Where the spatial barrier and the two blazing orbs collided, a repulsive force kicked up winds that spread in all directions. They came with a wave of force strong enough that Immortal Flame was pushed back a few meters.
Immortal Flame's jaw tightened.
His fiery orbs…he was losing his connection to the flames. And right before his very eyes they began to shrink and as they did so a black solid wall made of nothing but densely packed space grew wider and wider, almost as though they were devouring his attack.
His pupils trembled. The power of the Abyss was now more prevalent than before. They were devouring his flames, he was sure of it.
But a few moments ago, Yamaru hadn't been able to do that. So how was he doing it now?
Only when the flames were completely devoured did the dark wall of condensed space fade away to reveal Yamaru standing there. He shot a gaze towards Immortal Flame his eyes completely black.
An overwhelming blood lust swept over the ancient dragon. It was enough to give him pause. It was familiar. It shrouded Yamaru's entire figure like an ominous cloak. His face was twisted into a fiendish grin that revealed razor sharp teeth. That wasn't all.
He had gotten larger, his skin darker and his claws longer.
He looked like a beast built for destruction.
"So you were swallowed up by that power" Immortal Flame barely got the words out before Yamaru vanished from his spot.
He blinked and the tips of blackened claws appeared right before his eyes with every intention of gorging out his eyes. His draconic eyes constricted. He had just a second before he tilted his head to the side and even then, the claws broke through the scales along his cheek.
Immortal Flame skipped back, blood leaking from the cut on his chin.
Yamaru pursued.
He teleported to Immortal Flame's left, claws flashing forward once more. Immortal Flame dug a foot in the ground and with his other foot, he swept out in a kick that knocked into Yamaru's wrist. The claws were swatted away.
Still the movement was powerful enough to release explosive wind blades that carved ridges into the ground. Immortal Flame leaned forward, his fist winding up. He struck. A solid blow to the side of his torso. A wave of explosive force rippled from the other side of Yamaru's body.
Yamaru was pushed less than five paces backwards before he retaliated. His claws making to tear through Immortal Flame's chest. Immortal Flame hurried to block with his scaled forearm. Like before the claws tore through them.
As pieces of his scales fell to the ground, Immortal Flame was already punching out. Flames gathered around it and the air smelled of heat. A jet of flames pushed towards Yamaru but the latter teleported to his back only for Immortal Flame to whip his leg backwards. His shin hitting the latter in the neck. Flames exploded from his leg.
Yamaru stumbled. As he brought a hand to his neck where smoke rose accompanied by the smell of burning flesh.
Even in his Abyss corrupted state, surprise flashed on his face.
"What are you getting all surprised for. Didn't I tell you that trick would no longer work on me?" Immortal Flame turned towards him.
The two of them stood still for a moment before exploding towards one another.
The two exchanged world toppling blows. Each exchange causing the ground around them to sink into a crater that got deeper and deeper still. But the two did not relent.
Immortal Flame could feel his scales slowly break off his body. His fists bled and his muscles burned.
With every one of Yamaru's claw attacks, his scales were broken through and with every fist he landed on the latter blood would fall from his lips. And yet…
'The damage I'm dealing is insignificant. I need to bring out more power'
Immortal Flame pulled on what remained of his power. His will infusing his fist with flames. Each blow was as hot as a star. Each strike releasing violent explosions of magma around them and yet Yamaru was not one to back down either.
Even in his Abyss corrupted state, he continued to manipulate space with deft control. When he couldn't dodge, he teleported. When he couldn't teleport, he stretched the distance between attacks. When he attacked, he collapsed the distance. And when neither was an option…
The air to Yamaru's back shattered, it looked as though a wound had been torn through space. However that wasn't all, a meteor the size of a miniature sun burst forward.
Immortal Flame was stunned at the sight. This was his own attack…one of two from before.
'The new power allows him to absorb an enemy's attack and store it in a separate pocket of space before releasing it as an attack of his very own!'
Immortal Flame could barely cross his arms in an attempt to block before the miniature sun blasted into him.
BOOM!
As it exploded a wave of heat washed over the dragon. Fire was his domain and normally this kind of attack wouldn't hurt him. But right now he was no longer as powerful as he used to be. he felt the scales around his arms begin to crack and melt away. Even worse he could feel, the rest of the scales around his body waver- they had been too damaged by Yamaru's earlier attacks and wouldn't last long under this heat.
He smiled slightly 'It seems even I am no match for my own attack'
He had to retreat.
The destructive wave of flames created a circular blast radius that reached over the 100 meters. It swallowed up the entire area and even part of the mountain.
As the wave of destruction faded. Immortal Flame's figure leapt out of the resulting cloud of smoke. He landed right at the foot of the mountain directly, at the mouth of the cave.
Immortal Flame's breaths came out heavy. The armor of scales that had surrounded his body just a few moments ago all but shattered, what little of it that remained barely covered part of his chest, his fists and his leg. One of his horns was even broken in the middle.
Most of his skin was covered in burns.
He felt something clogging his throat. It made breathing difficult. He coughed, a mouthful of blood falling at his feet.
That wasn't all though, slowly a pool of red was forming at his feet. They fell from the numerous claw marks on his body.
"Never thought there would be a time I would have suffered from my own attack" he almost chuckled.
It was almost poetic.
Yamaru had caught him completely off guard, he could have never expected that.
"M-master?" said a voice to his back. A familiar voice.
He looked over his shoulder to see a young man who was familiar but at the same time unfamiliar.
Immortal Flame smiled slightly. "You broke through the initial stage. My successor"