Against the creator of the boundless world of the grand blue sky, Sirius found himself unable to scathe the figure after a few clashes. After failing to land a blow against the silver-haired man, Sirius noticed the subtle transformation that had occurred with Maximus:
The man's hair had returned to a shade of red, with his skin giving off a vibrant heat; it made him impossibly difficult to contend with in close-quarters.
'How troublesome. It's not just summoning creatures or removing concepts–he can infuse himself with them as well,' Sirius thought.
Without his lightning, he rushed in with only reinforcement, which still boasted an incredibly amount of power, however–
"Burn!" Maximus commanded.
An enormous blast of radiant figure shot towards Sirius, cutting him off from his assault and forcing the man to flip back.
As Sirius landed, he found flames clinging to his coat, patting them out as he let out an annoyed sigh from behind his lips.
"Phoenix," Maximus said, "How do you like it?"
"Honestly, it's pretty annoying," Sirius responded with a smirk, "but it won't be an issue for me."
Getting pumped up, the magenta-eyed man yanked on the collar of his coat before tossing it off of his body completely, leaving himself only in his plain, black shirt.
"I'll give you the 'Sirius Stormheart' special–with or without my lightning," Sirius challenged with a smile.
"Go ahead," Maximus accepted, "I'm waiting."
It was easier said than done to actually challenge the infuriating figure in combat, considering the lethal heat that surrounded Maximus like a fog of fire. The temperature itself wasn't the only issue; the suffocating nature of it made gaining any distance towards Maximus unlikely.
Still, these conditions were only applicable to normal combatants. To Sirius Stormheart, these handicaps only brought an excited smile across his lips as he welcomed the challenge.
'I'm limited right now, and the enemy knows that. He made it sound like he was picked to take on both Emilio and I because he completely shuts down our systems. While that may be true, it means something else…I have an advantage of my own. He's confident he has us locked down, but he doesn't know a damn thing about what I'm really capable of!' Sirius thought.
Taking in a deep breath, Sirius set his eyes on the fire-conjuring figure that sat in the center of the extraordinary heat, summoning an unseen force that surrounded his body like a thin layer of armor.
"Void Skin."
'I haven't had much practice with this one, and it's difficult to maintain while moving. He won't expect it, though–that's my edge,' Sirius thought.
As he rushed forward, running straight for the impenetrable mist of flesh-melting fire, a grin stretched across Maximus' lips at the seemingly desperate, thoughtless plan.
"I was told you were an arrogant fellow, but do you really believe your reinforcement alone will save you from the heat of a Phoenix?" Maximus asked.
"Just watch me!" Sirius smiled, rushing in and delving straight into the crimson mist.
It was a pivotal moment for both him and his opponent, dashing into the "No Man's Land" as he awaited whether he'd feel his skin burning away from his bone or not. To his delight–there was no heat felt past the unseen enchantment around his body.
"What–?!" Maximus reacted in shock.
The expression worn on the sky-wielding man's face was a delectable sight for Sirius, who enjoyed smashing that glass confidence, dashing straight through the Phoenix's wall of flames without being harmed in the slightest.
'"Void Skin" is a spatial magic spell and one of the ultimate defenses available among all elements. It's an incredible pain in the ass to maintain, but while it's up–I'm virtually untouchable! Around my skin, a small layer of stagnant space prevents anything from reaching me–whether it's physical, gaseous, or even magical in nature,' Sirius thought.
Such a powerful defense came with its own price though–Sirius had to calculate every movement he made, having to fine tune the thin layer of space around his body with each movement, no matter how minuscule.
Piercing through the veil of fire, Sirius dashed forward with swiftness, cocking his fist pack as he infused it with the bulk of his reinforcement, bolstering it further with a spatial spell as total darkness warped around his fist: "Horizon Fist."
'Dragon Scales!' Maximus invoked.
Around Maximus' body, bright-silver scales shielded his body as he raised his arms just as Sirius' warped fist slammed against his forearms.
'Go ahead and try to defend against it,' Sirius smirked.
Though the initial impact was endured, the dense darkness around Sirius' fist expelled into a shock wave that aggressively vibrated against the figure, shattering the protective scales. The secondary impact caused the man's torso to be caved by the blow, crushing against his ribs.
"Nngah–!" Maximus spit out.
'"Horizon Fist" creates a virtual density around my hand, allowing me to punch dozens–or even hundreds–of times above my normal weight class,' Sirius thought.
"Don't tell me you thought I was nothing without my lightning?" Sirius asked confidently, raising his fist as the dense darkness hummed around it, "Try not to insult me like that."
Maximus stumbled back, huffing as he held his chest, which bruised quickly from the ultra-dense blow.
"...I expected some resistance from you. But, I admit, you've surpassed my expectations–that just means I'll have to crush you with even more power," Maximus threatened.
As the High Table member of the Children of Chaos released such words, the sharpened instincts of Sirius suddenly spiked, telling his body to put distance between himself and his opponent. Confident he may be, Sirius didn't ignore his instincts, jumping back just as a change overcame Maximus.
The man's hair darkened before his skin suddenly shifted into a mystical blue; the clothes he wore altered, wearing only baggy, black pants.
"Djinn!" Maximus invoked, infusing himself with the extraordinary concept.
'Did he say "Djinn"? That can be trouble,' Sirius thought.
Standing on the plateau of clouds, Sirius watched as the now blue-skinned figure shapeshifted, increasing his height dozens of times over, manifesting extra limbs that stretched out like ropes, attempting to snatch him up.
"Hah! Not happening!" Sirius yelled out, hopping and flipping away from the continuous attempts to grab him.
Maximus' voice boomed as his lower half seemed to merge with the surrounding clouds, becoming a colossal figure as his sky-blue limbs almost seemed to infuse with the sky itself, "Helpless Stormheart, let me show you a true storm!"
The bright, almost peaceful sky suddenly darkened as gloomy clouds emerged like an army of darkness marching upon the land; thunder rumbled and lightning struck all around.
–
Still combating the dragon, Emilio found himself taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, looking around as rain pelted against his gemstone armor.
'I hope Sirius is holding his own,' Emilio thought.
Though he had his own safety to worry about as he flew around the dragon's relentless attacks, finding it difficult to counterattack on the beast's natural turf. To him, it reminded him of games he used to play in his previous life–spaceship battlers, having to evade speeding bullets and such–however, this time, it was all too real.
–
Bolts of golden lightning struck down, aiming for Sirius, though the excitable man freely dodged them, having to stay on his toes as not a single moment was given to rest.
"Reality is mine to bend in this realm while I use the power of the Djinn!" Maximus boomed, "I wish upon great gravity!"
The booming words of the transformed man caused an inexplicable pressure to weigh down on Sirius amidst his evasions from the lighting.
"—!"
Though the gravity was a mere tenfold more, it felt like, the split second of confusion it caused before he could adjust led Sirius to being wide
-open: ZAP.
"Ngh!" Sirius winced as he was struck by one of the mighty bolts, hitting his arms with enough force to blow him back.
It was a new feeling–to be on the other end of such incredible voltage; it surged through his body, causing his muscles to twitch, but Sirius remained on his feet with an unmoving air of confidence.
"I can't tell if you're incredibly arrogant or just unequally stupid," Maximus boomed, floating among the gloomy clouds in his gigantified, [Djinn] form.
"Find out," Sirius responded.
Those words of provocation stirred up a rage upon the sapphire-skinned figure in the sky as Maximus spread his arms, weaving wrathful clouds around the sky-high plateau.
"I will punish your arrogance–here and now–if I must take back only your corpse as a catalyst, then so be it!" Maximus' voice boomed, infused with the thunder itself, "I wish upon an almighty cataclysm!"
As Sirius stood his ground, he looked up, finding not only a barrage of lightning bolts descending, but plummeting meteors, raining down hellfire upon the skies: a complete cataclysm.
'So, that's how it works, huh? I wasn't sure of it before, but now–I think this has a fair shot; one-in-ten, maybe? No point in holding it back, then!' Sirius thought.
Sirius looked up as the hellish volley of lightning and meteors descended, not shying away as he stood up straight, looking straight towards the man who possessed the power of a Djinn.
"Hey, genie! I wish upon our systems being returned!" Sirius called out, allowing his voice to be carried even past the cataclysmic storm.
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