Ferno spawned in his player home. Today was the last day of this whole tournament. He looked down at his gloved hands and smiled. He was surprised to see someone waiting for him outside.
"Took you long enough, Ferno." Monique sat outside the home on the grass. Ferno asked, "How long have you been waiting there?" Monique jumped up to her feet and faced Ferno, "Uh, that's now important. Now come on, let's head to the stadium." Ferno scoffed with a smile as he joined Monique in their travels to the stadium. The two fairies talked all the way there, almost missing the stadium because of how deep they were in conversation.
The two touched down near the entrance for fighters. Monique smiled at Ferno, "Good luck today. Knock 'em dead." She smiled and spun around, heading for another entrance. Ferno smiled as she walked away. "Well, if it isn't the Fire Renegade himself, right Ferni?" He heard someone say behind him. Ferno whipped around to see an old friend, smiling in his red armor. Ferno smirked, "You know how much I hate that nickname." Devin smiled, "Oh, but its fine when Monique says it, eh?" The two fairies bumped fists.
Ferno looked at Devin's armor, "You're on duty today?" Devin nodded, "I'm standing guard for Mortimer, Eugene, and Monique. So that means I'll be watching your fight." Ferno gave a confident smile, "That means you get a front row seat to my victory." Devin's smile faded, "About that." Ferno looked at Devin with concern.
Elsewhere…
Silica and Sinon flew across the skies in a rush. Silica had Pina in her arms, but tightened as she sped up, "C'mon Sinon, we're gonna be late!" Sinon was flying right behind Silica, "I'm keeping up. It's not my fault you decided to take a nap." Silica sighed and didn't reply. The two continued to fly in the direction of the stadium.
Suddenly, a blast of fire flew up from in front of them. Sinon and Silica looked at each other and nodded. They flew down towards the ground and the source of the blast. Upon landing, they saw five Salamanders surrounding a lone Sylph. "Wait, Leafa?" Silica said in surprise. Leafa didn't seem to be in distress. The Salamanders surrounded her, all of them radiating fire and heat. Leafa simply stood between them arms crossed, seeming more annoyed than nervous.
"Tell me why you're wasting my time like this?" Leafa said, scanning her opponents. One of them gritted his teeth, "Shut up Sylph! You're friends with that damn Salamander, you should be hunted like he is!" Leafa smirked, "You say that, but you can't even land a hit on me. I've yet to even draw my weapon, while all of you are challenging me at full strength." Another opponent shouted at her, "You think you're so tough. Prove it then!" Leafa leered at him, but smirked, "Very well, if that's what you wish."
Wind started to pick up around Leafa. The winds burst around her, whipping in a circle around the Sylph. Everyone watched as Leafa's hair faded from a gold to a light green. Before they realized it, she was encased in a vortex of wind. Strong wind whipped wildly around Leafa, even reaching Silica and Sinon, who were out of sight. Sinon and Silica watched in awe as Leafa's golden hair changed colors before them. Her hair matched the color of her eyes, almost like a natural sylph. However, the wind that swirled around her body was similar to Ferno's aura. "Wow, Leafa sure got better at using elements." Silica whispered. Pina chirped in agreement.
One of the Salamanders became frustrated. He blasted fire at Leafa. Before the blast got close, Leafa vanished. She appeared behind the initiator. In a moment, she unsheathed her blade and sliced through the target. The Salamander was sent flying a small distance. The other Salamanders recoiled at the second it took for one of Leafa's attacks to deal so much damage, despite being at the disadvantage. "Now, who's next?" Leafa said with a confident smile.
None of her opponents moved. They all stood in front of her, unsure of what do to. The Salamander that was just struck got up slowly. "Come on guys, we have her outnumbered. Let's burn her to a crisp!" The Salamander growled. His friends looked nervous, but rallied around his words.
One of the Salamanders slammed his fiery first into the ground, sprouting pillars of fire rapidly at Leafa. Leafa ran at the pillars and easily sidestepped every single one. She jumped at the attacker and sliced cleanly through him with ease, forcing him on his knee. When she landed, she leapt at another target, but he raised his sword to block the strike. Her strength sent him flying into one of his teammates. The two attackers toppled down to the floor. Leafa swung her sword, releasing whips of wind at the two fairies. The wind cut them multiple times, not allowing them any time to recover or retaliate.
Leafa halted her blitz. The four fairies struggled to get back on their feet. Slowly they readied themselves, weapons drawn. Leafa smiled and sheathed her sword. She held out her arms and declared, "Okay, your turn to try and hit me." Silica and Sinon could feel their frustration from their distance. All four Salamanders ignited in fire and rushed Leafa. Silica and Sinon prepared to jump in to help their friend, but were quickly put at ease.
Leafa was incredibly fast. She dodged at blinding speed, weaving through her attackers with agility and grace. Her green hair and wind flowed behind her as she danced around her attackers. Even with the buffs from the aura, they couldn't catch her. She dodged the slashes, swipes, and thrusts of the enemy weapons, as well as avoiding blasts of fire and other specialized attacks.
Leafa stopped when she found herself cornered, surrounded from all sides and angles. One of them casted a dome of fire around them, encasing and trapping Leafa with her attackers. Leafa summoned balls of wind at threw them to her sides, missing the Salamanders. The balls struck the sides of the dome harmlessly.
One of them chuckled, "Well then, I guess you really are all bark." The rest of his crew chuckled in agreement. Leafa still had her hands out. She looked at the Salamander and smiled confidently. She closed her hands and wind whipped around her arms. The balls of wind she threw suddenly exploded and layered the fire dome. The Salamanders watched as a layer of wind formed between them and the fire. She opened her hands and the wind around her arms darted to the wind dome. As soon as the reins of wind touched the dome, slashes of wind shot inward from the dome. There were so many slashes at once, none of the Salamanders could dodge them. While they took less damage because they had the elemental advantage, the sheer amounts of attacks made up for it.
Leafa wasn't done. She gripped the reins and pulled up towards her. The slashes stopped, which gave the Salamanders a moment to breathe. They looked at the wind casing and saw that the dome appeared to be absorbing the fire in several vortexes around the surface. Before they could realize what Leafa was doing, spikes shot inwards from the dome towards Leafa, but not touching her. The spikes impaled the Salamanders multiple times, and it only amplified when they saw fire rush through the spikes, adding burn damage on top of the attack.
By the time the attack was over, three of the four Salamanders were nothing but flames. The final one struggled to get on his feet. He grunted as he tried balance himself, but failed. The most he could manage was taking a knee. Leafa walked up to the surviving Salamander. He looked up at Leafa and smiled, "Using our own fire against us, well played Sylph." Leafa smiled as she whipped her hand at him, releasing a burst of offensive wind. The Salamander was knocked on his back, then faded into a red flame.
Leafa's hair faded back into gold as she took a deep breath. "Leafa!" Leafa heard someone call her name. She turned to see Silica and Sinon flying towards her. She waved with a smile, "Hey guys, what's up?" Silica touched down in front of her, "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Leafa shook her head, "I'm fine. Just some players who got too big for their boots." Sinon folded her arms, "You've gotten a lot better at using Wind." Leafa humbly scoffed, "Well I guess I have. It took a lot of time practicing after all."
Sinon smiled, "Think you can take on Ferno?" Leafa recoiled and looked away, "Doubt it. He has the element advantage, so I would need to get even better in order to stand a chance." Sinon looked at Leafa. She had a point, but she still believed that a duel between Leafa and Ferno would be fun to watch. Though that might have to wait, since Ferno is fighting in that tournament.
Which reminded Sinon, "Oh Leafa, are you heading to the match as well?" Leafa's eyes widened, "Oh right! That's where I was heading before I got caught up!" Silica summoned her wings, "Well we're already late! Let's get moving!" Silica and Pina flew off towards the arena. Sinon and Leafa summoned their wings and chased after her. "Jeez, why is she so pumped up?" Leafa asked Sinon. Sinon just shrugged her shoulders.
After some time…
The three fairies approached the stadium. As they flew closer, they saw explosions of fire rise from the center. All three of them smiled at each other, since that could only mean the Salamander is giving it his all. But at the same time, they panicked, since the fire signaled the fight started already. They rushed to the entrance to the stands and ran in.
As they ran, they expected to see Ferno having an easy time. They expected him to be giving his all and coming out on top. But what they saw was completely different.
On the arena floor, they saw Ferno on one knee supported by his sword. He had burn marks all over his body, with red scratches in a few places. He was breathing heavily, looking like he ran out of breath. Standing before him was an older-looking player. He was dressed in a red Japanese-style robe while using a Japanese-style sword. The sword was slightly curved, with what looks like fire etched into the metal. The grip and hand guard were both red. He also looked winded, but in better condition than Ferno.
Silica, Sinon, and Leafa regrouped with Kirito, Asuna, and Klein. "Kirito, how is he doing?" Leafa asked as soon as they sat down. Kirito sighed, "Not too well, this guy is crazy good. Who is he Klein?" Klein looked at everyone, "His name is Hiyake. He's a Veteran compared to us. He's crazy good with a sword. Some people believe he owns a kendo dojo in real life, but that's still unconfirmed." Klein looked at Ferno, "And supposedly, Hiyake was also a mentor to Ferno, according to him. So this whole fight has a "Teacher vs. Student" thing around it. And so far, the teacher is winning." Everyone looked uneasy as they continued to watch Ferno catch his breath.
Ferno finally got up on two feet. He readied his sword and slowed his breathing. Ferno stared at Hayake for a couple of seconds. The two fairies cracked a smile at each other. Suddenly, Ferno burst forward, fire erupting from where he stood. His speed was incredible, to no one's surprise. But what did surprise everyone was Hiyake's reaction speed. He blocked Ferno's strike with ease. Ferno didn't let up. He followed his initial rush with a series of slashes and swipes, hoping to catch Hiyake with one of them at least. But none of them connected.
Ferno lunged towards Hiyake's torso, but the attack was parried. Hiyake retaliated with a powerful torso slash, knocking back Ferno with both the impact and an aftershock of fire. Ferno rolled to his feet and rushed again. Ferno unleashed another series of strikes. This time, he mixed in blasts of fire and punches with his fiery fist. Few of those attacks hit, but not a lot since Hiyake dodged any elemental attack that Ferno threw at him. Once again, Hiyake caught Ferno with another fiery slash, knocking the Salamander backwards.
Klein sighed, "This has been the story the whole time. Ferno can't land any hits and Hiyake has been playing counters." Leafa frowned nervously. She looked up to where Monique would be and saw that she had a nervous look on her face. She stared intently at the fight on the ground. Leafa closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, wishing for Ferno to win.
Ferno leapt at Hiyake, but transformed into his dragon form in the air. He brought down his claws on Hiyake, who barely jumped out of the way. Ferno continued his momentum by stringing slashes of his fiery claws together, occasionally using his tail as an attack as well. Hiyake went full defensive and dodged what he can and blocked everything else. But this time Hiyake was struggling against Ferno's offense.
As Ferno slashed away, he slowly became just a being of fire. Leafa watched as Ferno leapt from attack to attack, keeping the pressure on and not giving Hiyake any room to breathe. Leafa was worried. She knew how much transformations like that drain MP, but it also saps the energy of the user. Its similar to running in real life, and Ferno is almost sprinting. Just being in another state doesn't drain energy, but being on a full offensive like that for an extended amount of time is not ideal.
Ferno slashed downwards with fiery claws and Hiyake sidestepped. Ferno caught him mid-dodge with his tail, smacking him into the ground. Ferno dragged one of his claws on the ground and connected with Hiyake. The slash cut three jagged lines across Hiyake's torso and sent him skidding on the ground. Everyone expected Ferno to follow up on the attack, but they saw Ferno standing in the same spot, breathing heavily. A quick ring of fire transformed him back to his fairy state.
Hiyake slowly got up and touched the red claw marks on his torso, "Impressive Ferno, you've definitely gotten stronger after all of this time." Ferno smirked, "Of course old man, like you expected anything different?" Hiyake smiled, "Of course not. But sadly, I don't believe the student will be able to beat the master." Hiyake folded his free hand over the hilt of his blade. He pulled his blade through his hand, igniting the blade.
Everyone gasped. Sinon, Kirito, and Asuna's eyes widened, "Wait, that's…!" Everyone admired the silver blade now enveloped in flames. Ferno straightened himself and readied his sword. Hiyake rushed with incredible speed, unbefitting of someone who looks aged. Ferno could only block Hiyake's attacks. His swipes were strung together beautifully, as if he was performing a dance. The fire trailed behind him as he slashed, leading ribbons of flame as he continued his offense. Ferno dodged as much as he can in order to maintain some distance between them. His attacks were not faster than his reflexes, but he knew he had to remain focused. A single break in focus could lead to Ferno getting struck.
Leafa watched in awe. "He's fast. And super skilled. I can see why some people would think he owns an actual dojo." Klein nodded in agreement, "His style is exactly my style, which is why I wished I was his student." Klein sighed depressively, "But he doesn't teach many players, so those who were his students are lucky." Kirito observed the fight, "He must be a great swordsman then." Asuna eyed Kirito, "Stop. Don't even think about it." Kirito chuckled nervously.
Ferno blocked an attack that knocked Hiyake off balance. Ferno retaliated with a quick double slash. Hiyake took a step back. Ferno held his sword in front him, still heavily breathing, "You're starting to lose your edge old man." Hiyake smirked. He sheathed his flame with his hand. He impaled his sword into the ground and took a deep breath. Fire began the swirl slowly around Hiyake. The amount of fire intensified and grew. Ferno gritted his teeth, mostly since he was busy watching and didn't try to attack. The fire formed a tornado around Hiyake and the heat was felt around the stadium. Ferno took these moments to slow his breathing and regain some energy.
The tornado dispersed and Hiyake's hair now matched the same shade of red as his robe. Fire swirled and wisped around him as he regripped his sword. Ferno scoffed at Hiyake's new look. "Let me guess, Ferno." Hiyake said, "You haven't reached this level of skill yet, have you?" Ferno smirked, "Like it matters. I can beat you without it." Hiyake smiled confidently.
Fire swirled around Ferno until it gathered at his feet. He launched forward with incredible speed, and slashing at equal velocity. Hiyake blocked the attack, but Ferno followed through with his combo. Ferno strung slashes together, but the attacks only connected with the fiery metal of Hiyake's sword. Ferno scoffed and blasted fire at Hiyake. He held his fiery sword in front of him and the blast was absorbed into the blade. Ferno gritted his teeth in frustration.
He summoned a ball of fire and crushed it, letting the fire wrap around his body. Ferno leapt forward but vanished. Hiyake didn't seem phased at Ferno's disappearance. Ferno reappeared behind Hiyake, charging in straight for a strike. Hiyake held up his sword to block, but before a strike came, Ferno warped to Hiyake's side, keeping his momentum. Hiyake leapt up and dodged the strike. He brought his blade down on Ferno, who barely landed from the leap. Ferno quickly held his arm up in front of him, stopping the blade with a metallic bang. Hiyake frowned as he tried to cut through the invisible shield on Ferno's arm.
Ferno released a burst of heat and sent Hiyake flying upwards. Ferno sent his fire spirits after Hiyake, but the spirits seemed bigger than what his friends remembered.
"It's the same move from when we first met, right?" Liz asked out loud. Kirito nodded, "Seems like he got good at using it. But still, it seems off." Leafa nodded in agreement, "Yeah, his flame shield shouldn't have the power to stop a blade outright." Suddenly, she had a realization, "The ring." Kirito's eyes widened, "Right! That could be the buffs of the ring." Everyone else was confused on what the siblings were rambling on about. Kirito felt the eyes staring at him and looked at everyone else, "Basically, he got an item that boosts magic resistance and damage. So it may be powering up his fire and its attacks." Leafa eyed Ferno observing his spirits and noticed a red glint on his left hand. She looked closer and saw it was ring with a red gem glowing brightly.
The spirits were giving Hiyake trouble. His fire attacks would have no affect on them, while his blocks only stopped one of them at a time. The best he could do is dodge the attacks and fiery claw swipes. While the attacks themselves don't do that much damage, they are starting to add up against his health. Hiyake eyed the spirits and took a deep breath. Ferno was confused at what he was doing. In a bright flash of red, a loud swooshing noise erupted from Hiyake. In an instant, the fire spirits disintegrated into ash.
Everyone was caught off guard. Ferno gasped at the swift strike. Hiyake looked down at Ferno and narrowed his eyes. He took another deep breath and started slashing wildly in the air. The slashes manifested themselves into slashes of fire. The slashes moved with intense speed and several of them were heading straight for Ferno. He couldn't dodge them so he crossed his arms in front of him to form a protective barrier of fire. The slashes impacted with several loud booms and kicked up a cloud of dust. Hiyake did not wait for the dust to settle. He rushed towards Ferno and brought his sword down on the still defending fairy. His sword collided with the fire fortify, releasing a loud hiss. Ferno gritted his teeth as he tried to tank the attack. The sound of glass shattering put Ferno in a state of recoil. He could only watch Hiyake swipe upwards, slashing across his torso. The force of the attack sent Ferno flying towards the edge of the fighting grounds and slamming into a wall.
Everyone eyed Ferno's health drop rapidly from the hit. Ferno had about a quarter of his health left, while Hiyake still had well over half of his health. Ferno pulled himself out of the crumbled mess and stepped back onto the dirt ground of the arena. The dent in the wall immediately fixed itself. As soon as Ferno took a step his body suddenly felt exhausted and collapsed. He took some deep breaths and slowly stood back up. He stared down Hiyake who had his sword sheathed. His hair was still a deep red, meaning he is maintaining this enhanced state somehow.
Ferno scoffed in frustration. He crushed two balls of fire in his hands and was enveloped in fire. He snapped his hands open and the fire intensified immensely, sending heat all over the stadium. He slowly changed into his dragon form as the fire intensified around him. Ferno begun to cast a spell as the fire swirled around him. Kirito's eyes widened, "Wait a minute, he isn't…"
The pillar of fire grew thick around Ferno until it completely swallowed him. Hiyake stood still, sword in hand while eyeing the torrent of fire. Fire shot up into the sky in a grand tornado of flames. Suddenly a torrent of fire shot out of the tornado directly at Hiyake. He held up his sword to absorb the attack, but instead of harmlessly morphing into his blade, it clashed violently against the metal. Hiyake recoiled at the strength of the blast and deflected it upwards, launching the blast into the sky.
Blazing red eyes shone through the flames. With a powerful gust, the tornado vanished. In Ferno's place was a large dark red dragon. It was not to the scale of a dragon out in the wild, but it was taller than Hiyake. Its glowing red eyes glinted as they focused on Hiyake. The dragon roared, boasting its black claws and wings, as well as what looked like spikes along its back down to its tail.
Everyone was wide-eyed at the transformation that took place before them. Kirito however has a smug smile on his face. Klein stared at the dragon, "Is – Is that really Ferno?" Kirito nodded, "Yup, that's Ferno alright. Can't say this is the first time I've seen this spell either." Everyone looked at Kirito, confused. Leafa then remembered what Kirito was referring to, "You mean this is the same spell?" Leafa's realization only made everyone more confused. "Basically," Kirito started, "The spell is a relatively mid-level spell. It's supposed to transform you into a massive monster, but I have no idea if it the end result is random." Sinon wondered, "He probably mixed his dragon form with that spell to replicate an actual dragon." Everyone was amazed, but Kirito wondered if he's sacrificed speed and agility for strength.
Ferno roared at Hiyake, forcing Hiyake to take a knee. A sudden flap of his wings launched Ferno forward. As he flew, he spewed a torrent of fire directly at Hiyake. Hiyake still felt paralyzed from the roar but managed to leap above the blast. Ferno flew into Hiyake's face and smacked him into the ground with his tail. Ferno followed up by combining wing flaps and another blast of fire. The wind prevented Hiyake from moving freely.
Ferno touched down as Hiyake pulled himself out of the crater. Hiyake readied his blade as Ferno flapped his wings to float above the ground. Hiyake summoned his wings and dashed at Ferno. Ferno dodged backwards and started to fly upwards, running away from the slashes of fire.
Kirito's eyes narrowed, "So that's his tradeoff huh." Asuna looked at Kirito, "What is it, Kirito?" Kirito sighed, "This advanced dragon form is super strong, but it's definitely a lot slower than his other forms. If Ferno can't finish this fight in that form, it's over for him." A look of concern washed over Asuna's face. She looked at Monique who was still sitting overlooking the arena. Asuna figured Monique knew this as well, judging by the expression of worry on her face.
Ferno flew around, narrowly avoiding most of Hiyake's attacks. He looked behind him and fired blast after blast of fire from his mouth. Hiyake avoided every attack with ease, still trying to close the distance between him and the dragon. While Hiyake will admit that Ferno's attacks hurt and his speed is impressive, he knew agility would be the deciding factor. Ferno spun around and generated more wind. Hiyake slashed forward, cutting through the wind with the fire of his sword. Fire flowed around Hiyake as he charged at Ferno with a burst of speed. Ferno tried to dodge downward but was quickly intercepted by a single slash. Hiyake appeared on the other side of Ferno. He crushed a ball of fire in his hand and Ferno instantly exploded into flames. Ferno howled in pain and turned his focus on Hiyake. He charged into Hiyake at full speed, and managed to connect since Hiyake thought that was the end of the match. Ferno's head collided with Hiyake as he drove both of them into the ground with a loud boom.
A large plume of dust and smoke rose from the impact. Everyone held their breaths out of anticipation of who was still standing. The dust slowly faded as everyone saw both fighters struggling to stand. Small fires flickered around them, still burning from the impact. Both fighters managed to stand. They stared at each other for a moment, until Ferno's legs gave out from under him. Hiyake stepped forward slowly toward the incapacitated Ferno. Ferno breathed heavily and tried to force his legs to move. Hiyake towered above Ferno. Hiyake smiled, "Still not enough." Hiyake then raised his sword and impaled Ferno, draining whatever was left of his health. Ferno took the hit, seemingly accepting his loss. Finally, a marker appeared above his head – "Down."
The crowd roared in applause. Kirito and his friends slumped into their seats, shocked by his loss. Monique sat in her seat upright, head tilted down. Mortimer smirked smugly as he got up from his chair and headed down towards the arena floor.
Ferno remained motionless on the dirt ground. Hiyake sheathed his blade and looked at the young Salamander. He sighed and chanted a healing spell on Ferno. His wounds faded away but he remained on the ground. He slowly picked himself up, sitting on his knees with his hands in the dirt. He balled his hand into a fist and punched the ground. Hiyake looked at Ferno, but didn't say anything. Spectators had begun to leave, but Ferno's friends stayed.
"And what a wonderful tournament that was, with an epic fitting conclusion at the end." Mortimer said as he approached the two fairies. Ferno got up but kept his head down. Hiyake leered at Mortimer but didn't say a word. Mortimer was escorted by Eugene and his guards. Monique was behind Mortimer.
Mortimer stepped forward, "Now, why don't we return to the capital and have you officially accepted into an office." Ferno didn't say anything for a moment. He suddenly took a deep breath and looked up, "Oh sure! You can parade me around the city like a participation trophy you got for participating in a class race but coming dead last." Mortimer's eye twitched, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Ferno smirked, then began in a mocking tone, "My name's Mortimer, and I finally beat the almighty Ferno after throwing everything and the kitchen sink at him. Look at me, look at me!" Ferno paraded around as if he was a parade conductor. "I'm so cool with my glasses and slicked back hair. If I dress like a leader maybe people will actually see me as one." Mortimer grew increasingly annoyed. He heard some of the guards and Monique snicker. Even Hiyake cracked a smile. Ferno continued, "And I have sword skills of a newborn Minotaur, my name's Mortimer!"
Suddenly there was a sword against his neck. Eugene pressed the blade against Ferno. Ferno kept his smirk, "Once again, you have people doing your bidding. Like the spineless fool you are." Mortimer glared at the Salamander. "Eugene, that's enough." Eugene stepped back and Ferno took a raspy breath. He was stunned at how fast a guy that big could move.
Mortimer looked at Ferno, obviously irritated, "We will meet again tomorrow, since clearly you can't accept defeat. Let's go." Mortimer and everyone else, except Monique, walked away.
Ferno's smile faded as Mortimer walked out of sight. Before anyone could say anything, Ferno turned around and faced the other fighter's entrance, "I've got something to do right now. I'll see you guys later." Monique tried to stop him but Hiyake shook his head. Ferno ran into the dungeon as Kirito and the gang joined Hiyake and Monique. Hiyake watched Ferno disappear into the darkness. He looked at Monique, "Well, aren't you going to go after him?" Monique nodded and chased after Ferno.
Kirito looked at Hiyake, "Why would Monique need to chase him down?" Hiyake shook his head, "Ferno has always been a sore loser. But this loss had weight." Leafa was irritated, "Then why did you face him, huh?" Asuna flinched, "Leafa…" Hiyake sighed, "It was to for his own good." That didn't sit right with anyone. Leafa gritted her teeth and ran after Monique and Ferno.
Elsewhere…
Ferno landed somewhere in the Salamander territory. He was surrounded by sand from every side. As soon as he touched down, he fell back on the sand. He stared up at the blue sky, letting the bright sun and warm sand wrap around him. He sighed depressingly, "Well, you can't win them all I guess." He laid there for a few minutes before he felt his disappointment melt away. He got up slowly and stared off into the distance. He saw a giant golem wandering the desert some distance away from him. He planted his feet into the sand and willed his fire to focus on his soles. He stared down the golem with an intense glare. In an instant, Ferno launched himself at the golem and cut it clean in half. He landed on his feet, smoking from the fire. He heard the sound of the monster exploding behind him.
He stood and stared at his black blade. The green gem at the hilt seems to stare at him back. He tightened his grip on the sword as he clenched his jaw. He touched his forehead with the side of the blade. He felt an incredible rage weld up in his chest.
"Hey, you're that Ferno guy that lost today, right?" A voice caught his attention. He turned and saw a group of annoying-looking Salamanders standing before him. He lowered his blade, but didn't turn to them as he spoke, "Yeah. I am. What do you want?" The player in the front smirked, "Well my friends and I just wanted to say how happy we are that you'll finally be leading our army, as well as no longer being associated with our lovely Ambassador." His friends chuckled. The player continued, "Because how can a delinquent like you ever treat a person as beautiful as her the way she deserves?" Ferno felt fire start to circle him. It didn't seem to bother the group in front of him though.
"You better knock it off and get out of my face before I make you." Ferno spat at the group. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, the group burst out laughing. The main one continues, "Really? It's 5v1! There's no way you stand a chance." They continued laughing until one of their crew was sent hurtling into a nearby dune. Ferno had used his burst of speed from his fire and kicked one of the players faster than they could react. He crashed into the pile sand with a large boom. They looked at their friend, then at Ferno, who was smoking. He had fire burning all around his body. The group stopped laughing and quickly drew their weapons. Only one, which was the leader, had a weapon summon. The player that Ferno sent flying into the dune rejoined his group. They all stared down Ferno as he smiled devilishly.
All of the players charged simultaneously. Ferno dodged every attack that went his way. He ended up on the other side of the players, who were unsure of what just happened. Ferno scoffed, "If you're really gonna talk all that trash, could you at least back it up with decent sword play?" The main player scoffed and summoned a fireball in his hand. He crushed it and an aura pulsed through his group. A speed buff icon flashed around the players. Ferno smirked, "Finally, now I won't be completely bored." Ferno quickly transformed into his half-dragon form and gave a toothy smile towards his opponents.
Meanwhile…
Monique flew beside Leafa as they continued their search for Ferno. Monique sighed, "Leafa. I just wanted to thank you for your concern with Ferno. Though, you don't have to waste your time helping me." Leafa shook her head, "I wanted to help. Though Ferno is a rival to me, I see him as a friend as well." Monique look puzzled, "What do you mean by that?" Leafa continued as they searched, "He kind of reminds me of my brother. He cares about people in the same way, though I'll admit that Ferno is a bit more arrogant in his attitude." Monique sighed but nodded in agreement. "Still," Leafa said, "He is super strong and his magic usage is incredible. It's a bit selfish, but I am hoping that by competing with him I'll get stronger for the sake of my friends." Monique smiled, "He's strong for sure, but once you figure out his attack tendencies he's definitely mortal." Leafa and Monique both smiled.
As they flew through the desert, they heard a loud explosion. They both looked at each other and flew towards the commotion. They landed behind a nearby dune and slowly inched themselves closer to where they heard fighting. As they peeked over the dune, something crashed into the side of it right in front of them. They saw it was a player. But before they could say anything, he vanished into a Soul Flame. They turned their attention to where he came from. In front of them were four players surrounding a single player who had large dragon wings and had fire spewing all around him. The players around him were breathing heavily and looked scorched.
One of them charged swiftly at the dragonized player, but was knocked back in an instant with a large claw mark across his torso. The player began to be engulfed in a torrent of fire. He exploded, sending whips of fire into his opponents. He flapped his wings as he flew with blinding speed from each reeling target. His opponents couldn't react between the fire and dust flying around they couldn't open their eyes or move freely. The dragon flew around slashing and burning his opponents until they collapsed on the ground.
One by one, they all turned into Soul Flames. A brush of fire removed the wings and claws from Ferno. He exhaled heavily as he felt the fatigue slowly set in. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, simply because he's gotten used to it by now. He looked at his palm and closed his hand. He still felt stressed.
"You were never one for subtlety, eh Ferno?"He turned to the voice and saw Monique and Leafa approach him. He realized how much ash and scorch marks were in the sand around him. Slowly it began to restore to its natural form. Seeing Monique made his chest tighten up. He looked down for second, then took a deep breath. He turned himself towards them and smiled, "You know me, always over the top." Monique stood in his face and put her hand on the back of his head. Leafa for a moment became flustered. Monique softly pressed her forehead into Ferno's. They were similar height so she pulled it off easily. Her similarly crimson eyes stared into Ferno's. That tight feeling in his chest slowly faded. He eased the tension in his neck and let his head rest on hers. "It's okay. You fought well."
Leafa began to feel embarrassed. Why did I decide to come here again? She thought. "Oh and Leafa? Thanks." Leafa snapped out of her embarrassment when Ferno thanked her. She stood up straight, "No need to thank me yet. You two are still involved in Salamander issues." Ferno sighed, "Yeah, and I'm not so sure how to get out of it." Leafa took a confident step forward, "Well you made it this far, I think you've got the resolve to make the best case scenario a reality. Plus, you have the support from your friends behind you." She gave Ferno a wide smile. Ferno looked at Monique, who was also smiling at him. Ferno slightly blushed and looked away smiling, "Man, how did I get so lucky?" But Ferno sighed, "Still unfortunately in this mess. But we got to figure out plan." Monique's smile slowly faded. Leafa had a thoughtful look, "I got an idea."