Fight with Durohan - Near Mastery

Zaruma says, "Durohan."

Durohan asks, "My Lord?"

Zaruma asks, "Do you still wish your request to be fulfilled?"

Durohan says, "I do."

Zaruma says, "Very well."

Durohan guided the duo over to the treeline just southwest of the Aetherius' plaza southern entryway. A nice little clearing that had no doubt seen several training battles prior - Whether from the Kaor or someone else was in the eye of the beholder.

The primsarine-venom-laced Demon turned to face her Ventus compatriot and offered a silent nod; The two had already discussed the potential for a duel earlier, why waste one another's breath talking about it immediately beforehand?

As if to taunt Zaruma, she beckoned with the congealed Poison magic that formed a vague sword.

Waiting for a counter-attack.

The Umbral's Occult Mana signature pulsed in the background - While it certainly laid shadowy traps across the battlefield and made it hard to move, it felt as if Durohan is a few steps behind Zaruma and his previous demonstrations of overwhelming speed.

And behind on evolution status too but whatever.
(Durohan)

The Archon wandered off with Kaor; in his motion, he was already focusing upon bringing forth the winds he beckoned and commanded so well.

If Zaruma were to master this technique once and for all, he has to reflect properly upon what he learned. To go back at it, a thought ran inside his head, quickly remembering everything that he had to do.

'Control friction, resist atmospheric influence, keep your speed up with thrusters, merge with the wind... and control turns with pushes and pulls.'

After running that thought inside his head, a wind shroud appeared all around the Archon, coating him in something akin to protective barrier that nullified any friction, as well as removing atmospheric resistance of the air - extending it outward and all around him, the air around Zaruma was null, creating temporary vacuums that could not hold him back.

Such was necessary, after all.

And in preparation for the battle itself, wind was shifted into a form that allowed for a quick thrust, one that would push and pull the Archon around, both necessary to achieve the high speed and control his movement in case of acceleration becoming too strong.

Zaruma was an embodiment of wind, of Tempest. Even his skin tone became transparent, much like shaping him into resemblance of a Ventus Demon, of Elemental.

Was this anything new? Not at all. You could call it going back to his own roots.

"Let us begin."
(Zaruma)

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Zaruma moved indeed as fast as the wind itself, and no matter where Durohan would go, the Archon was quick to catch the Umbral Kaor in their movement.

No matter what, he was everywhere. His newfound ability- one that he was honing so well- was certainly aiding him to make a quick work out of anyone whom opposed him in the battle.

Much like the wind itself, he'd easily catch up to Kaor, immediately appearing anywhere and everywhere; it almost seemed that for as long as there was any air whatsoever, Zaruma could transport himself to it.

It certainly didn't help that even after such attempts to dodge him, Kaor was still caught up regardless, due to sole fact that the Archon controlled his winds properly - they were used both to keep up his speed and to control his movement. This time, there was no mistake, no error in how he moves.

And there was no friction around him either. Everything about him seemed so... smooth, every movement so fluid and excellent. Not a single muscle of his body was moved without purpose, not a single bit of effort had gone in vain.

All this power he has amassed with endless practice... it was certainly paying off.

"Come, then."

"We're not done yet."
(Zaruma)

Durohan raised her venomous blade, but it immediately ricocheted against Zaruma's inherent mastery over their catastrophic Occult winds.

Well, that's that plan gone down the drain.

The Umbral had to think up a better plan than throwing Occult beams around and hoping something sticks, and do it fast. She needed to out-space and out-kite Zaruma, but what to--

Oh.

Apparently, Durohan had already lost the first round, knocked back in the process by the Archon's excessive speed. All of the magic that coated her and the battlefield... It wasn't enough to stand up to her immediate superior, as obvious as that initially seemed.

Regardless, the Kaor shifted her footwork around.

"Come on."

She shifted from predicting Zaruma's attacks to messing with her own, going so far as to just throw moves out whenever she felt like it. Oh, a true berserker then. Too bad she's completely outmatched by someone else's raw experience.
(Durohan)

He was superior, that much was true.

Despite all of Kaor's attempts to catch the Archon, it was all for naught. The lack of friction with the wind shroud, the lack of atmospheric resistance with air being sucked in and temporary vacuums created, with his precisely controlled movement via wind pushes and pulls--

There was no way for Durohan to prevail, or at least show much of the desired power. He was too quick.

The blows were coming from absolutely everywhere. The moment that Durohan would attempt to strike infront of them, hoping to see the Archon hurt, he was already vanished, leaving naught but a silhouette behind, instead striking at Kaor from the side.

Most of her hits were a miss, save for the few ones that would cause Zaruma some damage. All things considered, they were a Kaor after all.

Otherwise? Durohan was hitting Zaruma's afterimage all along.

And as the fight was coming to the end, and Durohan aimed to unleash their Occultic power upon the Archon in the deadly cannon of darkness, there was a moment to which Archon did not seemingly dodge in time--

He was caught, right in the center of it. Whole cannon taken to the face. Was he defeated?

Yet, before Kaor could even begin celebrating--

A sudden hit was delivered from behind, the scythe slashing across Kaor's back. His skin was almost transparent, and his pattern was oddly resembling that of a wind. Perhaps he had truly mastered the art of Afterimage, and has fully merged himself into element of wind as a force of nature.

But as far as things go, Durohan was defeated and hurt as well.

"It's over."
(Zaruma)

Durohan kept up the fight against Zaruma and his afterimage for a fair few moments -

But just as the battle is over in moments, the latter's afterimage-like powers kept making it nearly impossible to land physical hits on her target. Even though the venom inevitably hit Zaruma himself in some way shape or form, it wasn't enough.

Apparently neither was the occasional Shadow Cannon being thrown out enough. Sure, it felt like she'd put a dent in the Archon's own Mana signature, but she realized that the Zaruma in front of her was simply no longer there.

A blinding flash of metallic light came from the side and behind, where Zaruma struck at her with his scythe in a mere instant.

The Kaor couldn't raise the tangible shield of Occultism in time to prevent some kind of wound, and she fell to one knee for a few seconds. The fight felt like it was over far, far before it had started.

Durohan couldn't help but let out a short hiss to herself at the small cleaving wound in her back, Shadows rising up from the ground itself to wrap around wherever she'd been hurt.

"For now."
(Durohan)

The scythe was put away, and soon enough, his form returned to the old self.

No longer he subjected himself to the wind shroud that changed him so much, and soon, the natural effects such as friction and atmospheric resistance returned to him. He moved at a normal speed- or at least, what can be considered normal for a magi.

"Yes, for now."

"Perhaps one day you'll give me a match that I won't forget, a match that will truly be a challenge for me. Until then--"

"I have other matters to tend to, now."

The Archon levitated himself, intending to soon leave the place. Despite the fact that he'd seemingly stop affecting himself so much with the winds, and even more so truly merging himself into one, he was still leaving a trail of silhouette behind himself...

A side-effect to constantly merging with the Element?

"Farewell."
(Zaruma)