Senton and Ludwig's clash had been taken a distance away from the Haven. Ludwig knew if he were to release a certain amount of his power near the building, it would cause the building to crumble, so he led Senton on and took him far away from the structure.
Senton understood Ludwig's action and followed willingly, because he felt like it suited him also, he preferred to fight with Ludwig alone without interference.
Thunder roared in the sky above as lightning flashed repeatedly, illuminating the dark world for short moments, its intensity terrifying as if responding to Ludwig's anger.
Ludwig summoned a thick lightning bolt and hurled it at Senton. Senton deflected the bolt with his great sword, its inscriptions glowing with a crimson power.
Charging towards Ludwig, Senton slashed his sword at him, a terrifying crimson aura surrounding the blade. Ludwig barely managed to dodge, feeling the searing heat from the attack as it passed inches from his face. He countered by conjuring a wall of wind, pushing Senton back momentarily.
Ludwig clenched his fists, the air crackling with electricity, raising his hands to the sky. The storm intensified and multiple bolts of lightning struck where Senton stood.
With a roar, Senton swung his sword, the crimson power amplifying his strength, he deflected the majority of the lightning bolts, but the wide range of the attack left him unable to avoid all.
Senton stood a bit jagged, his body having little arcs of electricity running through it, with some scorch marks on other exposed parts of his body. If not for his armor his injuries might have been much worse.
Senton gripped his sword angrily, the crimson inscriptions on it pulsating with even greater ferocity. He lunged forward his movements a blur as he launched a series of powerful crimson-filled attacks at Ludwig.
Ludwig responded with fluid grace, his hands weaving through intricate hand gestures as he summoned a protective barrier of swirling winds and lightning.
Each of Senton's strikes met the barrier with a bang, sparks flying as the crimson aura clashed heavily with the elemental shield. Senton's strikes were relentless, each blow more forceful than the last.
Realizing he couldn't stay on the defensive much longer, Ludwig shifted his tactics. With a quick hand motion, he dispelled the barrier and immediately sent a torrent of wind blades towards Senton.
Senton swung his sword wildly at the incoming wind slashes, his forceful aura dispersing the blades of wind.
"Such petty tricks. You can't hide behind your tricks forever Ludwig!" Senton shouted, his voice echoing through the storm. He channeled his crimson aura further into the blade, causing the inscriptions on it to glow more deeply. Plunging his sword into the ground, the earth began to quake and small fissures opened disrupting Ludwig's footing monetarily.
"Show me the power that makes you one of the most feared men in the world." Senton roared as he dashed forward, his great sword high in the air ready to take advantage of Ludwig's momentary slip-up.
Ludwig stumbled, but he quickly recovered, using the wind to propel himself into the air. He hovered above Senton, his eyes crackling with ferocity. "You are not worth the effort." he retorted coldly, extending his arms.
The storm above seemed to respond to his call. A thick bolt of lightning flashing from the dark clouds into his hands as he condensed it into a mighty spear of crackling energy.
Senton looked up undeterred. The crimson aura around him and his great sword expanded rapidly, the temperature around him increasing by many degrees. He held out his sword as a searing heat surrounded it before a tiny spark appeared just over the blade, its size increasing rapidly and in no time its size was comparable to a large watermelon. "I'll make you change your mind about that," Senton Shouted back defiantly.
The sight would have made a grand art on a canvas. A man in the air surrounded by lightning, his hands clutching a long spear of lightning as he looked down to the earth with the arrogance of a god, while the other stood ruggedly on the ground, his mighty sword producing a searing flame ball. His countenance, that of a defiant mortal facing a god.
Ludwig unleashed the lightning spear at Senton, while Senton hurled the flaming ball at Ludwig.
The two attacks met mid-air, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion that illuminated the dark sky. The shockwave from the impact sent both men flying, crashing into the ground with force.
Ludwig struggled to his feet, his body aching from the exertion. Senton rose more slowly, his armor cracked.
Both men didn't dally for long. They immediately regathered themselves and rushed back at each other once more, their respective auras soaring into the sky, not letting up in the slightest.
The storm above seemed to echo their fury, its loud cries and roars resonating throughout the whole area. Thunder rumbled, lightning danced across the dark, crimson flames rising around them as both men clashed again. crimson flames went against bright blue lightning causing a beautiful but destructive contrast.
***
Still at the Haven, Song and Doggen stepped out of the building and looked at the sky with solemn expressions.
The sky was dark, with the occasional roar of thunder and flash of lightning illuminating the world for short seconds.
"This seems ominous," Song said calmly.
"Yeah, it seems like Senton is pushing him, surprisingly," Doggen said as he looked at the lightning-filled dark sky.
"Senton is not King Ludwig's match, there's no way he can win. But for the sake of time, I'll go on ahead to lend a hand." Song said with a decisive gaze as he looked towards where Senton and Ludwig clashed.
"Well, I won't be of much help so I'll stay around and maybe see if there's anything I can do to help with the situation here," Doggen said, gesturing to his injuries.
"Hmm," with a low hum of approval Song's body disappeared in a blur leaving behind a gust of blue smoke.
***
After the clash of elements from both men, a wide area around them was destroyed. The ground was scorched black with embers of flame on it.
Senton did not let up with his release of bursts of crimson flames at Ludwig. Ludwig maintained composure while dodging and making use of wind to redirect the bursts while counter-attacking with one or two unexpected bolts of lightning.
Senton was having a hard time deflecting these attacks while also trying to maintain his stream of attacks. He decided to stop his long-range attacks for the moment and try to get closer to Ludwig.
From their clash up till that point, from his observations, Senton was able to deduce that Senton fought within mid-range to long-range distances, usually long-range.
Thinking up to this point he made the inference that Ludwig probably wasn't all that good with close-ranged combat, whereas, close combat, was one of his forte. He wouldn't go around carrying a sword if it wasn't.
Convinced by his conclusion Senton just focused on dodging and deflecting and began to approach Ludwig steadily. But how could Ludwig not notice his plan?
Flashing away from Senton, Ludwig put some distance between both men and quickly weaved some intricate hand signs. In response to this action, a series of pale blue magic circles appeared in the air surrounding Senton in an organized manner.
Senton's eyes shook as if he understood what Ludwig was doing. Plunging his sword into the ground Senton also weaved hand signs, the air around him becoming hotter as he quickly formed his seal.
"LIGHTNING CAGE!"
"BREAK!"