The battlefield was a wasteland of scorched earth and shadows, stretched under the crimson glow of a dying sun. Kay tightened his grip on the void-black staff in his hand, its obsidian surface pulsing faintly with the power of his cursed magic. Across from him, Gino Everose stood tall, his golden robes fluttering in a wind conjured by his own radiant aura.
“You don’t have to go through with this, Gino,” Kay said, his voice low, carrying a tone of desperation. “We were brothers once.”
“And now we’re the last of us,” Gino replied, raising his gleaming staff that radiated the warmth of a summer sun. “One final duel, Kay. We’ll see if that demon’s magic can stand against the sun’s might.”
Kay’s lips curled into a grimace. He hated the demon that lurked in his black peacock magic, but now, it was all he had.
Without another word, Gino thrust his staff into the ground, sending forth a wave of golden fire Solar Crest. The flames surged toward Kay like a tidal wave of light, burning away shadows in their path.
Kay reacted instantly, his black peacock wings unfurling in a blur of dark feathers. The air shimmered as he raised his hand, summoning Abyssal Veil, a vortex of shadows that consumed Gino’s flames. The two powers clashed mid-air, the light struggling against the darkness in a violent explosion that sent both wizards skidding backward.
“You’ll have to do better than that!” Kay growled, launching himself forward. His wings spread wide, and with a mighty flap, he released Eclipse Strike a barrage of feather-shaped projectiles glowing with malevolent energy. The dark feathers twisted unnaturally in flight, honing in on Gino like guided missiles.
Gino raised his staff, summoning a blinding sphere of energy Solar Flare Barrier. The feathers disintegrated upon contact, their dark energy dissolving in the radiant defense. But as the barrier faded, Kay was already in the air above him, his staff raised high, dripping with black, viscous energy.
“Plume of Despair!” Kay roared, slamming his sword into the ground. A wave of black magic erupted in all directions, the ground cracking as ghostly black peacock feathers rose from the earth like a deadly bloom.
Gino leaped into the air, his body engulfed in flames. “Enough!” he bellowed. His hands came together, summoning the power of the sun into his palms. With a mighty thrust, he released Solar Lance, a concentrated beam of golden light that pierced through the center of the battlefield, vaporizing everything in its path.
Kay barely dodged, twisting mid-air as the beam grazed his side. The demon’s whispers grew louder in his ears, urging him to unleash its full power. His peacock wings darkened further, their iridescent shimmer vanishing entirely.
“Let me show you what your sun cannot burn,” Kay said, his voice now layered with the guttural growl of the demon. He planted his sword into the ground, summoning his ultimate skill: Black Nirvana. The sky above them shattered like glass, revealing a void of endless darkness. From the void, a monstrous spectral peacock descended, its wings spanning the entire horizon.
Gino’s eyes narrowed. He thrust his staff skyward, channeling the entirety of his magic into one final attack. “I won’t let you win, Kay!” he shouted, activating Solar Zenith, a spell that transformed him into a blazing avatar of the sun. His body glowed with pure light, every step he took melting the ground beneath him.
The two clashed in a cataclysmic collision of light and darkness, their magic shaking the heavens. Kay’s spectral peacock lashed out with its massive wings, each strike splitting the earth, while Gino’s fiery form burned with unrelenting intensity, incinerating the darkness around him.
Their final attacks collided, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
The ground shook as Gino’s Solar Zenith flared to its peak, his entire form blazing like a second sun. “This ends now, Kay!” he roared, thrusting his staff forward to release Solar Judgment, a colossal beam of pure sunlight that scorched the earth as it surged toward Kay.
Kay stood his ground, his wings spread wide, their edges crackling with arcs of black thunder. His body trembled as he gripped his staff tightly, channeling every ounce of his cursed magic. The demon’s voice growled in his mind, urging him forward.
“Fine,” Kay whispered, his voice low but resolute. “I’ll use it. Just this once.”
Raising his staff high, Kay called upon his ultimate skill. “Oblivion Sword!”
A surge of darkness erupted from the ground beneath him, spiraling into the sky as bolts of black thunder crackled and struck the earth. The vortex condensed above his head, forming into a massive sword, jagged and otherworldly, with black lightning dancing violently along its edges. The sword pulsed with demonic energy, its sheer presence distorting the air around it.
With a mighty roar, Kay swung the Oblivion sword downward, its weight and power tearing through the heavens. The black thunder surrounding the sword clashed with Gino’s Solar Judgment in a cataclysmic explosion, the collision creating a shockwave that rippled across the battlefield, uprooting trees and shattering rocks.
For a moment, it seemed as if the two powers were evenly matched, but then the black thunder surged, consuming the golden light. The massive sword cleaved through Gino’s attack and struck the ground with earth-shattering force, sending a crackling wave of black energy outward.
When the dust settled, Gino lay on the ground, his radiant aura extinguished. His staff was broken, and his body was still, though his chest rose and fell faintly. Kay stood above him, the Oblivion Blade dissipating into black mist, leaving arcs of thunder flickering in its wake.
“You’ve lost, Gino,” Kay said softly, his voice tinged with regret. “But this fight was never about taking your place.”
Gino opened his eyes, his voice hoarse but steady. “Then why?”
Kay looked away, his wings folding around him. “Because I needed to prove to myself that I could end this. That I could walk away.” He turned, stepping into the distance. “Goodbye, Gino. You’ll remain the Wizard Kaiser. This fight was just between us.”
As Kay’s figure vanished into the horizon, Gino watched him go, his eyes filled with both sadness and understanding.