The heat was alive. It wasn't just warmth it was an animal that breathed across the battlefield, slow and heavy, pressing against skin and lungs until every movement cost twice the effort.
The ground shimmered under it, scorched cracks snaking in every direction from where Laila's magic had torn the den open into this dead field. The faint smell of charred earth clung to the air, mixing with the metallic tang of sweat and adrenaline.
R%@& stood at the edge of her mind, every muscle in her body taut, blue light pulsing faintly under her skin from the lingering effects of her water magic trying its best to block the heat of Laila's magic.
[That bitch how bad one magic control capabilities can be to leave this much trail behind]
Beside her, N^#^@ flexed her body, droplets of sweat coiling between her fingers like a serpent. The thin streams hissed when they brushed against the hot air, releasing tiny wisps of steam. She didn't have the raw brute force of her partner nor magical capabilities but her magic constantly repaired her body from the damage.
And in front of them…
Osbby
Not a speck of dust on him. Not a single bruise.
He stood with his arms loosely at his sides, his expression calm, almost like he is taunting them. His eyes with a strange stillness didn't track them like a fighter would. They didn't even look at them. Instead, they scanned the space between them, the gaps, the magic, the flow of air. As if they were just side effects of the battlefield he was studying.
R%@& hated that.
She hated that calm face.
She hated how he wasn't even pretending to take them seriously.
R%@&: "*cracks knuckles* Third round this is where you fall."
N^#^@: "Yeah don't know about that but whatever"
Ossby smiled faintly, a tilt of the lips that wasn't quite smug, but wasn't respectful either.
Ossby: "Confidence is good. False confidence? Even better for me."
N^#^@: [That tone of already knowing the outcome of a situation in his head. And his ability means he thinks he's right. He's been reacting instantly to every move like he's memorizing the future one second at a time. But if we can split that future into more than one path at once… maybe, he'll choose the wrong one.]
The wind shifted slightly, a whisper over the scorched dirt.
The heat didn't break.
Somewhere, a bead of sweat slid down R%@&'s temple.
ROUND 3
3… 2… 1… START
Ossby: "Alrighty then, let's see what both of you got this time. Charging in with a double assault, front one goin for a low sweep while the back preps a water whip. Saw the feint it's actually the water girl circling for a splash attack. Monkey style I jump flip sideways going over the water whip as it use the water whip to swing like a tree branch and drop kick the front runner then twist mid-air to slap away the incoming water stream with a palm thrust."
R%@&: "oofff !! That hurt more than last time!"
N^#^@: "Hang in there! Don't die one meaaaaaa"
And thats how the legend of R%@& ended.... ahh i was just playing with you. You already know about that i know that you already knew about that you knew already about that *Brain shut sup* back to work.
Splashing sounds echo as N^#^@ tries to rinse off the dirt from before, but Ossby's already predicting the next move. Man, this guy's like a walking cheat code with that observation thing. If I were in there, I'd probably trip over my own feet.
N^#^@: "This ain't workin'. We need to switch it up. [Endurance enhancement ACTIVATED] Let's overwhelm him!"
R%@&: "Gotcha! Water bullets incoming!"
Ossby: "Predictable. Bullets from the side, enhanced punch from the front. I see the truth
N^#^@ moved first.
Her first two rounds against him had been bad but instructive gaining some understanding on the power gap. As she charged like a hammer swung by the gods, her boots digging trenches in the ground as she crossed the space between them in a heartbeat.
Ossby didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Didn't move his feet.
His right hand rose casually, intercepting her left fist exactly on impact palm to knuckles absorbing the momentum like a wall of stone.
Ossby: "Left hook. Just like before. Predictable."
N^#^@: "Yeah. Knew you'd say that."
Her grip on his palm tightened.
It wasn't to throw him it was to anchor him.
[If he can't move freely, he can't dodge freely. If he can't dodge freely…]
The hiss of wind reached Ossby's ears a fraction of a second before it struck.
R%@& water spear didn't aim for his chest. Didn't aim for his face. It struck the ground at his feet, plunging deep into the scorched earth.
SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!
The blast of steam erupted like an angry beast, wrapping all three of them in a suffocating white fog. The heat doubled, moisture sticking to skin and lungs.
Ossby: "*Click of tongue* Vision block… not bad."
His eyes closed on instinct steam burned worse than dust in the wrong conditions.
That was their opening.
R%@&: "Condense!"
The steam swirling around his arms and legs shivered, then snapped into solid ice shackles forming midair, locking onto him.
Ossby: "*short exhale* Ice bindings… in this heat!! Risky."
N^#^@: "Not if you don't give 'em time to melt!"
She yanked his anchored arm forward, twisting her hips and driving a knee up into his gut with the force of a battering ram.
THUD!
Ossby's breath left him sharp and ragged but he didn't fold. Instead, his head snapped forward, forehead smashing toward hers in a counter-headbutt.
N^#^@: "Oh no you don't!"
She tilted sideways, letting his head skim past her cheek, and released his arm just long enough to shove him toward the softened patch of dirt the steam spear had created.
His boots sank.
Deep enough to trap him
R%@&: "[Pressure Wave activated!]"
A sharp blast of water from her palm slammed into his chest
~BAMMM~
Memories of R%@& and N^#^@ that had been kept away by a dam finally broke starting a flooding in his brain.
Ossby: [i... remember]
Finally his body to give up on him
R%@& AND N^#^@ WIN
R%@&: "Say our name"
Ossby: "R..Rass...Naree"
Rass and Naree: " YYoouu''rree ggoodd ddaammnn rriigghhtt"
Ossby: "…Create enough layers at once that I can't read which one matters."
Rass: "Congrats. You figured it out."
Ossby: "*sigh* Too bad i didn't had to figure it out i already knew it from the beginning."
Naree: "That you would end of on this situation"
Confused
Ossby: ".....What well i gotta try atlest to gain some points, thought i could bluff my way through this unlucky me i ran into someone stupid enough to think that they could broke through my ability"
This guy is dead
Naree: "**Wwhat did you say"
Ossby: "That you are a the most beautiful person in the world enough to make both god and devil jealous with talent that can't be matched by anyone ahh ahh you eye is beautiful, your nose is beautiful, you ears is beautiful, ahh you are looking good toda. as always umm you got a nice dress umm you will be the no 1 in this games, you are ama.....
He better not stop with the complements.