Marcus unlashed a continuous assault on Aziz from multiple directions, swinging his scythe with devastating power that caused the adamantine stage beneath them to bend and fracture.
However, despite his relentless assault he was finding it difficult to deliver a finishing blow to his opponent.
Aziz's was focusing solely on defense, and he had a difficult to deal with unique skill that made it unwise for Marcus to attack him too recklessly.
As the fight went on, Marcus started to become more desperate as his Soul Burst unique skill was closing in on its limits.
He was able to deal consistent damage to Aziz and was obviously winning, but he would need another minute to claim victory at his current pace, but he only had about ten seconds left.
'I can't keep going without taking any risks. I have to bet it all on one big attack.'
With only a few seconds remaining before he lost his full power Marcus condensed all of the raging energy around him.
"Eclipse Meteor!"
His body became completely obscured by the light and darkness constantly swirling around him from his Supreme Skill and he blasted forward as a juggernaut of pure destructive power.
It would seem that Marcus's final and most devastating attack would be completely unstoppable, but Aziz met him head on with confidence. His scimitar began to glow with gold light as it had before as he activated the unique skill Marcus had been wary of.
This time though, Marcus could not back down. He had already committed to his attack, and it would be impossible for him to stop the power he had unleashed.
Aziz's blade met with the energy surrounding Marcus and for a single moment everything around them seemed to go still, before the light and darkness around Marcus was split in two by Aziz's scimitar.
As the energy around Marcus became unstable a massive explosion engulfed the area around the two of them and the entire floor of the arena was caught up in the blast.
The protections around the arena strained to hold back the immense power that Marcus had just unleashed, and the barriers began to shatter one after another.
Cracks began to form in the sturdy stone making up the due to the violent tremors, and the audience started screaming and frantically fleeing from the battle that seemed to be shaking the entire city.
Thankfully, by some miracle the barriers managed to hold out against Marcus' eclipse meteor and the damage to the arena and surrounding area was limited to only shallow cracks in the buildings and their foundations.
When the dust settled there was a noticeable crater in the sturdy stage that was meant to hold up to the strain of high-level combatants fighting.
Normally the stage would be able to repair itself with the many restorative enchantments etched within it, but Marcus' attack had devastated the area and left the magical marvel completely inoperable. Now it was only a large hunk of adamantine with a huge hole in it.
Sadly, it was not the only thing to have been severely damaged by Marcus' clash with Aziz. Marcus and his equipment had not gotten out unscathed. His scythe had been sliced in two and from his left shoulder down to his waist was a massive gash left by Aziz's scimitar. Leaving his body and armor in shambles
It also did not help that his Soul Burst had run out and he was having to deal with the backlash of the powerful ability that left him weary and weakened. But the worst part was that his final full power attack had not been enough.
At the other end of the arena, Aziz was pushing himself to his feet. Certainly, he was pretty badly injured with his skin blackened in several areas where Marcus' darkness had taken hold and was eating away at the man. Aziz's armor was also terribly damage and most of it had fallen off of his body and left him only being covered in his formally ornate clothing that now looked like rags.
Yet there was one item that Aziz carried that was completely unharmed by his clash with Marcus and that was his amethros scimitar. The powerful blade was still unblemished.
'So, that is what his Armor Break unique skill is like.' Marcus thought looking down at his broken scythe and the terrible gash in his body that the gray mist that was his essence was pouring out of.
Even with all the power he had packed into his final attack, Aziz's unique skill had been able to cleanly cut through and disregard Marcus' defenses.
It was a skill that allowed the use to effortlessly slice through anything that was weaker than the weapon they wielded when used, and Marcus' weapon, armor, and body were unable to resist.
Of course, the ensuing explosion had still caught Aziz, as Marcus had planned, but his unique skill had weakened the attack more than Marcus.
"That was certainly reckless of you. I honestly can't believe that you would use an attack like that in the middle of a city. What if the barriers had not held?" Aziz said admonishingly as he approached Marcus.
He was fairly badly injured and was slowly limping over, but Marcus was definitely in the more precarious situation.
"I knew that the protections around the arena would hold. If I miscalculated anything, it is how tough you are." Marcus said, lowering his head as if ready to accept his defeat.
Once Aziz reached him, he held his scimitar above Marcus, poised to strike him down.
"You are beaten, surrender. I can tell that you have exhausted all of your power."
"Beaten? No, I am just getting started." Marcus said, his mouth curling up into a devious smile as he raised his head.
In spite of the feeble form that Marcus had been reduced to, Aziz was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of dread and foreboding.
He swung down with all the strength he had remaining to bring Marcus down for good and eliminate him from the match, but it was too late.
A silver light sprung up around Marcus, and in a single instant his weakness and injuries vanished like he had just reversed time.
Fully restored by his Ultimate Refresh Supreme Skill, Marcus swiftly turned his body to avoid Aziz's frantic attack and struck out with his right fist.
Aziz's stomach caved in from the force behind Marcus' punch and he was flung back at several hundred meters per second, before crashing into and shattering the regenerating barriers that were protecting the audience.
Blood was pouring out of his mouth and his head was slumped over to the side and his eyes were lifeless. As powerful as he was, Aziz had taken all he could and been rendered unconscious.
It took a few seconds for the announcer to come to his senses and announce that Aziz had been eliminated, but when he did, Marcus let out a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that his opponent would get back up at any moment.
"Still, I can't rest on my laurels just yet, the fight is not over yet."
Turning his head towards the other end of the arena, Marcus could see that Mrazivy and Ghazi were still locked in combat.
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