Boom!
BOOOOM!
Bang!
THWUMP!
As Snake's eyes kept darting between the battle above and the battle below, his mind was simply blown away repeatedly by both scenes which even seemed oddly in sync.
Above, the Head would open his mouth and say something which seemed to affect his opponent in some way, stalling him while he conjured an attack that was almost like the sun- it was a concentrated ball of light that blinded those looking at it, and as it shot forward, it radiated waves of pure power that distorted the air in its wake.
Below, the King would shoot a punch that would be nullified by his opponent, before he braced himself for three kicks from the person in front of him who moved at a speed that made many Warriors helpless as they couldn't even figure out what was going on.
Above, the Chief would shoot through the air like a bullet while holding a simple short dagger in his hand, but each time he struck, it was as if he pierced the very fabric of space and time. A visible shockwave would emanate every time his opponent blocked an attack, and the Chief would use that counter-force to smoothly move back, reposition himself and then shoot forward again.
And below, the King would somehow spontaneously accelerate in the middle of the fight to launch an attack that any Warrior and even most Champions would not be able to avoid, but his opponent would bend his body in weird ways in order to achieve just that.
As the battle below had started too suddenly, no one had had time to think about who would win and come out on top.
Yet, now that they saw that it was perfectly even, they were pretty shocked, as these two were on a peak that other Warriors could only dream of reaching.
In the case of the Heroes, it looked to almost be the same.
The Head and the man in purple-colored priest robes seemed evenly matched. Everyone knew that the Head's Champion path had something to do with his voice- and he displayed this fully by repeatedly using it to create some sort of invisible attack that either slowed down his opponent or forced them to counter it in some way. Using that opportunity, the Head would attack, but the man from the Church would always be able to both counter the effect of his voice, and also create an attack that blocked the Head's. The Head used all kinds of dazzling magic attacks: from creating multiple suns, to even conjuring a massive axe that covered everyone's vision as it was the size of a village.
Heroes always were known to possess power that could devastate entire regions and even cause natural disasters that could cause thousands. Everyone realized that this was the truth when they saw the purple-robed man's counter-attacks which were mostly wind-based: cyclones and tornadoes were formed instantly to engulf the Head's attacks, and in the end, they would cancel each other out.
It was slightly different in the case of the Chief's fight. His opponent seemed to be biding his time, as he only used defensive methods while slyly aiming the Chief, as if waiting for something.
The Chief made everyone realize just how powerful a Hero-level Fighter could be: he was using the simplest of methods, but not even one movement of his was wasted. Each time he flew through the air, it was at an angle that needed his opponent to turn in order to see and defend, which gave him an extra moment during which there were no attacks. Each time his opponent managed to launch an attack, he would rotate instantly and become a blur while some sort of a barrier sprung up around him, defending him while still allowing him to continue his attack.
And each blow…each blow of his brought awe to all those watching, as it seemed to be filled with such might that it could easily destroy the massive mountain on which the Fortress was built.
Of course, they didn't even know that all 4 of these individuals were still holding back.
Daneel was aware of this, as he had seen the old man's transformation. Knowing that he was still in his scrawny form, he could deduce that the Chief, just like his opponent, was waiting for the right moment to take out his trump cards.
That was not the case with him and Elanev.
They were going all out from the start: Daneel was already using everything he had, and it seemed that Elanev was doing the same.
And with each blow that they exchanged, the same thought passed through their minds.
'DAMN, THIS FEELS AWESOME!'
Indeed.
Because most of those on the pavilions were watching from quite a distance and because they were not equipped with means like mages to enhance their vision at will, they didn't know that both the King and his elder brother…had smiles on their faces.
Broad, joyful smiles filled with the purest of emotions.
For Daneel, being able to lose himself in the moment and just give a fight everything he had felt so, so good that it was almost therapeutic. All the little frustrations he had from not being able to pummel Heroes if he wanted to or not being able to get that scroll without going through all this started to disappear slowly, allowing him to find true peace that felt oh, so valuable when he realized what he had been going without so far.
For Elanev, each blow showed him that he hadn't been wrong to go down this path of extreme pain while giving up almost everything he loved in life. Each blow told him that it had all been worth it, and that he should never doubt himself again.
Their fighting styles were completely different. Daneel depended on the techniques to give him raw power and speed that he used in the simplest ways to either attack, dodge or counter Elanev.
Elanev had more of a flowing style, where he used all sorts of varied methods in an attempt to land a blow. Sometimes, he would solely use his legs and they would move seamlessly, layering blows and making Daneel use the Basilisk's Breath so that he could see the next one and block beforehand. If he wasn't capable of doing that, he was pretty sure that he might have lost by now.
At times, his fists would begin a…dance, where one would be a feint and the other would carry his full force. Again, without the Basilisk's Breath, Daneel would not have been able to spot the minute changes in his body which allowed him to guess which was which.
As he asked the system, Daneel learned that all of these were Fighting Skills that he had seen the old man teach Elanev, and through this fight, he understood their importance.
He couldn't do anything about it, though, as the system could not help him in that matter: all it could do was give him instructions, and in the heat of battle, without practice, Daneel would only make a fool of himself.
With time, it became clear that even though their overall power level was equal, these techniques gave Elanev an advantage that would have allowed him to cinch the victory if Daneel didn't have the cheat that was the Basilisk's Breath.
It was almost like two men equipped with the same guns. Daneel could equip as many guns as he wished and he could also shoot them all, but Elanev had skills which allowed him to expertly handle the recoil and also crouch to increase his accuracy so that he would have the advantage.
Their fight devastated their surroundings, felling all the trees and causing deep pits to appear in the ground due to the aftershocks.
And so, when the monstrosities started to pop up one by one from all directions, Daneel noticed them and leaped back while Elanev did the same.
"They're finished! They'll be massacred! They should just teleport out!"
Seeing this scene, Snake exclaimed like so, speaking out the thought that had come in the minds of most of the Warriors near him who were also watching the battle below while shooting occasional glances upwards to see the dazzling Hero-level attacks of those in the sky.
Yet, what happened next caused each and every one of them to drop their jaws and stand up with shock.
"Pesky things. Why don't we handle them before continuing? They're disturbing all the fun."
With this casual statement, the King turned around and ran toward the incoming enemies, while his elder brother nodded and did the same.
The latter reached first, and it looked like he had taken notes from the monstrosity still stuck in the ground from its previous altercation with the King.
A single punch to the head.
A single punch to the head caused another monstrosity to be buried in the ground, where it became trapped, unable to move.
With only its undersized head and a little bit of its shoulders above the ground, it snarled at the one who had just put it in this state, but he had already gone forward to a different monstrosity.
On the other side, the King was doing the same. He would take care that the monstrosities weren't bunched together, and he would nail each one into the ground as if he was a studious carpenter just now learning his craft.
More and more Warriors, Champions and Heroes began to notice this sight, and it made them all so distracted that they even ignored the Hero-level fight above them for a few seconds.
Champion after Champion was immobilized, with each and every one of them evenly spaced so that their struggles wouldn't loosen the earth around them to allow them to escape.
"HOW THE F*CK IS THIS A LEGACY BATTLE ANY MORE? THE CHAMPIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO HUNT THE WARRIORS! NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!"
This shout from the same person who had gone on that tirade before made many nod inadvertently before they caught themselves and stopped.
Indeed, each Champion was being…hunted.
Not even a minute later, the two men were once again standing in the middle of the battlefield, and they seemed to be slightly out of breath.
Slightly…out of breath.
As the Warriors noticed this, they lost all hope of matching these two.
If they could defeat a single monstrosity even by having a few of their bones broken, they would call it a victory that would be lauded by all others.
Yet…these two had just handled tens of them without even properly breaking a sweat.
The gap…was just too large.
Above, even the Heroes were surprised on seeing this, but they were too busy looking for the perfect opportunity to launch their ultimate attacks.
Meanwhile, Daneel had also noticed this, and he wanted their fight to be over first.
Looking into Elanev's eyes, he smiled and said, "Elder Brother, I used to say this before, and I'll say it again now. No matter what happens, you will forever be my elder brother whom I will always look up to."
Elanev did not reply.
Instead, he took a stable stance and held out his hand.
A light glow began to form around it, and the system immediately sounded in Daneel's mind.
[Technique 'One Final Strike' is being used by target. All the remaining Energy in the body is collected and released at once.]
Oh? So that was how he wanted it to end?
Daneel thought for a bit, and replied to the system.
"All right. Let's use it, too."
[Affirmative. Deploying 'One Final Strike'.]
He held out his hand, too, and Daneel felt Energy rushing from his entire body towards it while it began glowing, too.
This made Elanev raise his eyebrows, but he did not say anything.
A moment later, the process of accumulation was done.
Even the battle above seemed to pause for this moment, and in the silence, the two brothers ran forward.
At this moment, who won and who lost didn't matter. They had started this fight for different reasons, and for both of them, those reasons had been fulfilled.
So, there was no expression of frustration or anger on either of their faces. All that was present was calmness- and it was one that could only be achieved by those whose hearts were at peace.
The two fists met, and it was as if a bomb had been set off in between them.
In that moment of impact, Elanev said two words to the old man in his head.
"Thank you."
For the longest time, only one question had repeatedly plagued him and had even kept him awake at night.
It was even the reason he had set off from the Kingdom and met the old man in the first place.
Would he ever be able to reach the King, and stand beside him while he served proudly?
Or would he forever have to be a side character who would be forgotten later when everyone else went too far ahead?
Today, he had gotten his answer.
YES!
Yes, he could!
Receiving this answer…made him happier than he ever remembered being in his life.
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!
As their attacks canceled each other off, Elanev could tell that they were once again dead even- pain wracked his body, and he knew that the King must be enduring the same.
However, the King hadn't had to go through so much to reach this stage.
Bang!
As a large dust cloud rose up due to the impact which blocked the view of almost everyone on the pavilions, Elanev knelt on the ground, his hands to his sides.
From there, he proudly looked up to meet Daneel's eyes.
"I always wanted to say this, too, but I could never do so. Now, I say it proudly. Daneel, you will forever be my brother, and my King. I, Elanev, disciple of Senior Fists of Justice, pledge my undying loyalty to you, in order to stand by your side and do your bidding, now and forever more."
At the moment the last word left his mouth, Elanev fainted and collapsed.
As the dust cloud began to fade, those in the Pavilions witnessed a sight that they would talk about for years to come.
The King stood alone and invincible on the battlefield, with his last opponent unconscious in front of him.
All around him, unconscious Fighters and struggling Champions could be seen, present as symbols of his victory.
Amongst them all, he shone with a majesty and grandeur that only a domineering ruler could command.
And at the same moment, an ancient voice echoed throughout the forest.
"All save one stand. The Legacy Battle has been won. Glory be to my Legacy Disciple! All who call themselves of the Fortress, I command you to kneel!"