*Lei*

Iah and I glared at one another from opposite ends of the canyon. Only a single wooden bridge waved in the gusts that would occasionally blow in.

A single horn appeared on Iah's forehead and yellow scales covered his skin.

My lips curled upward. "Seems that you're taking me seriously this time."

Iah scoffed. "I did the first time too." The earth underfoot trembled. "But I'll finish this battle quicker than the last."

I snickered. "Perhaps I misspoke. It does seem like you're underestimating me." Wind danced around me, raising dust high into the air.

"Careful with those debris. I don't want to win because you had an asthma attack."

"No worries, the dust is stuck in my gales!"

Iah sighed. The clouds of dust caught in the walls of my vortex began to seep into the center.

My breathing came to a standstill. If I breathed in that dust it would be the end of me. Luckily, Iah turned them into spikes... well maybe not so lucky...

A sphere of wind surrounded me, destroying the spikes of earth.

"Fulgur Draco!" I chanted. With a raised hand toward the sky, lightning dropped down from the heavens.

The bolt went through the barrier around the battlefield and took the form of a dragon. The electrifying dragon rushed at the prince of Mina, scorching the ground as it flew incredibly close to it.

"Heed my call, oh earth! Terra Draco!" Iah punched the ground, causing a giant rock dragon to rise from the dusty ground.

The rocky dragon crashed into my lightning dragon. Iah and I were flung away from the canyon as a shockwave erupted in the spot where our spells had collided.

Iah raised his head and grinned. He was starting to look like his old self again.

A smile came over me too. "Let's do this!" I yelled, gathering winds in the blades of my butterfly sword. "Ventus Perseco!"

"Oh no, I'm not going to face that again," Iah said, clapping his hands as I threw one of my knives. Wall of earth rose around the edge of his side of the canyon. The blades of wind struck them head on, tearing holes just like my wind arrows had torn through the orichalcum targets.

The rock making up the walls was pulled toward the blades but as soon as that rock touched it, it was torn by the wind of my blades.

Bullets of mud lurched at me from the wall. Wet clay splatted behind me. With a single slash, I had cut them each one of them down.

"Is that all you got, Lei?" Iah asked.

I narrowed my eyes at the earth wall. "Hey, look at who is losing!"

Something hit my stomach, sending me crashing into a sandstone cliff. A plume of dust spread all around me.

I covered my mouth and tried to stand up but a foot landed on my stomach.

Now out of the dust cloud, I gasped for air. A wall of wind formed behind me.

"I stand corrected," I said, wiping off the blood dripping from my mouth.

Iah's golden eyes gazed down at me from on top of another sandstone cliff.

"Spark!" I yelled. Electricity surged throughout my legs. Flying at him, I formed a fist and threw it at him. Iah in turn met my fist with his own. The cliff he stood on shattered into dust and cracks appeared throughout the ground below.

"I almost forgot how much of a mess our past battle made," Iah said, grinning.

I snickered. "Same."

We flew away from one another. Electricity crackled and wind gusted all around me. Iah in turn became more draconic as he solidified the earth in the air back into stone.

"Leiji!" I screamed. Crackling golden chains appeared out of my right hand and lurched at him like famished serpents on a rodent.

The floating rocks around him intercepted the chains but lightning flung out of them, obliterating the rocks.

A smirk appeared on the prince's face even as the chains were inches from touching him.

He held out his draconic hand and grasped the chains. Sparks of yellow scattered in the air.

A gasp escaped my lips. He had shattered my chains, worse of all was that he didn't seem affected by paralysis.

"Neat trick. Here's one of mine!" He clapped his hands together again. This time a pillar of earth came at me from below.

My grip on my remaining butterfly sword loosened. As soon its tip touched the pillar, it shattered into sand.

Iah snickered. "I see how it is..." He reclined his head back and drew in as much air as he could into his lungs. "Lóng zhī tǔxī." A beam of yellow smoke like a sulfur from the mouth of a volcano emerged from his mouth.

My gales pushed it away. "Really? Smoke? You think that'll work on me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Iah stared at the lingering wisps of smoke in the air. They returned for another shot at me. "Do not underestimate it."

I grinned. Wind swirled around me, pulling in the smoke. Once all of it was gathered, I shaped the wind into a sphere and threw it back at Iah. The prince dodged and appeared behind me. He raised his hand as his eyes were on my neck.

"No you don't!" I yelled, spinning around. His karate chop became sandwiched between both my hands.

Iah kicked my abdomen, sending me falling toward the canyon.

The winds within the canyon were like a howling beast wanting to get out.

My laughter echoed on the canyon walls as the winds rushed upward. The howling gales wove together around me to form a barrier of wind.

A rumbling sound not from the wind vibrated across the canyon. The walls... were moving toward me. Iah flew above the canyon exit with a smug smile.

"Ha, you think this is over?"

"Of course not. You haven't even used some of the spells you used during our previous match up."

"Fine, if that's what you want then here goes! Ventos Caeli Potestatem Vestram da Mihi!" I chanted. A radiant green aura blazed over my body. Slowly, the thick coat of prana began to elevate higher into the sky. My barrier of wind tore a semi-spherical hole in each of the closing canyon walls. "Hope you're ready, Iah!"

Iah grinned with anticipation as he allowed the ground below him to rise. "Try your best, rénxiōng!"

I snickered.

An enormous gale stuck the canyon walls, sending a giant chunk of earth flying off into the barriers. Iah wrapped his draconic wings around his body as the wind shot upwards. The wind parted around him.

"Come back!" I yelled, holding my hand out.

Iah opened my wings slightly. His golden eyes scanned the area as the fierce gale died down. He grasped as two objects struck the back of his wings.

His teeth clenched as I recall my butterfly knives. "You forgot about them, didn't you?" I asked, as I caught them. "You should know to keep track of everything when it comes to battling me."

The prince smiled. He flapped his wings, sending me falling back into the canyon. Slabs of rock connected the two sides of the canyon, covering me in darkness. A cloud of sand rushed in from the ends he had been left uncovered, blotting out what little natural light there was left around me.

It was dark beyond where the glow of my aura reached, but strangely I could see even those spots. Could it have been the doing of the abysmal within me?

My gales kept the crass sand away while I quickly put my butterfly knives into the black sheaths on each side of my belt.

Once free, a bow of wind formed in my left hand. I formed an arrow and pulled the string on the wind bow back. Green light pierced through the darkness. The gales swirled around the tip of the glowing arrow and guided it to the slabs above. Dust plumes erupted overhead until natural light finally poured back down. Though the arrow didn't stop there.

Iah who continued to fly over the narrow mouth of the canyon shrouding himself with his wings anew. Though not before chanting something. Wind surrounded his wings upon impact, making him resemble a meteor with an otherworldly green glow.

My arrow should've pierced through his wings by now, yet he continued to hold on. The remnants of the arrow exploded, resulting in a horizontal green shockwave below the prince.

The wind pushed me back to the surface.

"That was impressive," Iah said, opening his wings slowly. His yellow eyes were glowing. "Though you know I've yet to show everything too, right?"

"Right, your Tsuki no Me..." I muttered. "Wait, did you use it to survive that?"

He put his hands on his hips and chuckled. "Nope!"

"Huh? Then what did you use? Or can you harden your wings?"

"Not telling. That's up to you to find out." He closed his eyes and his wings.

I raised my bow and shot more arrows at him but each one exploded upon contact like the first.

"What are you made off? Pure orichalcum?" I yelled, continuing to launch arrow after arrow. Taking a deep breath, I focused my green aura on my arrow. My prana was running low. It was now or never.

*Boom* Chunks of earth teared from the ground and ascended above Iah. The rocks clumped together until they formed a spherical rock.

"Ready?" Iah asked as he opened his wings slightly.

My arrow flew toward the exposed area. The yellow wings closed but it slipped through. A violent gale emerged as Iah's wings opened back up.

I laughed. "I did it!"

"Did you not learn from our past match?" Iah asked. In his hands was a glowing silver katana.

"H-how did you..."

He grinned. "My entire body is as sturdy as my wings."

I narrowed my eyes. My prana was still in his veins but not enough to affect him.

The winds raising me died down, bringing me lower to the ground. I formed another arrow and aimed.

Iah grinned and lowered his giant rock from the sky. My arrow shot through it, shattering it in an instant. Rocks scattered in all directions, plummeting the yellow ground. Plumes of dust raised into the air.

The prince of Mina flew down and raised his wings back.

I held my arms out which crackled with electricity. "Leiji!"

"That won't work!" Iah yelled as he sliced through the chains with his sword.

My hands clenched around my sheathed butterfly swords. My wall had gotten higher. A grin appeared on my face. "You said you felt like you hadn't grown, but seems you were being modest. Though is why you're my rival!" I yelled as the green aura flashed to life once again.

Iah grinned as he raised his sword in front of him. "Likewise, Lei."

Wind gathered around me as I spun my knives. Shockwaves tore through the canyon. Iah's scaly skin cracked while mine was torn. If it weren't for the regeneration powers the abysmal being gifted me, I wouldn't have lasted for long. Iah though also seemed to be healing.

Both of us pulled away then rushed once more at one another like a pair of wild deer. Last thing I saw was Iah getting pushed toward the barrier by the shockwave. Meanwhile the last thing I felt was a brief surge of pain as my back stuck something hard. Screams pierce the air, not only those of Iah and me, but also of the audience.

***

"They're waking up," I heard a murmer. I opened my eyes and saw Adela standing beside me.

I sat on a white hospital bed. Iah occupied the one to Adela's left.

Iah rubbed his head. "W-what happened?"

"Who won?" I asked, sitting upright.

Nyima, who sat in the only chair in the room, sighed. "They're trying to figure that out right now."

"Huh?" the two of us said.

"You both hit the barrier at the same time," Adela said.

Nyima shook her head at us. "You boys nearly killed each other."

Iah sat upright. "I didn't think it got to that point. Seems we're stronger than we thought."

I snickered. "Yeah!"

He smiled.

"You idiots shouldn't be patting each other on the back," Nyima said, shaking her head.

"I agree," Adela said. "You two go too far with your mat-"

A ringing sound cut my pink-haired childhood friend off.

Iah and I glanced around for our phones but the ring died off before we could find them.

"It's mine," Nyima said, staring at her cyan phone. "Hmm, they've decided the winner. Though it was only a microsecond of a difference."

Our eyes widened. "A microsecond?"

"It was basically a tie, but the committee prefers not to have one as it'll means they'll have to have four matches to decide if Mina or Wahkan advance," Adela said.

"So they're deciding it on a short instance?" Iah asked. He fell back on his bed, laughing.

"S-so who won?" I asked, staring at Nyima.

She smiled. "We've moving on."

Iah stopped laughing. "So I'm the one who struck it first..."

"Yeah, your tail did."

"So in the end my transformation did me in," he said saying. His yellow eyes glanced at me. He held his hand at me. "Good going, Lei."

I bumped his fist and smiled. "Well, I don't count this technicality as a victory. One of these days I'll defeat you for real, you'll see!"

The prince grinned. "I'll like to see you try. Who knows, perhaps the third time will be the charm. Still, you really surprised me out there."

Warmth covered my cheeks. "Did I?"

"You were amazing," Adela exclaimed.

Nyima smiled. "True, both of them were... now I have to catch up to Lei too..."

"What do you mean? You defeated Ciji," Iah said.

"That third release would likely do me in," Adela said, smiling. "Especially considering the first one defeated me."

"But it didn't finish my opponent off."

"You'll just have to develop a fourth release!" I yelled, stretching my hands out.

"I'll take lots of work, but I know you'll be able to do it," Iah said, sitting upright. "All four of us have grown in these past months. Some more than others, but I would say we're roughly even."

"Really? Because Adela is rather scary," I muttered.

Adela blushed. "I'm sorry..." the pink-haired girl said, turning away. "I know that side of me is unbecoming..."

"But one of these days I'll face you head on! Same with you Nyima. Iah isn't my only rival. All of you are," I said, grinning.

Nyima crossed her arms over her chest. With a smug smile, she said, "Well, I don't plan to lose to a brat like you."

"Me neither," Adela said, smiling. "If you want to become the Magus Maximus then I'll give you the challenge you need."

"I'll continue to be a wall you can only strive to reach," Iah said, smirking.

I jumped out of bed. "I'll overcome you three and anyone else who stands in my way. I'll rise to become the Magus Maximus! Then from there my dream doesn't end. I'll become stronger than all of the Magi Maximus before me! Heck, even those after me! Only my reincarnation would be able to overcome me!"

The other three exploded in laughter.

"W-what's so funny?" I asked, pouting.

"You sure love to dream big!" Iah said, partially covering his mouth. "But for now focus on us."

I grinned and raised a fist to the air. "Right, one step at a time!"

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this battle between Lei and Iah. I tried to make it better than the original bout between the two. Thoughts? Theories?**