The clash between Phaser and Lucaren was a storm made flesh.
Lucaren's body shimmered faintly. His blade was a plain longsword but under his hands it might as well have been a god-slaying relic. Each slash he made wasn't merely steel against air. It split the air. Sonic cracks tore across the valley and invisible blades of wind roared outward with every swing.
Phaser danced through them. His movements were sharp but fluid. Inky afterimages clung to the space he vacated. They were silhouettes shredded by Lucaren's slashes a fraction of a second too late. To any outside observer, it would have looked like there were dozens of Phasers, each dying in his place, only for the real one to slip between the cracks.
"What the hell are you? No way a Fluxer moves like this. Were you some kind of martial artist back on Earth?"
Phaser scoffed, his eyes cold even as he rolled beneath another blade of wind.
"Please. I'm just that good."
The retort bought him a fraction of calm but Lucaren was already on him. Sparks spat like stars between them. Lucaren's strikes had a terrifying rhythm, each faster than the last, each heavier, each more punishing. Phaser's strings lashed out to intercept but Lucaren's sword sheared them apart like cobwebs. Every fiber snapped with a crisp twang. They were useless against the overwhelming sharpness of Combat Flux-imbued steel.
Phaser was forced on the defensive, sliding backward across torn stone. His arms trembled from the impacts. Combat Fluxers had bodies suited for combat with very high physical capabilities. Phaser's guard faltered for the first time. Lucaren's blade slipped through his defense and buried itself deep in his shoulder. Hot blood splattered across Lucaren's chest as Phaser hissed.
"Got you."
Phaser grimaced, then drove his boot upward into Lucaren's stomach with brutal force. The blow cracked ribs, forcing Lucaren back a few paces but it wasn't enough. The injury in Phaser's shoulder burned as blood poured freely down his arm.
Lucaren recovered in an instant. His counter came in the form of a sweeping slash so wide it carved a line across the valley floor. Phaser barely dodged but the wind blades followed. Dozens of shallow cuts bloomed across his torso and arms, stinging as blood sprayed in a fine mist. His body was a canvas of crimson lines.
And then came the kick.
Lucaren's boot hammered into his ribs. Phaser flew backward, his body skidding across the ground like a ragdoll. His strings writhed in reflex but none of them held against Lucaren's swordsmanship. Coughing blood, Phaser dragged himself up, trembling. Lucaren tilted his head, smiling with that mad, triumphant gleam.
"i told you, Phasnovterich. You can't win. You're clever, I'll give you that, but clever doesn't stop this body."
Phaser didn't answer with words. Instead, he drew a deep, rattling breath and whispered, almost reverently.
"Igniferous Edge."
A hum filled the air. His form blurred as a dark, sleek fabric ignited over his body like liquid fire. In an instant, a dark one piece compression suit sealed itself across his frame. It covered everything but his face, leaving his expression visible.
Lucaren's grin faltered.
"So you already have a five star armor. Not bad for an Outer."
Phaser flexed his hands. He smirked faintly, blood dripping down his jaw.
"This won't make me stronger. It just means you'll have to work twice as hard to kill me."
Lucaren didn't hesitate. He surged forward, his sword a blur. Each swing unleashed gales sharp enough to carve the valley. The ground was flayed apart under his onslaught. Phaser met him head-on. The armor absorbed half the punishment, he felt the other half. Every strike rattled his bones. Every slash tore at his flesh beneath the compression weave. The suit dulled the lethality but not the agony.
Lucaren's style was vicious efficiency. His footwork was perfect. Every step was calculated to press the advantage. His speed was terrifying. His strikes were so fast that even the inky afterimages of Phaser's dodges struggled to keep up but he endured.
His strings lashed out when they could, binding Lucaren's ankles for a second, tripping his balance just enough for Phaser to drive a knee into his ribs. He ducked under a wind slash, sliding inside Lucaren's guard to slam an elbow into his jaw.
Still, the tide was clear.
Lucaren's power was overwhelming. His body barely faltered from damage while Phaser's armor grew more bloodstained with every passing second. Deep gashes ran across his sides. His arm was stiff from the stab wound. His ribs ached with every breath. Lucaren sneered, knocking Phaser back once more with a thunderous strike.
"You really think you can last like this? I can do this all day!"
The snow crackled under Lucaren's boots as his form blurred into nothing. Phaser's eyes widened, his body snapping instinctively to defend but it was too late. Lucaren reappeared in front of him, his blade gleaming with Xana and drove it straight through Phaser's chest. The sound was sickening. Phaser's breath hitched as his lungs fought for air.
Lucaren's smile was cold and almost polite, as if stabbing a man through the heart was nothing more than ending a sparring match. He pulled the blade free with a clean motion and before Phaser could collapse, Lucaren spun into a roundhouse kick.
The strike landed with monstrous force. The impact was heard in the form of thunder rolling through the valley. Phaser's body became a projectile, hurled across the icy landscape like a broken doll. The snow cracked beneath the pressure as the sheer shockwave carved fault lines into the valley floor. Phaser's body slammed into the mountainside with such violence that a fracture split the stone face. Dust, ice, and debris cascaded down over him.
Lucaren landed lightly, his sword balanced effortlessly on his shoulder
"That was fun. However, it's time to end this."
Almost as if the world was mocking Phaser, the horizon trembled. At that exact moment, not far away, Thales unleashed the cataclysmic beam of his Endless Drill. The golden cyclone ripped through the mutated Slime Octopus' final tentacle and its bloated body. The explosion that followed shook the ground beneath them, spraying acidic gore across the frozen wastes.
Phaser laughed.
It wasn't the laugh of a madman, nor the hollow chuckle of defeat. Coughing up thick red trails, he pushed himself up against the rock, one hand pressed to his wound. His strings twitched weakly, severed by Lucaren's strikes, dangling like broken spider silk. Yet, his eyes burned brighter than ever, the inky haze spilling out of his body in heavier waves.
"You remember it, don't you, Lucaren?The tradition of the Argemenes."
Lucaren tilted his head, his brows furrowed for the first time since the fight began. His stance didn't waver, but curiosity glimmered behind his cold composure. Phaser smirked despite the blood dripping from his lips.
"Whenever their life is in extreme danger… they unleash their Flux."
Lucaren froze mid-step, his eyes widening at the words. The Flux of the Argemenes wasn't something to be trifled with. Phaser's body stiffened, trembling as though his very soul was being torn apart.
The ground beneath him cracked instantly, black veins spreading out from his feet across the snow and into the fractured cliff. The temperature plummeted even further. The air seemed to warp, crushing down on everything in a wide radius, as though invisible chains were constricting the valley itself. Above Phaser's head manifested a silver crown forged from thorns. Its spikes twisted inward and outward. Each beat of its glow sent shockwaves through the battlefield, rattling Lucaren's blade and shaking the snow loose from the peaks.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his body trembling despite himself. His instincts screamed at him that this wasn't a fight anymore. For the first time, he pressed both hands to his sword. The playful arrogance he wore like a cloak had vanished, replaced with sharp focus.
Phaser rose, blood cascading down his chest, but his grin only widened. The inky haze that once trailed lazily from his movements now roared around him.
"Now, the real fight begins. But I'd call this one sided so you're right. Let's end this."