The battlefield cracked beneath their fury.
Dark Flame and Skull—two walking infernos—clashed in a storm of fire and hate. Rubble smoldered. Smoke painted the sky. The ground trembled with every step they took.
Skull roared and ripped a massive chunk of debris from the ground. His arms glowed red-hot as he charged the rock with explosive energy.
"Try dodging this!"
He hurled the makeshift grenade. It detonated midair—BOOM!—sending shockwaves across the field. Dark Flame was blasted back, sliding across the fractured ground.
But he didn't fall.
His eyes flared open, burning like twin stars. A surge of blazing blue fire erupted from his body, lighting the battlefield. Beside him, his floating brown-gold staff spun, glowing with ravaging heat.
"You've angered the wrong king," he muttered.
Then he moved—fast.
A dance of flame and fury.
The staff blurred through the air, each motion slinging waves of scorching blue fire toward Skull. Flames struck from impossible angles, biting into armor, hissing on impact.
Dark Flame shot into the air and roared:
"Flame Cage!"
Spinning rings of fire erupted, trapping Skull in a blazing prison. Overhead, dozens of fire spears formed—then rained down like judgment.
Skull laughed maniacally, even as he bled.
"You really thought that would hold me?"
He touched the inner ring of the cage—KRA-KROOM!—and the prison walls detonated. Skull staggered out, body charred, trembling, but still smiling.
"You're insane," Dark Flame said coldly, narrowing his eyes. "But I'm going to win."
Skull wiped blood from his mouth. "I don't care if my body explodes—as long as you go down too. I'll take the fall even if it means the king burns."
Dark Flame smirked.
"You're really willing to die to take me down? Peasant... you're already a walking corpse. What body are you even talking about?"
He raised his hands slowly.
"You're just a bag of bones… Come at me."
His staff spun wildly, drawing in concentrated blue fire. The flames twisted and roared—morphing into the shape of a massive fire dragon.
Skull screamed, charging with both fists ablaze, unstable energy pulsing across his arms.
They collided—
Dragon vs Detonation.
The explosion rocked the entire district.
---
Aftermath
When the smoke cleared...
Dark Flame stood alone, cloak flickering in the wind, staff floating loyally beside him.
Skull lay unconscious—bruised, scorched, and defeated.
Dark Flame looked down and muttered, "You asked if I've seen a peasant defeat a king… I've seen them try. But they always fall. Because the will of a king…"
His eyes flared.
"...always rises above."
---
Elsewhere on the Battlefield
Vilex and Frost faced Sultan—the tyrant's shimmering forcefield still pulsing like a second skin.
Vilex smiled coolly. "Your subordinates are dropping one after the other. Soon, it'll be your turn."
Sultan's smirk twisted into a scowl. "And yours are struggling too. You think Blaze, Mega Panther, and Super Bolt have it easy?"
Frost stepped forward, cold mist trailing from his feet. "Our squad always rises. They'll come out on top."
Vilex raised his bow. An arrow shimmered in his grip.
"You can't maintain that barrier forever. How about we settle this... man to man?"
Sultan's brow twitched. "You want a punch? Fine."
The forcefield flickered—then shattered with a loud snap.
Frost's ice blades extended.
Vilex's arrow hummed with energy.
Together, they lunged forward.
---
Above the City
Hi-Tech and Thunderstorm hovered, staring at two massive boulders suspended high in the air.
Hi-Tech nodded. "No civilians left below. You're clear to destroy."
Thunderstorm grinned, lightning crackling along his arms. "Say less."
He raised his hands. A blinding bolt of lightning split the sky and struck one boulder—CRACK!—shattering it to pieces.
But debris began to rain down, sharp and fast.
Suddenly—portals opened all over the city.
Sage stood on a rooftop, hands glowing, eyes focused.
He redirected every falling rock into glowing dimensional rifts.
"No need to worry," Sage called.
Hi-Tech raised a finger toward the second boulder. A thin beam of concentrated light fired—precise, silent, and devastating.
The rock disintegrated into dust.
Thunderstorm turned, wide-eyed. "You could've done that from the start?"
Hi-Tech scratched the back of his head. "Huh. Must've skipped my mind."
Thunderstorm blinked. "What kind of skipping is that?"
---
In the Sky — Blaze vs Drain
Sparks flew.
Blaze clashed swords midair with Drain. Blaze's blade—World Cutter—burned brighter with each swing, igniting waves of fire. But Drain was a fortress. His violet energy blade thrummed as he blocked every strike with calm precision.
For every hit Blaze landed, Drain absorbed a bit of his fire, his aura flickering like a fading star.
Mid-swing, Drain reached to sap Blaze's entire flame aura.
But Blaze twisted midair, slammed his shoulder into Drain's chest, and launched him downward—straight into a building.
Drain groaned, pushing himself from the rubble—just in time to see Blaze dive at him, engulfed in a spiraling firestorm.
"Let's end this!" Blaze roared.
He unleashed a wave of Hellfire, scorching the battlefield.
Drain stabbed his blade into the ground. A ripple of violet energy pulsed out, dampening the flames and shielding him from the full force.
But he was clearly on the defensive.
And Blaze?
He was just getting warmed up.