White light flooded out of runic inscriptions and magma-black cracks within the Jewel of the Valiant, all three energies within Raime surging out to fill his Nuclei up to the brim. The fusion reactor within the divine relic booted up with a violent roar, his arm trembling with the restrained force as he leveled it towards the bard.

But even a short moment to charge up was too slow, when the beheading stroke was already in motion. In diluted time, Raime could only watch as the blade of the gargantuan crusader descended upon his neck.

The shriek of a vengeful firebird sounded as the whirling death-blade that the Phoenix-Blight Guandao had transformed into flew through the air, arcing for the bard. Sensing the danger that its master was in, the spearhead crusader redirected its sword immediately, slamming hallowed steel against bloodstained obsidian. Sparks scattered like a meteor shower as two forces clashed, and then with a definitive grunt, the crusader parried it upwards, sending the whirling blade flying off. But that was the moment Raime needed, the moment he shone. In the palm of his armored hand, a star sparked, then burst.

Before the bard could mutter so much as an ‘oh’, his body exploded from inside out, light flooding out of his body and reducing him to a charred silhouette. The Nuclei disappeared at the same time, and Raime fell to the ground, his ribs still broken, but his head still attached.

In the vacuum of Claiomh Solais’s beam blast, Arion’s engine deafened the world, accelerating to over 900 AGI as it flew over turf with nightmare flames in its wake. Slamming wheel first into the kannushi, the motorbike Nuclei drove him back step by step…and yet did not appear to inflict a single ounce of damage. After all, 900 AGI was impressive, but Arion did not possess any inherent STR, nor any damage source either. Once again, the juxtaposition between Cacophony Concord as a game and as a mimicry of reality caused decisions that were, perhaps, poor in retrospect. Yet while the Black Beast did not do any damage, the distraction it provided was just long enough for Amulak’s Earthrot Golem to take the kannushi from behind, its gravedirt arms wrapping around him in a shoddy embrace. From a safe distance, the necromancer wove his profane words once more, the centipede monstrosity within Leif’s body mimicking its master’s movements as sanguine ribbons floated around the Undead construct, as unholy energies caused its body to balloon out.

[b]“Full Guard!”[/b]

A Necrotic Explosion sent Arion flying away, and yet within the poisonous debris, bright light shone out, the four-sided barrier of the kannushi holding strong against the point-blank blast. He let out a sigh of relief, then jolted forwards, one hand raised up to stifle the blood that seeped from his mouth. Internal damage? How could it be? He stumbled, stepped, and then realized…the seawater that lapped at his sandals.

A kannushi’s barriers were powerful. They were a support caster class focused on damage mitigation, after all, and against those of equal levels, in most circumstances it would take more than just a single strike to destroy one of their powerful barrier techniques. Magpie, however, was not ordinary. She was a monkey, a barbarian, a buffoon, a maniac that had pumped an obscene amount of her attribute points into her STR stat, and then further bumped it up by solely leveling up her Physical Conditioning passive. The spectral crowd roared once as her left fist smashed through the barriers as if they were naught more than sugar glass. They cheered as she sprinted through the warm waters of Pentozali. They laughed as the kannushi looked up, having no time to mutter another incantation.

And Magpie still had her right fist to go.

Thunderous applause sounded as the plated tekko slammed downwards into the kannushi’s face, driving his entire body into the Mediterranean waters. A geyser rose in response, before the sheer might of Magpie’s punch bounced him up 75 meters into the sky. He exploded into chromatic pixels, showering the champion with glittering glory.

Only one clash remained.

The eldritch beast rose upon the surging tide of his spectral packmates, monstrous paws kicking off ghostly bodies to reach his airborne foe. Even with the sword held between her teeth, Leif could see that the samurai was grinning, a fellow connoisseur of artful violence. Time seemed to slow even further for the two of them, as a flurry of actions were exchanged within the blink of an eye.

He kicked the sword out of her mouth.

She swung her left arm out.

He bite in with crushing force, and yet crunched against the arm rather than the neck.

She kicked out with her foot, catching her katana by the base of the hilt and kicking it back up.

Right to his exposed underbelly.

Death c-

[i]Pow![/i]

A blinding light filled the sky, fire flowers blossoming all around. Both combatants squeezed their eyes shut at the sight, but Leif’s heightened senses could smell the burnt sugar that clung to Ames’s overcoat. The phantom swordsman had saved him. Not once, but [i]twice[/i]. For the spectral form of Ames’s Duo Self had flown up, not to strike the samurai, but to knock her sword away in that moment of flinching. Like that, her main weapon was gone. But so what?! She had her side arm, and the paralysis from the Calamitous Revelations had faded now! She drew the tanto in her sash, imbued it with what remained of her SP, and drove it towards the direwolf’s underjaw.

Leif, however, had already won.

The Phoenix-Blight Guandao screeched out its battlecry and returned to its owner, slicing the samurai from waist down. Her eyes widened in surprise, then her mouth formed a smirk.

[b]“Well-played, shitheel.”[/b]

Only one of them landed on the ground.