises, "It seems that I'm the one outmatched." With his unhurt arm, he slashes at my chest forcing me to bounce away from him.

He gets up with the help of his lone sword and studies his arm. It won't be healing anytime soon. Cuts, we can heal over time, but if our bones break, they take longer to heal; possibly up to a few days depending on the severity of the breaks. I made sure his arm was in pieces. Chaos swirls around him as he stares at me through his bangs. His blood soaked hair is matted to his face as blood wells from gashes and breaks in his skull.

"Thank you." Is all he says as he teleports in front of me. He's gotten faster than before! I block his kick. I slide backwards as his attacks get faster and stronger.

"Shadow Step." I appear in his shadow and slice at his back. A long gash stretches from his shoulder to his waist. As if he is unaffected by my attack, he spins and slices at me. I envelop my hand in Chaos and catch his sword. I lean in and stab him through his gut. He vomits blood onto me as I slice him up. He stumbles backwards, dropping his sword. He holds onto his stomach as blood flows through his fingers and onto the ground.

"Despite how this goes for me, I'm glad my final fight is with you." His voice is hoarse from all the blood and yelling throughout our fight. He falls to one knee and struggles to stand back up. He lunges from his position only to be greeted with my fist into his face. His face slams into the ground. As the dust settles, I can tell this fight is still far from over. Darkness falls onto the battlefield as Lox is enveloped in a sinister light.

"About time my powers finally activate." He chuckles as he stands once more, "Along with anti-magic, I get stronger the more injured I get. Kind of a drawback as this is a last resort dontcha think?"

"I'll make sure you stay dead this time." Is all I say as I ready Artenagon once more.