x
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Damien called up as he waited for the moment.
"I must commend you for redirecting that attack. But how many times can you do that before you're burnt out? How long will you last before those wounds sap your strength?" Junichiro spoke as he lowered from the sky as well. "You've done well, but this fight is over. Accept your defeat with honor."
"Unfortunately, I can't do that. I need you to stay here with me, you see. You leaving here would put someone else in danger."
Damien spoke confidently, but he was out of ideas. The most he could hope for was to stall Junichiro until—
Damien looked up as pitch-black clouds blotted out the moon. On cue, the winds picked up, and thunder boomed overhead before they were hit with heavy rain. Damien had sensed the storm approaching earlier and awaited its arrival. But now that it was over them, he could feel its abnormality. A storm this intense and electrical in January wasn't natural. But that was a problem for another time; for now, he smiled.
Coincidently, he started to feel a warmth spread through his body and noticed Michael's thread glowing as the wounds across his body began to heal.
"At last," he breathed, welcoming the fortuitous turn of events.
Somewhere to his left, he witnessed a giant funnel cloud suddenly form from a thick, low-hanging cluster of clouds, creating a tornado that began to ravage the region.
"Tch. Damn this rain," Junichiro spat. He looked at Damien, who could see the irritation of seeing him mostly healed.
"The rain isn't your biggest issue," Damien declared as he began to float, "Sure, it won't help given who you're up against, but isn't what you should really be concerned about the lightning?"
Thunder cracked overhead. Lightning became visible through the clouds. Damien raised his hand and shot a blast of his spirit energy into the chaotic skies. This amplified the power of the lightning within the storm, turning it from blue to lilac. Looking down at Junichiro, he smiled, his eyes flashing with the thunder.
For the first time, Junichiro looked worried and conjured more weapons in preparation as Damien flicked his wrist earthward. Multiple columns of pure lightning struck the ground with destructive power.
Junichiro attempted to protect himself with his blades, but the lightning quickly shattered every weapon he conjured. Still, by conjuring at super speeds, he managed to keep himself from being hit through the continuous assault.
Damien observed as Junichiro stood, shocked, looking at the region. Everything was either smoldering, red-hot, or charred, and the places the lightning had hit were now black chasms that still sparked with the occasional electric discharge.
"Seems I missed a spot. Shall we try again?" Damien said as he raised his hand again and shot another blast of his energy into the clouds. Again, he rained down a godly display of lightning on Junichiro and the earth below.
Damien watched as Junichiro's blade morphed from a broadsword to a thin katana.
He's still withholding from me...?
Junichiro's boosting device glowed violet as he began to move in a blur. His feet were still planted firmly on the ground, but his upper body moved so fast he was difficult to see as Junichiro swung his spirit-enhanced sword and deflected lightning strike after lightning strike.
As Damien watched from above, he saw the collisions of Junichiro's attacks create a protective dome of sparks above him as he continued to swing. When the attacks ended, Junichiro stood on an untouched patch of the earth, panting. This was a good sign that Junichiro was finally reaching his limit, but so was Damien.
He was out of breath as well. Summoning that much lightning twice in a row consumed far more energy than he expected.
But that was okay; he still had his ace up his sleeve...
Damien closed his eyes and breathed in and out calmly. With each breath, he willed more lightning to gather above him in the clouds. Once he felt enough had gathered, he commanded it to strike him.
In a bright flash followed by a deafening 'boom,' Damien was struck by a massive bolt of natural lightning. The bolt rejuvenated him as it fused with his depleted spirit energy and sheathed him in lightning unlike his typical aura. This sheathe was modeled after Michael's ability to become light. It was bonded to him. It didn't grant him the intangible and indestructible state of energy, but it did grant him the ability to move as fast as lightning itself so long as he could maintain the state.
Damien lowered to the ground before Junichiro, his body zapped with uncontainable power.
"This is everything I have," he stated, opening his arms so Junichiro could gaze upon him. "Unfortunately, once this power fades, I'll be unable to move for quite some time, so I must end our little dance quickly. Do try not to die; I made a promise after all."
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Fun fact: Galvanize: a eutierric-class cintracy that gives Damien's spirit energy the qualities of lightning and grants him limited power over the element in general.
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