Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

An uncomfortable pressure continued to squeeze down on Kalliope's foot until she felt the bones in her ankle begin to crack. In less than a second, she felt tiny fractures spread through the bones in her foot, forcing her to scream out in pain.

"[Beast Arts: Iron Claw]!"

To try and escape the hold, she put years of training into the technique that Lucius and Kalivas trained her in. The moment the mana coalesced in her claws, she forced it into her free foot. She then sacrificed her captive foot and twisted with all the enhanced force of her Art, slashing across his wrist with the free limb.

Gett immediately reacted and pulled back, clutching his now bleeding wrist. For a moment, Kalliope caught a flash of white, indicating she managed to get down to the bone with her attack. However, the move was not without cost. The bones in her foot were basically shattered, and she was unable to use her left foot at all.

The pain was immense, but in the event of being hit by Gett, it would likely keep her conscious. Thankfully, she was already shifted into her more bestial form and was able to move about just as quickly on all four limbs as she could on two legs… granted she was now moving on three, but it was still better than only one.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"An arm for an arm, eh?" Gett laughed while gripping his axe tightly with both hands. Blood spurted out of the open gash on his wrist, but he simply ignored it. "I think I'll win that bet, if that's how you want to play!"

The massive elf roared a battle cry and rushed at Kalliope, who howled in response. Her eyes flared with mana, and she snarled, exposing her sharpened teeth. In a blur of blonde hair, she vanished from her spot. Dirt and gravel showered down on the charging elf.

Gett was unsurprised by the swift movement and wheeled around to follow Kalliope as she raced around the edge of the arena. Both he and the audience could feel her building mana for something, but no one knew what she was up to.

Though Gett was strong, like Kalliope, he was not stupid enough to underestimate an opponent. "[Berserk Arts: Rage]!" Gett roared.

Mana coursed around his body, enlarging his already swollen muscles even further. His skin seemed to stretch to its limit, barely able to contain the mass of pure power just beneath the surface. The air in his immediate vicinity seemed to almost quiver with power, shimmering like the surface of the desert sand.

Kalliope rushed toward him and swiped at his legs with enhanced claws. Though the strikes had manage to almost sever his hand from his arm, now they simply bounced off his skin as if it were armor. A cloud of dust formed along the surface of the arena as the two warriors seemed to fly across the battlefield; each one making a strike at the other.

Every hit sent shockwaves of mana into the stands accompanied by a wave of force. Though the mana passed through the barriers harmlessly, they would occasionally shimmer to block the debris and force from harming spectators. What was once a loud roar of cheers had fallen into stunned silence, with the two fighters keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.

"Why won't you just stand still, you damned mutt?!" Gett shouted in frustration. His speech was barely decipherable, being garbled by the oppressive ocean of mana both fighters created.

"[Beast Arts: Savage Fang]!"

Kalliope shot out of the dust like an arrow and aimed straight for Gett's axe. Her mana-enhanced teeth crunched through the handle of the weapon like it was a simple toothpick. The axe head fell to the ground with a dull thud, essentially useless.

Without a usable weapon, Gett tossed the remaining wood aside and pounded his fists together. As the wolf-girl dove at him again, he slammed his fist into the ground and sent her flying back into the dust with a wave of force.

Like her, Gett did not possess any compatibilities with his fists, but his other enhancements did not make him a slouch in unarmed combat. The elf charged into the cloud to chase his opponent. No longer would he stand still and wait for her to make an attack.

There was no telling what else she had in her arsenal, especially since the mana she was building continued to grow. Instead of decreasing with each attack, the mana in Kalliope's body continued to condense. Gett found himself getting worried at what this could mean. Did he push her too far? What else was she hiding?

"Get back here!" Gett screamed, chasing the blonde tail in front of him.

With a stomp to boost his speed temporarily, he managed to grab a handful of Kalliope's tail, making her yelp in surprise. Gett immediately spun in place, slamming Kalliope into the wall beside them.

The stone cracked under the force and Kalliope spat out a glob of blood. Luckily for her, the pain kept her awake and helped her maintain concentration on building her mana. Gett's fist arced down toward her face, but she managed to move to the side in time for it to implant into the stonework and get stuck.

She attempted to escape, but the elf still had a firm hold on her tail. Gett yanked her into position for another punch, but she managed to dodge it yet again, trying desperately to punch and claw at his arms and face. Every strike seemed to glance off his skin, incapable of bypassing his enhanced defense from his [Rage].

Since she was saving her mana up for the moment, she was unable to surpass the defense with any additional Arts. All she had to do was buy time for a few more moments…

"I'm going to turn you into a paste!" Gett proclaimed, "I will pay you back for humiliating me. I'll be the only undefeated champion of this arena!"

"You can keep that title!" Kalliope shouted, dodging an attempted knee into her gut. "I only want out of here. So keep your goals, fight your battles, and become a champion in this hellhole. I have greater things in mind!"

"Don't mock me!" Gett screamed. He readied another strike and began to swing Kalliope into the wall a second time, but he was caught by a wild look in her eye. "What are you doing?"

Kalliope released a breath that seemed to steam despite the warmth of the arena. "Time's up, you fucking elf, [Beast Arts: Therianthropy]"