Chapter 277 - Flaming Darkness; Approaching The Climax

That dark aura clinging to him; it's much thicker than before--dense and cold, intertwined with a hell of a lot of power. I think he omitted some details from his ability...obviously being in this "Inverse World" gave him some sort of amplification, Fai thought. 

Keeping his guard up in such terrifying odds, Fai couldn't help but share in his enemy's smile at the prospect of the all-out battle on the horizon. 

Flipping the sable pole between his fingers, it felt natural even if he had never wielded it before; smiling brightly with new irises tracing over his own. 

I feel it Wukong; this is your fighting spirit--embodying it feels like embedding flames into my flesh, but I'm used to that. Let's do this your way--and take the initiative! He thought. 

Kicking off the ground in a speed that threw his golden, fur-clad body forward in a speed unlike anything previously, Fai spun himself around before swiping the divine rod towards the black-haired, pale Argonaut. 

Blocking the strike with an arm coated in an abundance of shadowy mana, Avdima smiled from ear-to-ear as if never experiencing such emotions before--pushing the pole away with his pale, muscular forearm before responding with his own attack. 

Not anymore--I can see you, Avdima. These eyes can follow you! Fai thought. 

With a fist that could bore through a mountain of melded steel, Avdima's straight punch was defended against by the unbreakable rod wielded by the Outlander. For the first time, he blocked an attack from the overwhelming Argonaut without feeling as if his arms had been blown off, or that it was simply a miracle he managed to react to the attack. 

It was now excitingly clear to both men--they now faced each other as equals. 

"...You're perfect!"

Though he complimented Fai, it came laced with a flurry of dark-infused punches--a series of hits that met with the decorated pole each time as the otherworlder matched the skyrocketing intensity of Avdima. 

It goes against everything taught to me, everything I've drilled into my body--but the part of me that's him is screaming at me to do this! Fai thought. 

Amidst the defense of blows, Fai countered with a sharp headbutt; rearing his head back and launching the thick, durable skull of his against Avdima's own as a gnawing thud unleashed into the battlefield--both men being knocked back by the harsh recoil. 

Though with the essence of the Monkey King running through him, the divine adrenaline tore any crippling pain away and replaced it with an overwhelming excitement as Fai recovered faster than his opponent, extending his mystical pole and spinning it rapidly in the air above his head. 

Gathering a powerful wind that was subject to his might, he infused these rampant, howling winds with his own flames of a seraphic quality--conjuring a majestic storm of bright orange around himself as Avdima finally shook off the blow to his head. 

"Don't disappoint me now!"

Somehow, those words escaped Fai's lips naturally as if spoken from the depths of his being--luring a perplexed look from the gloomy, long-haired Argonaut before the man replaced it with an extensive smile. 

"Don't get cocky just because you're playing on the same level as me now--I'm just getting started!"

Responding in kind, Avdima birthed from his being a plethora of magical energy--a never-ending fountain that stretched itself into the world, reaching out with its bleak darkness. 

Without an incantation to be heard of, Avdima suddenly swiped his hands through the air--spinning and weaving the abundant darkness into whatever magecraft he had run through his mind. Taking neat, organized forms, the darkness layered itself into far-reaching strips of sable essence, extending towards Fai rapidly. 

"Hyuh!"

Swinging the pole that had been gaining a momentum seeping in flames, the fire-clad rod crashed against the incoming strips of precise darkness, burning the closest pair before the others began to encroach on his position. 

I don't really plan to figure out what these do if they touch me! He thought. 

Leaping into the air with a strength in his legs natural to the Monkey King, he watched as the lines of abyssal magic shot straight up after him. 

"...Extend!"

There was little hesitation in releasing the action he had never done before; forcing the pole into a heightened, unorthodox length as he combated the malicious, sable trails with swings that pushed the winds to the west and east. 

Clearing away the dark magecraft, Fai began to plummet back down towards the inverse forest, tucking the rod away as it scaled down to a minuscule form. 

Sorry, Wukong--but weapons aren't really my style afterall, Fai thought. 

Reaching the surface of the world, he greeted his opponent with a comet of an axe kick, embracing his leg in his fearsome flames as his heel met with the raised guard of Avdima--two arms that felt more like an insurmountable bulwark beneath him. 

Even if not directly colliding against the ground, the aftershock of the kick disrupted the dried up, lifeless soil beneath the Argonaut's feet as it cracked and caved in. 

Still, the ecstatic smile perched on Avdima's lips didn't so much as fade as he suddenly gripped Fai's ankle, taking hold of the fur-clad man with his exhilarating, overwhelming strength as he flung the otherworlder towards the trees. 

Finding himself traveling through the winds, Fai looked up to find Avdima now directly above him, crashing his dark-clad fist down against his chest with a brutal impact. 

"A fist-to-fist battle; anything goes--that's my kind of fight! That's why you're perfect, Fai!"

"...Didn't you say you weren't much of a talker?!"

Without a response, Avdima continued his onslaught, throwing fist after fist towards the golden-eyed Outlander--plummeting down upon the man's arms like raining meteors, shaking the forest around them intensely with each strike. 

Damn, even with my guard up--I'm taking a helluva beating! He thought. 

Finding the minuscule moment existing between attacks, Fai swiftly jabbed his thumb against the back of the man's heel, causing the man to suddenly fall to one knee as his rampage was interrupted. 

I'm running on fumes, I barely have enough mana to sustain my own strength, he thought. 

"Don't get cocky!"

Using this opportune time, Fai continued to be laid down on his back--raising his legs as he wrapped them around Avdima's neck tightly and left arm, spinning around and bringing the man into a deathly hold. 

Putting every ounce of his mana into reinforcement, his legs bulked up--bursting with thick veins as he squeezed around the man's neck with his utmost. 

"...Ghn…!"

With a face as red as a tomato and eyes just as bloodshot, Avdima grunted between his teeth as he gripped onto the martial artist's legs. 

Fai could hardly feel surprised by what he witnessed next, but it was still just as harrowing; slowly, while holding onto the legs wrapped around his head with his single, free hand, Avdima stood himself up from his compromised position with the otherworlder perched atop his head. 

What the…? From that position?! Fai thought. 

"...Not...yet! I won't fall...yet!"

Yelling out with a strained, vein-layered body, the iron-grip of the Argonaut began to slowly but surely loosen the tight hold of the bulky, strengthened legs around his neck. 

"Give it up, will you?!"

Finding the unending resilience of the Argonaut to be borderline madness at this point, Fai began to hammer his fist down upon the man's head rapidly--causing damage but not fast enough as an aura suddenly spiked from beneath him. 

"Erebus: Primordial End!" 

As the incantation shot himself from the bleeding, swollen lips of Avdima--the spell immediately followed, much too soon for the otherworlder to remove himself from the man's position. 

From this distance?! He thought. 

Within a moment, an explosion of volatile darkness filled the surrounding forest of the inverse world--swallowing it in its destructive path with little hesitation to its indifferent onslaught. It only lasted ten seconds at most, but by the time the spell cleared itself from the forest--it took its toll. 

Managing to somehow be still standing on his own two feet, with his slippers torn and tattered, his sable, baggy pants just as beaten--Fai coughed out a hefty amount of blood as he swayed. 

"...You're insane."

It was the only thing Fai could say in that moment as he looked at the man standing across from him--covered in bruises and a mixture of his and Fai's blood. By no surprise, every hollow tree within three-hundred paces was disintegrated by the eruption of destructive magical energy. 

"Heh." 

Spitting out his own share of blood, Avdima smiled with rows of teeth now painted in deathly crimson. Even in the battered, three-quarters dead state they both found their bodies in--their will to fight wasn't diminished in the slightest. 

"This isn't a battle that can't be won without being willing to lose your life."

Parting his lengthy drapes of jet-black locks from his eyes, Avdima spoke with his bloodied smile before returning to a stance readied for battle. 

"I agree."

From here on out, it's me and my body--let's put these years of training to use. Even using Wukong's essence, I'm outmatched in pure physical prowess. However--Avdima fights solely with brute strength, there's no grace or technique to his movements. Targeting his pressure points earlier paid off; his mana flow is completely disrupted to the point of him barely being able to cast anything at this point.

That's my one chance here--my ticket to seeing tomorrow, Fai thought.