Chapter 32: Daedal Drive; The Final Rushdown

Kara-Throwing in Kaiohdrahl Arc

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.

Featured Music: "Ranked Amongst the World's Best"The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass OST. Chapter Briefing.

"High Score Results ~{Taito Type X²}" - Ultra Street Fighter IV OST. Scene 1 (First Half).

"The Task at Hand" - Fire Emblem X: Radiant Dawn OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).

"For Victory" - Fire Emblem IX: Path of Radiance OST. Scene 2 (First Half).

"Main Menu -Type A-" Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).

"The Flower of Chivalry" - Judgment OST. Scene 3 (First Half).

"Rake Your Inside" - Judgment OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

"Last Moment of the Dark" - YS I & II PCE OST. Scene 4 (First Half).

"Termination" - YS II Complete OST; Kage Narumono's Theme. Scene 4 (Second Half).

"Infiltration Mission" - Judgment OST. Scene 5.


At long last, the end to the Prima World Tour's 'Kaioh Bio' is approaching its end.

In the highly fiery and explosive match-up last time in the semi-finals with Link and Lyna, having advanced through their own trialling rounds, the pair of Hylians clash boldly and powerfully for the honour and the one-time chance at the title of 'Kaiohdrahlian Champion' in the grand finals just one round ahead.

While the fight itself begins somewhat balanced between the two, it is Lyna that dictates the pace of the match to start with; an offence so commanding that Link, very resolutely and fairly recklessly, chooses to fall back on utilising a newly-found experiment of Aegir and magic within him. By pulling from the chaotic power of the Triforce of Courage and, by extension the demonic and anarchic potential of Kage Narumono himself, Link very carefully and reservedly utilises the ancient power of the Shinzui in a controlled state of fighting.

While normally chaotic in all senses of the word and simply unpredictable when under the influence of Kage, at least in this particular state Link feels he is able to regulate some portion of the near-godlike and demonic-like powers of Kage and the Aegir of his piece of Triforce. The effects of his form change are almost instantaneous; he very quickly and almost effortlessly overpowers Lyna's once intimidating strength and speed with his own, running rings 'round her and even drawing the woman to an angry mood.

It isn't much but it's enough to push Lyna up against a proverbial wall to alter her judgement and, thus, make some fatal mistakes.

It is one such mistake, made right at the end of the fiery engagement, that manages to leave the high-gambling Link in a prime spot to win; Lyna prepares to utilise the very wave of energy she used to defeat Raynard with in her previous match-up, the 'Kikosho' technique, while high and levitating in mid-air. While many would have thought she had the air and positioning advantages, the former Hero of Time manages to surprise all watching yet again by taking the engagement via an accepting of Lyna's direct challenge; he answers her massive Kikosho wave with one of his own, a variant to the 'Hadoken' technique.

The 'Metsu Hadoken'.

Normally it is a fiery-filled, hellish-red like Aegir that only Kage is able to command but for this instance in the form change he is in, Link fires the satanic beam of powerful energy at Lyna. Unlike Raynard's 'Jaei-Kin' technique the Metsu Hadoken easily eats through Lyna's Kikosho, like a dinosaur through meat, and she senses it in just time; the woman thinks fast and attempts to move herself out of the massive wave's way, only to find herself depleted near completely of her own Aegir. Thus entirely fatigued and with no more energy left to spend, physical or spiritual, she drops like a stone into the out of bounds territory of the ring, leaving only one knee-fallen Hylian to win the fiery-filled match-up.

While his new form-change is one of value it is also reckless and daring; something the curious Impa and Zelda begin to speculate on as he returns to the competitor's box to recuperate for the upcoming round seven and the grand finals itself. Link now looks on to the last match of the Kaiohdrahl championship and the last man remaining; Ragnar Romanov. Said to have learned under the greatest martial arts mentor in the world and indeed the one person who taught the world's greatest soldier, Ragnar is a force to be reckoned with.

In all of his records, he has climbed through indie circuits and the Prima World Tour faster than anyone thus far, and unchallenged at that. In his earlier rounds with Zayne and Barkner, Ragnar very decisively and one-sidedly breezed through with full commanding use of his fundamental knowledge; a worrying and troubling fact that fills the Hero of Time with growing dread and with yet more still. As always, Link hopes for a challenge, more so now that even his raven-haired rival Raynard has been knocked out of the tournament.

All eyes in Kaiohdrahl are drawn now to this inevitable and electrifying finish to the 'Kaioh Bio'...


Scene 1

"What a finish ladies and gentlemen!"

Mr. Marshall, lead commentator on the Prima World Tour series of martial arts tournaments' voice filled Tiverpool Arena rather nicely, joining fairly well with the already near-deafening cries of the surrounding seated audience.

"In an explosive fiery finish to the semi-finals, our boy Firbrand's managed to do it not once... not twice..."

"Three times ladies and germs!" The ever-grinning Tasty Seth finished his older companion's words for him, swinging up a pair of raised fingers in the air as he did as if to illustrate his excited point. Marshall chuckled on, amused, as the surrounding audience all erupted into predictable cheers once more.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

"In three national championships, our boy 'Fire Fist' Firbrand has managed to somehow qualify not just for the top eight of each region thus far, but also for the grand finals!" Marshall elucidated on, half-wincing as he spoke, as if the information was near too much to believe. "That's an achievement in itself folks!"

"You damn right Marsh," Seth grinned on, nodding as he faced the man on his right. "Every match this Firbrand kid's been in has been awesome! I can't fault any one of 'em!"

"They certainly are fiery my young friend!" Marshall grinned on, nodding his head forward as he did. The surrounding audience all let out tired groans as they listened to the unfunny dad joke, drawing out a snorting chuckle from the seated Seth.

"You somethin' else Marsh, I swear." He chuckled on, shaking his head as he did.

As the pair stood up from their commentating table to step up to the already destroyed ring before them, the audience began to all fall respectably silent as they waited for the inevitable interview. Marshall smiled on as he knelt down on the gasping and similarly knelt-down Link. The sweaty-faced blonde youth gasped on as he took note of their approach, oceanic eyes briefly widened as they darted between the pair of older Aurelian men.

"Once again you beat the odds and win yet another ticket to the grand finals of a national championship!" Marshall smiled excitedly through the small Gossip Stone on his right hand. "How do you feel after such an intense battle and what was that strange hellish-red power you displayed?"

Link chuckled on nervously as he, very carefully, stood back up to his bare-footed relaxed stance. "U-Um...," he began uncertainly, raising up one of his small hands to rub the back of his pony-tailed head. "I probably shouldn't say, but..."

The listening Marshall and Seth rose brown-shaded eyebrows together, curious and all.

"It was... a form change," the young Hero of Time at last admitted, his nervous smile still written across his sweaty-faced expression. "I've been workin' on using a certain kinda Aegir I got and, normally it's dangerous, but... with this I might have something."

"You might indeed my young friend!" Marshall laughed out, drawing similar chortles of amusement from the surrounding Aurelians watching them. "Such impressive Aegir-control for such a young boy! Talent's just getting younger these days I suppose."

"Yo dangerous is right though!" Seth grinned on next to the older man before turning his short-haired head down to face the youth. "That looked like the same power you used in the grand finals of the Hylian Hyrax and the Palashian Premier! What's the deal with that?!"

The audience, again, grew silent; all eyes and ears perked in their direction as if to listen. Link suddenly felt very exposed and swung his curious-eyed gaze to the competitor's box to get a good look and sure enough, there they were; his close companions all watching him from the safety of the room they all shared. While he didn't mind admitting his secrets to them in particular, it was the far-off presence of his upcoming final opponent, the mysterious and elusive Ragnar himself that he was worried about feeding information to.

He already looked intimidating enough as it were.

Regardless however the youth grew a spine and, as he exchanged his hardened grit-eyed look with the folded-armed leaning form of Ragnar at the competitor's box's end wall, he swung his newly-regained smile back on the commentators.

"Yeah, it is the same power," he finally admitted in his light-faced smile, nodding in the wide-eyed Seth's direction. "I can't really talk too much about it, but... normally it's an Aegir I can't control; it's like somethin' that comes out of me when I've either been fightin' too long or my life's in danger."

"That would certainly explain Palashia's princess breaking your neck and you somehow surviving!" Marshall exclaimed out in an entertained laugh, throwing his head back as he drew out a similar laugh from the surrounding audience. "Thank the Sainted Three for your strange powers then! We would have been denied one of our greatest martial artists of our time!"

Link grinned on, his ego being stroked rather nicely as he half-heartedly waved the man's comments off, failing to even blush in embarrassment. The watching Aurelians, all letting loose their screams of approval most of them noticeably female, left yet another less than favourable impression on the already overconfident blonde boy's ego.

"I guess I'm just hard to kill then, huh?" He merely shot back in his roguish-like smirk, shrugging back at the two men as if for further effect. The men and women in the audience all laughed, drowned out by the whooping and cheering in the younger girls' sides.

"I love this kid, what can I say Marsh?" Seth laughed back as he tilted his head in the older man's direction.

"We've got one hell of a grand finals coming up for you all in just an hour ladies and gentlemen!" Marshall smiled back before turning to face the audience once again, addressing them quickly as he did. "Our boy 'Fire Fist' clashes with the new contender and favourite to win Romanov!" The older man began again, thrusting a free index finger at the watching people as he did. "Stay tuned!"


"So... 'same power' then, is it?"

The listening Link couldn't help but wince as he stepped on into the competitor's box, the ever authoritative sound of Impa's voice filling him with a sense of inevitable dread. When he re-rose up his single shut-eyed zig-zag-like frown to face his Sheikah mentor as well as his group of companions that surrounded her all eyes on him now, so entertained and amused, it left an uncomfortable hot flash across his spine that he wasn't particularly a fan of.

"U-Um...," he began uncertainly, rubbing the back of his pony-tailed frizzy-haired head, still fairly fatigued from all the sweating he endured. "Yeah." He finally answered, lowering his ashamed oceanic-eyed gaze from theirs, wincing as he did. The watching Impa and Shanaari let out small chortles of their own amusement as the frowning-faced Alwyn spoke up.

"What does that mean exactly?" The concerned Zoran questioned carefully, eyebrow piquing up as he did. Link cast his own frown on the older man, his embarrassment slowly fizzling away.

"It means exactly what it means," he merely shot back, tilting his head lightly as he spoke, as if the meaning were fairly obvious. "I pulled from the Shinzui to do all of that."

"What?!"

Surprising not just the frowning-faced Link but everyone else in the room, it was the wide-eyed Malon and Vassia that spoke in screeching unison together; the two girls snapped their long-haired heads to raise eyebrows with one another before swiftly recalling their seeming reason for anger, and then soon turning on it.

The hapless, wide-eyed Link.

As they approached him in angry marches his eyes darted between them, uncertain quite on how to deal with them both at the same time.

"How could you do that?! After that stunt in Hyrule?!"

"And Palashia!"

"And Kaiohdrahl's beach!"

As the pair of angered girls yelled at him ceaselessly and seemingly without end, the best defence the wincing youth could come up with was to cower comically behind his raised arms and swing a brief hopeful look at each of his companions, all of which were of course fairly entertained by the display.

"I'm more surprised he was able to handle it!" The ever-grinning Barkner spoke up in defence for his young Hylian companion. The frowning-faced Link let out a long-held sigh of relief as the two girls before him swung their heads in the Goron's direction, having been distracted from their earlier goal. "Seems like anytime you use that 'Shinzui' stuff you just lose total control."

"For a good reason."

The ever knowledgeable contralto that spoke this time was their leader; they turned their heads to find Impa frowning this time, casting her firm and solemn gaze onto the group's atmosphere.

"It's an ancient power that's chaotic and rooted directly in the holy Triforce itself," Impa claimed, frowning on as she turned her fiery-coloured eye across the group. "Very little people even know of its existence let alone tasted its unbridled dis-harmonic power."

"One of them was... him, wasn't it?"

The group turned again, surprised that the small and curious voice belonged to the frowning Zelda. Impa blinked before briefly eyeing everyone else, as if to gauge whether it was worth revealing the information they shared.

"Yes...," the Sheikah answered. "We believe only three people in the world at any one time or era have the ability to be chosen by these holy relics," she continued on. "Link over there... is one of them." She nodded forward with briefly-risen eyebrows as she did.

"So that's how he's able to do all that death and fire Aegir stuff...," Barkner began half-curiously, grinning on as he did. The listening Link rolled his eyes in response. "The more you know!"

"So, hold on...," the frowning, brow-furrowed Vassia began similarly questioningly, turning her look on the Sheikah behind her. "Who holds the other two pieces of this fable?"

Perhaps instinctively, both the slight-smirking Impa and the frowning Link swung their eyes to rest on the suddenly exposed Zelda; she stood and blinked her deep-blue eyes back at them all, darting between them in light anxiety.

"U-Um... I suppose... I am heir to one piece, yes..." She coughed out half-awkwardly, gaining a slight tinge of red to her cheeks as she did.

"I guess that fits..." Alwyn muttered out, an unamused frown befitting his ever serious stature, drawing an entertained laugh out of the standing Barkner and folded-armed Shanaari.

"And the other?" Malon pressed inquisitively, fiery-haired eyebrow rising skyward as she swung 'round to face the group as a whole. This time a different kind of atmosphere plummeted down upon the group and even the close-by Barkner and Alwyn could make little sense of it; as even they swivelled 'round to eye their leader, they found it was again the three main knowledgeable of their crew that had gone suspiciously silent. While the uncomfortable Zelda and Link opted to lower their eyes in their simple-faced frown and twitching scowls respectively, Impa instead shut her fiery-crimson eyes in her hardened folded-armed stoic-like state.

"It was... that man, wasn't it?" Alwyn at last chose to interject the dead conversation with, his eyes narrowing in knowing after the light information he was given not long ago. "The one that attempted takeover by force."

"What man...?" Barkner asked curiously, his own rocky-like brow furrowing as he turned to eye his Zoran companion interrogatively. "What the hell did I miss?"

"Nothin' Bark," Link at last opened up his mouth to reply, his eyes still facing the ground, before they soon rose up to face the Goron. "We planned it that way."

Barkner could only blink back cluelessly, unable to make sense of the blonde boy's cryptic words. "W-What...? I don't..."

"Can we trust everyone here?" Impa asked genuinely, worried and all as she faced the Hero of Time and the frowning Hylian princess.

"Well, Al already knows... and I think the rest have gotten some idea," Link reasoned with his mentor in a simple shrug, his face moving on up and back down with his movements as he did. "I don't see the harm in it."

"I think it's important to tell everyone the truth," Zelda agreed on in a positive nod, her hands ever joined softly at her centre, her own pony-tail of light blonde hair bouncing as she did. "I say we do it."

Impa sighed through her nose, eyes briefly shut again, almost as if she were deciding against the subject in spite to being outnumbered via their very vocal votes. She re-opened her eyes and spoke one last time.

"Fine."

2

With that the three Hyrule natives all explained their story in full to the remaining group members; it was something long overdue and, as Zelda had no doubt so wisely pointed out, would be good for morale in the sense of mutual trust. While a fairly surprising tale indeed, it was one that was backed by the ever-serious Alwyn, having been previously already entrusted with the knowledge after being able to somehow deduce an oddity in Link's adventuring stories.

While Shanaari was unable to even string together a coherent sentence of words to express her surprise, the frowning Malon surprisingly took it in stride, seemingly almost having expected some kind of outlandish tale from her recent roguish blonde companion.

The nearby Palashian princess Vassia however, was needless to say, shocked.

"I'm just glad this bête's influence stayed within your country's borders!" The near-insulted Palashian princess exclaimed. Link frowned back at her curiously before leaning toward Zelda, eyebrow raised up as he did.

"Bête...?" He whispered out promptly enough.

"'Beast'," the knowledgeable Hylian princess smiled back at him in her own quiet-voiced whisper. "It's Palashian."

Link nodded, drawing his head back as he rolled his eyes predictably. "Sounds about right."

"I guess we all avoided a hell of a fate then huh." Barkner spoke up at last, gladly knowledgeable in his new-found grin.

"Thanks to me maybe," the listening Hero of Time quipped back, his own frown swinging up into a half-amused smirk as he edged a thumb in his small chest's direction before double-taking in the frowning-faced Zelda's area. Finding her watching him disapprovingly he rolled his eyes and re-opened his mouth. "Thanks to us." He rectified his sentence in a drawn out elaborated sigh, pulling a satisfied smile from the young Hylian princess.

"So you have one of these holy triangle pieces, do you?" Alwyn questioned curiously, eyebrow rising up. "I suppose it explains all that satanic power... both in Jabu Jabu and in these match-ups."

Link chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his pony-tailed head as he did.

"It's the sheer unbridled chaos of the Triforce's Aegir itself," Impa explained briefly for the frowning-faced, folded-armed Zoran. "It's not supposed to be inherently good or evil, but..."

The listening Vassia snorted out, hands on her hips as she briefly shut her eyes. "Hard to believe!" She shot back. "After our grand finals set."

Link, in half-embarrassment and half-amused by her words, couldn't help but chortle back at her before kissing at the air up toward her; a small taunt that saw her half-smirking back at him.

"So you've found a way to harness this energy?" Shanaari spoke up from the side, tilting her brown-haired head as she did. Link swung his straw-haired head her way before blinking and grinning.

"Sorta," he answered her casually. "I mean I've found a way to pull from it inside, but..."

"It's dangerous, isn't it."

The frowning, knowing words of his close companion Zelda made him turn his newly-gained frown back on her, feeling some form of regret in admitting his mistake.

"Yeah," he answered again, nodding resolutely this time. "Mr. Sorcerer guy told me that anytime I rely on it, Kage or the Fierce Deity Mask, I'm basically askin' to become either one of 'em."

"That is dangerous...," the similar-faced Impa spoke up again, silver-haired eyebrow rising up in disapproval. "Are you sure you know what you're doing with this? I imagine you'd be better off finding another answer than just to rely on the Shinzui."

"Maybe not...," Link answered in a light wince before he soon regained his half-grin, rising up both arms to rest behind his head in a display of his old habit, chuckling as he re-opened his mouth to speak. "But if I didn't, Lyna would have won!"

"I mean he ain't wrong there," Barkner nodded along in agreement with his young Hylian companion, grinning on as he kept his rocky-muscled arms folded. "That chick's near fire incarnate man; I barely won the first time we went a round together."

"Yeah, we remember," Malon quipped up from her relatively silent spot in the centre, folding her own arms as she did, a small amused grin growing on her face. "You won more than just that though didn't you."

Barkner's own grin very quickly turned zig-zag and, as it did, so too did the inevitable embarrassment and flustered emotion take over his red-cheeked face. "W-What do you-?"

Link snorted in a grinning chuckle, lightly knocking the Goron's side with his left clenched fist softly. "She's jokin' Bark."

"So...," Impa began firmly and commandingly enough to draw attention again to the forefront. "You think you're ready?" She asked again, turning her light nose-sighing frown on the blinking Link ahead of her. "For this next grand finals?"

"That's three grand finals you've qualified for already."

The sound of Zelda's soft soprano cut into the relatively laid back scene like a hot knife through butter; Link's straw-haired eyebrows rose up in light surprise as he watched her step forward with a smile, presumably to come closer to him. The experience left a surreal feeling of nostalgia and déjà vu within him, his memory going back to her slow walking approach in the Temple of Time. When she finally came within kissing distance, she held out her conjoined centred hands to take his and he began to feel very exposed indeed; the watchful stares of his surrounding friends felt hot and uncomfortable across his spine.

"I'm very proud of you, regardless of how this match ends today," the blonde princess spoke confidently and as softly as she held his fingers within her own. His own frown soon turned in a zig-zag-like fashion similar to his Goron companion's and he winced, oceanic eyes briefly lowering from hers. They soon raised again however when he felt her pull very delicately on his hands to mix with her own deep-sea blue. "I have full confidence in you."

Malon about two steps away let out an indelicate little noise as if she were vomiting and brought up her left index finger to point directly into her exposed mouth and tongue, her face turning a funny kind of mocking way. The nearby Shanaari, Barkner and even Alwyn displayed their looks of amusement, some chuckling and chortling while others instead rolled their eyes, in the cases of the watching Vassia and Impa.

"Well... even if we all believe in you...," the sighing Sheikah began again, turning her fiery-eyed frown on the boy below her, his hands still within the princess' silky grip. "This isn't just Raynard or even Vassia you're facing off against."

Link's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"This is Ragnar," the Sheikah whispered out, perhaps for fear of the man far-off behind her leaning against the wall hearing them in spite of the far distance between them all. "This is one of the only people taught by one of the greatest martial arts tutors in the world, maybe the greatest."

The listening Link's firm-faced frown suddenly swung up into a smarmy smirk. "That just excites me Impa-sensei, not gonna lie," he grinned back at her, drawing out amused chuckles from some surrounding them, some shaking their heads as if in disapproval. "It wouldn't be a challenge otherwise, would it?"

"I mean that's true though..." Barkner, ever the positive one, grinned on as he briefly rose up a rocky finger to point out the statement before retracting it back.

"Just try not to get manhandled," Malon smirked similarly, placing a hand on her hip as she did. "This guy's something else."

"Competitors Ragnar Romanov and Link Firbrand please report to Tiverpool Arena!"

The frowning Link swung his curious-eyed look on the far-off leaning Ragnar ahead of him and, following his stare, the group turned their heads to find the topless muscled man leaning off before he began to march slowly toward them. The tall intimidating martial artist lowered his abyss-black eyes only to narrow down at the likewise-expressed Link below him as he passed, a slow and deliberate march that left some within the group fairly nervous.

"Yeah...," Link at last opened back up his mouth, as if to respond to Malon's earlier statement, his oceanic eyes never leaving the wide scarred back of his new opponent. "He's somethin' else all right."

"Mon amour..."

The former Kokiri blinked surprisingly when he found the voice belonged to the seemingly concerned voice of Vassia on his left; he turned his blonde-haired head 'round to face her, re-opening his mouth.

"Wha-?"

MASH

"Mmngh...!"

His eyes widened in sheer shock surprise as she slammed her lips into his, pulling his marginally smaller form toward her own with her energetic grip. Again he felt the ever hot and uncomfortably warm gazes of his amused companions and he struggled horribly in her embrace, his own eyes darting from side-to-side as if in anxiety. The grinning Palashian princess at long last let go of him, allowing him to gasp out for air as he back-dashed away from her to relative safety, wiping at the assaulted area and drawing out her expensive lip gloss with light chagrin. When he re-rose up his annoyed frown to face her he found her looking fairly pleased with herself and the rest of his surrounding friends with less than a little sympathy for him.

"Mm...," she murmured out lowly, very briefly licking at her lips as if to savour the taste. "I'll still like you mon amour... but only if you win."

"Now I wish I had good reason to forfeit..." He muttered back, eyes narrowing at her in light suspicion.

The watching group all laughed in response.


As Link trailed out into Tiverpool Arena, not far from the firm march of his final opponent, he listened on to the sound of the deafening approving cries of the surrounding audience and, for once, found himself becoming somewhat nervous. In great spite to his wall of bravado in talking to his mentor and his companions, a long uncomfortable feeling of anxiety ran up and down his spine as he narrowed his eyes forward, purely at the idea of crossing fists with this new and mysterious foe.

The reputation, and having witnessed his earlier mauling of his own opponents, admittedly had been ingrained into the young blonde's psyche; a worrying fact that put butterflies in his stomach at the thought of just how far apart in strength and speed they both really were.

"Have confidence...," he thought to himself, taking his spot on the blue side of the arena, now having been just recently repaired after the last destruction it suffered. "You got this far again, after all."

"Here we go ladies and gentlemen; this is it!" The ever-excited Mr. Marshall cried out from the sound of his amplifying Gossip Stone, grinning on to display it as he clenched a free fist in watching. "One of the greatest finishes to any Prima World Tour martial arts tournament we've ever seen!"

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

"Not once, not twice but three times that our youngest sign-up in the PWT has managed to qualify for the grand finals of our demanding national championships!" Marshall called out a second time, re-opening his mouth to elaborate further. "No-one in the history of our adult-filled recruits has anyone even approached such a magnitude of feats!"

"He's easily one of my favourites to win Marsh," the ever-grinning Tasty Seth nodded his brown-haired head up to his right toward the sitting Marshall. "I feel like he's gotta win one these someday surely."

"Ah but that's just it my young friend," Marshall chuckled back, smiling as he swung his eyes on the younger man. "With competition as fierce as our man Romanov..."

As the older man spoke, so too did the pictograph of the Draerith native shine up on the left pillar to the competitor's box, showcasing his statistics and the hardened glare and glower he was seemingly known for.

Ragnar Romanov

Combination Damage: S++

Aggressiveness: S

Punishment Proficiency: S

On the right, as if having also been cued up, a second coloured pictograph of the contrastingly grinning-faced Link stared back at the view; an older likeness of him taking during the first day of the Hylian Hyrax sign-up. Underneath were, as always, his statistics showcased within the confines of the Prima World Tour.

Link Firbrand

Aggressiveness: A

Agility: A

Tenacity: S

"No matter the situation, our boy 'Fire Fist Firbrand' somehow manages to steal victory away in great spite to his usually lower statistics!" Marshall cried out again, smiling widely. "He truly is one of a kind!"

"I gotta admit, any match this kid in is one to watch," Seth smirked on in relative assurance. "I've never gotten bored watchin' a 'Fire Fist' match."

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

"The only question that remains...," the smiling Marshall began again, his eyes slowly wandering back to the ring before them both. "Is who will take the title of 'Kaiohdrahl's Strongest'...?"

"Red side, ready!"

The ever-glowering and seemingly silent Ragnar nodded firmly enough back at the voice of the young woman acting as referee, his hardened callous fists clenched together at his sides and far-enough apart from one another as if to ready himself.

"Blue side, ready!"

Link nodded similarly, his own usual smirk of overconfidence soon lost to him in favour of an anxiety-filled frown, rising up his own clenched fists to hang and hover upward and diagonal from one another. He breathed out slowly and carefully, his body rising and lowering with his movements, as if to quieten the mental storm within him; both his own and of the ever-slumbering form of Kage Narumono caged inside the chaotic Aegir of the Triforce of Courage.

"Begin!"

3

Last Son of the Jade Dragon

Ragnar Romanov

Link shot his bare foot forward in a deft and high vertical stabbing kick that the narrow-eyed Ragnar almost immediately ducked. Fully anticipating his evasive manoeuvre, the watching Hero of Time swung his right back-fist toward the sliding form of his taller opponent as he attempted to snake 'round his undefended side. As he lowered it for a second strike, the glaring-eyed Ragnar blocked it once more before pressing forward in his own offensive advance; spinning his body 'round in a deft double roundhouse kick.

SWISH-SWISH

Link blocked them both, eyes narrowed similarly in firm concentration as he took a quick step back to gain some valuable space from his foe before yelling out in effort as he shot forward a quick open-palmed stab. As Ragnar darted his raven-haired head to the side in super-fast evasion, he replied back with a swift series of strikes and stabs of his own, all met with simple-enough blocks by the narrow-eyed Link. While the match felt fairly to and fro between one another and tentatively-paced, the difference in their skill was monstrous and Link himself felt it; even to the untrained eye, the amount of space control he began to lose to Ragnar was beginning to rack up to a worrying amount.

As Ragnar carefully and watchfully lowered his form, the narrow-eyed Link gasped out in great effort as he took several steps back to regain his breath and some form of physical energy back; the pair began to, very slowly and agonisingly for the watching audience, circle one another. Their eyes met hungrily and almost near hatefully, like instinctual animals; were one to drop their guard, even for a second, it'd have been all over.

At last he acted; the wide-eyed Link yelled out in effort as he advanced forward in a leaping fire-infused high-kick to a further series of quick roundhouses, forcing the watching Ragnar to begin side-stepping to avoid them. Surprising not just the audience and himself however, as Link swung 'round to catch the side-stepping and now vulnerable form of Ragnar in a savage back-fist, the wide-eyed Ragnar gasped out as the blonde boy's relatively small fist connected with his left cheek.

SMACK-SSSS

He widened his black-shaded eyes in sheer shock, a quick burn mark very quickly beginning to form on his wounded area. It wasn't long before the young Hylian continued his relentless offensive and yelled out continually as he swung his fists quickly and without mercy, attempting to possibly end the engagement as quickly as it had begun. The face-burnt Ragnar widened his own eyes a second time and, seemingly having had enough, shot up his left muscular arm to block another incoming strike.

WHUPPP-SSSSSS...

The pair struggled together powerfully, Link in his twitching-eyed scowl as his right arm trembled horribly in the fiery clash, his fire-elemental Aegir still burning powerfully away. The heavily-scowling Ragnar kept his head lowered as he stared back into the eyes of his younger foe, his own defending arm slowly cooking in the exchange as it also throbbed and shuddered from the effort of blocking the savage strike.

Soon enough however he acted; he swung his left fingers 'round somehow and caught the wide-eyed Hylian's arm before calling out in his own effort as he grappled the young boy over him in a screaming throw. Link called out similarly worried as he flew overhead to slam painfully against the tiles of the beautiful arena below him, briefly knocking the wind from his sails. He snap-opened his oceanic eyes however and tech-rolled to his side in immediate evasion as the yelling Draerith man leapt up to further press the attack by slamming his small shoes into the ground where he once lay.

"WOHHHH!"

SMASSSSSH

Ragnar's scowl followed him on, even as he darted his head up to watch the boy roll across the ground to relative safety before he pursued him in his own haphazard aggressive assault; a newfound series of savage smashing strikes that coughed up even further tiles from the poor arena around them, coating the very skies and the air itself in their once-pristine white.

SMASSSH-SMASSSH-SMASSSH-SMASSSH

Almost endlessly the pair continued their game of cat and mouse before, finally, Link reacted a second time; as he began to fast approach one of the pillars of the competitor's box, he used the ground below him to push up and off of it into a swift and acrobatic side-flip.

FWIP

Ragnar watched on and widened his eyes, having already committed himself to a fast-advancing assault; it was only when he clocked Link land on the pillar before immediately firing back toward him in a deft bound, knocking his body toward him as if a ball having been knocked against the wall.

FRR-SLAM

"Hngh...!"

The great hellish-red fire that once surrounded Link during his duel with Lyna fired right back up again and enhanced the counter-attack he visited upon his cheek, sending the grunting and surprised Ragnar falling to the ground. Link followed and, in a hardened glare to his own toothed scowl, pushed the older man savagely and brutally against the tiled arena below them. Slabs of pristine white flew high into the air as the pair of martial artists ran their skin roughly and barbarously across it.

Soon enough the growling Ragnar seemingly had enough and widened his eyes before shooting up both legs in a near-impossible recovery upward kick, high and vertical.

FWIP-FWIPFWIP

Link gasped out as he was caught within the pressures of the man's small shoe strike, sending him grunting high into the air and giving the Draerith native valuable time and space with which to flip backward in immediate recovery, landing fairly gracefully. Link grunted out in slight pain as his body knocked roughly against the ground below and he pushed up off of it to very quickly flip similarly in a side-somersault recovery.

Wasting no time in his recovery, Link narrowed his eyes as he pressed forward to continue his relentless offensive; he advanced in two quick forward stabbing kicks that the narrow-eyed Ragnar blocked and deflected fairly easily in his quick back-step away before counter-attacking with a high kick of his own, calling out loudly as he did. Link glowered on back as he shot up his right arm to block quickly but he wasn't fast enough to block the next assault; a simple-enough yet incredibly fast series of striking punches across the high chest and then the face.

SMACK-SMACKSMACKSMACK-SMACK

"WAT-AA!"

SMACK

Link grit his teeth as he spun around in place like a sheer spinning top itself from Ragnar's final follow-up; a super-fast high kick he seemingly finished his combination with, leaving the young blonde staggering back into one of the pillars behind him. As his small body knocked against it he widened his oceanic eyes and soon regained his bearings, casting his glare ahead as he pressed forward once more. This time as he went for what seemed like a fairly obvious haymaker, the narrow-eyed Ragnar swerved to avoid it only to widen his eyes in shock and anxiety when the youth suddenly and somehow re-appeared directly in front him; an after-image that came barrelling back toward him once again.

And this time, the attack connected.

"HEYT!"

FRRR-SMASH

"WOHHH!"

Ragnar called out in what seemed to be genuine pain as he was sent down toward the ground in a face-up position, gritting his own teeth as he was struck. It was only when he landed and the watching Link pressed his luck in a risky advance forward that the wide-eyed Ragnar shot up his right leg again to catch the surprised young Hylian.

WHUCK-FWIP

This time Ragnar chose to vault the yelping youth high above him via use of his leg and distribution of his own weight, sending the former Hero of Time sailing skyward. As he inevitably crashed overhead into the tiled arena below he grunted out as he tech-rolled again to the side before standing back up simply enough to cast his frown forward, watching on as Ragnar himself vaulted back toward the wide-eyed boy in a bounding back-flip kick. Thinking quickly, Link swerved his body to the side immediately and reached out with his both arms, suddenly and abruptly grasping at the wide-eyed Ragnar's exposed and vulnerable mid-air legs.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

Link screamed along with the roaring approval of the entertained crowd of people watching as he spun around in place, grappling at the grit-toothed Ragnar's lower legged body and swinging him 'round like a rag-doll itself. Time slowed down for the pair as he finally finished by slamming the older man's body viciously and wildly against the fast-destroyed arena below them both.

Ragnar widened his eyes and coughed out a small plume of blood from the sheer force of which he ricocheted against the ground, staining the scowling-faced Link as he stared back down at the fallen form of his opponent. Ragnar growled back and, seemingly gaining some foothold back in the grip of his foe, used the very ground itself to palm off of before pulling his legs free and grappling at the blonde boy's pony-tailed head. Link gasped out, unable to react in time, soon finding himself spinning through the air as if he were a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine itself.

FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP

The narrow-eyed Ragnar followed up by leaping an impossibly-high feat in the air, his arms splayed out to both sides horizontally as he tucked back both legs. Raven-black eyes narrowed he descended quickly down on his opponent, time slowing down a second time both for the two martial artists and the highly-entertained watching Aurelians.

FWOOSH...

SLAM

FWIP-FWIP-FWIP

Link narrowed his eyes in great effort and bounded his body quickly in a shallow-air side-flipping somersault, just narrowly evading the glowering Ragnar's downward kneeing okizeme assault. As the gasping Link got back up to his feet, so too did Ragnar and the two continued on once more; the Draerith native scowled on faithfully as he shot up one of his legs to strike with, calling out suddenly in surprised pain when his leg made contact with the satanic-like aura very quickly burning and growing on Link's person.

"I don't know if I like the look of that Aegir Marsh...," the watching Seth gulped out, wincing. "Is it... do ya think...?"

"Oh yes...," Marshall murmured out, similarly full of anxiety as he tilted his head in his agreeing nod. "If I didn't know any better from our last grand finals, then..."


As Link attempted to counter-attack with a quick yet high roundhouse, the narrow-eyed Ragnar easily evaded it before rising his body at just the right time as the boy's leg passed over his head, ending up so he grappled the wide-eyed youth. For the first time since ever meeting him, Link caught the watching Ragnar shoot out a satisfied-looking smirk before very quickly regaining his hardened scowl as he roared out and swung the yelling youth high overhead behind him.

The former Hero of Time grunted out in great effort as he swung his body in mid-air, directionally-influencing his flight so that instead of heading directly toward the out-of-bounds area, he instead reached the edge of the very arena itself.

TK

Beads of sweat dropped down from the already high-burning aura he exuded and his forehead as he grabbed onto the edge of the arena, barely saving himself from falling out. Ragnar, very slowly, marched toward the hanging Link and glowered on back at him as the younger male stared through his upside-down position; it wasn't long before he was in range and, as the Draerith man attempted to pull back one of his fists to presumably assault the boy with, Link very quickly and acrobatically used the ground to spin in place with, smacking a series of kicks across the wide-eyed man's exposed face.

SMACK-SMACKSMACK

It wasn't much of an attack but it was just enough to keep Ragnar from firing him out of the ring, sending the older man growling a few stumbling steps backward, rising up one of his hands to nurse his recently-wounded chin and cheeks. Ragnar however fairly quickly followed up his angered assault with a wide horizontal swing, forcing the narrow-eyed Link to bring up one of his arms up to block it before firing back a retaliatory strike. Ragnar, of course blocked and responded with a quick jab; this one got through and gave the older man the boost he needed; Link widened his eyes as he began to teeter over the edge of the arena, drawing the watching crowd of people in the stands in a frenzy. Some screaming in approval for Ragnar and others booing or crying out Link's name in hope for the youth. Surprising all watching and himself however Link, in wide-eyed desperation, reached out with his free left hand and like magic a translucent arm of hellish-red Aegir formed from the skin of his arm.

The watching audience all let out shocked gasps and calls as the Aegir arm snaked forward to grasp at the wide-eyed Ragnar's body. The results were, of course, fairly instantaneous; as the Aegir arm of fire and lava made contact with Ragnar's topless muscled body, it very quickly began to burn and scorch the wide-eyed man into a pained yelp. He was unable to move and, as Link utilised the older man's body as a stopgap to pull himself back forward into the ring, he grunted out as he tossed the yelling Ragnar's body sprawling through the air, knocking noisily and agonisingly across the already annihilated tournament floor.

"Incredible!" The watching Marshall cried out rather passionately this time, clenching one of his fists as he liked to. "In great spite to his earlier worrying situation, our boy 'Fire Fist' truly proves his nickname! Not only does he use his patented fire-elemental powers to stop himself from falling out of the arena, but somehow manages to injure and burn the seemingly invincible Ragnar in doing so!"

"Hey, yeah he's the first person so far to actually hurt this guy ain't he?!" Seth called out in genuinely entertained laughter, grinning on. "This kid's somethin' else!"

Almost as if having been goaded by the commentators' words together, the surrounding people watching in the stands all began to chant out the name of the young blonde challenger in excited grins, filling the indoor stadium up with their melodious harmony.

LINKLINKLINK-LINKLINKLINK

"Impressive..."

The gasping Link's oceanic eyes widened at the sound of a new voice; the stoic Ragnar at last spoke and a surprising sound it was at that. The young Hylian could only stare on through his fast-growing fatigue, attempting with great effort and might to maintain the incredible output of energy and Aegir he gave off with his lava-like aura of magic.

"But how long can you keep this up...?" The man wisely spoke, brow furrowing forward intensely at the gasping blonde, his thick Draerithian accent coming through in his words. "All that Aegir must be difficult to sustain."

Link gasped on in otherwise silence, narrowing his eyes through the sweat of effort and fatigue that grew within him; his own answer to the wiser man's statement.

He's right, the youth thought.

If this keeps up for much longer, not only will I lose, one of us may die.

The sheer thought of unleashing Kage Narumono on the unsuspecting Ragnar left a horrible taste in the back of his mouth. While it seemed to be some kind of sick tradition at the end of every grand finals, it was something he tried with great fervour to avoid.

"The more you rely on the Shinzui and the power of the Fierce Deity... the closer you step into its shadow as 'Akuma'."

The future-telling words of the Sorcerer of the Divine Divide himself, mere days ago; just as when he was told them then, they filled him with dread now.

Maybe I shouldn't be using this Aegir if I can't control it, he thought again.

"Grnnngh..."

Link's eyebrows lifted up and his eyes widened in sheer shock horror, recognising the deep guttural demonic-like groan far within his subconscious. His body stiffened and he even stopped breathing briefly as if to register his horror; the watching Ragnar rose one of his own eyebrows, curious.

"Awarena... is this all you're worthy of...?"

The listening Link narrowed his eyes directly into Ragnar's, seeing through them almost completely, his mind wandering to the sound of Kage's demonic baritone deep within his subconscious.

"And pulling from my store of Aegir at that too... for-shame.."

This time he lowered his twitching-eyed scowl to stare down at the ground below, drawing out a curious look from the watching Ragnar; the older man tilted his head, unsure and unable to quite work out what was happening.

"I will deal with this... give me control of our body."

"No."

Ragnar's brow furrowed as the scowling-faced Link shot up his oceanic-eyed gaze, re-opening his mouth to spit out his sudden fiery and angry response, unsure on who exactly he was addressing.

"No...?"

"You're gonna have to take it from me..." He whispered out this time, eyes narrowing in the inflection of his sentence, making his watching foe pull out a single huff.

"Keh-heh-heh-heh...gladly..."

Link, perhaps spurred on by the demon's odd words of confrontation, opted to move ahead in an advancing offensive; a fairly acrobatic jump kick. Ragnar's raven-black eyes widened and shot down both arms to catch the leg and just barely at that; Ragnar grunted out in growing pain of his own as his body made contact with the hellish fiery aura covering his younger opponent's body. Ragnar's scowl grew a little as he grunted and tossed the narrow-eyed Link flipping endlessly upward in place, and the younger male soon began to spin in the air, presumably for a counter-attack.

Ragnar, wily enough to see it coming however, glared on as he dashed forward to close the distance; when close enough, he managed to catch the vertically flipping boy's body expertly by his lower legs before swiftly bringing his head downward to the tiled arena. The audience's eyes all widened and, on baited breath, they waited for the eventual end to the fiery fight before them.

FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP

CRACCCCCCKKKK...

All within Tiverpool Arena suddenly and abruptly grew silent; the wide-eyed Link rested propped up in mid-air by the scowling sweaty-eyed Ragnar, grasping at his legs, as the blonde boy's wide-eyed head remained in what seemed to be shock-faced horror. His head bent at an impossible angle on the ground and he no longer breathed; a sure sign of an end to the conflict.

"Oh my sweet... Din."

The voice of the quiet, calm and horrified Marshall echoed on out of his small Gossip Stone as he watched, Ragnar's hard-eyed scowl staring back at the watching audience on the west side. Soon enough, as the realisation began to hit everyone else watching like a ton of bricks, Ragnar at last let go of the wide-eyed Link's body. The young Hylian tumbled down forward to land face-up on the ground beneath him, bleeding out from the side of his mouth as he did.

"Is... is he alive...?"

The sound of Malon's worried soprano made the watching Impa narrow her own fiery-shaded eyes from her folded-armed spot in the competitor's box, glaring on carefully.

"No."

It was Zelda's own soprano, however, that made Impa and the rest of the watching group swing their heads 'round to face the knowledgeable Hylian princess. She shook her pony-tailed head back at them all, narrowing her own ocean-coloured eyes before re-opening her mouth as if to elaborate further.

"But he will be soon," she stated simply, drawing out knowing nods from most within the group. It was only Shanaari and even the half-surprised Vassia that exchanged unsure looks with one another within the group's confines. "The Shinzui will save him."

"The Shinzui cannot live without its host, after all..." Impa muttered out detestably, her ruby-red eyes narrowing in eventual disapproving knowledge, her body leant to the side as she did.

4

"Link Firbrand is unable to battle any further!"

Ragnar remained respectfully silent, shutting his eyes slowly as he lowered his short-haired head and lowered the rest of his body into a kneeling position, joining his hands together as if to pray for the fallen and deceased young blonde.

"While he is also mortally wounded, Ragnar Romanov will be disq-"

"No, wait!"

The listening Ragnar's eyes snapped wide-open as he also felt the sudden pull of devil-like Aegir below him, the sound of a single audience member calling out to stop the announcement mid-speech. Sure enough a hellish-red Quintessence slowly snaked 'round the fallen Link's form and began to, very slowly, lift him back up; just as within the Hylian Hyrax and the Palashian Premier, the whole ordeal made the shut-eyed, bleeding Link look just like some kind of ghost. His neck, still bent to the side from being broken, very slowly and sickeningly began to crunch and crick back into place, like something from a horror novel.

CRICK... CRACCCCK

"Yo Marsh... I don't like where this is goin'."

The watching Marshall gulped down a load of nervously-gained saliva, nodding in slow careful agreement. "Mm... we should probably put up those walls of Aegir that the audience have, Seth..."

"Grnnngh..."

Ragnar stepped backward, his eyes widened and darting 'round about the floating and hovering blonde boy's fiery-covered body, unable to make sense of it all. The sound of Link's earlier happy-go-lucky tenor had been replaced already by a chilling demonic-like filter; an odd baritone that sounded something like a mockery of his adult-toned voice.

"Shin'ozo..."

The possessed former Kokiri's eyes snapped wide-open and Ragnar at last got a look into them both; Link's calming oceanic colour had been replaced by the same lava-like crimson that filled his body now and earlier, a kind of worrying murderous quality present in the way he looked back at the Draerithian. Soon enough, however, it was Kage at long last that re-opened his host's body's mouth to speak as he began to rush forward, presumably to attack.

"Tomete KURERU!"


Chaotic Manifestation of the holy Triforce of Courage

Kage Narumono

Kage screamed animalistically as he leapt forward, his very host's body somehow sliding and near-gliding itself in mid-air from the sheer speed with which he moved. He pulled one of his fiery-covered fists back and swung it widely yet extremely quickly, forcing the wide-eyed Ragnar to bend his body backward in abrupt and sudden evasion; while he managed to avoid the assault, the crackling hellfire that encapsulated his possessed opponent stung the man's eyes and he gasped out as he shut them, granting forth a sudden opportunity.

Kage, of course, gladly took it.

"MESSATSU!"

FRRR-SLAM

"Kurgh...!"

Ragnar's eyes widened this time as he was struck by the screaming Kage's low chest punch; a trembling and volcano-like assault that sent the shocked man through spasms of agony and consternation. Kage followed up with a wide roundhouse kick that sent the grunting Ragnar spinning in place; he slammed one of his legs down and managed to stop himself from stumbling any further, before swiftly re-opening his eyes and his bleeding mouth to leap forward for an advancing assault of his own.

"WOHHHH!"

KRSH-KRSHKRSHKRSH

The same sudden barrage of blows that he hit both Zayne and Barkner with earlier in his match-ups before now struck Kage; the fiery-aura demon however merely stood and looked up at the yelling man firmly, even as Ragnar inevitably pulled his fists back, shaking them in grunting pain as they made contact with the stinging aura that filled his Hylian host's body. When Ragnar, rather comically began to blow on his burning fingers, shaking them endlessly as if to restore some feeling, Kage reached forward with one of his clawed hands to grasp at the wide-eyed Ragnar's exposed neck.

"Kuh...!"

Immediately Ragnar began to struggle within the chaotic Kage's grip, very slowly being lifted by the small possessed boy's incredible near-godlike strength. He re-opened up his mouth and his eyes widened in the inflection of his next hatefully-spoken sentence.

"KoroSHIII!"

FRRR-SLAM-CRACK

"Ngh...!"

Kage merely grit his fanged teeth together as he ruthlessly and savagely slammed a fiery-clawed fist in the human's face, sending him careering lowly through the air. As he flew through the air and, perhaps inevitably crashed into one of the competitor's box's pillars, Kage broke out into a sudden sprint forward, lava-like eyes widened as he did. He crossed the distance extremely quickly and, as the dust blew away from the debris-filled landscape before him, the similarly scowling Ragnar re-appeared in a standing position, his open-palmed hands held horizontally to both sides and his head lowered to glare back as he did.

"SHINU!"

Kage's usual ancient Hylian filled the air as he leapt forward in a deft dive-kick that Ragnar at long last saw coming; he side-stepped to his immediate left, just barely avoiding it. Kage began to sink deep into the wreckage before him fairly quickly, allowing the narrow-eyed Ragnar to follow up; the demonic being darted his host's pony-tailed head in his direction, only to find the glaring-eyed Draerithian reaching forward to grasp at his exposed limb.

"Seikō OFU!"

Whether the glowering Ragnar could even understand the animalistically screaming Kage was another matter entirely; he merely grunted out in effort as he pulled his host's leg brutally through the wreckage even further, ignoring his own burning and stinging pain from making contact with the hellish aura that covered his body. Kage widened his fiery-shaded eyes and roared to the sky with agony as he was counter-attacked, and fairly effectively at that.

"GRAAAAGH!"

Kage's enraged yell struck the skies even as he was sent sprawling back from the wreckage he himself caused, allowing the grunting and wide-eyed Ragnar to follow up. He didn't even bother wiping the collection of blood that fell from the side of his mouth as he pressed forward in another offensive; the man grunted out again as he shot down a leg in okizeme assault as Kage began to rise up from his fallen knelt position.

CRACK

"Grnnngh...!"

Kage shut his host's eyes and scrunched his face shut in a hateful painful scowl, dropping back down on his palmed knees as he did.

"YAHHH!"

Ragnar gave out the first of two yells of effort as he slammed both palmed hands into the sides of Kage's head brutally, causing the animalistic demon to widen his eyes in shock and disorientation to draw him in silence. Ragnar stared on in an indifferent wide-eyed glare, even as he reacted one last time.

"WAT-AAA!"

FWIP-SLAM-CRACCCK

Kage's eyes widened as his fiery-haired head bent a second time to the side from his foe's wide neck-breaking roundhouse. The shocked people surrounding them all widened their eyes and watched on in fearful silence, unable to even cheer anymore for the desperate enough however a reaction was received; the kneeling form of Kage, very slowly, began to move his neck somehow. Through what seemed to be sheer force of will and a great deal of hatred, his neck very gradually and carefully cricked and cracked sickeningly back into place.

The wide-eyed Ragnar, took a few disbelieving steps back, his frown twitching in sheer shock and horror at the sight of it.

CRK...CRK...CRRRRKKKKK...

As it made its last crick, so too did Kage's demonic-red eyes widen, giving vent to the next battle cry he roared at his enemy ahead of him, punctuating the sky with a deep leap into it presumably to attack. Ragnar reacted in kind; he spun around in place and, like a dance move itself, he swung his leg up in an extremely high and vertical anti-air roundhouse kick, obviously intended for the fast-approaching Kage. It was only when he drew close, however, that the demonic will managed to shock him a second time.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR

As Kage pulled his head back in mid-air, he hung there for what felt like sheer minutes as he re-lowered it to bellow down a deep and guttural shout, the force of which appeared to possess some serious surprising strength of its own. In response, the single-eye shut Ragnar found his defensive roundhouse swatted away somehow by the stinging sensation of Kage's hellfire, his earlier animalistic roar feeling sheerly like gale-force burning razor-like winds that near took him off his feet.

FRRR-SMMMASSSSH

"Hrngh...!"

Ragnar's eyes both shut this time as Kage's clawed arm grappled his exposed face and head, the pair very quickly descending and dropping further down into the tournament ring below them.

SKRRRRRRR

The very tiles and material underneath them flew skyward in a mid-air sea of destruction and chaos befitting the demonic will himself as the grunting shut-eyed Ragnar grappled with both hands in a vain attempt to regain control again.

"RRRRRRRAGH!"

FFFWOOSH

With little subtlety, Ragnar's body was flung rather unceremoniously toward one of the audience stands. As the wide-eyed Aurelians watched, some within began to grow distressed and worried, some even screaming in anxiety; it was only when he knocked noisily and agonisingly against one of the many invisible walls of Aegir that the staff installed that the watching people began to settle down. As Ragnar very quickly began to approach the standing Kage, having been ricocheted rather painfully, he widened his raven-black eyes and somersaulted in mid-air before abruptly pulling his fist back as if to throw a retaliatory strike down on the possessed youth.

Kage's demonic-crimson eyes widened and he swung his body into an impossible series of side-flips to avoid the incoming vertical strike; Ragnar crashed noisily and savagely into the wrecked ring below, bringing up tiles and debris as he turned his head to his left to watch. As Kage's feet skidded against the ground below him, it ignited it in small sparks and flame; a sheer testament to the satanic and hellfire-like power that lay within him. Time slowed down for the pair as Kage shot his burning-aura head up to glare murderously at the wide-eyed, bleeding Ragnar; though they did not speak, the looks they shared with one another was all they needed.

The surge of murderous intent that filled not only Kage, but of near anything he touched, permeated on as the super-fast demon leapt forward. Ragnar attempted to move but he was simply too slow in his reaction; he widened his eyes again and gasped as he found his exposed left arm burning. He darted his eyes down to find Kage re-appeared dead ahead, his clawed arm grappling at his own and the hellfire aura that filled him began to sting him once more. Very slowly, and perhaps deliberately, Kage's eyes narrowed and tilted his head as he pulled back his one remaining left arm; clenched into a clawed fist of cataclysmic catastrophe, caked with hellfire-elemental Aegir.

FRRRRRRR-SSSSMMMMASSSH

Ragnar let loose a blood-curdling scream of pain and horror as he was struck by the intensified strike of hatred and contempt, sending him sailing and covered from head-to-toe in a sheet of hellfire.

KERRRRASSSSSHHHH

CRUMBLE-CRUMBLE...

As he collided rather brutally with one of the competitor's box's pillars and it came crashing down around him, the opposing Kage turned his fiery-haired head to the sky and re-opened his mouth.

RRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR

Like a lion or a tiger in just finishing its prideful kill, Kage took to roaring in self-satisfaction and arrogance, drawing out worried looks from the protected people within the borders of the audience stands around him.

DROOOOOOOM

The wreckage within Ragnar's earlier position blew apart in a fairly noticeable light explosion that managed to pull the wide-eyed Kage's attention once more; he darted his head down from his earlier action before furrowing his demonic brow back at it. From the smoke and dust came a huge piece of pillar, seemingly tossed from it intentionally; Kage chuckled, his fangs shining in the afternoon light before he swung up both clawed palms up as if to intercept.

"Keh-heh-heh..."

SLAP-SKRRRRRRRRRR

Having caught the low-flying piece of wall, Kage's all-knowing fanged smirk very quickly dissolved from his face as he began to skid backwards at a rapid pace; a result of the incredible velocity with which the wreckage previously flew at him. As the demonic will soon approached the edge of the ring, he growled out in effort as he clamped down on both clawed palms; in immediate reaction, the debris within his grip easily broke apart into hundreds of smaller rocks and stone, flying off in every other direction.

Just when he did so, however, the bleeding-faced and scowling Ragnar leapt up at him in a presumable fast-advance forward from the broken wall, arms held back to attack with.

SMACCCK-WHAM

"Grnngh...!"

This time it was Kage's turn to knock painfully against the wall behind him, sending him careering toward one of the invisible Aegir walls behind him. He grunted out a second time as he ricocheted against it, sending him sailing right back toward the narrow-eyed Ragnar; just as he began to come within range however, and as Ragnar pulled both conjoined fists back as if to finish the possessed boy with, Kage's demonically-charged eyes widened and he appeared to vanish from sight.

Ragnar gasped out as he slammed both fists vertically through the air, hitting nothing but solid ground beneath him. As tiles further flew up into the sky, time once again slowed for the Draerithian; he very gradually and worryingly turned his black-haired head 'round only to receive a stinging fire-elemental fist straight to the face.

FRRRR-CRRRACCCK

Before Ragnar's form could even approach the same wall that Kage rebounded off of, the demonic will himself flew forward with an intense burst of Aegir before catching the wide-eyed man in mid-air. He gasped out a second time, eyes widening before Kage grappled at his body and sent his lower right knee crashing upward into his spine.

CRRRRRACCCKKK

"ARRRRGH!"

"Kuso SHINU!"

FRRR-SLAM

Rather painfully, Ragnar's body slammed and recoiled off the already destroyed tournament arena ground, causing him to cough up a small plume of blood and stain it ever further below him. As Kage hung in the air for what felt like a second, he widened his hellish-red eyes before pulling his right elbow back and plummeting downward, presumably for a savage-looking plunging attack. Ragnar widened his raven-black eyes and immediately pushed up off of the ground, air-shifting away from his earlier compromised spot on the ring; as Kage slammed his elbow brutally into the ground, spitting up even further debris, the narrow-eyed Ragnar landed on one of the invisible Aegir walls behind him.

He used it as a surface with which to launch back off of and did so with eager readiness, glaring on as Kage slowly swung his head 'round to glower back at him; unfortunately for the chaotic manifestation, he was too late in his whiff recovery to react as Ragnar landed in a deft skid forward. He extended forward a low sweeping-like kick, landing it successfully and sending the grunting Kage into the air above before swiftly following up with a screaming high-flying dive-kick.

"WOHHHH!"

"GYAAAAGH!"

KERRASSSH

As Kage flew back from Ragnar's ferocious counter-attack, the Draerithian soon landed in a second skid forward, gasping out with the sweaty-faced effort he put into his attempt to win the turbulent grand finals match with. Soon enough Kage's form crashed into the right pillar this time, bringing down its beautiful cut stone and marble with him. It didn't take very long for the demonic will to respond however; the debris and wreckage burst apart in another meaty and showy explosion of Aegir and Quintessence, leaving only smoke and what seemed to be a long and bright-red shaded coating of ancient magic in Kage's place.

Ragnar, having been knelt down in place presumably with his right fist embedded firmly in his open left palm, snapped his eyes wide-open only to find a long and horrifying arm made entirely of hellfire-elemental Aegir fast-approaching him. Unfortunately for him, having been kneeling and already greatly fatigued, found himself unable to scramble quickly enough to avoid its super-fast advance; as it gripped at his body and began to inevitably pull him in, Ragnar grunted out in growing pain and agony as the hellfire Aegir that made contact with his topless body stung his skin and even began to burn it.

He shut one eye in grit-toothed, sheer suffering as the smoke and dust ahead soon dissipated to reveal the bleeding-faced and similarly scowling Kage, pulling him back toward him with his devil-like Aegir-Arm. Ragnar, in great spite to his increasingly worrying situation, snapped open his eyes and put on a daring smirk to his expression, further enraging the watching Kage; as the demonic will stood in his new spot atop the pillar's wreckage, he opted not to work out the potential intentions of his foe.

One of his many great flaws and one that the smirking-faced Ragnar chose to take swift advantage of.

Just as he came within range, and as Kage pulled his one remaining hellfire-charged right fist back to finish with, a bright light of white-shaded Aegir began to elevate and grow stronger, soon becoming visible even to those with no magical ability watching in the audience stands.

"I'm not sure what's happening...," the frowning-faced Marshall gulped out from his safe spot far across from them. "But this looks to be the end!"

"They're like monsters Marsh!" The oddly-grinning Seth called out, excited and all. "One good... one evil!"

"OhhhhhhhhhHHHH ZETSU!"

In a powerful scream of effort, as the poor wide-eyed Ragnar came within range, he at let loose his torrent of five quick spinning punches before swiftly sending the grunting man further up in the air with him on the third pass. As Kage hung in the air very briefly, extending his left open-palmed fist upward into the sky, a dark and lava-red power of Aegir rapidly channelled into it; seemingly the finishing technique he was preparing so zealously.

"Shi to tomoni!" He exclaimed out, his demonic baritone knocking boldly against the walls of Tiverpool Arena before he widened his lava-like eyes and turned his injury-laced fang-toothed scowl down, clenching his pulsating left fist and plummeting downward. "MESSEYOOOOO!"

KRRRRICK

The sound of Kage's ancient chaotic Aegir-coated fist made contact with the wide-eyed Ragnar's topless lower chest, sending them both racing back down to the ground rapidly. The watching audience, having grown silent for most of the fight, at last reacted in distressed calls and yells as the pair of warriors seemed to vanish together in a cloud of smoke and dust. It didn't take very long however for some kind of reaction to successfully sprout; the bright white-shaded light that the grinning Ragnar had charged earlier at long last revealed its purpose and, as it blew away the cloud of smog, it wasn't just the fallen Ragnar that appeared to be injured... but the attacking Kage as well.

The quiet Aurelians widened their eyes and remained respectfully silent as they watched the lying Ragnar chuckle, his lower chest having been pierced through completely by Kage's vicious attack; the Messatsu Goshoryu technique and the hanging Kage above him, oddly wide-eyed and blinking as Ragnar's white-shaded index and forefingers rested on his Hylian host's forehead.

"Grnngh...!"

As Kage growled out in what seemed to be abject anger, perhaps unable to work out quite what had happened, he exchanged his fang-toothed scowl with the heavily-bleeding and smirking-faced Ragnar beneath him. The bright-white Aegir at last intensified one last time and, as it did, Kage gave out one final pained groan before his hellish-red eyes rolled to the back of his head and he too rolled to his back off of the fallen martial artist. The arena remained shockingly silent as the gasping Ragnar lay on the ground in a similarly sorry state, his lower chest bleeding profusely from the horrifyingly agonising strike that he suffered.


5

Given an opportunity to rush in, the young referee bounded up into the ring before soon standing over the fallen pair and exchanged looks.

"Can you stand?" She asked, kneeling down on the short-gasping Ragnar's fallen level; he turned his eyes up at her and grit his teeth together painfully as his scowl twitched, presumably in attempt to respond. He blew out air again, as if to restore feeling to his lungs, before at last reacting in some kind; the man, very shakily, lowered his fingers into the broken tiles beneath him before pushing as firmly as he could.

Though it looked to cause him a great deal of pain, he strained himself regardless and managed with great seeming effort to raise himself to a kneeling state. He gasped out and wobbled within place, sweaty-eyed scowl facing forward as he did. The watching audience, at first in just a single person, very quickly began to chant for him as if to assist.

RAGNAR-RAGNAR-RAGNAR-RAGNAR

His scowl grew even worse, if that were possible, and he lowered one free shaking hand to his exposed bleeding wound before wobbling very carefully to his feet. The audience, seemingly satisfied, all at long last let loose a loud looming cry of approval.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

The referee smiled at him before soon losing it in favour of a wary-faced frown as she regarded the fallen and seemingly unconscious Kage, reaching up to grasp Ragnar's free right hand.

"Link Firbrand is unconscious and unable to battle any further!" She called out above the incredible cries of the surrounding audience. "The winner of this set... and of the Kaioh Bio...," she began again, her smile soon returning to her. "Is Ragnar Romanov!"