Kapitel 54: Plane of Domination
Where there once were six mountains, only flat terrain remained. Two figures stood watching each other without moving. Their clothes were shredded, and both bled from several parts of their bodies. Lots of broken and melted swords lay around, and lava cooled there.
"This bastard, when did he get so strong? Isn't he a rank 39? How is he even able to fight on par with me? I should probably use that and end this quickly."
Lava Demon suddenly folded his arms as he began to shiver all over. Frost covered his body, and the next moment, his temperature increased to the point he felt like his body would melt. "What is this? What is going on?" He wondered as he stared at his opponent. He went through this cycle so many times within a second. "Ah, now is not the time to be distracted. Push through it like you always do", he readied himself to take off again.
Razor grabbed his sword and took in a deep breath. His power exploded as his aura merged with that of his sword. He became the sharpest blade in that instant. "I don't know what is up with him, but I wasted too much time. This is my time to strike. Let's end this." In a blink, Razor was before Lava demon, his sword coming down towards his head.
In the next moment, Lava Demon found himself standing before a figure made of lava. "You have met the requirement."
With a confused look, he asked, "Requirement? What are you talking about, and where am I?" He stared curiously at the lava figure as he noticed its resemblance to him.
"I am you or, more accurately, the elemental power within you. You asked where this place was. Well, long ago, a man set out to take on an army all by himself, though everyone withdrew due to how strong the army they were about to face was. He fought for so many days and nights alone."
"Without noticing it, he had already fought for a month without taking a rest. While he fought, he noticed that his abilities, which were within, began to assimilate with him; his strength increased temporally to the extent he wiped out a majority of the army with a single strike."
"But before he manifested the power, a voice whispered a single word to him, 'Zibal'. You asked what this place was. Well, this is the Plane of Domination. It is where all who have assimilated with their abilities completely appear. Do you understand what I just said?"
"Yeah, I think I get the gist of it, but is there a specific way to use this power? Also, what is the price to pay for using it?"
"You will figure it out eventually", the figure said and disappeared into Lava Demon.
Lava Demon's eyes turned crimson as his face cracked up and was filled with lava in a unique pattern. Same as the rest of his body. "Oh, so that's what it is. My ascension into that realm. When Razor appeared before me, his attack was so fast I couldn't react."
"I drew out every ounce of power within me and simply tried to fill my entire body with it to increase my output, but who would have thought that that act would result in my assimilation with my elemental ability."
Razor's attack landed and split Lava Demon in half down the middle, however, an uneasiness crept on Razor. Beads of sweat covered his forehead as he began to look around as if looking for something. The Lava Demon he cut down had disappeared like a haze. It was an afterimage. Many people watching were confused as they stared blankly at the screen, not knowing what was going on.
"Be glad you are the first to witness my ascension into that realm." A voice resounded across the entire battleground. Razor was dumbfounded as he looked up and discovered the suspending Lava Demon. "No way", those were the only words he was able to mutter. Lava Demon clasped both hands together as though he were saying a prayer while he shouted at the top of his voice, "ZIBAL".
Two giant lava hands appeared and crushed Razor between them. A shockwave erupted as wind pressure rushed out of the valley, sending dust and debris everywhere. After the dust settled, Razor lay on the ground unconscious, and Lava Demon sat with his head between his knees, breathing heavily. He had won.
The entire audience fell silent as many others gasped in surprise. Apart from the legendary Drak, it had never been heard of that a lower-ranked beat a higher-ranked. Many gazed, puzzled, as they tried to comprehend what they had just seen.
"No way!", someone finally screamed. The entire audience became noisy after that. Discussing between themselves what they had just seen and trying to make sense of it. Within the crowd, a lady moved closer to a young man and whispered, "Look like you were right. He did win, after all." The man smiled and turned his back to leave, "This is just the beginning. There is more to come, so prepare your heart for it. The surprises, I mean. 'that' man will surprise you all" he said as he disappeared from the crowd. The woman looked at him blankly as he walked away. "What a weird guy", she thought. Lava Demon's victory came as a surprise not only to those watching but also to the organizers of the bout.
In the conference room of Piora, many family heads gazed blankly at the results. Even for those who had experienced lots of battles and had seen the world for what it was for decades, it came as quite a surprise. "Interesting", The head of Piora remarked.
All other matches had ended way before the one between Lava Demon and Razor did, and it was the most talked about among all the others. The opening matches had ended, so all the others were due to proceed accordingly.
Due to the large number of participants, forty matches were scheduled to begin at once for each level. That makes two hundred and forty matches a day. The prelims last for at least two weeks, after which the actual bout will follow after a two-day break.
All participants were readied themselves to be transferred to their various battlefields. Amongst them, atop a mountain, was a blue-haired man in a black jacket over a black turtleneck with black trousers and shoes. Behind the Jacket was a shadow-like spartan helm with the inscription Shadow Knight above it. He held a long scythe over his shoulder.
"Lin, let us give them a show". He smiled and disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
In a secluded region in Aquasphere, a red-haired man in black armour laced with gold picked up his spartan-like helmet and looked at himself. His armour had exquisite engravings, with a red mane holding a long black drape. On the drape was a symbol with three red diamond-like objects arranged like a cross, with the lower part of the cross-like symbol being a flame that resembled a spear. He nodded lightly and put on the helmet. "Yeah, let's", he said, disappearing in a blinding flash of light.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein