15 - Elemental Showdown

[???]

“Ausra, you know better than me that this is a risk.” Hayk said, concerned, as if he tried his hardest to make bad news sound at least somewhat more comforting.

“I do.”

“If your friend is truly in the position you describe, getting involved in her mess will draw all of us into...I can’t even find the right words. It’ll be awfully hard, and there will be no guarantees of what will happen.”

“I know.”

“And with all that in mind...”

“Hayk, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t suggesting an option.” Ausra said. “I was telling you our plan of action. I’m gonna help her. And if you don’t want to help me, I’m fine with leaving the group.”

“Woah, nobody said anything about leaving.” Hayk said. “You just have to think about this.”

“There’s no need for thought.” Ausra said. “She’s been my friend for a while. I’ve helped her through countless things. There’s no thinking involved when you need to help your friend, you just do.”

Hayk took a deep breath.

“Where is she?”

“She’s waiting outside.”

“I see...” Hayk sighed. “Looks like you really did make up your mind already. Get her inside.”

Ausra sent a message on her phone, and a few moments later, Ichika entered the gym for the first time. She looked hurt and her body and clothes were covered in dust.

“What the hell did they do to you?” Hayk quickly asked, getting up. “We have a shower here, go and get yourself clean. I’ll get Rin here so she treats your wounds.”

Ichika didn’t say anything, she just followed the instructions like they were orders.

“Her name is Ichika.” Ausra said.

“Ice manipulation, huh?” Hayk pondered. “I hope you realize how strong that soul expression can be. Looks like she’s fresh out of a fight.”

“Pretty much.”

“...”

“I’ll-”

Hayk wanted to say that he would think about it, but something about that girl’s appearance stabbed his heart.

“Right. I’ll protect her.” Hayk said. “She’s a part of the family now.”

“Even if it means taking on the elementals?” Tsunehiro asked, entering the gym.

“No one deserves to go through what she’s going through. I mean, come on, getting hunted down because you don’t want to be a slave to one of Kaito’s shady operations?!” Hayk replied. “It’s our job to keep these soulfuls safe, our job to protect the kids.”

“Don’t argue with me, I don’t object to this at all.” Tsunehiro said.

“Thank you.” Ausra said. “I’m sure she’ll be forever grateful. And she’ll be great in combat too.”

“She’s a strong girl.”

“And where the hell did you come from?” Diego asked, turning his attention to the new participant of the brawl.

Ichika gave no reply.

Diego descended down, and the three of them entered a three-way standoff. A calm more tense than war engulfed the place. It was a ceasefire that could be violated at any moment.

“Diego is far more dangerous than she is. I want to kill her first, but leaving Diego alive for longer will only cause trouble. And still...should I get her out of the way first?” Luca thought.

“She managed to land a clean hit on me. It looks like her attacks can leave an awful freezing effect as well. At the same time, Luca’s been increasing his voltage. Who should I aim for first?” Diego thought.

“I’m gonna kill both of them. I’ll wait for any of them to make the first move against each other, and I’ll swoop in to land a finishing blow.” Ichika thought.

All three of them were motionless, and all three knew about the principles of war. It wasn’t beneficial for any of them to attack first. At the same time...

“It’s a classic three-on-one in that case, isn’t it?” Diego smirked.

“All three of us with destructive capabilities, all three of us wanting two others dead...”

“In that case...!”

Diego struck the ground with his fist. Akin to a violent volcano, the asphalt erupted into flames - gushing out infernal streams that burnt all they saw. Ichika jumped back, now on high alert and fully consumed in the fight. Luca kept himself up in the air thanks to a stream of water supporting his feet. Diego dashed in and broke Ichika’s barrier of ice, and the two clashed with quickly made blades each representing their soul expression.

“How unfortunate...I’ll melt through your ice like butter.” Diego smirked, forcing a flame sword onto a blade of ice.

“Ice takes time to melt, stupid dipshit.” Ichika growled, using her free hand to fire off a cluster of Ice at Diego’s torso. The latter took the hit, but didn’t fly away too much. Small scars were already decorating his body.

“This is him...”

“He was the one who killed him...”

“No, Ichika...”

“Don’t lose your voltage!”

Ichika quickly mapped a circle around her on the ground - just in time to counter Luca’s advance. Sharp shards of ice struck him away, while Ichika climbed above them and started throwing miniature blades and spears at Luca. Diego joined in too - he was firing off small flaming arrows at Luca, disrupting his movement and delivering heavy wounds. As Diego charged up a more powerful, more vibrant arrow...

“Soul Interpretation.”

The aquatic tentacles latched onto Ichika and dragged her right in front of Luca - making her take the incredibly powerful arrow head first. Ichika shielded herself with ice, but the impact was strong enough to forge deep wounds on her body. Now hiding behind a still wall of ice, Ichika turned around and attempted to fight off Luca. She swung her kunai around, trying to find an opening. Luca’s sword clashed against the blades, until suddenly, he decided to stop using it altogether.

“You damn brat!” He yelled, forcefully grabbing both of Ichika’s wrists. The already present scars were granting the pain an extra tingle. “You killed my brother!”

“Shit...what do I do...”

Ichika gasped in enlightenment. She spat out a sharp icicle which landed perfectly in Luca’s left eye. Dark red blood flowed down his sweaty face. Immediately, Ichika jumped back, sensing an incoming advance from Diego. Diego swung his fiery fists for a while, missing all the attacks, before resorting to summoning his rapier. He threw a pair of flying slashes towards Ichika, wounding her and knocking her away.

“I’m surprised as to how demented you are.” Diego scoffed, firing off another arrow at Luca and forcing the latter to play it much more passively. “What is this? You’re all suddenly vengeful?”

“Fuck you.” Ichika replied.

“Kouta Touriki tried to avenge your losses and died himself. What does it matter that you’re alive? You only fought and killed Hwang when he lacked a limb.”

“Kouta...is dead?”

“Quit the chatting!” Luca exclaimed, emerging from a black cloud of smoke. “Diego, this is all because of a war you started!”

”Kouta...you too?” Ichika thought to herself, a small tear forming in her emerald eye.

“Technically, it’s her fault. She was the one that fucked everything up. But does it matter anymore?” Diego said, his voice slowly descending into a mad scream. “Look around you. Look at the devastation we made, and picture the destruction we are about to unleash...”

“Feels better than any drink I’ve had or any woman I’ve been with...”

“Shut your mouth!” Luca asked himself. His future words were interrupted by a powerful tremble in the ground. Dozens of large ice crystals emerged from below, knocking all three combatants up into the air.

“So much...ice...”

“And Diego’s element...is fire...”

Diego landed back on his feet on an angled shard of ice, slowly burning through it with his feet. Ichika faced off against him, holding onto her weapon tightly.

“That’s the spirit...” Diego smirked.

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation ✦ ”

Both Diego and Ichika quickly turned to face Luca. A halo-like ring of light, with six small wings attached to each side accompanied by a few larger shapes emerged behind his head for a moment. A pair of dark clouds covered the battlefield. Desolate raindrops fell down...

“This is...”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Huh?” Ichika gasped, noticing a small scar on her face. “The raindrops...”

Indeed, the small drops of water were reshaped into tiny knives as they fell down. However, this was just the introduction to the acclamation. The water created by the ice that Diego had melted down, and the water in the environment were both drawn towards Luca.

“ ✦ Eye of the storm ✦ ”

“Oh, we’re going that far, huh?” Diego chuckled. “Had you used this during your mission you wouldn’t be doomed to become a roasted pig-”

A massive water fist punching Diego into a nearby pile of extinguished debris politely interrupted the sentence. Afterwards, the fist was transformed into a barrage of spears, all raining down with murderous intent. Luca diverted his attention to Ichika, glaring at her with pure rage.

A pair of giant hands that emerged from the water started rapidly swinging at Ichika. Despite her hardest efforts to defend herself, she was being knocked around and probably broke a few bones in her body. Ichika reacted to an incoming bombardment of arrows and spears and saved herself by strengthening her defensive reinforcement. She landed on the ground and dashed back in - trying to counterattack, but the effort was rendered useless. Even the water on the ground carried malevolent intent.

Small strings of water that held her in place for brief moments - rendering her vulnerable for potential attacks. Sharp objects that constantly pierced her. The surmounting weight of all the small aquatic phenomena tormenting Ichika was too much for her shoulders to bear without breaking. The true power of “Eye of the storm” was its versatility.

“As of right now, Diego is the biggest threat.” Luca said to himself. “I’d deal with the other shit stain later.”

“Blue Jail.”

The bubble instantly trapped Ichika inside.

“What...is this?!”

Ichika tried to desperately move around, failing to realize that the incredibly sturdy bubble of water, especially while paired with Luca’s divine acclamation which boosted the power of all his techniques, looked to be inescapable.

Luca and Diego were busy destroying each other’s pride and bodies with constant powerful attacks. Diego was struggling now that he had to fight against Luca in his state of acclamation, but still, it felt like he prioritized his enjoyment of battle above the battle’s efficiency. Beams of fire and water met one another in the middle of the battlefield, and as the fire was extinguished, the powerful wave washed Diego away. A thread of aquatic strings kept him still.

Luca turned around to see Ichika laying on the ground, looking rather weakened. The inescapable jail had been broken apart - the remnants of the ice crystals scattering everywhere. With determined hatred dwelling in her eyes, she placed her palm tightly on the ground and momentarily closed her eyes.

At this point, no matter the injuries or the exhaustion, leaving the fight wasn’t in her mind. Not even for one moment.

“Soul Interpretation.”

“Flash Freeze”

The small lake that was slowly devouring the two combatants instantly froze over. For a moment, Luca's arsenal wasn’t functioning at its highest capability. Ichika stood up and recovered her stance. Her bloodied face and her resonant eyes blinded the elementals with their brightness and resolve. Diego fired off an arrow, and as Luca closed in onto Ichika, the three engaged in a three-way clash of blades.

“I don’t care how much longer this lasts for.” Ichika thought.

The three were putting all their force into their swings and strikes. Bits of ice, splashes of water and trails of fire were being thrown around like balloons and confetti at a birthday party.

“I’ll kill them both.”

For a brief moment, Diego’s face was transfigured into a bloodlusted smirk. What was more concerning, however, was that beneath his eyes there was a thin sheet of clarity. He channeled a powerful burst of fire into the ground, knocking his enemies away. An odd soul presence shrouded the entire battlefield.

“Alright then.” Diego took a deep breath. “Looks like you two are taking this quite seriously. Can’t let myself fall behind the likes of you.”

“You’re calling me weak?” Luca asked.

“Is it not true?” Diego sighed. “Luca Rosso, even if I get my stash back, I’ll never feel as stimulated as I am right now. There’s something that I assume being an elemental made you forget, and I’ll be glad to remind you what it is.”

“They’re...making small talk?” Ichika thought, stepping back. “I should treat my wounds in this time-”

“And especially when messing with someone...”

“Your actions have consequences.”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation ✦ ”

Ichika’s determination was struck by a sense of terror. Even though it retained its unshakable nature, the hit was strong enough to cause her to freeze in place for an instant. Luca, on the other hand, had his brain scream at him with all its might to run away. His divine acclamation was effectively thrown out of a window, completely and absolutely overpowered by Diego’s. All the ice surrounding them started to quickly melt, and the water was boiling away at a rapid pace.

“ ✦ Solar Apotheosis ✦ ”

The unbelievable presence of the acclamation could be felt from all of Tokyo. The rogues that were trying to get as far as possible from the province could only sense a mild ripple, but those close to the heart of the megapolis would feel something much heavier.

Even Mukawa, who had finally managed to fall asleep, was woken up by the cataclysmic event. Slowly opening his red eyes, despite the usual terror a soulful would experience, something told him that it was all perfect. Kaito Kamiki, on the other hand, had a faint smile emerge on his face the moment he felt the spark. Behind Diego’s head an absolutely magnificent arrangement of vibrant, fiery colors emerged. He looked like an archangel that ascended from the depths of hell.

Diego clasped his hands, charging up an incredibly bright arrow and aiming it at Luca. Luca stared it down in panic, and clasped his hands together as well.

“If I cut him down now, he won’t get a chance to advance to the final stage.”

“I’ll get him. For sure.”

“I’ll kill you!” Luca yelled. Unfortunately for him, he was too late to activate his ability. Fortunately, however, the arrow was aimed at the ground at the last second. The large explosion that set the entire battlefield ablaze forced both him and Ichika to focus all their might into protecting themselves. The widespread fire raged on.

“Show yourself. Emerge as a cruel hellfire.”

“Mademoiselle of all that burns, apostle of the eternal flame.”

“Cleanse the ground and those who challenge your warmth.”

“Phase One.”

Luca recovered his half-burnt arm and rushed back to the epicenter of the brutal war.

“This is really fucking bad!”

“No no no....I can’t die here.”

He turned his attention to Ichika, who at that point was blissfully confused.

“Not until I kill that bitch, at least!”

Luca jumped at Ichika, swinging his fists like a madman. Ichika replied with counterattacks, her scarred kunai clashing powerfully against the heavy sword swings. She hit Luca with a strong low kick, and as Luca attacked with a hook, she leaned to the ground and used a blast of ice to knock him away. For the first time in a while, Ichika herself released a flying slash of raw soul prowess, which landed perfectly.

“What’s with you?! Why aren’t you going for him?!” Ichika yelled at the top of her lungs, releasing another flying slash. The now X-shaped wound on Luca’s chest was bleeding profusely, and the intense heat was causing it even more pain.

At the same time, Diego, who was flying with his signature flaming wings, slowly raised his hands. Tearing through the darkened skies was a terrific rainfall of flaming debris. The miniature meteorites struck the ground with tremendous impact, almost melting their surroundings instantly. Beneath the lethal shower were the two unfortunate soulfuls...

Such a meteorite landed right next to Ichika, knocking her away. She attempted to surround herself with ice crystals, but the attempt was rendered fruitless. Luca was having it much worse, though. Half of his body was horribly disfigured by burn marks and large scars.

The shockwaves created from the meteorites’ impact and the circles of concentrated fire that popped out of them were strong enough to further obliterate the terrain. Buildings far away were getting dismantled by the supremely powerful releases of energy.

“He’s still alive...?”

As the beautifully sadistic acclamation ramped up its chaos, Ichika’s and Luca’s blades clashed against one another again. Both soulfuls were on their last breath, but Ichika could at least emerge victorious. They swung at one another, both landing small slashing attacks. Both of them acknowledged that if one of them didn’t die there, they both would.

Ichika pushed Luca away and blasted him into the distance with a large ice spike. For a moment she forgot that the meteoric shower had stopped. The danger of crushing fireballs destroying her in one instant was replaced by an eerie and quickly rising temperature. Almost no building was left standing in their surroundings. Diego looked completely exhilarated.

“Arise from the ashes.”

“Engulf all in your warmth.”

“And ignite your soul.”

“Phase Two.”

There are many types of divine acclamation techniques. Most of them are bound directly to the caster, while some can materialize a separate space in their radius or manipulate other variables in the battlefield or in the soulful. However, a certain method of classification which applies to more specific acclamations is their progression type. There are ‘instant’ and ‘phase-based’ divine acclamations. Instant techniques activate the full extent of their ability the moment they are called out. Phase-based divine acclamations, however, have various phases or stages, each of them having a unique ability. Diego Solano was amongst the few people with such an incredible ability.

In most cases, the soulful is in control of when which phase begins and progresses into the next one. Diego, who was now well aware of both Luca’s and Ichika’s strengths, chose to execute his progression as fast as possible and reached the final stage.

The temperature was rapidly rising, as if Diego was back at home - fine-tuning the oven to the perfect temperature. Every small pebble felt like a volcanic stone, and the radius of the technique was marked by powerful blue flames. The settling flames revealed a single flame that shone brighter and burned hotter than all the other ones. Diego himself was the epicenter, shining brighter than all the stars in the night sky.

“I won’t die...without getting revenge!!!”

Luca used all of his remaining stamina to attack Ichika. He was successful - the wave he summoned with his advance washed her away and allowed Luca to land a clean slashing attack. Ichika chucked countless ice projectiles towards Luca, whose offensive remained persistent no matter what.

“Before he reaches the end...”

“I can still...!”

Ichika interrupted Luca’s thoughts. Luca’s desperate attacking style left him extremely vulnerable. Ichika caught the perfect moment. By shoving her kunai into the ground, she created a massive ice blast that impaled Luca in his throat and stomach. The elemental who wielded the power of hydrokinesis died in an instant.

The scorching hot wind blew in all directions, forcing Ichika to cover her eyes. She watched in anxious anticipation on what will happen next. The entire area seemed to dim a little, with just one extremely powerful bright spark of light slowly descending from a gleam of hopeless light in the sky.

“What...the hell is this?”

“Could this be...Diego’s soul itself?!”

Ichika still had plenty of stamina - more than Luca did, at the very least. Her pale skin was getting scarred due to the heavy and incredibly hot wind. Pushing through the pain, she mustered up enough energy to forge a sharp ice spear in her hand.

“Ah, here it is. I always wanted to explore this properly.”

“Lucia, am I holding up to my promise? If you’re a soulful too, am I strong enough to be sensed across the oceans? Is a flame this resonant strong enough to forge our trust in each other more?”

“Because this is what you meant, right? To be the brightest...”

“I’m surprised by how sturdy you are.” Diego said. The temperature in the background was exceedingly hot. But at the same time, almost all of the acclamation’s flames were concentrated into a single spark of energy.

“For the flame that burns the brightest...”

“Shall spark like the sun itself.”

“Final Phase.”

The spark was now at Diego’s fingertips. Even the wind had stopped. Under the uncaring moonlight, the flaming archangel himself was putting an end to the war. Ichika spun the spear in her hand and put all her force into throwing it at Diego. It was her last second gamble.

“Just watch me, Lucia. Watch and be entertained.”

The spear was deflected away with the rapier. Diego seemed ecstatic, completely indulged in the sight of his own creation. Residing in his hand was the soul of the sun itself, and now, he’d be able to manifest its power.

“ ✦ Incendia ✦ ”

The blindingly bright explosion demolished all in sight...