Chapter 129: The Kings Clash

Tanaka attacked. His wings unfurled, sending up a gust of dust and he shot forward. Rhazek did not move to avoid. Tanaka’s claws nearly swept his nose. Rhazek’s hand shot towards Tanaka’s wings. Tanaka twisted just before the attack could connect and swept his tail against Rhazek’s legs, sending the demon lord tumbling backward. Tanaka expected the leap. A rush of wind filled his wing and he shot upwards instead of forward, opening his jaws. "Wind Breath."

The air exploded from his lungs, carving a trench across the battlefield. Rhazek crossed his arms against the attack, but the wind pushed him back all the same, leaving two clean furrows across the dirt where the Demon King had stood. He did not fight the current, but let it carry him backward several meters before vanishing into the dust.

Tanaka narrowed his eyes. Mana sense flooded the battlefield. There. Behind him. Tanaka turned. Rhazek’s fist shot down. Tanaka blocked with his claws. The impact sent him skidding toward the earth, but he spread his wings at the last moment and reversed the motion. Rhazek’s next attack was already on the way. Tanaka rolled his wings over his body. Rhazek’s claws scraped across his scales. Tanaka responded with a jet of wind from his second wing, shoving the Demon Lord away.

Tanaka watched the distance between them carefully. Rhazek left deep indentations in the earth where he had stood. Too fast. That was the first lesson Tanaka had learned. Rhazek wasn’t just stronger. His speed had increased exponentially upon becoming a Demon Lord. Tanaka would be outmatched if he tried to pit his brawling skill directly against the other king.

Rhazek smiled. "You’ve noticed." Tanaka said nothing. He stomped his claw into the earth. A rush of mana filled the space beneath the battlefield. Towering pillars of stone burst up from the ground around the Demon Lord.

Rhazek shattered the first with a punch, but the second sprang up from behind. He ducked, but the third came up from underneath him. Rhazek leapt, but Tanaka was already waiting above. His claws shot downward. Rhazek crossed his arms. The impact drove him back down, but he crashed through the pillar. Tanaka followed with a spinning wing attack. Rhazek caught the edge of his wing, but for a moment, the two kings were locked. And then Rhazek pulled.

Tanaka was yanked toward him, slamming into the earth. The ground cracked beneath the impact. Before Rhazek could capitalize, Tanaka’s body liquefied around the blow. The Demon Lord’s fist buried itself into the liquid, but Tanaka reformed behind him. His claws found purchase in Rhazek’s back, sending the other king staggering forward. A streak of blood marred Rhazek’s fur. He turned his head. "Interesting." Tanaka’s gaze remained sharp.

Rhazek turned. This time, he held back. Tanaka waited. The two kings stood a distance apart while the war raged on around them. Then Rhazek vanished. Tanaka tracked him from the left. He moved, but Rhazek changed direction. Tanaka adjusted. Rhazek did it again. Tanaka barely escaped the next blow. The second strike caught his side. The third never came. Rhazek paused. Tanaka knew why.

The Demon Lord was testing his reactions. He had altered his attack pattern deliberately to learn Tanaka’s responses. Tanaka’s lips curled into a small smile. "So that’s your game." Rhazek’s grin widened. "You’re learning quickly." Tanaka spread his wings. "Then I’ll give you something new." A rush of wind exploded outward. Not at Rhazek.

Around him. A vortex of air built up, whipping loose bits of earth and stone into a frantic storm. Tanaka’s vision filled with dust, broken metal and the curling edges of Tanaka’s armor. Rhazek’s eyes closed. His mana sense took over. Tanaka moved through the maelstrom. Rhazek felt him. Above. No, behind. Wrong again.

Tanaka had turned using the wind currents. Rhazek turned as Tanaka broke out of the storm. A clawed hand drove into his chest. Rhazek’s body lifted off the ground and sent skidding backward. Blood slicked his chest where the tanuki’s claw had broken the skin. Tanaka hovered down, but Rhazek was already beneath him. Tanaka felt the presence just before the ground exploded upward.

Rhazek’s fist drove into Tanaka’s stomach, sending the tanuki flying. Rhazek followed after him. "Demon Wolf’s Might." His body blurred. Tanaka could not follow his assault, but the first punch drove into his ribs. The second came just as fast, but Tanaka twisted out of the way. The third punch never came.

Tanaka’s body turned liquid around the attack. Rhazek’s eyes widened as the tanuki’s fist passed through him completely. Tanaka reformed around his arm, locking his claws around the Demon Lord’s wrist. A burst of wind exploded between them. Rhazek was thrown to the side, but Tanaka followed him down.

The two kings crashed together above the battlefield. This time, there was no room for big moves. They battled with claws and teeth, fists and wings. Rhazek’s claws dug into Tanaka’s scales. Tanaka’s blades of wind carved into Rhazek’s fur. The Demon Lord’s knee met Tanaka’s gut. Tanaka bit into Rhazek’s shoulder. Rhazek’s grip tightened around Tanaka’s throat, but the tanuki drove his forehead into the Demon Lord’s face.

A satisfying snap echoed between them as Rhazek released him. Tanaka shoved the other king away. They landed on either side of a crater. Blood speckled the earth around them. Neither looked happy. Neither looked beaten. Rhazek laughed. "Now this feels like a fight." Tanaka regarded him. "You’re enjoying yourself too much." "Of course." Rhazek lunged again, but this time, Tanaka met him. Their fists collided, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. Rhazek followed up with Crimson Fang. A blade of crimson energy built along his arm.

Tanaka twisted away, but the energy lashed across his side. Tanaka retaliated with a blast of wind. Rhazek crossed his arms. The attack tore through his defenses, forcing him back. He dug his claws into the earth, ripping up the dirt around him. "Blood Fang." Crimson energy gathered around Rhazek’s claws. He lunged, but Tanaka raised his own weapons to meet him. Crimson energy and wind exploded outward upon contact. Neither king yielded. Then Rhazek channeled more power into the attack.

Tanaka’s boots left furrows in the earth. His claws dug trenches as he pushed back, but Rhazek forced him to retreat. Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. He released the contest. Rhazek stumbled forward. Tanaka spun around him and drove his tail into the Demon Lord’s ribs. Rhazek fell, but he recovered before hitting the ground. Tanaka was already on him.

Rhazek blocked the first claw, but the second, and the third sliced across his chest. Rhazek responded in kind with Crimson Rupture. The explosion of crimson energy consumed both kings. Tanaka was tossed out of the blast. One of his wings drooped lower than the other. Rhazek emerged from the smoke, his chest bleeding. A hairline fracture marred one of his horns. Neither moved. For the first time since the fight had begun, they stared each other down.

Tanaka knew what it meant. Rhazek had tested him. But the Demon Lord had seen something else as well. Tanaka had as well. He knew how to move when he wanted to overwhelm an opponent. He knew the ways in which he could utilize his speed. He knew the attacks that forced Rhazek to block and the ones that left him open. Now, the Demon Lord knew Tanaka’s preferred reactions. The next exchange would be different. It had to be. Tanaka felt Endless Abyss welling up inside him. He could use it.

Finally, he could stop fighting with claws and wind and see what happened when his Unique Skill met Rhazek’s power. But Tanaka held back. Across the battlefield, Rhazek’s expression changed. His smile vanished. A deeper shadow stretched across his features. Abyssal energy crackled beneath his skin. But he stopped it as well. They both knew the truth.

Their basic attacks had reached their limit. The next level of their power would reveal something neither king had displayed since the battle had begun. Tanaka lowered his stance. Rhazek did the same. The battlefield seemed to hush around them. Then Rhazek’s smile returned. "Now, Tanaka." Tanaka’s wings spread wide. "Come find out." And the two kings vanished.