CHAPTER 419: ARC 6, CHAPTER 35: ROLL FOR INITIATIVE

"Put the sword down," Jotou warned.

"No; no, I don’t think I will," his helmet faced her down.

The blonde’s eyes glared up.

"Ignitia," barely even moving his fingers, a small ball of flame blasted in between him and Jotou.

Jotou stepped away and sparked her front half in an instant. She lowered her arm from her face and with widened eyes stared; she took off the pack she was carrying and threw it aside.

"Consider that a warning, ’Thundering Blade’," he said and Jotou could feel the mockery oozing out.

She unsheathed and sparked her armite sword.

"That’s your response? You’re trying to be a legend, aren’t you?" the smile could be heard. "Let’s see who deserves it. Show me what you got," he pointed with his large sword. "Blaze Shot," he fired a bead of roiling scarlet flame that grew the further it flew towards her.

Jotou swung up with her sparking blade. "POP! Crackle...!" The intensity of her electricity flickered the spell apart into embers, fluttering her bangs as she sparked her entire form now.

"Nice!"

"This isn’t a game Crispy."

"Keep telling yourself that," Ben held the massive longsword that gleamed in reds and gold in both his hands. The runes on it glowed and he pulled the sword apart like a popsicle. He held in both hands two blades of the same size and length except slightly thinner.

His swords, gauntlets, knees and the visor of his helmet caught on fire of scarlet hue. "Blaze Shot! Times two!" From both swords he fired off two more beads of flame.

Jotou dodged the first with a spin to her left and knocked the other with sparks and a sword. "Crackle-POP!" Glaring at her target she closed the distance.

Seeing the incoming blade, Ben put both his swords in front of him making a sort of shield. "PoP-pOP-POP! FIZZLE!" Jotou struck the twin blades, causing small crackling explosions in both their directions.

Ben kept his face back while Jotou used her momentum to go past him and strike her blade against his waist. The metal rung, but only the tiniest of dents were made—not even a scratch.

Sparks caught onto his armour, but dissipated just as fast, having no real effect. "Maximum Ignitia!"

Jotou saw the scarlet flames blooming right in front of her and jumped back; only for the first one to pop and another one to ignite behind her, while Ben kept his gaze on her.

With her feet close and on the tips of her toes, she weaved back and stepped forth, over the bumpy tree roots and shrubbery. Wildlife from birds to small critters fled, chirping and chittering away from the noise and explosions.

Each ball of ignition appeared after she landed. Her eyes were quick, realizing how truly slow the spellwork was to her. Slow enough to- "DFFFuh..."

She swiped her blade up and cut through the incoming spell before it even formed, dissipating the flames and scarlet-hued mana into wisps.

"Not bad; not bad at all," Ben paraded his arms out.

"I’ve seen rabbits do better magic than you."

"Come on Jotou, you know about warming up," he tried to lower his voice; however the helmet did not help as it just sounded odd and echoey.

"How far are you gonna go with this dumbass?"

"As far as you’ll go to prove your point; or if you just come with me to kill some goblins," he shrugged and pointed with his blade.

"UGH, you’re always like this! You make up your mind on something, then won’t hear anything otherwise! You’re worse than stubborn," her fingers strained to curl.

"Pot, meet kettle," he placed one sword against the other.

"Of course all you care about is a comeback," Jotou huffed and rolled her eyes. ’He’s not gonna listen to me until I wear him out... Fine then. If this is what you want.’ Jotou twirled the handle of her blade. "And for the record I hear people out," she squinted.

"Let’s go," he rotated his swords around. "Flamethrower!" he lowered his head forward and the spell fired from the visor of his helmet, streaming a torrent of flame towards the blonde.

She spun her legs, lowered herself and swirled around to the left. The flames licked past her sparking flapping coat and popped into little explosions.

Ben kept his aim rightwards to where she darted, forcing the blonde to skip over a branch and behind a tree where she flipped back the way she came. Ben continued his trajectory for a second longer, before he dispelled it.

Heat waves emanated in the air, sending a hot breeze in Jotou’s direction. Her eyes darted around and noticed something peculiar. ’Why’s nothing catching on fire?’ Her brows knitted and as she faced the red-armoured figure, another spell was already being cast.

"Sprout of Flame!!" Sword in his hand he flipped it forward to bring up his open palm. From where Jotou stood, flames began roiling beneath her feet and cinders sprung up.

She moved to her left in an instant as a fountain of red flames and sparks spouted out, akin to striking an anvil with hot metal. He sighed, "You talked a big game, but you only dodge around like one of those horrible game bosses that just keep running away-"

"Fizz, BZZZ! TUNK!"

Ben stumbled back and staked his sword into the ground to prevent himself from falling. He faced up with the flames of his armour dimmed and brightened again.

Lighting dissipated from Jotou’s shoulder, having slid across the ground and closing the distance between the two in an instant. She twirled her sword around and swiped forward twice—one hand behind her back. "Shink! Clang!"

Ben used his remaining sword to block as he stumbled backwards onto his feet and freed his other sword. "Dude, no fair! You’re supposed to call out your moves!" Frustrated, he shouted, "Ignitia!"

Jotou cut through the spell with a cut of sparks.

"Maximum Ignitia!" he stood upright.

Her footwork weaved through effortlessly through the bombardments—her sparking sword breaking through any she missed. "Ting!" The tip of her blade poked against his armour. "Zap," a jolt of yellow lightning coursed throughout the red.

Each plate of metal arced with electricity continuously, paralyzing the tall figure in place, shuddering with a strained groan through gritted teeth. Jotou pulled her sword back, causing him to let out a loud grunt and slouch down.

Jotou lifted her foot and spun around with an arc of lightning following it. "PANG!" A lightning-boosted kick slammed into the side of his torso, pushing him to the side.

"Fizz, BZZZ! CLUNK!" Curving her shoulder to the side, she charged into him, knocking him back and onto his rear end into the bramble and bushes.

Jotou exhaled and the sparks fizzling around her died down, "You done?"

Ben’s armoured hand patted the side of his belt and grabbed a yellowish potion. He threw his head back and the visor with it, before promptly downing the potion in a single gulp.

’Seriously...?’ She sneered at him.

Ben got up in an instant, his legs and feet much faster than before. His head turned and looked around, much like a bird’s as he flipped the visor back down. "Flamethrower!" he shouted and casted through the fire of his helmet towards her.

Jotou rolled out of the way, but then completely fell to the ground to avoid the incoming torrent that pursued her much faster than before.

She flipped herself up, arcing with lightning from head to toe. Her arm was no longer fixed to her back, but she actually raised it alongside her sword.

"Norunningawaynow! MaximumIgnitia!" he spoke faster than a train. Bubbles of fire bloomed and blasted—beside her, in front of her, behind.

Her sparks took the blows, recoating her form over and over again. The force pushed her around. Annoyed, her eyes sparked, but her sword sparked no longer.

"BlazeShot! BlazeShot! BlazeeeSHOT!" he posed, casting with style left and right with every shot.

She readied her sword like a baseball bat in a single hand. "Pfew-FSH!" Jotou batted away each fireball, sending it in a different direction. The scarlet fire flowed against the armite blade and curved away from her.

"Anewtrick!?" Ben said in revelry and sheathed his longswords that bonded back into a single blade. "Flamethrower!" with both his hands forward he fired.

Jotou brought her sword up, protecting against one beam, but Ben moved his other hand to join the torrent, blasting away with two beams of red hot flames against the armite blade.

Heat sizzled off of her sparking form, protected by a single sword while flames roiled past her and threatened her hair and legs. She pivoted the blade slowly and deflected the flamethrower away, further and further.

The angle was enough that his continuous flame redirected off of her sword and blasted towards the trees, the bushes and the ground.

With one eye winced shut and the other squinting, she aimed the sword like a mirror, reflecting the flame further and further towards the form creating it.

Before Ben could realize, the torrent of flames rushed for him. He dispelled the spell and brought his arms up to protect himself. "AHHHH-!" the residual torrent blasted against him and his armour.

...

Smoke and cinders blew into the air. He squirmed and panted at a rapid pace, before he looked down at himself... "Oh. HAHA! I’mimmunetofire! Flamethrower!" he exclaimed and shot forth again, forcing Jotou to move away.

’Not like I can’t block it, but damn that heat...’ She wiped the sweat off of her brows and bangs while sprinting away from the beams of fire.

Ben raised one hand, dissipating one of the beams and laughed, "Youdone!? MaximumIgnitia!" Bombardments of flame now flanked her left and right, while a torrent of flame was roiling towards wherever she moved.

Jotou kept running towards a tree, lifted her feet and attempted to run up the tree as much as she could. "Kickbolt!" Jotou launched herself up further and landed herself onto a sturdy branch from where she perched.

"BlazeShot!" he said multiple times with finger guns as he blasted away at her in the trees. Jotou batted away the first two as she balanced herself up and leapt from the branch she was on.

"Kickbolt!" she landed herself barely onto another one. However, this one cracked and she held her breath. "Kickbolt!" She launched herself onto a nearby branch, narrowly avoiding seven fireballs from Ben’s aim.

Jotou’s eyes quickly darted around, to where Ben stood, to where he fired and her own sword. No leaves or wood were still catching on fire, despite the chaos he was unleashing upon the woods.

She tipped her head to the side, avoiding the bead of flame aimed at her. ’Is he seriously trying to kill me!?’ Jotou eyed the closest branch, calculating the series of branches towards her target, before she leapt.

"The cat’s stuck up a tree! Come down kittycat! The Scorching Inferno will protect you!" his words were becoming understandable now at the very least.

Leaping from branch to branch with lightning at her feet, she was right above her target. Jotou with a huff leapt off the branch. "Kickbolt!" "PANG!" Her body twisted to her left, her foot out to kick against the side of his helmet.

Ben grunted and stumbled. As the momentum died down, Jotou aimed her sword down towards the chest of his armour. However, with an unnatural speed, he shifted himself back and Jotou struck her sword into the dirt for her landing.

No reaction she could take as Ben slammed his armour into her. Jotou grunted as she got knocked back. She fell and gathered her bearings within a second, before she swirled her leg around and twisted herself back up onto her feet with a dancer’s swiftness.

Ben put his arms out like a gladiator.

Her eyes sparked, "You got one hit in—congratz."

A small grumble made it out of the helmet.

"So nothing, nobody in this world matters to you huh? Any of the people you’re a ’hero’ to, the people in the guild, your own party who’ve been with you for nearly a year? You feel nothing; nothing at all?"

"It’s time for the final curtain call my friend," he posed and brought his blade down with both his hands firmly gripped on the handle. "My Ult’s ready; it’s time to end this!"

Jotou tightened her lips and held her sword tighter.

"Searbond..." Ben lifted his sword as two lines of flames and cinders formed into existence towards the blonde. "...SIMMER!" he dramatically called out as the fires and cinders conjoined together in the middle, whistling as it did.

While the spell was even being cast, Jotou dashed towards Ben with her feet polished with electrical currents.

The conjoined mass of mana formed into a straight line of molten hot lava that came crashing down right from above the blonde’s head.

’May be long ranged, but it’s not really that wide.’ "Kickbolt!" Jotou veered to her right side and was completely out of the way of the spell.

The lava splashed against the dirt, giving Jotou the perfect chance to launch herself into the air with another kick. Just the right distance away from the red gleaming armour...

With her arm extended out, her blade swung for the side of his head. "Thundering Strike!"

The first sound was of the fluttering of cinders and embers from the disappearing lava. The second was of the sparking blade hitting the enchanted metal of Ben’s helmet.

The third sound only came after a vibrant flash of yellow lighting that arced through the red armour and arced across through the nearby trees, instantly striking multiple branches. "BLAST!"

Jotou tensed every muscle in her arms and directed the spell up and away from the head she targeted. Ben could her his head ring, but most of the thunder blasted into the skies above, rustling the leaves.

Ben fell back onto the ground, as did Jotou. Jotou rolled away into the ground, getting a face full of grass and dirt. She let out laboured breaths and spat while she rolled over onto her back. "It’s always the landing..."

"Pang, tang, cling-wowownggg..." The deeply dented helmet rolled across the tree roots, making sounds as if the dirt were marble flooring.

Jotou got up hurriedly, but the body of Ben was lying quite literally right next to her. She glanced down, realizing some of the lightning had scarred across his face.

She crouched down and placed a finger under his nose... Her eyes closed in relief, "Still breathing." Without another moment to lose, she reached into his belt and searched for the healing potions he had bought.

Uncorking the glass vials, she dumped the whitish-pink liquid into his open mouth. The scar began to fade within seconds and Ben’s eyes opened up to noticed the blonde above him. "Damn, didn’t think angels could be this beautiful... I made it to heaven?"

Jotou slapped him across the face.

"Ow! Oh..." before another word could escape his lips, his face slightly flushed red in embarrassment. His brows furrowed and he felt the web-like scar across the right side of his face.

"It’ll go away soon," she uttered somewhat softly. Her eyes were still narrowed and her lips sealed tight as she glared at him from above...