Surge of Fury

His feet staggered, the blow to his chest having robbed him of breath and strength alike. As Belios collapsed on one knee, Cozac grinned triumphantly. His armored fist, clad in the latest of cybernetic enhancements, still smoked from the supercharged punch. Alaine rushed to Belios' side, coming to aid him. Belios' clasped his chest, the crackle of broken ribs shuddering his already weak breath.

"B-Belios please... y-you can't face him like this."

The fear in her voice betrayed her true feelings. She couldn't bear to see him die today. Her gentle pleading was cut off from a boisterous cackle coming from Cozac.

"Hahaha! You should listen to her, Beli. You don't stand a chance against me when you deny your fists their true purpose!"

The thunderous thuds of his metal heels cracked the tarmac beneath him, as each step reverberated a real sense of impending doom.

"Righteousness? Justice? To uphold what's fair? Your fists are weapons of death, Belios. To uphold the strong, what those with power believe in! Don't hold yourself back... I won't."

Gears shifted in Cozac's hand, metal spikes sliding atop of his metal knuckles; a gruesome replication of brass knuckles. Belios only saw past Alaine with blurred tunnel vision. The bespoke grey suit on Cozac, the shimmer of his cybernetic enhancements, the blood dripping from his hands... Ira's blood...

"Get up Belios! The strong do not die on their knees like weaklings. Face your end with more dignity. Don't be like Ira. Don't be afraid."

Belios grit his teeth, his jaw clamped down so tightly his teeth began to groan under the pressure. Alain placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing down.

"Belios p-please! You can't-"

A sudden shove pushed Alain away, as Belios rose to his feet. With each motion he gasped in pain, but he did not feel it. His lungs were scrubbed against splintered bone, but it was not why he was short of breath. His open wound, his fractured body... he felt nothing.

Nothing but the seething rage deep inside. A fury he swore to never rely upon. He felt nothing, but the instinct to survive. The instinct to kill.

"...fuu... you won't.... you won't take..."

Belios rose to his full height, and raised a single fist as he took a staggered pose. His body struggled to keep to his will, but his eyes said all. An expression. Which drove Cozac to manic glee.

"Yes! This is how we are meant to die! With fire in our breast and the will to kill in our fists!"

Cozac adopted a more refined version of Belios' pose, his wide toothy grin baring his mania to his opponent. Belios closed his eyes, and focused. Everything he held back, everything which made him who he was... everything he needed to win.

The air began to crackle, blue arcs of lightning surging from Belios' body. Stray strands of electricity jumping from every inch of his body, forcing Alaine to move further away. Tears flowed from her eyes, her trembling hand holding her agape mouth. She had never seen such a sight... as Belios' clothes tore off his back, she was left in awe of what he had hid for so long.

The very air became heavier, as though a storm had begun to rage overhead. And stretched far off to either side of him, where black wings of metal and steel, plasma-like currents surging amidst it's blade-like feathers. An intimidating sight which brought Alaine to her knees, uttering breathlessly.

"... the e-envoy of the end... the dreaded angel of destruction..."

Cozacs lunged forward, arm cooked back and ready to strike with all his might.

"Show me! Show me why they called you-"

Wind flared suddenly, gusts of tempest like wind blew debris and cracked windows as Cozac felt the air ripped from his lungs, an exasperated gasp bellowed from him as a fist drove straight into his chest. The shattering of ribs and crunching of metal was undeniable. A sickening wrench of flesh, bone and iron as Cozac was lifted in the air midway through his lunge. It was Belios, and as his eyes glowed a fierce amber, Alaine finished what Cozac had begun saying. With a dreadful bluntness, she spoke under trembling breath.

"...The Deathwings of Kolessa."

And before Cozac could land on his feet, Belios let loose a volley of rapid strikes into the center of his being. The thundering impacts of each fist landed sounded like the boom of far away artillery, and each blow delivered a Shockwave through the air. Belios let out a deafening, bloodthirsty roar before landing one more punch that sent Cozac spiraling down the alley, tumbling along the ground before skidding to a stop. Bent gears and broken machinery cranked and crunched as Cozac rose, blood and hydraulic oil spilling from his mouth. A mouth still stretched in a grin.

"Now...Now I can get serious, Belios." Chortling blood with each maniacal laugh, Cozac rose to his feet, and poised to fight. Belios did the same, his wings still sparking off wayward arcs of blue electricity. Each met one another's gaze. In that tentative silence, They both knew without saying a word...

...that there could only ever be one.