บท 18: Fire
Hugh woke up after he passed out. His head was still hurting but he sat up when he felt vibrations in the ground. He saw Dempsy and Aric facing off against each other with their eyes glaring at each other.
Dempsey was smiling, ecstatic at the opportunity at clashing fists with someone. He felt bored out of his mind just listening to that boring professor. He wanted to feel the blood rushing through his veins as he exchanged blows with someone strong.
Aric looked at Dempsy and saw someone thirsty for blood. He had to fight two people but he didn't make that excuse as it only served to motivate him further. His flame burned brighter than ever as a show of force against Dempsy.
Dempsy's body started dripping on the ground. His skin turned into a liquid as it flowed down on the ground. His previous white spiky hair became wavy blue as his body bent in impossible ways.
"Hahahaha give me all you got!"
Dempsey ran towards Aric leaving slimy water in his wake. Aric punched Dempsy with his fiery hands whistling in the air. He was confident in his fire and his physicality against Dempsy.
Dempsy opened his hands and it turned into a liquid as it became a blob of watery skin that received Aric's fiery fist. The liquid enveloped Aric's whole arm and extinguished the fire in his arms.
Aric frowned. He felt his punching force losing power as the fire was snuffed out and the liquid absorbed his strength. He struggled to take his hand away from Dempsy's ball of liquid as he planted his feet firmly on the ground and constricted all his muscles to pull harder.
Dempsy smiled as he suddenly released his grip on Aric's hand, making him fall to the ground. Dempsy's ball of hand turned red and started smoking. Like a match lighting oil on fire, his whole hand immediately turned into a fiery red ball of flame.
Dempsy raised his ball of flame and punched Aric on his face, using his flame against him. Dempsy smiled like a pervert, enjoying the feeling of bones breaking under his knuckles. Aric's mouth was full of blood as it dripped down his mouth. He looked at Dempsy and spat it on his face.
"HAHAHAHAHA"
Dempsy laughed at the show of rebellion by Aric. He saw the unyielding aura manifesting in the form of embers on the irises of Aric. He smiled even further, interested in the limits Aric would take until his spirit was broken. He gathered up his ball of fist and raised it, rearing a punch on Aric's head. Before he could do so, he felt a force on his waist as he saw Aric kicking him with stubborn strength.
His waist bent, making way for the kick at the cost of losing his grasp of Aric. His body wobbled like a wall of water, unable to be crushed with force. He looked at Aric who spat blood on the ground and reignited his fire.
Aric went down on all fours and roared at Dempsy. He was headstrong in defeating Dempsy through force or else his pride wouldn't let him live it down.
He rushed towards Dempsy like his attack on Hugh, except this attack was slower than before. Aric was like a bulldozer, leaving dust and embers behind him. Dempsy smiled and made a wall of liquid using his body and prepared to meet Aric head-on. This was a test of sheer strength and power.
It was only a few meters away until they collide but Aric suddenly sidestepped to the right attacked Dempsy who was behind the wall of liquid. Dempsy was surprised but he wasn't flustered. The same smile came from his mouth as he formed another wall of liquid to his side.
Aric's head collided with Dempsy's wall of liquid. There was no loud sound but only a muffled smack accompanied the dampening of Aric's force. It was rendered useless.
"Hahahahaha you have to try harder than that!"
Aric immediately retreated as he prepared for another attack. Even when his attacks were ineffective, his intensity didn't waver. He zigzagged around the ring, attacking Dempsy from all sides yet his attacks were always in vain.
Dempsy smirked at the futile attempts at besting him. He loved seeing people struggling against him with no chance at all of winning.
Aric panted, tired of using every bit of power he had for a chance at redemption. He wanted to regain his pride after experiencing defeat all over.
"DEMPSY!!!!"
Aric shouted at the air, voicing out his difficulties. His blood boiled at the sight of Dempsy sneering at him. Dempsy and Hugh, both of them treated his attacks like jokes. He practiced hard sharpening his skills in preparation for his Desire but it all rendered moot by those two guys.
His hair flared intensely. From the heart of the fire, a yellowish core started to form and spread throughout his hair. The air around him started to turn hotter; steam started to rise as it blurred his body.
Dempsy could feel the change in Aric just from smelling him. He snickered at the timing of this moment. Aric achieved a breakthrough in the quality of his Desire, right when Aric was getting tired and beat up.
"You actually achieved a breakthrough hahahaha, congrats! Now show me that power!!!!!"
Aric could feel the difference in power from his previous fire. He felt it flowing, coursing through his body and raising his temperature. It felt comfortable, like a source of warmth in the dead night of winter.
Aric looked towards Dempsy and ran to him using his two feet, lighting his fist on fire. Dempsy used the same technique the first time Aric tried this move as a blob of liquid formed on his fist.
The fists collided, clashing two conflicting elements that tried to extinguish each other. The liquid engulfed Aric's whole fist and swallowed the fire. It started to lose its temperature and volume until Aric used more force into his fist. The dying fire gained back its intensity as it burned through the liquid. The liquid started to evaporate as steam released from Dempsy's ball of liquid.
Dempsy released Aric's hand and stepped back. His blob of liquid returned into his original slimy hands. He waved his hands down trying to decrease the heat from the liquid.
"HAHAHAHA. You showed me your power, now it's my turn to show mine."
Dempsy ran towards Aric, this time with him being the aggressor. Aric felt confident seeing how his flame was able to push back Dempsy's liquid. He used both his hands and lit them with his flames as he went into a defensive position.
"No matter how hot your flame is, I will extinguish it."
More liquid started dripping from his body and created a pool of liquid in the ground. It started slithering towards Aric like it had a mind of its own. Aric had a bad feeling about the liquid so he avoided it like a virus.
No matter where he went, the liquid would follow him until he had no room to go. He suddenly saw movement as Dempsy rushed to him and reared a punch. He dodged to the right and avoided the punch but he felt a different texture on his feet. He looked down and saw that he was standing on the pool of liquid.
The liquid started crawling up to his body until it formed a 2-meter diameter sphere enveloping Aric inside. He couldn't escape as his legs flailed around with no effect. He focused on his flame but the liquid was too overbearing. His red flame couldn't burn the liquid as it started to die down.
Aric was losing breath by the second. His flame died down completely as he tried to grasp for air. Dempsy slowly walked towards him and grabbed his throat from the sphere and held it tight.
The veins in Aric's neck started to swell, indicating his limits. He gasped for air and tried to scratch the arm grasping his neck. He was about to pass out.
"Hmph...know your place. It's boring now."
Dempsy let go of Aric's neck and let him fall on the ground. The liquid returned back to his body as he started walking towards the bleachers. He sat down and continued eating his popcorn.
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