Gael and Ereg showed their weapons, so now their strength had greatly increased, and the danger of their battle to the surrounding area had multiplied.
The Colosseum could absorb a huge amount of energy, but it was obvious to everyone that the Colosseum was gradually reaching its limit.
In the first attack, the colosseum had to intensify so much that not even a sound was left inside the arena, however, this was the maximum as all the runes on the hundreds of ancient stones shone brightly with a violet light.
If the Colosseum was destroyed, their battle could become an uncontrollable chaos that could destroy part of the Beastfolk World. The Fifth Chronicle Beastfolks will not be able to stop Gael and Ereg, who are the Progenitors and among the strongest in the universe.
So... in that case, they just needed to utilize the unique property of the colosseum that would allow it to absorb much more energy than normal. To do so, they simply needed to strengthen the pure energy runes.
Firth Chronicle Beastfolks had some amount of pure energy, but this job was not for them. There were three people among the spectators whose energy amounts exceeded all possible limits, this wasn't a problem for them.
"Shall we do it now?" Nitra asked with a glance at Alucard.
"Nah." Alucard shook his head as an excited expression formed on his face, "We wait until the situation becomes critical. If the Colosseum can withstand their attacks, there is no point in our involvement for now. However, as soon as it becomes necessary, we will help the arena immediately."
Nitra nodded silently as well as Liang.
They respected Gael and Ereg's fight, not only because they were Progenitors, but because the battle had a long history. Also, Alucard's interference gave them a chance to see how Ereg and Gael would act, obviously, they remained impressed. Alucard acted rudely, but Gael and Ereg just waited for an opportunity to continue their fight. That was all they needed, the rest just didn't matter.
"What do you say?" Ereg smirked, pointing his sharp claws at Gael, with a confident smirk.
Gael nodded, "Not bad. They didn't have that aura last time, nor were they covered in darkness. Did you change something about your attribute?"
Ereg shrugged, "I just made it my goal to defeat you, other things took a back seat. Your power, it's white flame and ash, free and light, yet deadly. So I needed darkness, wild and fierce that can break your ashes!''
For a while, Gael was silent, as if pondering Ereg's words that echoed in his head.
Then, a slight smile appeared on his face, and he took a step forward. Particles of ash appeared with every move he made, swirling around its majestic owner.
"In that case... I will show you, the full power of ash, the full power of someone no one has ever defeated before." Gael said quietly, raising his sword upwards.
Whoooooooosh.
At the same moment, multiple streams of ash appeared out of nowhere, headed towards the tip of the sword. They spun in a chaotic swirl, picking up random wind currents, passing near the colosseum.
Ereg was wary, his eyes narrowed, and his fur stood up. He had not yet reached the limit of his power, in a way unleashing the weapon was one of the beginning stages in their fight. Ereg had many more wraiths just like Gael's scars that were waiting for their opportunity to unleash their power.
However, Gael didn't use any enhancements, so Ereg wasn't going to do so either. After all, this wasn't a battle to the death between two sworn enemies. If it wasn't for Ereg's seriousness and perseverance, this fight would have been friendly, but that didn't suit him.
All in all, he had to endure this attack, without any additional reinforcements, or else it would be tantamount to admitting defeat in this round.
'Fine, I can do it. My claws can do more than just slash... Darkness is multifaceted and fluid, I can shape it into whatever form I want. Ereg muttered inwardly, staring intently at the ash storm swirling over Gael.
Then, Gael took a step back, bent his body, and attacked with lightning speed, thrusting his sword forward.
The whirlwind, in an instant, surged forward, lashing out at its only target - Ereg, who had no intention of retreating. He was fully prepared to take all the damage and stand his ground without even taking a step back.
Ereg took a deep breath as his claws trembled, it seemed that the darkness was trying to escape, but that was his will, only he was in control here.
The darkness began to shatter, literally ceasing to be claws and becoming hundreds of particles floating in the air in front of Ereg.
"That's a powerful attack, but I also know how to defend myself... I used to neglect it and that was my greatest mistake..." Ereg muttered with obvious sadness in his gaze as the particles of darkness trembled.
They grew quickly, increasing in size several times over, but their thickness decreased just as much, forming a flat and solid shield in front of Ereg.
Several dark threads emanated from his hands, binding him and the barrier, it was still his weapon, though now his claws took on a different appearance.
Gael smirked. His attack had yet to reach Ereg, but he was glad to see that his opponent had learned from his mistakes.
'Well, well, last time because of your confidence and aggressive fighting style you lost an eye... After all these years you still can't forgive yourself for that mistake.' Gael pondered, as his gaze grew deeper.
As strange as it may sound, regardless of wealth or power, every being has their own problems. The biggest problem for Progenitors was loneliness. After all, even if a person could live alone for fifty years after two hundred everyone would get bored.
In this regard, Gael was a really lucky guy. Not only did he have a friend, Alucard, but also another partner who had been waiting for him for a long time for one purpose - to fight him and find out who was the strongest.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Sharp streams of ash along with the wind tried to cut through the dark barrier, quickly covering it with tiny scratches and cracks. Very soon, the barrier would have to fall, disintegrating into pieces with no way to recover. The vortex simply had too much energy with the destructive power lurking in the ash.
However, Ereg's gaze didn't change in any way, his face remaining unemotional as everything was happening within his expectations.
'Damn... If it wasn't for that barrier, the ash would have just turned me into mincemeat... Agh, I never like to admit my mistakes and learn from them, but I definitely should have done it sooner.' Ereg shook his head before stepping forward and placing his palm against the barrier.
'Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The barrier shuddered as through it, passed the dark threads binding the barrier to Ereg. Now the threads had a very different task. They were like whips against the vortex, tearing the ash apart, weakening the powerful attack step by step.
Ereg smirked, looking at his barrier that was gradually recovering. The threads were simultaneously attacking the vortex and transferring Ereg's energy into the barrier so it could heal from the damage. It was the perfect combination to defend against one powerful attack.
Gael nodded slowly with a deep gaze. He had expected Ereg to be able to defend himself, but he hadn't expected that his attack, which had taken some time to prepare, wouldn't be able to do any damage.
"Well, looks like I need to change my approach a bit." Gael muttered before swinging his arm.
Whoooooooooooosh.
At the same moment, the vortex split into many small streams, leaving dark threads without a target. Then, the streams of ash turned into several swords, normal with medium blades and sharp edges.
Ereg found himself surrounded on all sides, while his barrier could only protect him from one.
"Shit!" Ereg exclaimed, clenching his palm tightly into a fist, thus shattering the barrier into shards.
Before the first ash sword could fall upon Ereg, his darkness once again took the form of a liquid, quickly heading towards his right hand.
Crackle.
Three long, newly formed claws collided with the sword, shattering its structure into harmless ash.
"Not bad, but will you have the reaction to do the same now?" Gael smirked, swinging his arm downward.
More than ten swords swept down on Ereg at high speed. Their sharp tips were aimed straight at his weak points, cutting in their path the loose wind currents that happened to be here by chance.
Ereg tensed his muscles, going to fend off each of the swords. He was capable of it with his claws, but at the last moment, something changed in his gaze.
Fragments of Alucard's battle against the World of Darkness flashed before him, as flaming spheres burned him time after time attacking him from all sides.
'Wait... I don't want to be in the same situation. Those swords won't burn me, but what if a few of them hit me?" Ereg internally muttered before glancing at Gael with a blank gaze, 'Unlike Alucard, I have a quick way to stop it.'
Step.
Ereg stepped forward, the ground beneath him cracked and fell as his silhouette partially became darkness as the spirit of death headed towards Gael, simultaneously slow and unhurried, yet at the speed of sound.