Seed Of Speed

("Damn, that guy is strong!") Diego thought to himself after matching Lightningrush's hammer smash. ("I won't be able to fight the others if I keep doing that!")

Diego's second [Speed Clone] was charging for Quicksand, Riverblade, and Mountainaxe while Moonfall and his {Water Clone} flew in on the back of his griffin. Tovao and Stormblade, unfortunately, got the short end of the stick and were being carried in the griffin's stone talons since Moonfall was given priority for the ride.

"Water, Wind, and Ice spells will be more powerful thanks to my song, but theirs will be weakened," the {Water Clone} shouted over the storm.

"Not exactly my best, but I've got some things up my sleeve," Moonfall said.

"No help with Fire?" Tovao complained.

"It wouldn't help you anyways, it's strictly a magic thing," the clone replied.

"I will tie down Quicksand, but I'll need some help to defeat him," Stormblade said.

"I've got Mountainaxe, so that leaves you two to take down Riverblade. Don't let her trap you with her spell, or it will already be too late," the clone warned.

"I'll keep Tovao out of trouble," Moonfall promised.

Tovao, hearing the conversation above him, could only hang his head in defeat, unable to retort as the weakest member of the group. The griffin swooped in low and released Stormblade and Tovao while Moonfall slid off the back end then once again, it soared up in the air.

Mountainaxe, seeing the approaching [Speed Clone], laughed and took off to meet him. After tasting Lightningrush's strength, Diego was not foolish enough to attempt to take his attack head-on as Mountainaxe was known for being even stronger. Like his brother Peyni, Mountainaxe had been born with super human strength, and being raised within the sect, his power had only been amplified.

The two-handed axe gleamed with a red light as the super-heated blade chopped horizontally through the air, aimed for Diego's torso, but with such an obvious attack, Diego evaded it with ease using his [White Lightning Array]. He flashed to Mountainaxe's back before he had swung his axe halfway, but when Diego stabbed out with his spear, Moutainaxe's body turned metallic scarlet-gold and easily deflected the attack.

Mountainaxe gave a feral howl which caused his body swell and nearly double in size. The red-orange defensive skill turned pure crimson in color under the effects of his transformation, but what startled Diego was the sudden increase of his speed as Mountainaxe whipped his axe back around. Diego could only deploy his chi lines and 'hop' between the end points while Mountainaxe acted more like a beast than a man.

Instantly, he was reminded of his fight with Bako, but where Bako's berserk state strengthened his power, Mountainaxe's increased his speed. Diego did not even have the time to counter-attack and just keep flashing around him in hopes of outlasting the skill.

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The moment Moonfall, Stormblade, and Tovao touched down on the sand, they found themselves almost being s.u.c.k.e.d in. Moonfall started forming a spell to lower their gravity, but before she could complete it, a stream of water came rushing towards the three. Despite their hopes, Quicksand and Riverblade knew better than to let themselves be divided.

Stormblade ripped his legs out of the sand forcefully and jumped in front of the stream, stabbing out his sword while channeling Wind and Water mana through the blade. Ice erupted from the point of contact, but the stream was determined and simply flowed around forming ice. Stormblade could only channel more of his mana into his sword which was quickly forming a dome of ice between the two sides.

Moonfall completed her spell which stopped the trio from sinking as fast, but it was clear by how the sand was trying to crawl up their bodies, Quicksand was actively controlling it. Without no other option, she slammed the end of her staff down and flooded the area around her with mana to block his control. Once she freed herself, she had to do the same for Tovao who had already sunken nearly to his waist since he had no mana to fend off the attack.

"We're going to have to do this together!" Moonfall said as she pulled Tovao out of the sand.

"I just want to put this new glaive to the test!" Tovao laughed as he stood up.

"Help!" Stormblade said just before the ice dome shattered.

There was a flash of silver then Stormblade was thrown back with his arms and legs covered in a number of superficial wounds. With the dome shattered, the trio could now see Quicksand and Riverblade standing side by side.

Quicksand had his usual daggers, but in Riverblade's hand was a custom soft sword. Using her chi allow, she could make the blade short and as hard as any sword, but she could transform it to make it as long and flexible as a whip. The pair were both known for their ability to entrap their foes, making them very difficult to take on alone, even harder when they worked together.

Riverblade swung her sword and another stream of water came racing at the trio. This time, Moonfall was the one to step forward and block the attack with her staff, but unlike Stormblade, her ice was more powerful. Moonfall's ice created the initial concave ice wall, but then it began pushing forward, devouring the water stream. Riverblade stabbed out her sword to let it flow in the stream then, in the next moment, the ice shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Quicksand dashed out at the same time as Riverblade's attack and swiped his two daggers through the air. The ice shards that were starting to fall to the ground were whipped at the trio by a powerful gust of wind and he appeared right behind them. Quicksand's target was Moonfall, but before he could strike, a flaming glaive was thrown straight at his c.h.e.s.t. Quicksand was forced to abandon the attack and used both of his daggers to knock the glaive off course.

Stormblade was half a second behind Tovao's throw and was chopping his sword down at Quicksand's neck. With no time to block the follow-up, his body turned scarlet-gold and erupted with a large burst of Wind mana. Stormblade's attack still landed on Quicksand's body before he was thrown away, but much of the power behind it had been lost and the sword only left a white scratch on the metallic skin.

The multiple practices and their time together running through the Catacombs, Stormblade's and Tovao's coordination had reached an impressive point. Just as Stormblade was being thrown back, Tovao had dashed forward with a fiery trail and grabbed his glaive. He spun the weapon through his fingers then attacked with [Wagging Tail]. Under his martial master, Juno Brextin, his custom chi technique had been elevated to the point of a green-ranked skill. The low, repeating sweeps would grow faster and stronger until twelve swipes had been achieved. If it was blocked early, the skill could be broken, but if it could build up to the tenth strike, only a Demi-Body cultivator could block it without fearing injury.

Quicksand only picked up his feet to dodge the first few swings, but Tovao was not stopping. Not worrying about a martial student, Riverblade turned her focus to Stormblade and she attempted to keep him back with another stream of water. Using the opening, Moonfall pointed her staff at Riverblade as tens of ice shards formed in the air around her then shot out at Riverblade.

The stream of water changed course to block the ice, but under the boost granted by the music, the ice was able to break through. Riverblade pulled back her sword and deflected or destroy all of the remaining ice shards, but that allowed Stormblade to return to his fight with Quicksand. Narrowing her eyes, Riverblade held her sword straight up in the air as all of the rain seemed to change course and head for the tip of the blade.

"{Hidden Blade of the River's Current}," Riverblade said quietly as a large globe of water hovered above her head.

The second Moonfall saw her preparing the spell, she knew she was in trouble. Her own named spell would take too long to form and a simple {Ice Wall} spell would not be enough. Simultaneously, she crafted three spells on top of each, pushing her mind to the limit as she crafted a completely new spell at the spur of the moment. {Sandstone Wall} and {Ice Wall} had no business being casted on top of each other, but Moonfall f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y fused the two spells with the power of the third, {Gravity Twist}. She changed the very nature of the gravity between the two elements, so that they would be compelled to layer on top of each other.

With blood dripping from her nose, the super-dense ice and sand wall formed between Riverblade and the others just as she released her own spell. The roar of water drowned out everything else for a moment as the globe of water released the power of a raging river. Moonfall pushed even more mana into her spell, making her fall to her knees because of the strain, but the wall withstood the attack.

Shadowbolt suddenly appeared at the young girl's side with a small smile on her face and said, "Your mana is expended. You are removed from the contest."

The master-disciple pair vanished, but Moonfall was not the only one to leave. Riverblade was knelt on the ground, panting. A black robed elder appeared and removed her from combat for the same reason as Moonfall. Normally, she would be able to unleash her named spell multiple times, but the power from the music made her increase the amount of mana needed each of her moves.

Stormblade and Tovao did not even notice when the two women were taken away as they were both too focused on Quicksand. Using his {Wind Swords} on top of his daggers, Quicksand was able to fend off the combined attacks of the two, but he did not have to chance to counterattack as their attacks chained off the other.

Pinned between the two, Quicksand's hands never stopped moving as he deflected blade after blade away from his body. Although Stormblade would occasionally step within range of his {Cyclone Blast}, Tovao had already prove that so long as they were at least a meter away, the pushback was negligible. Quicksand was able to hold them off for a few minutes on his own, but he knew he would not last much longer, so he made a crazy plan.

Violet lightning wrapped around his daggers and he slashed heavily against Stormblade's sword with both of his blades. This knocked Stormblade's sword flying as the electricity numbed his hand, so he could not hold the weapon tight enough, but it also allowed Tovao to send a thrust straight into Quicksand's unprotected back. Quicksand twisted as fast as to minimize the damage he took while also sliding up along the shaft of the glaive, putting his daggers to Tovao's throat. Before an elder could even remove Tovao from the fight, Stormblade pulled out a second sword from his storage space and placed it against the back of Quicksand's neck.

An elder in black robes appeared and placed a hand on Tovao's and Quicksand's shoulder then said, "You both have been killed and are removed from the contest."

The pair disappeared with the elder and Stormblade let out a tired sigh. He looked around, but after finding no sign of Moonfall or Riverblade, he went to collect his fallen sword and wait for Brightmelody to finish his fight.