"Most opponents panic when they realize this," Richard said conversationally, walking calmly through his own decay field without any apparent discomfort. "They try to rush me, to end the fight quickly before I can contaminate the entire battlefield. That desperation makes them sloppy. Makes them take risks. Makes them easier to kill."
"Good thing I'm not most opponents," Satou replied.
He activated Dragonfire Manipulation, channeling flames hot enough to melt steel through Void Fang. The blade ignited with fire that burned white-hot, reality-warping heat combined with void-cutting edge.
Then he dove.
Not at Richard directly, but at the decayed sections of floor. The dragonfire touched the corrupted obsidian and something unexpected happened—the decay was burned away. Not just stopped, but reversed. The corrupted matter was incinerated so thoroughly that it was reduced to its base components, which then fused back into clean obsidian under the intense heat.
