Mai did not scream.
She stepped over Duncan's broken body with the weight of mountains in her chest.
Gigel, now monstrous—twice the size of any man, with veins of blue fire and eyes like shattered glass—smirked from across the hall. The air warped around him. Energy tore apart the floor. Synthetic petals fell from the ceiling like snow.
Mai's voice was calm.
"You hurt the last person who believed in mercy."
She raised her hands.
Behind her, the aura of the Dragon Rose erupted. It spiraled in crimson and white, blazing into a cyclone of life and annihilation. Her body glowed with radiant fury. Arms extended. Her silhouette shimmered.
Gigel laughed. "You think balance can stop wrath?"
Mai didn't answer.
She moved.
Faster than sound. A shockwave cracked the air.
Her fist slammed into Gigel's chest, sending him crashing through three stone walls.
But he rose.
His body cracked and reformed. "Good," he grinned. "You're not pretending anymore."
Battle Phase One: Bloom vs Wrath
Mai used Pulse Spiral, an attack that wrapped her enemies in tendrils of white flame. Gigel countered with Wrath Surge, hurling blue thunder across the chamber.
Walls melted. The sky outside turned violet.
Their auras collided like dying stars.
Mai screamed once—only once—as she unleashed Collapse Bloom, a dome of pink-red energy that erased anything inside it.
Gigel lost his lefteye.
But retaliated with Final Roar, tearing apart her left shoulder.
Blood sprayed the tiles.
Battle Phase Two: Collapse of the Arena
The entire upper fortress collapsed. Both combatants fell into the core chamber, where the Oblivion Petal pulsated.
Gigel grasped its core.
"I'll erase the flowers... all of them!"
Mai reached him mid-sentence, her hand searing his wrist. "Not again."
She ripped the core out with her bare hand.
It detonated in blue fire.
Tiffany's Arrival
Tiphani, bloodied and limping, crashed into the arena from above.
"M-Mai!"
Mai turned, eyes glowing with tears.
Gigel, desperate, threw a blade at Tiffany.
She caught it, but it stabbed through her palm.
She screamed.
Mai snapped.
Final Phase: Wrath Unleashed
Gigel activated his final transformation: Apex Wrath. His skin burned blue-black. His voice distorted.
Mai met him with her final form—Dragon Ascendant. Her left arm was torn, but she used it like it was whole.
They clashed one last time.
Mai took Gigel's arm, then his left leg.
But he stabbed her abdomen.
She bled—but smiled.
He collapsed, staring at her.
"I became a monster..." he said.
Mai nodded. "But you chose to."
Then she fell to her knees.
Silence
The fortress burned. Gigel was still, eyes open but lifeless.
Tiffany crawled to Mai. "You're bleeding—your arm—your side—"
Mai collapsed into her.
They held each other as red petals scattered across the floor.
To be continued...
If you liked it, leave a review or Favorite the story:).