"Finally, you came, Darioss!" the Heaven Sunderer laughed with a proud laugh.
"It seems my nephew couldn't defeat you," Darioss replied in a serious voice.
Orphin looked at his uncle while he was fallen on the ground, then bit his lip.
"Sorry, Uncle. I was weak."
His uncle quickly approached him, picked him up, and placed him far from the battlefield, then spoke.
"Don't say that. You fought well. There aren't many who can hold their ground against Heaven Sunderer. Rest now."
Darioss returned to the battlefield, then spread his arms and shouted, "Spread, O Storm!"
Immediately, his body began to slowly change. His skin turned into a dark, solid color, hardening gradually until it covered his chest and arms with a thick, shell-like layer. His shoulder bones moved outward, a new structure pushing out from inside the flesh. The sound of bones was audible, sharp and clear.
Along his back, small bumps appeared in a row, which opened after a few seconds to release a shiny black substance. It stretched outwards and formed the structure of two large wings. Each wing was made of fine bones connected by short tendons, then black feathers grew over them completely. The feathers arranged themselves precisely, row after row, until they covered the entire surface.
At the tip of each wing, additional joints appeared, moving slowly.
In the lower part of his body, the final changes began. The leg muscles shrank, the joints twisted inward, then gradually disappeared inside the trunk. The transformation stopped when his body had no clear legs, just a short, fixed base covered with the same material covering his chest.
His face kept some of its original features, but his eyes lost their pupils. They became light gray, without any shine. His breathing was steady, and his pulse was slow.
Darioss stood after the transformation was complete, his wings moving slowly behind him, their ends bending and clenching like hands do.
The Storm spoke in a dual voice, "I have orders not to kill you, but I will enjoy this."
The Heaven Sunderer laughed, but before he could reply, The Storm raised his right hand. In a movement fast like lightning, he opened his palm. There was no sound, but hundreds of sharp wind blades, taking the shape of transparent, deathly spears, formed in the air behind him. They then shot forward like a swarm of killer locusts towards his opponent.
The Heaven Sunderer smiled a superior smile. His four arms moved in amazing harmony. He wasn't striking the spears one by one; he was cutting the empty space itself. Every sword strike released a transparent, circular halo of cutting energy. It expanded like circles in water, shattering the wind blades into invisible atoms before they could reach him. The sound was like endless glass being crushed.
The Storm launched from his spot, using the power of his wings to push himself with blinding speed. He no longer relied only on long-range power. He closed in, his hands like claws, throwing fast punches that generated concentrated air vortices, each vortex capable of tearing steel apart.
The punches were blocked by the Heaven Sunderer's four swords. He spun like a whirlwind of steel, his swords forming an impenetrable, deadly net. Every collision between The Storm's hands and his opponent's swords generated a sharp metallic sound and sparks of energy.
"It's four arms against two!" roared the Heaven Sunderer, pushing The Storm back with a double sword strike from his upper arms.
"But I have wings!" The Storm soared high, moving out of the sword's range, then dove down like a hawk. He opened both his palms together, and this time, thousands of wind blades formed, like crashing waves of spinning scythes, falling from all directions.
The Heaven Sunderer realized he couldn't block them all. He focused his energy and struck the ground with one of his swords. The energy halo released a shockwave that destroyed some of the blades, but a few broke through his defenses, leaving deep cuts on his shoulders and chest. But the wounds didn't last long; his tissues quickly regenerated, leaving only scars that faded slowly.
"Regeneration... our shared trait," said The Storm as he landed. "This is what makes fighting boring."
"Let's make it exciting, then!" The Heaven Sunderer shot towards the large hill behind them, not towards The Storm. With one combined sword strike from all four arms, he cut off the top of the hill! A huge, house-sized rock broke off and began to fall towards The Storm.
The Storm did not retreat. He roared, his wings flapping powerfully, generating a miniature tornado in front of him. The tornado pushed the giant rock upwards. Then, moving his hands like an orchestra conductor, he shattered it into thousands of small stones that rained down around Heaven Sunderer like cannon fire.
The Heaven Sunderer raised his swords in an 'X' above his head, spinning them at superhuman speed, forming an energy shield that protected him from the stone rain. Any stone that touched the halo was ground into dust.
"You play with mountains, and I play with the wind," said The Storm, breathing a little heavily. "But which of us can outlast the other?"
"The end is when one of us can no longer regenerate," replied the Heaven Sunderer, his eyes burning with challenge. "And I have two more arms than you. My energy is greater."
"The wind doesn't need arms," said The Storm, his wings spreading again. "It is the universe's first word."
He gathered all his strength. He wasn't forming blades or spears this time. Now, the air around him began to layer and condense, until it seemed he was standing inside a block of cracked glass. Then, with a strained cry, he pushed with everything he had. It wasn't a shockwave, but a giant blade of compressed air, transparent and distorting the light behind it. It moved slowly but with destructive certainty, absorbing sound around it and splitting the ground beneath it.
The Heaven Sunderer understood the danger of this attack. He too gathered his energy into his four arms. He wasn't cutting the air anymore; instead, he combined his four swords into one giant energy sword, glowing with a blinding light. With a roar that shook the plains, he swung this giant sword towards the giant wind blade.
The collision made no sound at first, only a blinding flash of light. Then, a massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact, tearing the ground meters deep and forcing the referees on the distant castle walls to duck behind the battlements. Even Koran, on the distant Sun Hill, felt the air vibrate around him.
When the dust settled, the two monsters stood in the middle of a deep crater. The Storm was standing, leaning on one knee, his wings torn and mangled, breathing with difficulty. On the other side stood the Heaven Sunderer; three of his arms had been severed and were regenerating very slowly, while his fourth arm held a sword, using it for support. His face was pale.
Koran, behind the hill, was shocked. Even though Timo had told him to head for the boat and escape, he knew that if Vallhim won, he wouldn't need to run.
"Please win, great warrior!"