The three dragons separated. Seto fell onto the middle one, which caught him, but the one on the right faded away with a forlorn cry.
Seto snarled and drew a card from his crystaldisk. The two remaining dragons lit up and merged again, and a Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon took over for its fallen ultimate form.
Armityle reappeared, and Kyo shot down, shouting and slashing at its back. It whirled, and the wing threw her off target and across the arena.
Jesse caught her before she could hit the wall. She grumbled at him, pushing him away as she recovered. "I thought you were watching Kisara." She reprimanded.
He snorted softly. "That thing's still movin', an' we ben hittin' it with all we've got. I can't sit it out."
She huffed and charged forward again. Jesse kept pace, firing a bolt of prismatic energy, and the Twin Burst Dragon launched a double attack of its own.
Armityle vanished again, and the two attacks impacted in the center. Twin Burst's attack overtook Jesse's, and they were forced to dodge as the white lightning came their way.
"HEY!" Kyo snapped.
Seto ignored her. The two heads of his dragon turned to scan the field, and he searched with them.
"Where'd it go?" Jesse wondered as he slithered through the air.
Kyo frowned.
"It can't leave, can it?" He asked.
"No. Mahad's spell traps everything inside." Kyo said. "He can't escape."
They circled around.
"Kisara!" Seto started and turned, diving, and the other two followed his gaze. Jesse surged after him immediately, but Kyo waited; it wasn't there. Sure, it might go after the weak ones, but that would be a poor tactic at this point. She turned, her eyes scanning the field. No, it was somewhere else. Once it realized it couldn't escape, it would fight with greater cunning than before, and it had all the powers of chaos at its disposal.
She touched her chest. The mortal soul was tiring, but still strong. She had to admit she hadn't expected it to last this long, but it had been so long since she had merged with this particular soul; she had forgotten how strong it was. This was why she was on Earth, after all; her strength was supposed to resonate with this one. Even if its form had changed.
She blinked and touched her head. When… when did I start thinking like Ra? She wondered.
WE MUST REMAIN VIGILANT. He reminded her.
She turned to scan the field.
It was almost laughable; the two-headed dragon was hovering over the weaklings like a mother hen. Even the winged serpent was not permitted close. She snorted and looked away.
YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER.
She drew her sword up, calling on the fire of the sun. She would sift through the arena with a net of holy flames; it would not be able to hide.
Before she could, though, the Phantom burst up out of the ground directly under the Rainbow Dragon. Uria's jaws closed over Jesse's neck and squeezed, and Armityle spun, slamming him down into the ground. The Rainbow Dragon flickered and died, and his human form collapsed in the dirt. Uria turned, fangs bared, ready to swallow the mortal in a single gulp.
The Twin Burst Dragon tackled him, dragging him away from the fallen, and Kyo darted down to slash with her sword. Armityle reared up out of the dust, and for a brief moment, they were eye to eye.
Then the massive head slammed into her, and she was thrown across the arena. She bounded back to her feet and returned to the fray as Seto's dragon slapped Armityle with its tail. Kyo powered forward with the speed of Ra's fury, and returned headbutt for headbutt. Armityle snarled and rounded on her, but she blocked with her shield again.
Seto fired two bursts from his dragon, but Armityle dodged the first one and blocked the second, then vanished again. "No!" Seto snapped, but started and whirled as the Phantom reappeared behind him.
The claw and Uria-head closed, clapping the dragon's two heads together, and the Uria-head seized the stunned dragon, tossing it off to the side. It vanished, and Seto passed out before he hit the ground.
Kyo's eyes narrowed as she turned –the last one left– to face the Phantom.
The silence stretched as each waited.
HE TIRES. She noted. HE TRIED TO FLEE AND FAILED.
I just need to hold out a little longer.
She touched her chest, her eyes not leaving Armityle's. Her mortal spirit was running low. Lower than she would have liked, but she was honoring its wishes. She didn't want to draw on the magician until they had to.
But in the end, there would be no choice; they were already on their second chance to defeat Armityle, and they would not get another. It was now, or never. And never wasn't an option.
Armityle shifted, and she darted back, shooting a burst of fireballs from her blade. The Phantom pursued her across the field, but she was careful to keep out of reach.
As he closed with her, she slowed suddenly, and he started, caught off guard. She slammed her foot into his forehead, using the impact to power herself away.
She paid for it, though; the Phantom's tail slammed into her, throwing her to the ground. She bounded upright and darted back, but he teleported around her, and the next thing she knew he had seized one of her wings.
She snarled in outrage at his audacity, but had to raise her shield as he fired a round of chaos beads at her.
HE WEAKENS. She thought, sneering at the attempt – a mere shadow of what it had been. But her mortal spirit was getting dangerously low, and she couldn't fight free.
I MUST CALL THE MAGICIAN.
Her eyes widened. No, wait!
WE MUST.
She felt a chill. The mortal soul was starting to falter. No! She tightened her grip on her sword.
A burst of white balls of energy struck Armityle, and the Phantom was forced to drop her. She landed on her feet and turned to see Kisara back in the game; she was still in dragon form.
Armityle rounded on Kisara, tossing a ball of chaos in her direction. She blocked the attack, but the strain could be seen on her face; she might be back in the game, but she wasn't back up to scratch.
Speaking of which…
Kyo shook herself and swung her sword, a burst of fire racing up to hit the Phantom. Armityle shook it off, though, dispelling the flames. Kisara added another wave of attacks, but the Phantom was unfazed.
It just can't die! She felt another chill. The mortal spirit was fading and losing faith; and without it to bind her here, she would be little more than a shadow.
Her lip curled.
Armityle let out another shockwave of chaos, and she and Kisara both took to the air, dodging away from it.
No. He is weakening! She thought as she felt the wave pass across the field. He can't go after both of us–
But the Phantom already knew who it was focusing on.
Veins of chaos shot up from the ground like roots, seizing her by the ankles. She grunted and turned, trying to cut through them, but Armityle pounced on her and slammed her into the ground.
He hissed, rearing up overhead.
I MUST.
She could feel Ra reaching out through her link to summon Mahad. And she could sense him respond; he knew what was about to happen, and that it was the only way to win.
But there's another way. She thought. I can't sacrifice him.
Ra paused.
Kyo opened her core, releasing the last stronghold in the back of her mind. She had been trying to survive – to last through Ra's consuming flames. She had been afraid of burning out before Armityle had fallen. But seeing it faltering, and sensing its weakness, she knew she could make it. Just long enough, anyway, for Ra to finish it off.
ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU WISH TO PROCEED? Ra queried.
She nodded, sitting up. Mahad landed beside her, ready to give up his soul for her – it wouldn't have been the first time.
But he wouldn't have to. Not this time.
She got to her feet as the fire raced through the rest of her soul, consuming the last of her from the inside out. Flames danced across her body, and the physical shell dissolved into the divine radiance.
She spread her arms… wings, now, as she took the form of the Immortal God Phoenix. She heard a low exclamation from Mahad beside her, and Kisara arrived on the other side. She turned, and golden eyes met blue ones.
Then Kisara, too, set herself on fire – a white, cool flame resolving down into an orb as if in imitation of the moon. Kyo blinked, then followed suit, becoming the sun.
Mahad dismissed his staff and held out his hands, and the two orbs of divine radiance fell into them. He felt the energy pulsating through him, and lifted them as Armityle powered down. He guided them upward, and the impact made the world turn white.
