"Merry Christmas!" Mua greeted happily over the phone, showing her and her sisters celebrating together. "Geez, you've been gone for nearly a month is everything okay?"
Claudio chuckled softly at Mua and nodded, watching Mua's sisters behind her on the screen. "Yeah, everything is okay. I am just on a mission for the King of Qutsade, so I'm training with his Forerunner and his sister."
"Sister? You mean that Dragon Tamer, Flynn Winters? Whoa, she's still alive? I wonder if the other two are still alive as well. Well, what are you up to? Are you coming home today?" Mua asked, setting her phone upon the dresser as she began playing in her hair.
"Probably not, I still have some work to do. It's around holidays that evil likes to creep up the most, so I'm probably gonna be helping around with Yochanan today," Claudio replied, standing up from his bed and stretched his arms. "Well, I better head out. I'll send you all some Credi so you can buy yourselves something."
Mua smiled at Claudio, blowing him a kiss before reaching over to hand up the phone. Claudio hummed and placed his phone in his pocket, confidently making his way out of his room and down the stairs to see Flynn making her way outside.
"Hey, Flynn! Wait up!" Claudio called out, making his way down the next few steps.
Flynn looked back at Claudio, rolling her eyes at him and crossed her arms as she waited at the door. Finally reaching the bottom steps, the two began making their way outside into the winter cold, their boots crunching against the snow with each step.
"So, my brother is apparently married to a Korean-Exozdian woman now? What happened to Luciel?" Flynn asked, looking up at the falling snowflakes coming from the sky.
"She's still around. Do-hari is Nox's mission, but I don't know for what yet. She doesn't seem to be echoing anything specifically, and Yochanan doesn't speak much upon it other than her being an Ascean who needs to be saved," Claudio answered, scratching the back of his head with confusion.
Flynn glanced over at Claudio and rose an eyebrow. "Mr. Yochanan knows about Do-hari as well? Geez, why do I feel like I'm the ignorant one here."
"Maybe because you are?" Claudio said sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders.
Flynn gave Claudio an annoyed expression then bumped into him hard, the force strong enough to cause him to stumble onto the snow. "Hmph! For the record I am very smart! I am top of my class at St. Meishi Academy!"
Claudio laughed lightly at Flynn's emotional reaction, holding his hand up to her in defense. "Hold, hold there girl! I'm only joking, you don't need to get your panties in a knot."
Flynn's face began to grow even more red and she summoned her Dragon Spear into her hand, threatening to thrust her large blade through his body. "You vile...tribal... nincompoop!"
"Nincompoop?" Claudio asked, laughing even more and placed his hand over his face.
Yochanan watched as Flynn and Claudio were horse playing in the snow, a smirk forming upon his lips before tending to his silver coatyl, Sait. "In a few days, they will face off against each other...but from the looks of it, they won't even have to."
Sephora, who was leaning against the fences, kept a close eye upon Claudio and Flynn, a soft exhale slipping through her lips. As she watched over them, she became alert as a majestic white lion passed through the fields, his gaze carefully placed upon the unaware Claudio.
"Yochanan, look.." Sephora said, standing up straight with her hands upon the fence rails.
Yochanan glanced behind himself, his eyes slightly opening wide as he noticed the white lion passing by before retreating back into the forests. "What the...a white lion?"
"Not only that, he had Sovereign Butterflies with him. Only two, but still enough to show he's a Divine Beast. He was watching Claudio, do you think that was August?" Sephora asked, a sense of excitement washing over her.
Yochanan went back to tending to Sait's feathery coat, hearing the excitement in Sephora's tone and understood her deep history with August. "Based on your reaction, there's no doubt it was. The fact he has shown up in my yard means he's done waiting for us."
Sait let out a cry, her tail whipping up and down in protest of August's actions. Yochanan chuckled softly and gently pat her side, giving her gentle scratches which made Sait coo with enjoyment.
"I know, but I wouldn't be able to stand up to August's strength. The power of a Hero of Origin is beyond what I can currently do," Yochanan said, standing up on his feet and turning around to see Claudio and Flynn had disappeared. "Where did those two go..?"
-----------------------------
Ame sat upon a small geyser with her arms crossed, listening to Claudio and Flynn's requests then let out a soft exhale. "So you two want to know about August Eyica? I mean, he's in The Chronicles, you can just read about him.."
"We already know all the history, what about the present version of him? I know he's part of this Zone," Flynn said, pointing at Ame with an accusatory finger.
Ame fanned herself with an exasperated sigh, hopping off her geyser and summoned her staff. "Very well, follow me to the Dungeon."
Claudio and Flynn both glanced at each other with grins, giving each other a fist bump before following Ame down the calm, cool forest. The closer they got to the main Dark Lord Room, the breeze began picking up gently, the sun gleaming down softly upon the snowy wonderland.
Upon the Old St. Goken Academy, the campus was filled with resting Ice and Water Golems, a few Sirens and Lizardman Girls tending to their hard shells with care to keep them shiny. As the three traversed through the campus, a roar was heard in the distance.
Claudio stopped instinctively after hearing the roar, his tribal tattoos beginning to glow with excitement as goosebumps crawled upon his arm. He turned around to see a white lion standing on the rooftop of the main building. "Who the heck is that..?"
Ame looked at the top of the building to see nothing as the white lion had already left. "You're probably seeing a Sea Drake in the air, those things move pretty insane. Faster than me if I'm not trying."
'No, that was most definitely a lion...' Claudio said mentally, shaking his head and exhaling softly before pushing forward.
Behind them, the white lion stalked them in prone position, following then into the main building silently. He watched as they wandered through the halls, their paths leading them toward the Gokenian Records of Old Exzodian History.
"There should be some books here about August around here somewhere. He was a big help for the Infinity Council and the Head Miko here, Lady Misao. I don't know where she is, but she's still alive based on what Miss Mariella says," Ame said, searching the shelves for specific books.
Claudio looked at the various books upon the shelves, reading each title carefully before coming across a book titled, The Lion and the Ocean. Picking it off the shelf, he opened it to begin reading the contents inside. As he skimmed through the book, the book explained how August came into contact with Mariella and how she awaked his Dark Lord abilities.
"Wait, August was sealed for most of his life..? He was that powerful to where he had to be sealed? Just how strong was this guy?" Claudio asked, taking a seat at the round table in the center of the library and continued to read.
"Still to this day, August is the only Hero of Origin to ever defeat three incarnations of Terminus and the only one in the past to be able to face off against Helel and win even if it was barely," Ame said, using her tail to hold the books she pulled off the shelves.
"Helel..? You mean the final form of Terminus? When did this battle happen?" Flynn asked, looking up at Ame with curiosity.
"During his third resurrection after defeating Caedi and the Phantom Curse. He barely managed to defeat Helel to stop the destruction of Earth which starts Shiro's Day and the Great Apostasy," Ame answered plainly, flipping through the pages of her book.
Claudio grunted softly and set his book down, closing his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "So it is true, Shiro did unknowingly lead the Great Apostasy while trying to save his home. How low will these demons go in their plans..?"
"As low as they can go, which is why we have to stop them," Flynn said, clapping her hands together and walking over to Claudio, standing in front of him. "The first step is to defeat August for the gemstone."
Claudio looked up at Flynn, his lips curling into a small smile as he closed his eyes. "You say that like it's gonna be easy."
"It should be, I mean..." Flynn began then pointed at Ame and smiled at her. "We have her as an ally now, so we should be able to have the Affinity Advantage."
"Ahh, I miss having that level of wishful thinking~" Ame said sarcastically, adjusting her glasses as she continued to read various books on the shelves. "August's flames are just as hot as the sun's surface, no amount of water from Earth can put out those flames."
Claudio leaned back in his seat and yawned lightly, beginning to grow bored of reading and research. "We know he has Angelic, Judge, Zodiac, and Spirit abilities, he's like Nox in a sense. I have some familiarity with Hero of Origin forms, that's Nox's base form actually."
Ame's glasses began falling off her face, her book falling onto the ground as she swiftly turned around to face Claudio. "No it isn't, you're lying. You mean to tell me that Lord Nox has been in the strongest form since the beginning?"
Claudio shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his seat, gently moving Flynn back so he could walk by. "I think. I'm not too sure since he's nearly always holding back. I haven't seen what his Judge Form truly looks like, but..."
Flynn noticed Claudio had paused and began making his way toward the entrance. "But?"
"I've felt enough of Nox's power to know what a lion should feel like," Claudio said with a grin, his gaze meeting the faint glow of amber eyes within the shadows of the entrance. "The King of Beasts...I know that energy."
The white lion kept his gaze upon Claudio, a careful, hunting expression etched across his face. Slowly, he began to back away before becoming a white silhouette as Claudio chased after him into the main hall. The white lion stood upon the balcony, walking across the path with a roar.
Flynn and Ame heard the roar as well, both of them rushing out into the main hall and looked around before looking up to see the white lion and all of his Majesty. A golden crown sat on the top of his head, both Sovereign Butterflies fluttering around him happily.
Claudio slipped his hands into his pocket, his Holy Fire rushing from his chest as he locked eyes with the Last Hero of Origin. "It really is you...August Eyica. So we finally meet on this fine Christmas Day. This must be your gift to me."
August stared at Claudio before shifting into his normal form, a kingly figure forming from the white light, his hair like a blazing white mane and his eyes a golden flame. He adjusted his jacket cape around his next and dusted off his silver lion pauldron on his right shoulder.
"To know there is still worthy challengers amongst this Earth. I see the current King has decided to send his strongest soldiers instead of showing himself. A smart man Noxius is," August said, looking down at Claudio before warping onto the main hall floor. "A Shiuji, this match will be rather interesting. I'll go easy for the first few rounds."
"A warm up round huh? I guess the old lion's gotten rusty?" Claudio bantered, smirking at August as the two circled around each other.
"Rusty? I guess you can say that having been dead for an entire millennium, but I suppose even today my mission isn't finished. I still have to pass my torch," August said, revealing the Monarch Amber attached in the mouth of his lion pauldron. "But I'm not too sure you're worthy yet. This Saintly Lion still has talents you aren't aware of."
"Oh snap, it's starting now..? Okay, Flynn, brace yourself.." Flynn said to herself, summoning her Dragon Spear and got into her Dragon Stance.
August kept a sharp eye on his target, his muscles tensing as he lunged toward Claudio with a head strike, but Claudio narrowly dodged the attack and launched a counter kick which August blocked easily. Pushing his leg back, August went for a sweep kick, his attack missing as Claudio leaped over him.
Claudio let out a bellow as he came crashing down with an axe kick while August watched from above, waiting patiently before dodging last minute. He rushed forward with a clean strike upon Claudio's jaw, sending him crashing backwards into a pillar.
"He's so fast..! I can barely keep up with him..." Flynn said as she watched the battle, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek while she tried to track August's movements.
August continued to watch Claudio, feeling a shift within the current of energy and blocked Claudio's Flutter Strike, catching Claudio off guard for a moment. Claudio threw a round kick feint, but August didn't bite but instead leaned into the round kick to block it. Claudio grunted as August left him open for a Lion's Fist, the impact causing Claudio to groan heavily.
Suddenly, August's figure vanished while Claudio was left recovering, August's movements as silent as an assassin. Claudio panted softly and calmed his nerves, trying to sense where August currently was then began performing multiple NY Flares, each kick picking up winds to create a twister.
"Interesting that you think that will be enough to stop me!" August exclaimed as he rushed into the twister then rebounded off it to land into his White Lion form then let out a powerful roar.
The soundwaves of the roar broke through Claudio's twister and began launching him backwards with immense force, the walls rumbling as the soundwaves bounced off them. Flynn gasped as she watched Claudio fly past her then looked forward to see August was missing once again.
"What is this speed..? He's faster than I could've imagined," Flynn said, searching around the main hall before hurrying outside to Claudio.
Ame followed the two outside and noticed August blitzing Claudio with flurries of strike from all directions, her eyes shimmering as she recognized each of August's movements. She knew Claudio and Flynn did not stand a chance against August at the moment, but sat back to let them understand the lesson for themselves.
Claudio grunted as he shook his head from August's previous head shot, his tribal tattoos shimmering as he sensed August's next Stealth Strike then slipped under his roundhouse. "I can get him right here!"
Leaning up, he nearly caught August with an uppercut but August leaned back then shifted forward once again with his head exposed. Claudio took the bait and threw a heavy right hook, but August evaded his attack then palmed his chest, causing him to freeze for a second.
"I can tell you're still new to the Fluttering Style, so let this first bout be a lesson," August said, striking Claudio with a one inch punch which launched Claudio backwards.
Flynn grunted as she flew behind Claudio, catching him and breaking his impact before landing on the ground, her eyes finally meeting August's gaze. "Whoa...this guy is on a whole other level. Are you sure you can handle this alone..?"
"I'm not too sure...he hasn't powered up, so I know he's holding back.." Claudio said with a light grunt, getting out of Flynn's grasp and met August's regal expression. "But maybe with both of us...we can stand a chance."
August watched as Claudio and Flynn plotted something together and crossed his arms, patiently waiting for their first move. Suddenly, Flynn launched her spear at August like a speeding bullet and charged behind it while Claudio began gathering energy.
August rose an eyebrow and used his aura to block Flynn's attack then watched as she palmed the handle of her spear, the spear releasing a powerful roar of energy and began breaking through August's defenses. "This is interesting...an attack that ignores defenses."
August warped out of the way then reappeared behind Flynn with a back strike, but Flynn phased into a pivot, launching a swift enzuigiri toward August's head. He dodged the attack and caught Flynn's leg, launching her over toward Claudio at high speeds.
"Amen. Let's do this!" Claudio bellowed, letting out a Tribal Howl and transformed into his Super Form then caught Flynn, grunting as her momentum began pushing him back. "Geez..! You're heavier than I thought..!"
"Well sorry I'm wearing dragon armor..!" Flynn grunted then flapped her wings, taking off to the skies. "Your turn! I weakened his defenses!"
Claudio cracked his knuckles and chuckled, leaning forward into a high speed sprint, his body becoming a streak of multicolored light. August smirked at Claudio before charging forward and clashing with him, the two rushing around the main campus light streams of light.
"Even in his Super Form, he's still just below August's baseline. There's got to be something within you Claudio, something that helps you in this moment," Ame said, spectating from the roof top of the main building.
Claudio dodged August's attack by vaulting over him then grabbed his arm, tossing him over his shoulder. August placed one hand upon the ground, elegantly countering Claudio's judo toss with a hurricanrana, flipping Claudio onto his back instead before warping above him.
Claudio kipped up onto his feet, swiftly intercepting August with a leaping hook kick to his side, knocking August into the parking lot where a few Lizardfolk watched. "This form is draining more energy now than against those Liches...is it because I have to use more energy against August..?"
August stood up onto his feet, the Lizardman Girls circling around him and offering him one of their swords. He smiled at each of them, glancing over their finely crafted blades before picking a scimitar from one of their hands. "Onto the next stage."
Flynn noticed August charging toward Claudio with a sword in hand then flew down quickly, blocking August's attack with her spear and managing to push him back. The two entered a heated dance of weapons, yet August remained on top with swift and elegant steps.
Flynn kept watch of August's feet as she continued shifting with each swing and thrust with her spear, but August remained defensively responsible. Parrying Flynn's next two strikes, he went for three Flutter Slashes, but Claudio managed to intercept in time using his gauntlets then launched a heavy pulse of light energy against August's midsection.
August grunted lightly when he was blasted away, tossing his sword into the ground as he flew backwards then crashed into a pile of rubble. "Now..."
Claudio walked over to the scimitar and went to pick it up, but was unaware of a white silhouette appearing to his right and catching him with a flush strike to his jaw. Claudio grunted as he skidded to the side, looking around for August but couldn't find him then a second white silhouette rushed in front of him with a knee strike.
Flynn gasped in shock as she watched Claudio fall to the knee strike, her gaze shifting back over to the scimitar and noticed both silhouettes jointing together and forming into August. "What the heck was that..?"
"What you just witnessed...was the true form of Fluttering. You need a butterfly to reach this level, that or you have to be truly aligned with God. The butterfly is only the easy way, but I don't need them to perform it," August said, both his butterflies landing upon his shoulder.
Claudio rose up onto his feet, wiping his lip and chuckled lightly with his Holy Fire surging from his chest. "True Fluttering huh? It looks cool, but I have something unique to me given to me by the Lord."
August turned over to Claudio, noticing he was still standing, his lips curling into a small smirk then he closed his eyes with a light exhale. "So, you're more resilient than I realized. You came is Claudio Shiuji correct, Lord Nox's right hand man?"
"You'd be correct. I am honored to be recognized by the greatest Hero of Exzodia's history," Claudio said, tossing off his jacket and revealing all of his tattoos. "So, I'd better show you why Nox chose me huh? You're going to see it here!"
August braced himself as Claudio rushed forward then kicked his sword into the air before launching it toward him with a roundhouse. Claudio autonomously dodged the sword then vanished and reappeared behind August with a sweep kick. August lifted his leg then twirled around his following sweeps before planting his feet firmly on the ground.
Claudio rose up, autonomously evading August's claw strike then connected upon a surging Upper Destiny Flash, iridescent lightning flashing upon impact. August grunted lightly as the impact dazed him for a moment, allowing Claudio to follow with another Destiny Flash to knock August back.
August staggered backwards a few steps before stopping himself, exhaling softly and chuckling as he dusted himself off. "Well...I can say that you are an interesting opponent. That's why..."
Claudio prepared himself for August's next attack, his body tensing when August paused mid sentence, feeling immense heat gathering into one area. He gulped lightly while keeping his eyes upon August, his body growing heavy with pressure.
"...I believe you can handle this. Zodiac Arts..." August said calmly, placing his hand upon his lion pauldron then aimed the pauldron toward Claudio. "King's Roar!"
August unleashed a powerful surging beam of fire toward Claudio, the swirling flames roaring as they rushed toward him like an unstoppable heat wave. Claudio's tribal tattoos pulsed a light blue color, the moister and water of the plants near him gathering around him in the form of a spinning ring.
Claudio, caught off guard once again, noticed he was given permission to use another Human Aspect - Talent. With this blessing and using what he knew about Alchemy, he began manipulating the water into a large shield as if it were second nature to him.
"Claudio..." Flynn gasped, watching in awe as Claudio manipulated the water into something more.
'The Lord separated the waters from below and above, one ocean and the other sky...I don't have His level of creativity, but I am blessed with the Fruits that grant creativity!' Claudio thought to himself, adding Air to make makeshift clouds upon the surface of the waters then a ball of light as a mock sun.
August watched Claudio carefully, noticing he had turned Water into the Sky Element. He rose an eyebrow as he noticed Claudio's mock sun absorbing his King's Roar. 'Interesting...I haven't seen this level of creativity since the Zodiac Era. I guess I should step it up too...'
August released his blast then vanished into thin air, surprising both Flynn and Claudio. Suddenly, reality began to ripple and shift, the location shifting to the middle of the forest, leaving both combatants dazed and confused.
Suddenly, a figure in a raven's cloak landed upon a tree branch, the Sagittarius Sigil gleaming upon his shoulder. His lion pauldron shifted into a silver bow with the Monarch Amber etched into the center, one of the feathers of his cloak falling out to make an arrow.
"Flynn...get down!" Claudio called out, holding his head and staggering onto one knee due to nausea.
Flynn could recover faster than Claudio due to her Alrean blood being more resistant to spatial manipulation and she immediately dove to the ground as the arrow flew passed her. She grunted as she glanced up, seeing the flaming arrow sticking to the tree trunk.
Claudio looked up, noticing August standing on the tree branch in his Sagittarius Mode and grunted softly with slight uncertainty. "Another form..? Just how many forms does he have..?"
"He has 17 total forms. 13 of them Zodiac, his Dark Lord Form, his Angelic Form, Spirit Form, and Hero of Origin Form. I'm starting to understand why Lord Nox sent you here," Ame said, approaching the battlefield with her trident in hand.
Claudio glanced back at Ame and stood up on his feet, lightly staggering with a light huff. "Ame..? How— Nevermind that, what do you mean you know why Nox sent me here?"
"You can't beat August, and that's a fact...not as you are right now. Lord Nox knows that, but I'm sure knowing him...he just wants you to see what your final test will be. He always says you're his Equal...this is the test to see if you are," Ame said, keeping her eyes upon August and began walking forward.
August took aim once again, this time firing five arrows toward the trio but Ame quickly deflected each of them then launched her trident toward him with her tail before bolting toward the tree. The trident stuck into the tree, acting as a platform for Ame to boost herself up towards August.
August blocked her tail swipe then warped behind her, wrapping a black chain around her neck before whipping her toward the ground. He followed with a flurry of arrows toward her, each arrow homing in toward her limbs, but Flynn intercepted quickly and deflected the arrows with her spear.
"Impressive, let's see you keep up," August said, vanishing into the air, his two white silhouettes descending from the sky.
"This technique again..." Claudio said, watching August's Silhouettes land on the ground and dash around the forest arena. "Silhouettes are usually static...but his can move around..? Just how fast is this gu—"
Claudio groaned as he was struck by one of the silhouettes, his body sent flying and spinning horizontally, but he landed onto his feet then autonomously dodged the next attack. Leaving behind his own silhouette, he tried to catch one of August's Silhouettes with a Flutter Strike.
August appeared where his silhouette was just to catch Claudio's fist, the split second movement causing a light shockwave around the area. While having Claudio in place, August tossed his bow to his second silhouette and the silhouette fired a heavy arrow against Claudio's midsection.
"Nngh!!! He's even faster now..!?" Claudio groaned, his body crashing through a rock formation and into a tree with a heavy crash.
Flynn looked back at Claudio with a nervous sweat then looked ahead, watching as August aimed his bow toward her. "You're not getting me that easily! Dragon Scream!"
Flynn roared as she hurled her screaming spear toward August, the speed of the spear breaking a sound barrier and releasing a deafening roar. August kept his calm and took a deep breath, his fiery arrow charging fully into an arrow of light before firing it toward Flynn's attack.
The collision caused a massive explosion of energy, a large red and golden mushroom cloud forming above the forest. Yochanan glanced over at the sound of the explosion, humming softly as he knew exactly what was going on based on the colors of the mushroom cloud.
"They haven't made him use anything more than Zodiac have they?" Yochanan asked, returning his attention to the cattle to continue feeding them.
"Nope. August is still in base," Sephora answered, sharing vision with a dove that kept watch over Flynn and Claudio.
The smoke cloud cleared, revealing Flynn's cracked spear upon the ground and August remaining untouched. Flynn sunk to her knees seeing the aftermath, the feeling of defeat washing over her due to August's overwhelming might.
"This is impossible...we've only seen two of the 17 Forms and he's still in base. I threw my strongest attack at him, and it did nothing..." Flynn said somberly, looking up at August with blurred vision from her welling tears. "How will we get the Monarch Amber now..?"
"Do I hear the sound of quitting from the Dragon Slayer? A shame, even I thought you were better than this!" Claudio said with a chuckle, rising to his feet with his Shiuji Crest shining brightly upon his back. "I guess it's time for the Shiuji to finally shine!"
Ame began to feel an influx of energy from Claudio, as if he had a blaze, torrent, and overgrowth of energy all at once. She noticed his Holy Fire growing bigger with passion and ambition, two emotions which once would diminish their flame.
"Did he finally make the breakthrough..? Righteous Ambition..?" Ame asked with a soft gasp, her gaze unable to break away from Claudio.
August felt the rushing winds from Claudio's energy, the leaves rustling quickly and the trees parting for the sunlight to shine through the thick foliage. He hadn't felt energy like this before, a tribal energy that even caused his Lion Instincts to override his Hunter Mode.
"Are you familiar with the Biblos, King of Eyica? The Shiuji Tribe echo a well known chapter of it, Ecclesiastes 3. A Time for Everything...there is a time for peacemaking, there's a time for studying, training, laughter, crying...but there's also a time for action!" Claudio bellowed, letting out a powerful Tribal Howl.
Claudio's tribal tattoos began glowing brightly, gleaming between silver, crimson, and emerald quickly until it began shining the colors of the rainbow, multicolored lightning crackling around his body. August grunted as he had to shield himself from the rushing winds, the debris flying around him while Claudio continued to power up.
The forest began to sing their skies as the winds roared with Claudio, a flock of doves flying out of the thick forests and fluttering above the forest arena. Claudio's howls continued to echo across the skies, the ground rumbling and cracking under his pressure.
"Ho'omaluhia!" Claudio roared, his energy surging around his body and dispersing, revealing his Legendary Form, strands of his hair iridescent color while the rest was a cool platinum.
August slowly lowered his arm, his eyes gleaming with interested as he took heed of Claudio's Legendary Form, noticing how closely it resembled a tribal version of the Hero of Origin Form. "So it is true...there are other expressions of the Hero of Origin. Even a Tiger can be the King of Beasts huh..?"
Claudio looked at his hand, noticing lightning crackling around his arms and legs and feeling a noticable boost in his power and Spirit. He threw a few jabs in the air, his body feeling lighter and much faster than before. "Whoa...this feels amazing.."
August hummed softly then shifted into his Aries Form, his bow shifting into golden ram mask with the Monarch Amber etched at the forehead of the mask. He charged forward at high speeds, his movements light a blurring motion as he reached Claudio.
Claudio glanced up at August from his hands and swiftly phased through his charge with a sidestep then countered with a Flutter Destiny Flash, striking August three times upon his cheek within a second. August groaned as he was truly knocked back, his body rolling upon the ground before recovering onto one knee.
"Whoa! Claudio, you actually...did damage!" Flynn gasped, a bit of hope returning into her eyes.
"No way...he actually did damage to August.." Ame said in awe, her eyes shifting back to Claudio with slight amusement.
August stood up on his feet with a smirk upon his lips, his golden eyes gleaming behind his mask with excitement. "I see that you're much faster now, but is it enough to be deemed worthy of the Monarch Amber?"
"That's what we're all asking isn't it?" Claudio replied, assuming his Tiger Stance and readied himself for the last round.
August laughed softly at Claudio's response and nodded his head, crossing his arms with red lightning crackling around his body and the Aries Sigil humming upon his arm. His body became a blur as he immediately used Velocity Devastation against Claudio, but Claudio immediately responded back with a series of Rushing Flutter Strike.
Flynn and Ame quickly took cover from the collusions of multicolored lights, both men now invisible to the naked eye as they moved around the arena. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, Flynn called upon her Pegasus, her winged steed neighing as she landed next to them for them to mount and take off to the skies.
Claudio evaded August's flurry of Lion Fists then parried his mid body shot, following it with two swift jabs aimed at August's face within a second. August phased through both attacks and landed a powerful body shot, causing Claudio to hunch over then followed with a burning uppercut to the face, a burst of flames launching him backwards.
Claudio recovered with a backwards somersault in the air and kicked off a tree to propel himself further down a path, now running down the forests. "This form is even more draining...I don't know how much longer I'll last like this, I need a plan quick.."
Claudio quickly dove into a pile of fallen leaves and sat down crisscross, taking a moment to catch his breath while he had some distance on August. "Okay... whenever he shifts forms the Monarch Amber is etched into an accessory in some way. Snatching it won't be that easy, but... what other choices do I have other than trying again..?"
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew and washed away the pile of leaves to expose Claudio in the open. Claudio grunted and looked around, rising quickly onto his feet on high alert as he searched for August. While he was lost in his search, August appeared beneath him like a whisper in the wind, landing a clean uppercut on his chin, sentencing him into the air.
Claudio grunted as he was airborne, looking down at August with one eye open to see the Libra Sigil now shining on his hand and his Affinity shifting to Wind. 'How could I not hear him..?'
August warped toward Claudio and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a strong elbow then a kick to his side, sending him to the ground. He warped toward Claudio and grabbed his leg for a slam, but feinted the slam into a Fluttering roundhouse kick.
Claudio grunted as he flew backwards and landed on one knee while sliding backwards, his aura surging around his body as he propelled himself back toward August. August rushed forward as well and clashed fists with Claudio then threw an overhead right, but Claudio phased, a rainbow silhouette appearing as he moved.
August rose an eyebrow at the rainbow variation of silhouettes, becoming curious has he's never seen a silhouette of that color before. 'Hmm..? Rainbow..?'
Suddenly, August was struck with a flurry of strikes before he could even perceive, the flurry leaving him stunned and slightly confused. Claudio looked at his own hands in shock, his focus breaking from the sudden surprise as well.
"What the..? I couldn't even perceive that..." August groaned softly, shaking his head and blinking a few times before looking back at Claudio.
"I don't even know how that happened...I rarely know how to consistently phase and all that since I just learned it," Claudio said, looking back at August then grinned at him. "Maybe that's the key..."
August tilted his head a bit then returned it to normal, chuckling lightly and glanced at the Libra Sigil upon his hand, noticing it pulsing red. "Is that so..? I don't know what you're planning, but it's not going to work out the way you think."
"We'll see about that!" Claudio called out, lunging forward with a swift spinning kick.
August slipped under his attack, a white silhouette appearing and palming Claudio's stomach to sent him up for a strike with August's Warhammer against his back. Claudio groaned as he rolled forward along the ground, but recovered onto his feet and faced August to see columns of lightning crashing down toward him.
Claudio stomped on the ground and clapped his hands together, a dome of stone forming around him. He palmed the ceiling of the dome, creating a rod on the top of the dome then slammed both fists on the sides of the dome, hardening the defenses into metal.
"Now, to see if I've still got the magic touch! Even without the Monarch Index those Esorians worship, ENA from the Lord is much better!" Claudio bellowed, combining his H and E cells into one to form the Plant Affinity.
Roots began to form around the dome as the lightning began crashing down upon it, August watching with respect as he patiently waited for what Claudio's counter would be. Claudio grunted as he felt the powerful bolts crashing down upon the lightning rod, a few stray bolts striking the dome directly and piercing through.
He let out a bellow and palmed the ground, creating a hole in the ground for the roots to ground into and ingrain themselves within. A few bolts of lightning came close to striking him, but the roots conducted the electricity within them the lightning now travelling underground from the lightning rod.
August heard rumbling underground and a strong electric charge, the roots erupting from beneath him and wrapping themselves around him like a serpent. August grunted softly as he was caught off guard for a moment, the roots releasing all the conducted electricity into one supercharged blast.
Claudio's dome began to slowly crumble, the roots becoming ashes and flowing to the ground. He glanced up to see the smoke clearing, but noticed August was still standing. "No...way..."
The Taurus Sigil shone on August's shoulder, the emerald armor around him shining under the soft sunlight above. He watched as Claudio reverted to his normal form and fell onto one knee. "Stand proud, Shiuji Tribal Leader. I have noticed you, but..."
"What you have shown isn't what I am looking for. However, the Twelve are still awaiting. The other Champions are there for you and the others to challenge. Defeat them first, learn from them...and once you have grown enough...bring your King for the final chess match," August said, shifting into his Lion Form before walking off back to Old St. Goken.
Claudio watched as August walked off then smirked at him, chuckling softly then grunted as his muscles began to spasm from the stress on his body. "He barely even broke a sweat...so this is the power Hisumi wrote about in the Chronicles..."
"Claudio!" Flynn called out from above, her Pegasus landing beside him and she hopped off her back to check on Claudio. "Are you okay? Is anything broken..?"
Claudio looked up at Flynn meeting her worried gaze and locked eyes with her, giving her a smile and began to slowly rise to his feet. "Yeah...I'm alright. It's about time I return to report our loss, and that August escaped. I'm sure Nox would understand..."
Flynn's heart slightly dropped as she heard Claudio was returning back to St. Goken then gently grabbed his arm. "Take me with you! I...I want to see him again in person and..."
"And?" Claudio asked, his curiosity growing from her pause.
"And I kinda...like hanging around you. It's just me with Yochanan and Miss Orochi, when she's here. Fleur is now fighting a war at the Libra Kingdom and Effie is helping her. I want to see the world again," Flynn said in a soft tone, her dragon wings fluttering with bashfulness.
Claudio chuckled softly at her small blush and looked ahead in the distance, crossing his arms and let out an exhale. "Well, I'm not gonna stop you from joining and I'm sure Yochanan won't either... but you're gonna have to deal with Mua while you're with me."
"I'm fine with that! Just as long as I can see Nox in person again..." Flynn said, her smile brightening as Claudio agreed to take her with him.
Together, the two began their retreat back to Yochanan's sanctuary to prepare for their journey to Seolhart while Ame returned to Mariella's Rebirth Clamshell. August watched in the distance in his Lion Form, wondering how long it would be before their return.
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The Christmas Day began going by peacefully, soon the sun resting from its duty for the moon to begin rising for the night. I stood upon the balcony of the Bong Residency, staring out into the garden where Ae-Ri and Minsu played together with Nam-Suk and Dong-hee.
As I watched over them, I felt a touch upon my back then looked back to see my earthly wife, Do-hari, standing behind me. I smiled at her and allowed her to wrap her arms around me from behind. "Nae sarang, you aren't with the rest?"
"I could be asking you the same, jagiya..~ You're overseeing the Christmas Party instead of joining it? I had to see where you were hiding," Do-hari replied, resting her head against my back and closing her eyes.
I chuckled lightly at her comment and looked back down at the rest of the family. "I'm not hiding...I am just enjoying the sight of having an actual family of my own again...even if you all aren't blood. I couldn't ask for a better gift from God right now..."
Do-hari smiled brightly at my soft words, her hands feeling the warmth of my Holy Fire wrapping around them. "I couldn't ask for a better one either...my children finally get a dad they truly love and I get a new husband...today has been perfect.."
I glanced up at the sky, the stars twinkling brightly above with the Polaris Star shining the brightest. "Yes...today has been perfect hasn't it..?"
The air was filled with laughter, music, and the delicious smell of barbeque on the grill while everyone spent their time with their loved ones. Everyone was truly happy for once in a long time and after two years of troubles, we were graced with two years of peace and preparation for the future.