Rajaka ended up up falling forward entirely, crashing head-first into the ground. He barely managed to push himself back up when Jenso's flames struck him head on, and pushed him to rolled away on his side before standing back up. Part of his long flowing hair was burned away, but it grew back immediately, and the burns along his neck from the fireballs, along with the torrent of flames healed faster than before. But the look on his face was new. He looked awfully angry. Rajaka glared at Jenso for a moment, and then smiled, taking a deep breath, and calming himself down. He lowered his arms and nodded, putting one hand to his chin, and holding his that arm with his other, in a thinker pose. Rajaka closed his eyes for a second and nodded.

"50%"

In an instant, He threw a one-two punch towards Jenso, launching even faster blasts, faster than anything Jenso has ever face before, from only 30 feet away. There was no way Jenso could dodge on such short notice. For such a slow, bulky opponent, his energy blasts were extremely fast!

Jenso's eyes widened as Rajaka's injuries healed yet again. And on top of that, Jenso was exhausted. 'You've...you've gotta be kidding me...I hit him right in the face...' Jenso thought. Time seemed to slow down as the deadly blasts headed towards him at insane speeds. 'So...this is it, huh..If I get hit by that..' Jenso thought, realising that he wouldn't be able to dodge. He took a combat stance as flames surrounded his body. 'If I'm going to die...then I might as well go out..' Jenso thought, as he felt a massive surge of power rush through him. Suddenly, the orange flames that had surrounded him began to change into bright white flames, burning even more furiously and intensely as a great wave of heat emitted from them. Jenso glared at Rajaka as his pupils changed into white flames.

"...WITH ONE LAST ATTACK!!!" Jenso roared, as a burst of flames erupted from his feet similar to what he used against Mikey to launch himself away. Suddenly, the flames that erupted from his feet turned white as well and a huge white flame erupted violently from his feet, while even more white flames began to surround Jenso's body and increased in power, making him look like a white, giant flame ball with his body in the center. He moved as fast as a bullet, ramming straight through the Ki waves that Rajaka had launched at insane speeds. To Rajaka, it seemed like a massive white comet was headed for him.

"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Jenso roared violently, aiming to body-slam into Rajaka's stomach with his shoulder at the ready, in order to engulf his opponent in white flames.

Rajaka didn't quite register it, but he knew Jenso was coming straight for him. His speed was abnormal, but on sheer instinct, the yellow giant reacted with an attack of his own. He timed it as well as he could manage, and pulled his entire body down, lower to to the ground. He lowered his right arm, and just as Jenso was about to crash into him, he fired a punch that right for Jenso's shoulder. There was a loud crashing noise as white flames whipped around both fighters. It whirled and whirled for a minute, and when it settled down, Rajaka was left standing with his head held high. Jenso on the other hand, was on the ground, his fire doused, and his power overcome. Rajaka looked down and chuckled.

"Ki fusion?" He grunted, "No fuckin' way.." Rajaka knelt down and grasped his left shoulder angrily as an familiar feeling crept across his back. Something he hadn't felt so profusely for over a thousand years. He slowly turned his head towards his right arm, and in an instant, the muscles in his face contorted into a grimace. He was in pain.

He looked down and saw the outline of his fingers grasping into the white, wrecked, battlefield floor. His muscles were as big as ever, but bones protruded from both his bicep, and forearm. Nothing new, not at first. What concerned him was how far away his hand was. Jenso's attack didn't just hurt him.

It ripped Rajaka's arm right off.

---

Rajaka pushed himself back onto both feet and stomped the ground heavily. Again, and again, he stomped, hissing short bursts of air through his nose as he tried to overcome the pain with his ki manipulation. He'd never had a limb torn off before, and although the bleeding stopped almost immediately, the pain sure as hell didn't. "You peppy little..." Rajaka gasped and stomped on the ground again, shaking Jenso's body awake. "Shit eatin'.. Grah...Grrrrff..Grrrr!!" The giant stepped towards Jenso with his head held low and looked down at the defeated hero with his brow creased tightly. "GRAAH! OK! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT! I'M GOING TO SMASH HIM NOW!" Rajaka roared. He looked towards the edge of the arena with a jerk of his neck, where Zelriane was watching from afar. "I'M GOING TO SMASH HIM NOW. PROBLEMS? CONCERNS? OB-FUCKING-JECTIONS???" Zelrian didn't respond for a moment, but shook his head, allowing Rajaka to proceed. The yellow Giant grunted and lifted his foot above Jenso's head.

"RAJAKA-" Rajaka started, "SMASH!!!" With a might huff, he brought his foot down, scattering debris and smoke as his crashed into the ground. But as the Dust settled, there was no blood. Jenso's head wasn't smashed, and his body was gone. Rajaka blinked and glared at his foot, lifting it slightly. "W-Wah!? Where did he go?? Did he dissappear? Or.. Was he never there to begin with!?" Rajaka questioned. He shook his head and looked around, immediately spotting Jenso in the hands of a new challenger. "Oh, there he is- HEY! YOU THERE! I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF SMASHING THAT!!" The newcomer turned around and faced Rajaka, carrying Jenso between her hands. No, not hands.. Talons! It wasn't a human, nor was it even a fighter. It was a giant green hawk, larger than any bird that Jenso had ever seen before. Rajaka glared at it and his eyes drooped.

"Why the fuck am I talking to a bird."

Jenso tried to keep his eyes open despite his exhaustion and pain, and glared up at Rajaka as he was about to smash him with his foot. 'Lark, Dacer, Tiger...Ross...I'm sorry..' Jenso thought, unable to move. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

After hearing Rajaka stomp the ground, his eyes flashed open again. He stared at Rajaka in shock from afar, realising that he was still alive and only now noticing that Rajaka's arm was ripped off. What kind of attack did Jenso just do? What happened to Rajaka's arm? Why wasn't he dead? All these questions flooded Jenso's mind as he tried to make sense of the entire situation, and everything that happened. He looked around himself, and noticed that the giant green hawk was holding him.

It seemed like the hawk had saved him. He was very grateful, but a small part of him felt bad. It was a fair fight, and he had lost, so he felt like Rajaka had the right to kill him. However, he was extremely happy to be alive. "Thanks, uh..." Jenso muttered, looking up at the bird. He was unsure what it's name was. "...Cool-looking green hawk!"

The hawk lowered Jenso to the ground and released him, landing nearby and retracting its wings. Rajaka blinked and shook his head. "Am I high?.. No, I can't even get high anymore- What the hell just happened??"

"A miracle," Somebody's voice called out from the crowd. Jenso knew it, a man's voice, gruff and overconfident. From behind him, near the cracked and torn edge of the fighting arena, stepped in Jenso's savior. He was holding a massive green broadsword, and draped in torn clothes. "Phew, didn't think we'd make it on time, Pij! Nice flying." Rajaka turned to the newcomer and pointed at him with his remaining hand.

"Who the HELL are you!?"

Jenso attempted to stand up, but ended up falling forward, placing his hands on the ground to support himself from falling face-first into the ground. He was completely drained, but his mind began to piece things together. "...Pij, is that you? Wow, you sure have grown!" Jenso complimented, with a wide grin on his face. He turned to the familiar voice. "L...LARK?!" Jenso shouted with a happy tone, eager to see his friend again.

"That's the name, don't wear it out," Lark spat, pointing his sword at Rajaka, "Looks like I made it in the nick of time. Fancy that luck!"

"I'm pretty sure that THIS RIGHT HERE IS BREACHING THE RULES OF THE TOURNAMENT!" Rajaka shouted. But as he turned towards the announcer, and the audience, he noticed that all of them had already fled. The entire arena was empty, leaving the two of them alone to fight. The only one left was Zelriane. Rajaka was dumbfounded by the fact that he hadn't noticed sooner. "...ANYONE!?" Lark walked over to Jenso while Rajaka was having a fit and knelt by his side.

"I'll explain why I'm here later, kid. Great job so far. I'll take it from here," Lark insisted, grasping the hilt of his sword with both hands as he stood up. "Ready Pij?" He asked his familiar. Pij squawked and began to glow furiously, inching towards Lark. He leaned his shoulder against Pij's wing, and in a flash of light, the two of them disappeared, and reappeared, with new characteristics.

Lark's muscle mass expanded and his skin was overrun by green tribal markings, spelling out ancient myths in the dead Gaian language. His eye burned brightly, and his shoulder flexed outward, expanding into a giant pair of angel-like Wings.



"...Zelriane, this man transformed into a bird. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could have prepared me for the events currently unfolding before me," Rajaka shouted, still looking at Lark. Zelriane didn't respond. "Whatever, I'll grow my arm back eventually. I think I'll only need one to take care of-"



A loud thump sounded, and Rajaka stopped talking. Suddenly, Lark was behind him, and his blade was coated in a few droplets of blood. The golden giant turned around slowly, taken by complete surprise, as he other arm was sliced clean off. "Z-Z-Zelriane! This guy's faster than.."

"I saw," Zelriane said, appeared next to Rajaka in the blink of an eye.

"I-I-I'm gonna..." Rajaka grunted and groaned angrily. The flesh over his right arm's stump bubbled, and his chest began to pulsate.

"Shadra is on her way, I would imagine. Your void's distortion will call to her in time." Zelriane stood between Rajaka and Lark afterwards, and narrowed his eyes. He was thrown slightly off balance, as was Lark, but a sudden upset. It seemed, that without regard for his own life, Rajaka charged towards Jenso without either of his arms. His steps felt even heavier now, shaking the very foundation of not only the arena, but the entire kingdom.


Lark stepped forward, but wasn't able to move quite as quickly as before. Zelriane also blocked his path, and delivered a quick jab into the base of his sword. Rajaka was on a collision course with Jenso, and it was certain, that he was doomed.

Moments before the impact though, a torrent of water struck Rajaka's right leg, sending him into a tumble, past Jenso, and towards his left. Mikey dashed towards him and knelt by his side, with a wide smile.

"Looks like things aren't going so well over here!" Mikey teased.

"A-Alright.." Jenso muttered in response to Lark, a little caught by surprise by the man's sudden appearance. He hadn't seen Lark in so long, and it was a relief to see him again. Jenso stared in awe at Lark as he combined together with Pij, and slashed Rajaka's arm off with amazing speed. He couldn't help but smirk. 'Heh...didn't expect any less from him..' Jenso thought, finally managing to get up and to remain standing. Jenso blinked as Zelriane appeared next to Rajaka. 'Wait...when did he...?' Jenso thought, trying to figure out how Zelriane appeared next to Rajaka. Was he just that fast? Or was it some sort of technique?

Jenso grit his teeth as Rajaka roared violently and charged at him. 'Without any arms...Is he insane..?!' He thought. He tried to dash out of the way, but only managed to take one step as his body refused to cooperate. 'Shit...!' He thought, clenching his fists in frustration as he was about to meet his end. As Mikey struck Rajaka's right leg and saved him though, a wide grin came across his face as his friend appeared on the scene. "Mikey! Thanks, you saved me man! I guess we're even now, eh?" Jenso teased back.

"Not quite," Mikey wheezed, looking over to Rajaka, who was slowly getting back up on both feet. In a sudden burst of energy, his right shoulder burst open, and released a brand new right arm. Its skin was grayed for a moment before turning flesh tone, but it seemed totally operational. He stood up straight and clenched his fist a few times before turning to face Jenso and Mikey. "I sensed your Ki control earlier. Looks like you've mastered my Ar-Ki fusion technique, already! Color me pretty surprised," Mikey complimented, summoning water around both of his arms. "I don't suppose you'll be able to do that again for a while though. I'll just have to take on this oaf on my own while that weird old dude takes care of the short one."

"OH, OH! OH OH OH OH OH!!! WE'VE GOT A FUCKIN' TALKER OVER HERE, HEAR THAT ZELRIAN? HE'S GONNA TAKE ME ON, ALL BY HIS LONESOME," Rajaka roared, stomping towards Jenso and Mikey. He rose his hand and punched towards the both of them, grunting. "100%!!" He shouted, but nothing happened. Rajaka looked at his arm quizzically, and punched again, and again, to no avail. "ONE HUNDR- GRR, ONE HU- AHHRG, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! WHY.. GAH! WHATEVER!!" Rajaka abandoned trying to access his Ki blasts, and instead charged towards Mikey and Jenso as quickly as possible. The ground shook again, but Mikey put his Geyser Gauntlets into effect before he got anywhere near them.

"I'm going to try and block off his Ki points.. But I don't know if I'll even be able to do that with my strength," Mikey told Jenso. "You should focus on re-focusing your Ki. Your body looks relatively fine, aside from your shattered shoulder. If you can stabilize-" Mikey was interrupted by a fist striking the ground where he stood, which forced him to jump back, and knocked Jenso away with the sheer force of the impact.

"WE FIGHTIN'? OR YOU TOO BUSY WITH YOUR LECTURE?!"

Meanwhile, Lark slashed at Zelriane pitifully, missing every strike as Zelriane sifted through his speedy onslaught. It seemed his first attack was unique, and generally, a massive fluke. Zelriane didn't look to be having any trouble dodging his attacks, but he wouldn't counter at all.

Jenso frowned at Mikey as he took Rajaka on while he distanced himself further away from the two. 'Re-focus my Ki...I need to hurry, or everyone might die here!' Jenso thought. He relaxed his body and closed his eyes, trying to re-focus his Ki. He was unsure what Mikey was talking about when he mentioned his Ar-Ki technique, but now wasn't the time. Had he somehow managed to fuse Ki and Arcane in his final attack earlier?

Rajak grunted and walked towards Mikey, quickly speeding up into a Charge. Mikey used his shining Ar-Ki Geyser Gauntlets to deviate most of Rajaka's single-hands punched, without actually blocking them. Occasionally Rajaka's fist or one of his feet would strike the ground causing a local quake, but it was starting to damage the surrounding bleachers as well as the ground. The entire arena was an uneven mess of white shards now.

Lark and Zelriane were locked in combat, even though it seemed Zelriane was only dodging. But what could Jenso do here? A dark presence began to manifest nearby. Jenso could feel it. But was that just his nerves?

Jenso's eyes began to shift from the battle between Rajaka and Mikey, to the one with Lark and Zelriane. Neither of them seemed to be in immediate danger, so he continued to focus his Ki. As he felt the dark presence, Jenso attempted to sense where it was. 'This uneasy feeling...I might just be imagining things, but..' He thought. He remembered that Zelriane mentioned that Shadra would be on her way, so he prepared to act in case she would try to have the jump on either Mikey or Lark. He continued to focus his Ki, doing his best to get his body to function properly so he could move fast again and protect his friends. He was unsure if the dark presence was Shadra or not, but he would try to be as ready as he could be.

The fights roared on and on, but as the seconds passed, something far more obvious began to stir in the center of the Arena. Everyone felt it, and stopped fighting immediately, turning to witness an aura of blackness rip open, pouring two figures into the battlefield. One was familiar to Jenso, the short, crawling girl known as Shadra, who had saved Ada from an unfortunate fate. The other wasn't.

---

The new figure was cloaked in a red trench-coat, and shared the same black mask as the Order's other members. It was clear that he was yet another chaotic member of the dastardly group. He didn't turn to look at Rajaka, instead facing Jenso, while Shards crouched near to his leg.

"THAT SELF RIGHTEOUS LITTLE-" Rajaka started, but Mikey took the opportunity, and dug into his right Leg with a geyser gauntlet. Rajaka grunted, and knelt forward, but he stood right back up and swiped at Mikey. It seemed Rajaka didn't have any Arcane energy to stop.. Mikey jumped away and turned to the newcomer, who was now looking directly at him. He rose his arm, and a spike shot up from where Mikey was standing. It was blood-red, and barely missed his torso, going right through his leg. He didn't sustain any physical damage, but Mikey immediately fell forward, losing power in the leg that was hit.

"M..My Arcane network is.." Mikey muttered, as the arcane flow to his left leg was cut off.

"A fickle energy, the arcane. So easy to pinpoint and sever with a moment's notice," The newcomer taunted, "Zelriane, would you please control the Lok'Sha before he gets himself killed?"

Zelriane nodded and walked away from Lark, who didn't respond. In his mind, he knew, four of these guys in one spot was bad news for everyone present, even if they teamed up. He wasn't even able to hit the green one. Even though it seemed that Rajaka was the weakest of the four at a first glance, there was no way he was going to get anywhere near him with the other three around. So he just waited and hoped. Mikey looked up at Rajaka, who was not moving either. He huffed and stomped towards Shadra, where Zelriane ended up, and within moments, the two were ported away in a flash of black smoke, leaving the red guy, and Shadra behind. Yzeira looked at Jenso again and sighed.

"Golden boy," He said, greeting Jenso with a gentle tilt of his head.

Jenso glared at the red newcomer and clenched his fists. 'They followed his orders immediately...even Rajaka...' Jenso thought. 'This must be the leader.' Jenso walked up to the man and stared him in the eyes. "So...I guess you're here to kill me, since the other two failed. That's fine. All I ask is, please let Mikey and Lark go. I won't resist." Jenso said in a calm tone, waiting for the red man's reaction. Considering how powerful Rajaka was, and how he obeyed the red man immediately, he believed that there was no way that he would be able to win. Especially with his powers drained.

"Ergh, your voice is like grating crystal against my inner ear," Yzeira complained, plaing his thumb and index finger on his forehead, "Please, be quiet. I'm confident that if he wanted you dead, you'd be dead already. That idiot has a habit of holding his strength back, and then getting angry when he can't hit things. Zelriane is far too passive for his own good. As far as you go, I'm only here to see what my family has been talking about. And from the looks of it, they were wrong. How you were able to defeat Adarine is beyond me." Mikey glanced over at Jenso, and then towards the man. Lark did the same. Shadra disappeared in a puff of smoke moments later, and left him to face all three alone. "I saw a glimpse of your Ki, but by direct comparison, that Gaian is much stronger than you, and against Zelriane, he did not stand a chance. Still, how you could go from a morsel, to something even remotely relevant in such a short period of time is... Concerning, To say the least. So, yes, I am here to kill you now, and stop this nonsense before it gets out of hand." He glanced at Mikey and Lark, shaking his head. "I may let them live, if they do not interfere."

Jenso nodded, waiting for the man to finish him. "My name is Jenso, by the way. Not golden boy." Jenso remarked, smirking at the man. He did not show any signs of fear. He looked over his shoulder briefly. "Lark, Mikey, don't fight him! Get as far away from here as you can! Go, now!" Jenso shouted. He did not like the idea of giving up without a fight, but if it could save his allies then Jenso didn't hesitate to throw his life on the line. The red man seemed to have some self-control, so perhaps they would be able to get away.

"I don't care," The man spat, raising a hand towards Jenso and firing a blast of red energy in his direction. In an instant, he was launched over to the edge of the arena, and overcome by a severely draining feeling that seemed to pull away at his arcane energy, and his Ki. Mikey and Lark immediately jumped towards him and stood between Jenso and the newcomer. "I'd advise you listen to him. The last thing I need is to hear him speaking again."

"We're not going anywhere, man!" Mikey shouted, getting into a combat stance. Lark nodded and rose his blade.

"Sorry kid, I aint about to let anyone else I care about die to one of these freaks," Lark announced, looking to Mikey with a smile, "Name's Lark, by the way. You were.. Mikey?" Mikey looked to him and nodded. The red-draped man's eyes narrowed.

"Am I being ignored?" He asked, charging an inordinate amount of energy within his gut. His entire body began to glow with a crimson aura, but Mikey and Lark wouldn't budge.

"We've got your back, Jenso!"
"We've got your back, Jenso!"

As Jenso was blasted away, he rolled roughly over the ground as he felt his power being drained and he came to a halt. 'Shit...' Jenso thought, struggling to get up but failing to do so. He simply didn't seem to have the strength anymore. As Lark and Mikey jumped between him and the newcomer and announced that they wouldn't leave, he grinned as newfound confidence rushed through him. "Heh...damn, thanks, you guys...I can't say I'm surprised that you're staying..Well, in that case.." Jenso muttered, as a jolt of adrenaline rushed through him which allowed him to get back on his feet. He got in a combat stance as he felt some of his remaining power within, despite that he didn't have much left.

"Heh, that all ya got, red guy? I've dealt with way worse then THIS!" He roared, dashing towards the red man's right side. He feigned as if he aimed a punch at the right side of the man's head with his left fist. "Bring it, I'll kick your ass!" Jenso shouted, trying to keep the man's attention on him. He quickly jumped away from the spot where he previously stood after his feigned attack. He hoped the man would turn to the right and launch his attack at the direction where Jenso stood a second ago, rather then at Mikey and Lark. He was still concerned about the safety of his friends, so his only option now was to attempt to beat the red man.