With their plan to escape through the electrified dome up in smoke, the cowering civilians could only look on in terror as their last line of defense lay crumbled in a smoking heap by the flaming monster standing before them. Nervously, they stepped back as the infernal Quagsire lumbered toward them, his very breath releasing toxic smoke. The soaked roads lit ablaze under his footsteps, spreading more and more through the rain.
"(W-What do we do?!)" an Excadrill gasped.
"(We're doomed!)" a Zebstrika shrieked.
Raffaella glared at the cowering Pokémon in concern, then to where Armant lay collapsed in the rubble. Seeing as she was the only other physically capable Pokémon among them, the Conkeldurr barmaid stepped before the group and raised her fists toward the monster.
"(That's far enough, demon!)" she shouted in her native tongue. "(Take one step closer, and I'll bury your skull into the dirt it ripped itself from!)"
The undead Quagsire didn't register her threat. He looked upon her with hollow, blazing eyes, the flames that reanimated him compelling him to incinerate all that stood before the Scarlet Flame's will. He let out a ghastly wail and lunged at the barmaid with reckless abandon.
Raffaella tightened her knuckles and cracked them across the Quagsire's face, halting his advance and knocking him back. However, this proved to be a mistake. She gripped her wrist and recoiled with a scream that made the bystanders' blood curdle.
She dropped to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes, as she stared at the burning flesh of her knuckles. Her soaked skin caused the flames to travel up her arm at an alarming rate, nearing to set her clothes ablaze.
"(Water Pulse!)" A Clauncher bravely jumped out from the crowd and blasted Raffaella's arm with water, his Mega Launcher ability providing the necessary boost to instantly douse the flames.
Raffaella collapsed forward, panting as smoke hissed from her flesh. "(I…I can't even touch it…)"
Paride, hardly fazed by the assault, picked himself off the ground and roared at the staggered barmaid. He punched the ground, sending a wave of flaming Muddy Water toward her.
Raffaella came to her senses upon seeing the attack and punched the ground with her good hand. "Stone Edge!" Rocks jutted out ahead of her, forming a blockade that absorbed the impact. Flaming mud splashed over the barrier, but she backed away in time.
"(There's nothing we can do against that monster!)" the Zebstrika cried.
"(We got to get out of here!)" Excadrill screamed.
Raffaella stumbled back, still gripping her burnt arm. "(W-We can't. If it chases after us, it'll spread more of the flames around the city.)"
Everyone gasped as Paride came barreling through the rock barrier with one punch. He tore his way through and roared at the frightened civilians. With jets of flame erupted out of his spine, he lunged at Raffaella.
Raffaella, despite knowing what'll happen, reared her damaged arm back to counter the beast. "(Everyone, run—)"
A rush of wind flew past the Conkeldurr. In an instant, a hand gripped and crushed the Quagsire's arm, completely halting his momentum. Before he could roar, another hand backhanded his face and sent him hurtling into a building like a cannonball.
Raffaella, lost in astonishment, gazed up to see Armant standing above her, his breathing ragged. Two of his hands smoked from connecting with Paride while a third clutched over his stomach. She could see the blackened scar burnt on him.
"A-Armant?!" she gasped.
He didn't respond immediately, his attention focused solely on where Paride landed. He observed the hands he used to attack. The skin of his palm hissed with smoke while his fist was barely touched due to the brief contact with the monster's skin. He then looked to his stomach wound, moving his hand to reveal the heat still generating off the center.
He's strong, but it's nothing I couldn't shrug off. It's those flames. Those flames…they're hotter than anything I've encountered. He glared suspiciously. Those aren't normal flames. I haven't met any Fire-Type who could burn my skin that easily.
He focused back on Paride as the flaming corpse pried himself out of the ground. The strike he landed caved the left side of the corpse's head in. Paride pulled on his burnt flesh to reset his face.
Armant pulled Raffaella to her feet and said, "Find another way out of the city."
"But the city is—"
"You can handle whatever raiders come your way. This thing, however, is not to be trifled with. Besides, you're the only one right now who can keep these people safe."
"But the dome—"
"I have an idea of how it works. Find whatever you can to insulate yourself and try to pry it apart that way. Do not try to open it with attacks."
"…" Raffaella nodded firmly. "Alright." She waved to the bystanders and shouted, "(Everyone, follow me! Gather anything you can to insulate yourselves! We're breaking out another way!)"
Following her command, the people raced along the walls of the city. Raffaella ran to collect the wagon full of explosives, but Armant shouted, "Wait! Leave those here!"
"Huh?"
"I might find some use for them. Just can an eye on everyone else."
She glared. "Be careful, Armant." She turned and ran after the others.
Armant took a deep breath, shaking off the tension in his muscles, before glaring down his target. The living corpse finally reset his face and noticed all but the Machamp remained. He growled and lumbered toward the titan.
Armant sighed. "You're rather strong. Though your punch on its own did very little, I still felt it. It's been ages since I've felt actual pain. I thought I was becoming numb to my sense of touch. How glad I am to see I still have it." He curled his fists and growled. "So, it pisses me off that I can't enjoy this fight."
Paride ignored the Machamp's rant and charged at him, flames erupting from his fists. He swung, but Armant pivoted off his heel and dodged the first swing.
"Tell me something, Living Corpse, was this always your intention for your master? Are you his puppet? Was this your choice to serve him? Were you just the muscle he needed? Did you wish for your death to be sullied in flames?"
Paride spun around for the second attack, but Armant decked him square in the face, pushing the corpse back a few meters. His knuckles smoked from the contact, but he brushed them off.
"You serve your master with loyalty that transcends death. In some regards, I can respect loyalty like that…when it serves to do good." His glare darkened. "If you wish to be someone else's weapon, you still have the right to your own voice! Do you silence yourself because it makes the atrocities you commit easier to stomach?! Is that why you've become his undead tool of destruction?!"
Paride roared, flames jetting out from his back and launching him forward. He swung into Armant with both fists, but the Machamp caught them with his upper hands. The flames erupted around his arms.
Armant breathed an annoyed sigh. "I'm not even yelling at a living creature. I might as well be yelling at a mirror."
He struck Paride's stomach with his other fists, sending him flying up into the air. He leapt off the ground, catching up with the airborne axolotl, and smacked him across the head back into the ground. The impact ripped the ground open in a massive crater, shaking the nearby building and causing them to tilt toward the street.
"Doesn't matter. I'm sending you back to the underworld you crawled from!" Armant dove out of the air, crossing his arms together.
However, the flaming corpse was not so easily defeated. Bursting out from the ground, lighting the street up in scarlet fire, he reared his head up and fired flaming Mud Shots toward the falling Machamp.
Armant acted fast, striking the air with his palm and giving himself enough momentum to dodge the stream. Paride followed up by blasting himself into the air with jets of flame erupted from his feet and landed a heavy punch into the titan. The flames erupted on contact, and he swiveled his body to launch Armant into the street like a meteor.
He crashed and skidded along the stone, burning a path in his wake before crashing into a streetlamp. It melted against the heat generating off his skin. He brushed off the liquid metal and removed his burnt vest.
Even surrounded in flames, his body is still keeping itself together. Does he perhaps have Unaware as an ability? Still, that wouldn't explain how his corpse is staying together under these conditions. Armant cracked his knuckles. There's something else going on with those flames. Something's…not right.
Paride, upon landing, summoned up a tidal wave of Muddy Water resembling a rising flood of lava. He roared at Armant, sending the molten mud toward the Machamp.
I don't know why, but…those flames have a distinct aura. A distinct silver light.
With the storm growing worse over their heads, the Good Brothers and Frediano had to act fast to disrupt the ritual. However, they found themselves pushed into a corner upon seeing the full extent of the Scarlet Flame's power.
Frediano skidded back as both Sandslush brothers ganged up on him, unleashing the power of the flames exploding off their bodies. As if corrupted by its power, their laughter turned maniacal as they chased down the skipping Weavile who did his best to avoid the torrent of flames.
"Oooookay, I don't know who's writing the script here, but this is a little too much spectacle!" Frediano leapt into the air and formed his Flying Claws of Majesty technique, firing black ice bullets at the twins.
Jasper rushed ahead of his brother. "Iron Defense!" Hardened his body with a steel-like sheen, he charged through the ice which shattered on impact with his skin. "Advance Step Spin!" He spun on one foot, generating ice under himself, and leapt after Frediano.
He stretched his ice claws and hooked into a wall, pulling himself out of the way. However, Jasper curved through the air after him. Acting fast, he molded his claws into a shield and intercepted the attack. A powerful pulse of force burst through his shield and up his arms, making him wince.
"First Step!" Jasper's spin speed increased, and he delivered a second kick into the shield. "Second Step!" The attack caused Frediano's shield to shatter from his arms. With his guard broken, Jasper's speed increased further, and he landed the final kick to the Weavile's gut. "Third Step!"
"GAH!" Frediano went flying backwards into a wall and fell flat onto the ground.
Gasparo, keeping his distance, fired off Icicle Spear from his arms. Sensing the attack, Frediano hastily reformed half his ice claws and blocked the attack.
Gasparo grinned wickedly. "Not yet!" The flames traveled up his arms. Gradually, the icicles turned red, an inner flame burning within them. They struck harder into Frediano's defense, imbedding themselves into the ice shield.
Frediano kept his stance firm, but then gasped as he saw the imbedded crystals rupturing with light. "What the—"
A build-up of pressure ruptured out from the icicles, blasting Frediano's ice claws apart once again and slamming him into the wall with an explosive shockwave. His arms ached from the repeated blasts.
"What the…?" Frediano picked himself up and shook his head. "The flames are being infused into their attacks? The rapid heating off those icicles turned them into projectile explosives."
Jasper rushed the Weavile down while he was distracted. "You won't interfere with our sister's show! Scarlet Toxic Burst!" With the flames erupting around his Poison Jab, his straight punch resembled a streaking arrow of purple cloaked in fire.
"Whirlpool!" Frediano bought himself a second, summoning the water vortex to absorb the brunt of the attack. As it charged through the other side, he dodged out of its way and kicked the twin across the face, briefly stunning him. "Dark Frostbite Claws!" He reapplied his ice claws and swung at the stunned Sandslash.
However, another wave of Icicle Spears flew at him, forcing him to retreat. Gasparo laughed as he fired an endless barrage of icicles from his arms. "Scarlet Ice Cannon!"
Frediano ran alongside the walls of the closed off space, ducking and jumping out from the shockwaves going off behind him. He returned fire with his own version of Icicle Spear, but his shots passed through Gasparo. He stopped and watched as dozens of flickering clones of the infernal Sandslash appeared across the battlefield, each one laughing before continuing their attack.
"Dramatic Escape!" Frediano punched the ground and launched himself into the air, narrowly avoiding the exploding icicles. He clung to the side of the building and panted. Okay, I may need to take a moment and rehearse my lines before Act 3 takes me off stage.
"Advancing Drill Step!" He gazed down as Jasper launched and swam up the side of the wall, twisting into a ballistic drill wrapped in metallic light.
"Or more improv!" Frediano leapt off the wall and barely avoided the attack. "Flying Claws of Majesty!" He returned fire with his Icicle Spears, blasting into the unstoppable Sandslush twin as he curved around and fired himself at the Weavile. He changed his claws into a shield and tanked the attack as it sent them both crashing into the street.
Near the center of the battlefield, Iris defended her ritual pit as she wildly swung at Wyatt and Avel while maniacally laughing. Wyatt kept a cool head, moving and shifting around her attacks and striking back with his steel pole. Avel kept a sharp eye on Iris' movements, directing Wyatt with subtle shifts as the pair worked in sync.
Our training with Altair is paying off, Avel thought. Wyatt and I have grown more accustomed to sensing killer intent. This girl, however…she somehow has more malice in her heart that the Accelgor. It's almost suffocating.
Iris roared in frustration, her swings becoming more and more unhinged. "Stop. MOVING!"
Wyatt pivoted around her next swing and struck her across the back, knocking her to her knees. He skipped back, keeping his distance from the flames generating off her skull, and raised his weapon. "She doesn't seem to have much combat experience."
"Don't underestimate her," Avel reminded. "We're still at a massive disadvantage." He looked around, seeing the flaming footprints left in the Alolan Marowak's path. The flames were spreading along the soaked ground and filling the circular alley by the second.
Iris growled, the flames surrounding her increasing in intensity. "I've been hiding in the background for too long! I'll show everyone the star burning within my chest!" She reared her bone club back, the flames igniting wildly off it. "Enshrouding Firework!"
Darkness erupted out from the bone, mixing with the scarlet fire. Wyatt and Avel staggered, a sense of dread hitting them at once, as an unnatural wailing sound screamed from within the flames. Mixing with the shadows, they resembled black flames along with the intense scarlet.
"This is my stage!" Iris shouted. "My moment! MY RITUAL!" She laughed and rushed the brothers down. "I AM THE SCARLET PRIESTESS!"
"Protect!" Avel casted the barrier over himself and Wyatt, staving off the mad Marowak's attack. The splash of flames cascaded over the barrier gave them a close look of the soul-like faces screaming out. "As soon as I drop the barrier, push her back!"
Wyatt tightened his grip. "Right!"
Iris, however, laughed at them. "For your sake, the barrier better having more staying power! Aurora Firework!"
A cold air jetted from her bone club and splashed down over the Protect barrier. Wyatt and Avel gasped as the field of red ice surrounded the ground around them. An intense hissing whistled from the field.
Iris backflipped off the barrier and cackled. "I normally need more set-up for this technique, but the Scarlet Flame hears my call!" She clenched her fist toward the ice field, triggering a massive rupture of light.
Avel's barrier faded right as the brothers became engulfed in light. Acting fast, Wyatt kicked off the ground and used Bubble Beam to gain an extra boost. The ice exploded, sending up a towering shockwave that blasted them higher than intended. It slammed with the force of an Iron Tail from a rampaging Steelix, rattling Wyatt's insides.
Iris reared her bone club back. "Spiraling Firework!" She enshrouded the club in flame and tossed it like a boomerang, homing in on the airborne brothers.
"Wyatt!" Avel yelled, seeing his brother was still stunned by the blast. He fired his tongue, stretching it to its limit, and clinging to a nearby wall. Clamping his shell over Wyatt's lily pad, he narrowly pulled them out of the flaming Bonemerang's path.
Iris caught the returning bone club and pulled out a vial from her side bag. "Let's give this drab city a splash of color! Big Bang Firework!" She tossed the vial ahead of herself and fired a fireball out from her club like a magic wand. It struck the vial, breaking through the glass, and dramatically increased the volume of the flames. They rushed toward the brothers like a raging inferno.
"Protect!" Avel shielded himself and Wyatt, staggering against the force of the flames slamming into his barrier.
The flames splashed across the building behind them, completely engulfing in under the volatile rain. Upon dropping the barrier, the brothers gazed back in horror to find it completely swallowed within the inferno.
"Basil didn't say anything about those flaming being able to hurt us, right?" Wyatt whimpered.
Avel glared back at Iris with growing concern. "She's getting more heated by the second."
Iris laughed, dancing and skipping in place as she twirled her club. "What fun! What brilliant colors!" She caught her club and aimed it at the brothers with an excited smirk. "I was born to set the stage aflame!"
Amidst the flames spreading across the city, it found itself soon becoming incased in a blizzard that blew across the streets and rooftops. Taking an aerial perch over the blizzard, Lucient kept his distance as he was being chased by the escaped ice temptress, her presence causing the temperature in the air to drop significantly.
Lucient's attention divided itself, picking up the little details going on around him. The volatile rainwater froze upon coming into Junko's cold aura, as well as the soaked buildings themselves. Everything touched by the rain froze near instantly under her presence, so much so that the wave of cold traveled ahead of her as she chased the Espeon.
"[Look around you, Espeon!]" Junko taunted. "[Even now, the west becomes consumed by its own weakness, soon to be drowned by the flames of rebellion! Your land will be conquered by the unstoppable might of the Great Gate Empire!]"
Lucient grunted. "[Don't underestimate the west…]" He finally landed on a slanted roof in his path and focused, something dozens of psychic knives and launching them at her.
Junko laughed as the knives passed through her gaseous body. "[Pathetic! Your worthless technique doesn't compare to mine. Structures of Envy!]" Hundreds of ice knives appeared around her, flying along with the ice storm surrounding her. "[This is how you kill!]" She flicked her wrist and sent them flying.
Lucient jumped off the roof and ducked behind the building, clinging to the walls. He winced, feeling the ice slamming across the brick with such force that he could feel the individual impacts. One scraped across the corner wall he hung from, tearing out a chunk of stone.
"[Storm of Sloth!]"
Lucient looked on either side of himself and saw mist in the shape of hands reaching around to grab him. He narrowly avoided them, watching as they left frosty imprints over his hiding spot.
"I can't get too close to her, or I'll freeze. But I can't fight at a range forever." Lucient formed hard-light platforms and hopped backwards along them, keeping his attention split between the advancing Froslass and the path behind him. "Study her techniques down to the smallest detail and find a flaw to exploit. I need to get around her intangibility first."
"[Structures of Envy!]" Junko fired a barrage of icicles from her storm.
"Psychic!" Lucient stalled out in the air and projected a blast wave of psychic energy, shattering all the icicles in range. The remaining few veered off course around him. "Shadow Ball!" He whipped his head around and fired the sphere of darkness.
Junko raised her hands. "[Pride of the Blizzard!]" She released a cold wave all around herself, absorbing the Shadow Ball and freezing it until it shattered against the icy wind.
Lucient caught himself on a light platform and braced himself as the cold passed over him. Patches of ice formed over his fur and face. "Gah…"
"[Essence of Wrath!]" Junko released dark energy from her body, firing it toward Lucient.
"Shadow…Ball!" He blasted into his own light platform, using the explosion to throw himself out of the attack's way. He caught himself on another light platform and briefly used Psychic to shatter the ice off his body. I can barely concentrate. This cold's sapping at my energy.
"[Winter's Greed!]"
Lucient looked up as gray storm clouds appeared under the rain. Giant blocks of ice rained down over him. "Reflect!" He casted the multicolored barrier around himself before jumping out of the way.
Ice blocks rained down around him one by one until one caught him off guard. It struck, but Reflect greatly reduced the damage as it knocked him out of the air and crushed him into the street. He blasted it off with Psychic and sprung back onto his paws.
"[Pride of the Blizzard]!"
Lucient braced himself as the snowstorm blew through the street, flash-freezing everything around him. He placed up a light barrier to stave off some of the wind chill until it was completely encased in ice.
Junko descended upon the ice-covered street and laughed. "[Despite having to swallow my pride working with westerners, I've grown fond of how they bring devastation. Still, nothing beats watching you filthy scum tremble in despair before the cold rips away your will to live.]"
Lucient stepped out from behind his frozen barrier. "[What have we done to you to earn such vitriol?]"
She smirked. "[It's not a matter of what you did. It's simple fact. Emperor Orochi is a visionary who sees the entirety of Virdis under a single power, ruled by strength. The former emperor was a fool who dared to think peace would bring prosperity to the empire. Emperor Orochi was right to cut him and his child down. Their lineage has been destroyed, and thus comes the rise of the new power that'll show you inferiors your true place in this world.]"
Lucient glared. "[So, you simply see us as of inferior blood?]"
"[Correct.]"
"[Then, forgive my language…]" He adjusted his spectacles. "[You're a damned fool.]"
She grimaced. "[Excuse me?]"
"[Like I told you, this is a lesson, and I'm the professor.]" Lucient stamped his paw down, conjured spike balls of psychic light. "[And I'll teach you that the supposed quality of one's blood is irrelevant to unparalleled experience!]"
He launched the spiked ball as the ice ghost. She swiped her hand across the air, conjuring a barrier of ice that stopped the constructs in place. Lucient sprung into action, climbing up a series of light platforms until he was above the ice wall. Concentrating, he fired a series of Shadow Balls, blasting into the wall and tearing it down.
Junko spread herself thin through her storm, dodging the exploding darkness. She floated to the top and released her Essence of Wrath. Lucient jumped out its way and fired a curving Shadow Ball, striking and detonating across the gaseous ghost.
She pulled herself together and out of the smoke. "[Winter's Greed!]"
Ice blocks rained down over Lucient, but he conjured a light hammer and swung it across the sky, smashing the ice to pieces. The hammer split apart into hundreds of knives and fired at Junko with the aided momentum.
Junko smirked. "[This again?]"
Lucient clapped his paws together. "Fuse!"
The knives suddenly conjoined halfway, twisting into a spiraling spear. It blew through Junko and her localized storm, punching a hole straight through the other side. It shredded through half her gaseous body, the sudden parting of her molecules dazing her.
Lucient raised his paw back, summoning another dozen of the spiraling spears. "Fire!" He sent them in droves, piercing holes through the ice storm.
Junko recollected herself and flew out of the pathway of spears. "[That's how you want to play? Structures of Envy!]" She swiped her hands, commanding ice pillars to shoot out from the frozen buildings.
Lucient leapt over the pillars and slid down them. Junko summoned several dozen ice knives and rained them down on the Espeon. He skated and surfed along the pillars, dodging the knife storm, and leapt through the air. He rebounded off a light wall and fired a Shadow Ball at Junko.
"[Storm of Sloth!]" She exhaled an icy mist, freezing the Shadow Ball in a block of ice.
The mist surged toward Lucient, who barely dodged it. It caught his left hindleg, but he landed on a light platform and hovered back toward the ground.
"[Oh, you're not getting away that easily. Presence of Gluttony!]" She blew into her hand, molding a ball of mist between them, and tossed it at Lucient.
He fired a light knife into the attack, but exploded and rained particles of ice over him. "Gah!" He staggered back and shielded his eyes. "What was—"
Junko snapped his fingers. "[Time to put an end to your little tricks.]"
He pried his eyes open and saw a miniature gray cloud floating over his head. Looking around himself, a localized blizzard encircled, dropping the temperature down even more. He shivered, his uniform unsuited for low temperatures, but pushed through the biting cold.
"Sh-Shadow Ball!" He tried to form the attack, but it froze halfway through charging and dropped like a stone in front of him. "Huh? Psy—" He tried to use his telekinetic move, but felt a blistering cold wash over his head. Frost formed over his gemstone, delivering a splitting brain freeze. "Agh!"
Junko snickered. "[This little technique of mine is more suited for single targets. Any attack you try to conjure up will freeze before you have a chance to use it. It's especially painful for troublesome psychics like you.]"
Lucient clutched his head as the brain freeze persisted. Ingenious. A way to neutralize bothersome targets.
"[Essence of Wrath!]" She fired down the dark waves.
Lucient jumped out of the way and took off through a narrow pathway between the buildings. He felt the temperature dropping more as Junko followed after him. He shook his head and kept running, his mind racing a million words a second.
I need to change my strategy. First, get rid of this ice curse of hers. Second, time to use that new move I've been learning with Pandora. For my sake, it'll give me an edge over this fight.
With each crack of their fists striking together, flames spewed into embers and rippled across the street. Each impact stoked the flames, spreading wildly across the buildings and forming into an inferno serving as their battlefield.
Armant and Paride rushed each other down, slamming their fists together and flying back from the impact. Though the infernal corpse continued to get up and pull himself back together, Armant felt the sting of each blow sizzling off his skin. His knuckles smoked with the smell of cooked flesh hitting his nose. Small flames flickered against his bare body from the tainted rain.
He took a deep breath, shaking off the aches and burns itching at his skin. "It's been forever since someone could take a decent punch from me and get back up."
Paride roared at the Machamp and charged at him on all fours. The flames cloaking him flared up. His muscles expanded, pouring out his latent power through the flame's assistance. He swung, clobbering Armant across the face and knocking him off his feet.
Or so the corpse thought.
Armant rolled with the punch, taking the least amount of damage from the fiery explosion that followed. He caught himself on one hand, spun in place to build up speed, and hammered his leg across the corpse's side. He shrieked out from the impact and went sailing down the street, bouncing off his back several times before crashing into a parked wagon.
Armant flipped onto his feet and, tensing his leg muscles, burst forth with explosive speed. "Guess I'll have to dish out my better techniques."
Paride ripped himself out of the wreckage and punched the ground, sending forth an infernal wave of mud. Armant retaliated with a powerful palm strike, blasting the mud apart. He lunged forth with another explosive burst of speed and reared his right arms back.
"Apex Clothesline!"
With his muscles expanding, he hammered his arms across the neck and chest, the impact sending a burst of kinetic force out the other side of the axolotl. If he were alive with his normal motor functions, Armant guessed it would've hospitalized (if not killed) him on impact. However, it served its purpose well.
The infernal corpse careened across the road and blasted through several buildings ahead. Though he tumbled and rolled with the momentum, he clutched the ground and caught himself, roaring in outrage. The flames burst from his back and rocketed him back into the fight.
Armant raised his guard. "Here he comes."
Paride reared his fist back, channeling a concentrated form of scarlet flame across his knuckles. Armant stretched out his fingers and readied a retaliatory palm strike.
"…Scarlet—"
Armant's eyes widened. "Wait, wha—"
"—Knuckle!"
At the last second, Armant pivoted off his heel and dodged the punch. A jet of flame burst from the attack, shooting like a laser and setting off the soaked streets.
Armant backed off from the flaming corpse, staring at it in confusion. "It speaks?"
Paride cracked his neck toward the Machamp. Letting loose a ferocious roar, he unleashed a shower of infernal Mud Shots. Armant leapt out of the way and ran as the stream of Mud Shots followed behind him, caking the buildings and street in an adhesive flame.
"Earthquake: Clap!" He stopped and struck his hands together, blasting the mud away with the resulting shockwave. It struck the infernal corpse and threw him backward into another building.
Taking a second to catch his breath, the titanic bounty hunter studied Paride as he scrambled to pick himself up and realign his neck. The words it spoke played over and over in Armant's head, his confusion spiking with every loop.
Unless the flames preserved and manipulated his vocal chords, there's no explanation for what I just heard. What is this accursed flame? What trickery allows it to bring back the dead?
Paride growled, lumbering toward Armant. "Rebellion…"
He glared. "Rebellion?"
"Rebel…Rebellion!" Paride unleashed a demonic shriek and charged at Armant, flailing like possessed puppet.
Armant quickly analyzed his surroundings, noting the increasing volume of flame surrounding him. "Questions for later." Placing pressure on one foot, he twisted his body and generated sparks of yellow and purple off his body. "Apex Lariat!"
He kicked himself into a tight spin, generating a cloak of purple light off his form. The force he spun at stirred the winds, gradually commanding them to flow along with him. Soon, as he picked up more speed, the entirety of the street became consumed in a cyclone of dense winds.
Paride ceased his charge as he felt the force of the winds pushing against him. He gripped into the street and held himself in place as rubble and wreckage were picked up and thrown about within. The flames and volatile rainwater were sucked into the cyclone and rising up to the top of the funnel.
The high force winds smashed across the buildings, breaking them down little by little until entire chunks of stone ripped from the foundation. Soon, even the street tore open, carrying all matter of debris up the improvised tornado.
Paride couldn't hold onto the ground any longer, feeling it rip away from his hands, and fell back with the winds. He thrashed through the currents, firing off infernal Mud Shots only to have them sucked up with the rest of the flames. He tried boosting himself out with his jets of flame, but even they were absorbed within the high wind.
However, rather than flying up the funnel, Paride drew closer and closer to the eye of the storm with each revolution around. He channeled his Scarlet Knuckle and readied to clobber the spinning Machamp.
At the last second, right as Paride came in range to strike, Armant stopped and ducked under the punch. He carried his momentum over to his right fists and hammered them directly in the corpse's skull, striking with such explosive force that the ground shattered around them.
"RAAAAAAAH!" Armant threw a decent portion of his strength down his arms and launched Paride, blasting him through a building with such force that the entire structure came toppling down on top of him.
Armant staggered back to catch his breath. He clutched his fists, patting out the embers lingering on them, before grimacing at the destruction he caused. Though he had some form of expressed permission to let loose, he stung every time he caused damage to the beautiful city.
"Argh…" He shook his head and glared at the wreckage. "For both our sakes, stay dead."
His demand fell on deaf ears. Flames jettisoned from under the wreckage, and Paride pulled himself to the surface. The flame cloak continued building up around the Quagsire's corpse, burning away what scrap of cloth that survived within it. Under the light of the flame, Armant could see almost a skull-like visage in the face, perhaps indicating the flames were finally chewing through the skin.
"What is the Scarlet Flame?" Armant asked. "What power could bring such a force into existence?"
The corpse growled, stepping out from the rumble.
"Don't ignore me. You can speak, monster. Are you this vessel's true host? Or are you something else entirely?"
"…" Paride clenched his fists and growled louder. "Rebellion…!"
"Rebellion from what?"
"…You."
Armant raised his brow. "Me?"
The infernal corpse roared out at Armant. "You! The unyielding light! Flames…consumed the light! Destory…Laurus Vanguard!"
"…" Armant narrowed his eyes. "So, that's it, huh?"
Paride launched himself across the street and slammed both fists into the Machamp. He raised his upper arms and blocked his twin strike as he crossed his other pair, glaring into the inferno resting in the corpse's eyes.
"These are the flames spoken of by my ancestor."
"Consume! Light!"
Armant's glare deepened. "Then I suppose I should do the Dufort name proud, and extinguish your evil." A silver light reflected off his eyes. "Very well!"
Frediano raced across the walls of the surrounding buildings, firing off Icicle Spears against Gasparo while Jasper drilled through the walls after him like some kind of land shark. He kicked off into the air, dodging an emerging strike, and fired directly center of the Sandslash's face.
"GAH!" Jasper fell out of the wall and onto the ground.
Frediano flipped through the air and rained down shots over Gasparo, who bunkered under his flaming ice quills. Morphing his ice back into claws, he raced toward the long-range specialist and slashed into his side, knocking him into the air and onto his brother.
"Majestic Hammer!" Morphing his ice into a giant black icicle, he swung his fist and extended the reach of his ice armament.
Jasper was the first to recover and shielded his brother. "Scarlet Armor!" The flames completely engulfed him, fusing with his Iron Defense and turning his skin molten red. He raised his guard and tanked the attack. It shattered on impact with his reinforced body, and the ice exploded into steam.
Frediano staggered as cracks ripped down the length of his ice armament, shattering it from his arm. "What kind of improv have they been learning?"
Jasper pulled Gasparo to his feet. "Take him down, brother!"
Gasparo smirked. "With pleasure! Crystal Target Field!" He dropped to all fours and fired scarlet quills from his back. They spread out the air before vanishing from sight.
Frediano stepped back in confusion. "Eh?"
Jasper rushed forward amidst the Weavile's confusion. "Scarlet Toxic Burst!" Flaming poison surged from his claws as he went for the straight punch.
Frediano twirled majestically around the combat twin's straightforward attack and kicked him across the face. "You will not defeat the Great Frediano with such lack of style!"
Gasparo laughed. "Then try this! Scarlet Focus Barrage!" He raised his arms toward the sky and fired an array of glowing Icicle Spears from his arms.
Frediano immediately reformed his ice claws and rushed the twin down. "Perhaps your eyes look too high to stardom! What is that supposed to hit—"
BANG!
The Weavile gasped as an icicle suddenly flew in from behind and exploded across the back of his leg. He tumbled, but rolled to his feet to find the source of the attack. Another struck from his blind spot, ripping through his left ice claw and exploded across his arm. He activated Quick Attack and took off as more shots exploded around him.
"What kind of effects are this?!" he gasped.
He turned his eyes up and realized the source of his predicament. The icicles were ricocheting off spaces in the air. The individual impacts showed a brief glimmer of the previous attack fired by Gasparo, floating all around them nearly invisible.
Is that Stealth Rock? The flames infused within them are generating controlled explosions to redirect and accelerate his shots. He can attack me from anywhere—
Frediano screamed out in pain as one exploded across his side, sending him spiraling across the ground. He rolled onto his back and inspected his torched side, though he was more concerned about it tearing his suit.
Anywhere with incredible speed.
"What's the matter, clown?!" Frediano tilted his head back as Jasper dove out from the sky, twisting himself into a careening spiral. "I thought you were good at multitasking! Pay more attention!"
Frediano spun on his back and conjured up a Whirlpool, providing enough space to stall and escape the Sandslash's punishing impact. He staggered back as the earth shook from the crash, but he remained standing despite the wound he sustained.
Well, this is a trouble turn of events. Even with the little time they've had to adapt, they're making use of that flame nicely. He partially removed his mask to glare at the twins, growling with disdain. On top of that, most of my attacks aren't doing any meaningful damage to them. Ugh, I'm so useless! I need to find a way around this mess and fast.
Wyatt and Avel weren't fairing any better on the other side of the battlefield. With Iris' confidence rising by the minute, her attacks became more ferocious and unyielding.
"Enshrouding Firework!" With jet black and scarlet flame engulfing her bone club, she rushed down the brothers and struck into their guard, forcing them onto the defensive.
They stuck to evasion, shifting around her attacks and striking back when an opening revealed itself. However, even though they avoided the full brunt of her attacks, the flames she produced grew too unbearable to stand near. Even dodging a strike caused Wyatt's cheek to burn from a brief lick of the flames.
"Agh!" Wyatt stumbled back on his heels and covered his smoking cheek. "Avel!"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" the Shellder assured. "Just keep your distance!"
"But that's all we've been doing!"
Iris laughed and lunged at the brothers, gripping her club like a broadsword. "Join the ashes!"
"Cold combo, now!" Avel yelled.
The brothers fired Bubble Beam and Ice Beam together with all their might, blasting into Iris until the bubbles and ice encased her in a misshapen block of ice. Though, it provided little reprieve as the Alolan Marowak started melting her way through.
"Run!"
"Good plan!" Wyatt turned and hightailed it before the ice exploded from around Iris, sending bullets of ice bursting off the walls around them.
Iris leapt out from the ice and threw a potion ahead. "Big Bang Firework!"
"Protect!" Avel bunkered Wyatt and himself under a shield as the raging inferno slammed into them, engulfing yet another portion of the alley.
Iris spun her baton, creating a huge volume of flames, and charged them down. "Flora Firework!"
With the shield dropping, Wyatt could only dodge the attack. However, the sheer volume of flame being produced enveloped him and Avel. They screamed out in pain just before Iris swung her club across Wyatt's face and knocked him down.
"This is my stage! Mine!" Iris shouted. She giggled manically, dancing on the tips of her toes and gazing upon the inferno brewing around them. "Look at my beautiful flames! I'm on top of the world!"
Wyatt quickly blasted himself and Avel with Bubble Beam, dousing the flames. Wyatt's clothes were scorched with his right sleeve burnt to ash. "Avel, I think we're out of our depth here."
Avel glared. "No kidding. We need to rethink our strategy." Seeing how out of control the flames were getting, they would be running out of room soon. It didn't help that they were fighting in a limited space consistently getting smaller.
…So perhaps it was time to move the fight outside the battleground.
"Frediano!" Avel called out as the Weavile held off a Poison Jab from Jasper.
"You call the Great Frediano?!" he replied between grunts.
"We need to retreat for now! Trust me!"
Frediano parried the Poison Jab and kicked Jasper off. "A short intermission? Very well! Onward, friends!"
"This way!" Avel pointed his tongue to an alleyway unblocked by the flames, ordering Wyatt and Frediano to run toward it.
Iris scoffed and aimed her club. "You're not going anywhere. Aurora Firework!" She slammed it on the ground and sent a wave of red ice toward them.
Avel signaled Wyatt and shot out pieces of rubble hidden under his shell. The Lombre jumped and reared his hand back. "Knock Off!" He slapped the debris with such force that they shot like bullets into Iris, pinging off her head and cutting off the red ice's advance.
"GAH!" She staggered back and covered her head. She growled as the thieves and bounty hunter fled the alley.
Jasper and Gasparo ran up behind her before high-fiving each other. "Hah! They ran with their tails between their legs!" Jasper exclaimed.
"Score one for the Alolans!" Gasparo cheered.
Iris, however, scowled. "No."
"Huh?" her brothers gasped.
"That Shellder's scheming something." She pointed at the alley and said, "Chase them down. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the ritual. Whatever they're planning, it can't be allowed to go off."
Though worried about leaving her alone, the Sandslush twins nodded and chased the fleeing party into the burning alleyway. Iris walked back to the ice pit as it continued spewing her compound into the atmosphere. The flames cloaking her skull flared up more, their heat magnifying.
"I have been blessed with this opportunity to spread the flames of jubilation, and I will not let these fools ruin the glory of the ashes. So says I, the Scarlet Priestess."
Lucient ran as far as he could from Junko until he was out of her line of sight. He took to the streets, half of them frozen solid while the other half flickered in scarlet fire. He ducked behind some burnt wreckage, keeping low as to also obscure the snow cloud floating perpetually over him.
Her mastery over ice is superb. She could have this entire city blanketed in white if it weren't for the fire. He sighed, brushing the frost coating his shoulders. On top of that, her Ghost-Type and ability grants her a unique advantage in this type of terrain. Add on to her neutralizing most forms of attack and even producing similar, if not better, variants of my light constructs…
He felt the air temperature dropping suddenly. Peeking out behind his cover, he saw the snowstorm flooding out onto the street with the ice temptress riding along the winds. He could barely make out her eyes in her gaseous state as they carefully scanned the half-and-half street.
"[Running and hiding? What did I expect from the pathetic west? There's nowhere for you to go. This entire city has become our circus, and you'll be just another casualty of the performance.]"
Lucient glared. I'm not much of a fighter like the others. I prefer a tactical approach to these situations. I doubt she'll give me the opportunity to. Still, this kind of environment will put my training under Pandora to the test. I just need to set everything up just right.
"[Come out, come out, low blood,]" Junko taunted, slithering through the air.
But first, I need to dispose of this troublesome curse she placed on me. He scratched his chin. By mapping out a profile of the attacks she has shown so far and their characteristics, I could reasonably dissect what contributes to their activation. The persisting cloud indicates a low-level form of Hail combined with some type of Ice move. The unique quality of this skill designed to negate the activation of my moves would say…Disable is a key component. So, it can be activated to stop all moves upon activation rather than temporarily shutting off my ability to use one. It's the key, but not the component that keeps it running. I order to break the curse, I need to target the Ice-Type.
He looked around himself, recalling that he was sitting on the scorched half of the street, and noted the flames nearby.
He sighed. In the realm of logic, sometimes being illogical is the most logical first step to success. He took his spectacles off and pocketed them, glaring determinedly at the flames. Very well! A calculated risk, it is!
He bolted out from behind cover, immediately catching Junko's attention. "[There you are! Structures of Envy!]" She formed giant icicles and launched them at the fleeing Espeon.
With no moves to defend himself, Lucient opted to jump and skid around the attacks, making the best use of his physical training. A plan formulated itself as he ran, running through possible faults and setbacks against his troublesome opponent. Though he couldn't quite interpret fighting styles with the same incredible finesse as Melissa…
He excelled at exploiting information.
You made a mistake focusing your ire on me, Yukimura Junko.
"[Winter's Greed!]" Junko called down giant blocks of ice to smash Lucient into the pavement.
With the flame in sight, the Espeon lunged the rest of the way as the ice blocks crashed down behind him. He plunged his whole body through the fire and screamed out as he became utterly consumed.
Junko recoiled in shock. "[Is he insane?!]"
Lucient staggered out from the flames and stood his ground as it raged like an inferno off his body. Though the pain was nearly unbearable, it did what was required. The intense heat coming off of him reached the cursed snow cloud and caused it to fizzle away.
First step complete.
"Psychic!" Lucient expelled telekinetic waves off his body and extinguished the flames from his body. He staggered forward with his body wrapped in smoke. His uniform and fur were partially scorched, but the ice that previously covered him actually did him a favor of staving off the worse.
Junko growled. "[How can anyone be so reckless?]"
Lucient shook his head before glaring up at her. "[Reckless? I think of it as an improvised strategy. I intend to stop this fight and save this city.]"
Junko scoffed, summoning another wave of icicles over herself. "[I'll freeze your blood and shatter your corpse across this very street!]" She flicked her wrist and showered the icicles down on him.
Lucient's eyes flashed, conjuring a light barrier in front of himself that tanked the attacks. With his eyes bursting with psychic energy, he focused in on Junko and said, "My mentor gave me a harsh lesson about seeing the bigger picture. If I want to keep up with my friends, I need to do more than take calculated risks."
"[Are you mocking me with your inferior tongue now?!]" Junko roared. "[You dare taunt me with your words?! Pride of the Blizzard!]" She cast down a powerful burst of frozen wind.
Lucient leapt into the air, hopping between light platforms, and hovered above the ice temptress. "Don't be afraid to go all out. Never let them know your next move. Keep them guessing until it's too late. Create a plan that'll put your enemies in their place."
Junko fired icicles at him, shouting, "[Speak normal, you worthless rat!]"
Lucient dodged and hopped onto another platform. "I may have had doubts about her abilities, but I'll put my trust into Pandora's slightly deranged wisdom. [As for you, Yukimura Junko, I'll counter your wonderland of ice.]"
She growled. "[What are you rambling about—]"
Then, she saw it. Out from the corner of her eye, she saw a portal of psychic energy opening within the storm she resided inside. From it, a spear of hardlight extended out from within.
Acting fast, she twisted her body and dodged at the last second. The spear shot through her side, ripping into her gaseous form. "[What the—]"
Her eyes widened as more psychic portals opened up around her, each producing a spear locked onto her new position as if knowing she'd move there.
Lucient pointed down at her from his high perch and said, "[I'll counter you…by turning this entire city into an elaborate, inescapable trap. Sound familiar, Yukimura?]"