A wall of flame rushed forward. Kael's palm thrust outward, heat crashing down.
Ash's feet skidded right, barely touching the ground before pushing off again. The fire missed him by inches.
Kael came next.
Flames wrapped around him like armor. He charged, swinging in a wide arc.
Ash ducked low, twisting past the blow. Electricity burst from beneath his soles, boosting his speed. The air shook around him as he lunged forward. His blade struck Kael's arm.
Heat exploded.
Kael grit his teeth. Flames gathered at his hands, shaping into spheres.
Ash didn't stop. His nerves lit up with sparks. Every step brought him closer.
'Here goes.'
He threw his blade.
Kael shifted, letting it pass. A grin tugged at his lips. The blade clattered behind Kael, skidding across the floor.
"Really? You think I'll fall for that again?"
Ash didn't answer. Sparks flickered in his eyes.
'It's not like I expected him to notice.'
"No. That's why I planned something better."
His free hand snapped to his pocket—a metal canister spun through the air, angling toward Kael's left.
Kael dodged again, scoffing—
Then the container burst behind him.
Coiled ropes shot out like snakes and clamped around his arms, snapping tight with brutal speed. His stance cracked—one foot dragged back, and and fire surged at his palms, hot and wild."
But the flames didn't help.
The ropes held.
His fingers twitched. The fire died before it ever lived.
Kael froze.
He looked down.
The rope gleamed in the firelight. Still. Unmoving. Alive with tension.
"…What the hell—?"
Ash stepped into view, slow and steady. Sparks danced across his knuckles. His blade hovered near his side, aimed but patient.
He smiled.
"Gotcha."
Kael tugged—once, twice—but the bindings only bit deeper.
"You're fast."
His eyes narrowed.
"But still predictable. You know I'm Tier Six. You really think this rope can stop me?"
Ash didn't move. His hands remained locked forward like he might strike again at any moment.
"Then break it."
Kael pulled harder.
Nothing.
He blinked. The grin returned, sharper.
"…Why can't I cut this?"
Ash's smirk deepened.
"Do you remember four years ago? That Tier Six beast that attacked Mount Shale?"
Kael's body jerked against the ropes.
"Yeah. The Shrouded Beast. It killed dozens… threw people off the cliff with those tentacle-like hairs. I remember its hair…"
His eyes widened.
"No way—"
Ash chuckled, low.
"Yeah. We based it on that. After Dad's fight with the thing, we studied the remains. That hair—it was tougher than steel. Even he had trouble cutting through it."
Kael stared at him.
"You did this behind my back? Was this for me?"
Ash shrugged.
"Not really. Max came up with it. You're just the first test."
Kael's smile lingered.
"You remember how Dad escaped those ropes, right? If you didn't, this plan would've been even dumber."
Fire burst from Kael's skin—but the rope stayed clean. The flames rolled off, useless.
He narrowed his eyes. Focused.
Still nothing.
Ash tapped the floor with one foot.
"You thought you'd burn through it. But Max used the same material we wear in combat gear. Reinforced. Fireproof. It's not coming off. I win."
Kael stared down.
Silent.
Then… he smiled wider.
Ash felt his stomach twist.
'Why's he smiling?'
Kael's voice dropped, slow and steady.
"Well, this won't do."
He relaxed his shoulders.
"I'll give you this—you planned well. Few people could've boxed me in like this…"
He tilted his head, gaze sharp.
"…aside from Max."
Then the ground cracked beneath his feet.
A low, growling pressure bled from his skin.
"You made strong ropes. But what happens when I use strength that matches that creature's?"
His body expanded.
Muscle swelled. Tendons knotted like thick cords. His skin shimmered with heat. The air bent around him.
Ash stood frozen. Every instinct screamed to move, but that presence—raw, monstrous—locked him in place.
Kael's eyes burned—red, inhuman, alive.
His nails lengthened. Curved. Razor-sharp. The heat around him rippled like waves, warping everything near.
Ash's pulse slowed. Even the sparks in his hands went quiet.
'That power… He wasn't supposed to control it.'
"I thought you couldn't handle that form."
The rope around Kael's arms pulled tight, fibers digging in. But his body kept growing.
The rope didn't last.
With a loud snap, it tore apart. Threads flew loose, falling like ash as Kael stood tall again—taller, broader, something else entirely. Power bled off him in thick waves. Heat flooded the room.
Ash's fingers curled in reflex.
'Damn it.'
Kael exhaled, long and slow. His body shrank back, muscles easing. But the fire in his eyes stayed.
His chest rose once, twice.
"Yeah,"
his voice lower, rougher.
His fingers moved, claw tips pulling back into skin.
"I got kicked out of the academy because of it."
His laugh came short, cracked like dry wood.
"But the good thing is… I had to train with Dad instead."
He rolled his neck. The fire didn't leave his arms—it just waited there, just like him.
"He taught me a lot—especially how to stop losing control."
Ash watched in silence.
Kael's cocky smirks, his trash talk—those were just noise. This? This was what he'd been hiding.
Real power.
Ash's eyes flicked to the floor. His blade sat behind Kael, too far for comfort.
'Stupid. I let it get that far behind.'
The same familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"[Vein Energy 75%]"
'Shut up. Not now.'
Ash moved.
His body leaned forward, legs pushing off hard. Wind pulled at his coat as he flew past Kael, inches from the fire.
Kael turned, but Ash was already down low. His hand snapped out, closing around the hilt. A twist. A pivot.
Steel flashed upward.
Kael's fists caught fire. He swung.
Blade met flame. The hit cracked through the room, pushing back the heat for just a second. Sparks jumped off the edge of Ash's blade. Their arms trembled with the force.
Then they broke apart. Feet slammed the floor, both landing wide apart.
Ash shifted his grip. The blade vibrated in his hand, still shaking from the clash.
Kael bounced his shoulders once. Flames licked his arms, ready.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
Both moved again.
Then, right before they could strike—
A voice cut in, rough and bored, crackling from the speaker above them.
"As much as I enjoy watching you guys beat each other up, I'm ending it here. We just got a call from Dad."
Silence.
Ash froze mid-step.
Kael's fire sputtered out. His hands dropped.
Just like that, the weight in the room vanished.