Both Chase and Poppy Axis twitched straight at each other, the second that Neo's vocal cords let out the word "go".
However, Chase had approached differently this time compared to the warmup fights, as instead of charging in with the blade of his axe in an attempt to go for heavy attacks...
He switched it up, grabbing the axe with both hands far apart from each other on the long handle.
Then, the center of the staff of Apocalypse lit up with vibrant sparks as the blade of Poppy's spear snapped against the unbreakable will of Chase's lumen, forcing a clash between two ranged melee fighters, who would both be at a disadvantage within such a close range initiation.
"You're bleeding quite a lot..." Poppy muttered, not even breaking a sweat as she pressed her elbow against the top of her spear's staff: Giving her twice as much leverage as Chase, since she was pushing down while Chase was now forced to push up.
But he had thought of this already... Slowly letting the grip of his right hand loosen, he pushed with Axis in his left, allowing the blade of Apocalypse, to shoot straight at Poppy's face horizontally from her right side.
Luckily, Chase did not underestimate her, seeing as he could see the vibrant white sparks begin to light up throughout her body.
The axe flawlessly passed through her intangible head, allowing Chase to finally grin as he backed away in that instant, but without changing the backhanded grip of his left hand on the staff of Apocalypse.
He grabbed the low part of the staff with his right hand again, but didn't intend to fix the way he was wielding it, which made Poppy's eyes widen as she tried to call back whatever element allowed her to go into a state of intangibility, but it was far too late.
And Chase could tell that she was relying far too much on that strange affinity of hers.
Pressing forward with immense strength, Chase planted the head of Apocalypse into the ground in front of Poppy as if he was planting a flag.
The ground erupted as rocks and soil flew from their spot in the surface below them.
Poppy recoiled back, losing her balance as she began to spin her spear at insane speeds just to block the debris.
But Chase had another trick up his sleeve.
He grinned, forming a disk in his now free right hand.
He could smell the stench of death the exact second that the strange portal formed in his right hand.
Just as he could hear the screams of the dead echoing out from the horrible place that which the portals led to.
But he had gotten quite good at ignoring such things as of late.
He spun the disk like a frisbee, letting it latch onto the ground below him and pull him into the underworld.
He began to fall for a few moments, but quickly summoned another disk behind his back that faced the ground, and the next thing he knew...
He was soaring straight towards Poppy's blindside.
With the axe still back handed in his left hand: He spun his body right with a quick jolt, allowing his left hand to slide down the long side of Apocalypse's handle, as he hurled a wide arc of the axe's blade with all of his momentum.
The blade passed through her intangible body with ease, but luckily Chase's body was still airborne and moving forward from his already active velocity.
He spun again, passing straight through Poppy's intangible body right behind the blade of apocalypse, as he twisted his body upside down, kicking his feet into the air and letting the tips of his hair scrape against the torn up soul, before kicking his feet back down, allowing his knee to clash against that same soul, and his axe to crash into the ground at his side.
He stood, pressing a hand against the base of his head, and snapping his neck left to right as loud cracks echoed from his now loosened spine.
Poppy frowned, leaning her head onto her shoulder.
"Really?" She asked, eyeing him up and down with an intense look in her eyes.
At the same time, Neo had taken a seat next to Luna and wore an intense look of his own on his mangled face.
"Who you think winning?" Neo whispered, while rubbing the edge of his chin.
Luna shot Neo a look of disgust, before simply shaking her head.
"Chase already lost..." I'm sure you already know that since you have been with the girl more recently.
Neo silently nodded, looking at Poppy's left hand behind her back which had left the staff of her spear only moments ago.
Chase readied himself, preparing for some kind of attack; however, said attack slowly took longer and longer as subtle tension began to fill in the air from the intense stare down between the two with a complicated history.
Poppy suddenly chuckled.
Which was strange coming from her, but Chase had already figured she had some sort of superiority kick. So, he simply rolled his shoulders before wrapping his fingers around Apocalypse once more.
Neo suddenly grit his teeth, and Luna wanted to palm her face at her champion.
As Poppy's grin had distracted Chase from his behind.
Chase felt it too late, as his body shot around in an instant, just in time to block the attack of something that was shrouded in ghosted ivory colors.
A loud explosion ripped the ground up behind Chase, as the staff of Apocalypse barely deflected the powerful attack that came from something clearly not human.
'A new ability?' Chase's mind flashed, before he felt immense pressure rock his body and mind.
Poppy jabbed her spear forward, and forward again, sending straight shots out at incredible speeds.
Chase grit his teeth, tanking the blade of her spear into his flesh over and over again, as a violent green energy flashed against his vision.
The axe began to feel lighter as more and more began to happen.
Chase could see two energy signatures with his soul sight, but couldn't actually feel a second presence.
'How does it work!?' Chase racked his mind for some kind of solution.
Then...
'Screw it...'
The fibers in his muscles reinforced themselves with axis as he begun to violently mirror how Poppy would usually spin her own spear when she when overwhelmed in battle.
The blade of the axe ripped up the ground around him; however, Poppy refused to let off the gas, getting faster and faster as something tore straight into Chase's back from behind.
But his body was also moving faster, and his senses felt sharper as a burning sensation rippled in his catalyst.
Poppy's eyes slowly widened behind her frenzy of attacks as the loud slashing of skin turned into metal meeting metal.
Apocalypse had become a frenzy of torrents, as the wind pressure within the clearing began to increase.
Neo gripped the ground below him, refusing to let his body get caught up in the powerful gusts of wind coming from whatever the hell Chase had decided to do in order to win this fight.
Which that had been turn his axe into some sort of tornado of defense.
Chase watched out of the corner of his eyes, as Neo had to grab Luna by the arm to catch her before the powerful wind blew her into the sky.
Chase let out a laugh.
If he had no way of figuring out how her new ability worked before she won the fight... Then he would create a barrier between him and everything around him.
"You said I was bleeding!?" Chase yelled over the loud roar of his adaptive defensive mechanism.
Poppy leaned back, avoiding the hundreds of slashes coming from the torrent of swings that Chase was releasing around him.
Her face looked more tense and serious than before beyond the crimson slashes filling the air around Chase.
He lowered his body, letting his entire body sync with the already swift movement of his arms.
He simply...
Let his momentum take him.
Before he knew it...
He was on the offensive, slamming his axe into the ground behind him, and kicking it back into the air with the back of his boot.
Catching the axe, Chase leaped, spinning his body at immense speeds as he gripped the axe as it followed shortly behind.
His body turned into a tornado, slashing and slashing at Poppy's strong defense.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
"Now!" Chase yelled through his gritted teeth, as he landed with the immediate crouching of his body as Poppy's spear shot over top of his hair, launching golden strands of hair into flight.
Then flames began to creep off of his body, slowly charging up energy as they began to eat at the ground around them.
Chase had learned a new trick that he could apply with his fire as of late... Something that he deemed useless in the moment, but now...
He could see its use.
The smoke in the air began to shift and dance through the air as he manipulated its natural path.
Suddenly, as Chase dashed around Poppy in circles with axis piercing his entire legs...
Smoke had become his knew weapon... Blinding everyone in the vicinity...
And Chase was the only combatant who had the ability to see without actual sight...