CHAPTER 83: STONE AND LIGHT, FIRE AND STONE

Ezren dodged some, but he was being pushed harder. The combined onslaught drove him backward.

He knew he couldn't attack and defend simultaneously anymore.

He pulled back, planting his feet, focusing. Stone surged to cover his fists. Suddenly, a deep hum rose from within him. The earth responded.

Stone Drive!

Rock surged across his body, shaping itself into a living suit of armor. Heavy, resilient — as strong as a mountain.

"I guess I'm ready for round two."

Boom! In a flash, he surged forward, smashing a stone-clad fist into Saryn, launching him across the battlefield.

Then he slammed a punch into the ground. Stone erupted like jagged spears. One slashed across Helvar's side, drawing a long crimson line.

As they rose, panting, bleeding, exhausted, Ezren was already moving. In the space of a heartbeat, he appeared before Saryn, fist swinging. The ice captain blocked with both hands, frost spreading across Ezren's gauntlet until it was completely encased.

Helvar descended from above with a blazing kick.

Crack!

The ice and stone armor shattered under the force of the blow. Another strike crashed across Ezren's face, sending him sprawling. The air shook as Saryn brought down a massive ice hammer, aiming to crush him.

At the final moment, a stone slab surged upward, shattering the ice hammer into mist and fragments.

Ezren rose slowly, brushing the dust from his armor.

"You two… you're well-coordinated. It's a shame you're on the wrong side."

Helvar and Saryn were panting, sweat and mist curling from their exhausted forms. Their Drives faltered, wavering. They were almost done.

Then, with a wordless glance between them, the two Captains surged forward for one final assault.

Helvar came from above, flame burning brighter than ever.

Saryn came from below, ice spreading like a rising wave.

Fire from above. Ice from below. An attack meant to annihilate.

Ezren charged forward, a low growl rising from deep within. The stone surged over him, enveloping every inch of his body.

"Stone Guard: Rolling Fortress!"

He tucked into a sphere and spun forward like a boulder. The flames parted, burning the edges of the stone. The ice cracked and shattered upon impact.

He uncurled mid-leap and slammed both fists down.

"Stone Collapse!"

A shockwave surged in a full 360 degrees, tearing apart the flame and ice, ripping through the earth itself.

Helvar dodged desperately. Saryn was too slow — caught in the blast. His chest armor shattered as he crashed to the ground.

Ezren surged toward Helvar, fists swinging like falling meteors.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Stone met flame, flame met stone. The two warriors exchanged devastating blows, burning and cracking each other in equal measure.

Helvar landed a burning elbow to Ezren's ribs.

Ezren retaliated with a brutal uppercut that snapped Helvar's guard apart.

They staggered backward, exhausted, nearly broken.

But Ezren refused to stop.

"Stone Magic: Earthen Chains!"

The ground surged upward, locking Helvar's legs and arms in a grip of solid rock. The flame captain roared, burning through the stone, but too slowly.

Ezren roared and slammed both hands down.

"Stone Pillar — Crush Gate!"

Two massive slabs of stone rose from either side of Helvar and crashed inward.

SLAM.

Helvar was engulfed within the stone, a prison that shook with the force of the impact.

Ezren wheeled toward Saryn just as ice mist erupted from the wounded captain.

"Ice Magic: Final Bloom."

A sphere of frost expanded from Saryn's chest, releasing hundreds of ice shards that screamed toward Ezren like a storm of death.

Ezren stood tall.

"Stone Armor: Avalanche Core!"

Stone surged over every inch of his body, a fortress of earth and granite. The ice crashed down upon him.

TINK! TINK! TINKTINKTINK — BOOM!

Each shard exploded upon impact. The armor buckled, cracked, nearly gave way… but held.

Saryn surged forward with a final ice blade, slashing wildly.

Ezren met him stroke for stroke — parry, counter, block.

Then, with a deep breath, he unleashed a shockwave from within.

"Stone Pulse: Core Burst!"

The force erupted from his body, hurling Saryn backward. Off balance, the ice captain tried to recover, but Ezren was already pulling a sharp Stone Lance from the earth and hurling it.

Saryn slashed it midair, shattering it — but a shard cut across his cheek and leg. He skidded backward, wounded, weakened.

Ezren stepped forward. Slowly. Burning. Bruised. Yet unstoppable.

He raised one hand, stone swirling like moons around it.

"Sorry."

Then he slammed a fist into the earth.

"Stone Magic: Quake Burst."

The ground erupted. Saryn was launched into the air, broken and defeated. Ezren surged upward, stone-clad legs propelling him, and met the falling captain with a final, devastating blow.

CRACK!

A punch that shook the air.

Saryn crashed to the ground, defeated.

Ezren landed beside him. The two captains lay broken at his feet.

Breathing heavily, wounds burning, the stone drive waning, Ezren glanced across the ruined field.

Through the mist and rubble, he spotted Ari, still fighting Jimmy.

The battle was far from over.

Eventually, as Ari and Jimmy fought, the rest of the battles ended.

Ezren collapsed to a knee, his body trembling from exhaustion. Jack, the only uninjured member, appeared beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't move, Ezren. You did your part."

Ezren looked toward Ari.

"But… she's—"

"Believe in her," Jack said. "This war isn't about numbers. It's about heart. Let her finish it."

Back in the hall, the final round began.

Ari and Jimmy—both bleeding, both panting, stood facing each other.

Ari's dress was torn, her leg bleeding, her breathing sharp.

Jimmy's chest and hands were gashed. His blades were chipped, but his grin remained.

"I guess it's time to end this," he said with excitement.

"Ground Drive: Second Mode."

The floor shook. A brown aura exploded around Jimmy, his magic rising like a geyser. The sheer pressure cracked the ground.

Ezren's eyes widened from afar.

"That's… too much magic…"

Jimmy dropped his weapons.

He raised both hands like a puppet master—and clapped.

"Ground Magic: Room Crush."

The walls around Ari suddenly trembled—then began to shift and groan, collapsing inward as if pulled by invisible strings. Dust filled the air. The room warped, the crushing pressure of Jimmy's magic pressing down like a vice.

Then, from the floor, a massive hand of jagged stone erupted upward.

It clamped tightly around Ari's collar and hoisted her off the ground.

She gasped.

Blood trickled down from her stomach wound again, dripping in slow, red drops. Her limbs hung limp, her body helpless under the sheer force of the spell.

The pressure.

The magic.

The pain.

It was overwhelming.

But Ari's eyes—sharp, determined—never wavered.

As her body dangled in the air, her hand began to glow softly.

In her mind, everything blurred… except the pain of her past.

Her grandfather's lifeless eyes.

Her parents, screaming as they were dragged away.

The noble sacrifice of her personal guard—his body consumed in flames, buying her a moment to escape.

All of it raced through her thoughts like a storm.

Suddenly—she felt warmth.

A golden-white aura ignited around her, flowing over her skin like liquid firelight. The glow intensified, wrapping her in a comforting yet powerful light.

In a flash—

Her eyes shot open.

She swung her sword in a wide arc.

A radiant circle of pure light burst outward, spinning around her in a spiral. The glowing ring cut through the stone hand effortlessly—shattering it into crumbling debris.

Ari landed softly, her boots skimming the cracked ground.

She raised her sword, eyes burning with resolve.

"Light Drive: Second Mode."

With those words, hundreds of fine, blade-like particles of light began to swirl around her. They danced like glowing feathers, orbiting her form—gentle, yet humming with razor-sharp magic.

She stood surrounded by light—wounded, but unbroken.

Ari had entered a new state.

And Jimmy… had no idea what was coming next.