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Hearing an arm scraping along the ground for a seasoned fighter trained to monitor his surroundings under all circumstances was not very hard, even with a man screaming in your face, which was a standard part of combat, and the arm moving through the air should have been possible to hear once the man stopped screaming, unless he'd continued his scream for the entirety of the arm's return, which WOULD act as a sensible deterrent to Ryugi's senses. However, his actions did not seem to indicate this... Regardless of what could or should have happened, things were still moving forward, or up in the case of John.

As John went up, Ryugi went down. However, unwilling to turn his back to such a ferocious foe, Ryugi suddenly pulsed with energy as his attack strategy shifted tremendously...



The energy that Ryugi had used to charge his arm with power was suddenly increased, and the energy ballooned outward in a highly improvised Supernova attack. John wouldn't have expected something so crazily outlandish, especially when Ryugi himself was at the heart of the pulse of thunderous energy...



With a resounding explosion, John would be rocked by searing heat and light, hot enough to melt the ground below it, if the explosion hadn't blasted a huge crater into the ground below, sending massive chunks of earth into the man, and enough sheer concussive force to send a person backwards and UPWARDS several dozen feet. The massive detonation would activate after Ryugi's arm had been released, and before the man could grasp Ryugi, making sure that the massive man would take the full brunt of the attack. Exposed skin would be torn, burned, and blackened, and the man's body would be hammered by debris radiating from the center of the blast. It would be akin to being struck by a truck, and sent through a blast furnace, before being pelted by a barrage of angry sledgehammers.

However, Ryugi would not be spared from the attack's damage as well. Under normal circumstances the blast would have radiated out from Ryugi, preventing him from most of the attack's damage. But this improvised use would have him feeling much of the detonation himself, albeit different from John, who would still have the rougher side of the stick.

Ryugi's forward momentum would not be completely extinguished, which meant that even as the blast exploded, he would be sent into the air in the exact opposite direction as John, out of his reach, but still enduring a very large bit of damage himself. The concussion would rock his body, his bones feeling the sting as his organs felt the wave as well. The physical force would cause cuts to Ryugi's exposed face, even as he struggled to flip his body around in midair to land as safely as possible...

Ryugi soared through the air and slammed into the ground, rolling until he could get to his feet, skidding the rest of the way, shielding his head from falling pieces of earth with his armored gauntlets. A pained exhalation and gasp followed as the pain from the blow suddenly rushed him at once. His whole body ached from that, and his insides felt like he'd been hit by a truck. But the pain also served to keep him alert, focused. It reminded him that he was still alive, and he still had a foe to defeat.

As a surge of energy and a massive battle cry shot through the air nearly fifty plus feet away, his eyes turned to see the dust blast away from the far side of the crater to show John in his berserker state. Mouth wide, teeth bared, eyes glowing and crackling with electricity, skin blackened and burned. He'd taken a thunderous blow, and it had provoked this transformation into a mighty berserker. There was little logic in those eyes. All that would matter was defeating the foe that had stepped up to block his path.



Blood dripped from Ryugi's face from multiple small cuts from the force of the explosion, even as the spinning Ragnarok suddenly stabbed into the ground at his side, pulsing with light. It was his intention to have the weapon fall from the sky, to pierce John through the stomach as the man flew airborne, unable to dodge or change direction, but be it fate or a yearning for a more mighty battle, he had stayed the command. And now, across the field, stood the mighty Norse Berserker, ready to fight with literally everything that he had. That was it: the fully unleashed power of the Dynamo's will.

That was all that drove him now. His body didn't matter, his own safety didn't matter, all that mattered was that he fight, fight hard, and defeat the opponent he saw. Ryugi grinned. If it was a battle of willpower, of determination and resolve that the mighty Tomorrow was going for, then he would gladly oblige. The man was going all out, showing his true strength, baring his resolve to the outside world, and so would Ryugi. He would meet Tomorrow's challenge with his own power of will and determination.



Ryugi nodded, his grip tightening along the blade's handle as he pointed the weapon towards the mighty man, across the fifty foot distance. He could feel Ragnarok awakening as he commanded the sword to release its own power to add to his energy. Ryugi's body pulsed with light, a golden light of radiant power, the unbridled power of Ryugi's will mixed with the burning passion and shining resolve of his elements. But the final step would come as the ground under him cracked away, thunderous winds kicking up, the whole void resonating as Ryugi tapped the deepest recesses of his and Ragnarok's power before he shouted the command that cried out from his heart.



The energy release was absolutely astounding. As Ryugi's own latent powers mixed with the might of Ragnarok's energies, the two wills spiraled together, forming a mighty amalgamation of determination and unbreakable resolve. A golden aura shot up around Ryugi's body out to a radius of six feet as he felt Ragnarok's power wrap around him and energize him as well. Warm energy pulsed within him, fighting to restore him even as he stood across the field from his foe. This was the flame of Ryugi's resolve, the light of his will. In this state he had surpassed the limits of fire and flame or light and holy energies. This was his warrior's spirit, his very heroic will. Just as Tomorrow had pushed everything aside to fight to the fullest extent of his will and determination, so had Ryugi.



And so, as John stomped towards Ryugi, the golden draconic warrior would stand proud and resolute, not backing down, before he too began to walk closer to the man, his aura surrounding him as he red eyes burned with the strength of his resolve.

People fought and killed for it. Men spent entire lives trying to gain more of it. If there was one thing Ryugi had learned from nearly two millenniums of life, it was that power in and of itself was meaningless. Power alone could not compare with skill, and while Ryugi was indeed very powerful, he had fought all his life to try and gain more skill, to better himself so that others, his friends, his loved ones, would not have to suffer for his own inadequacies in protecting them from harm. All the power in the world meant nothing if one was not skilled in combat. Maximos had taught Ryugi that.



Crackling energy surged around Ryugi, stamina flowing and coursing through his veins. The unleashed and combined energy of both Ryugi and Ragnarok was impressive, but in all, it meant nothing without the ability to wield the blade in his hand, or to manipulate the power of his will. Ragnarok... The name had many owners be they blade, power, or beliefs, but the one that was most famous was the legendary end of the world, the "Death of the Gods" of Norse Mythology. But in that same vein, Ryugi had always believed the blade and its name to stand for more than destruction. It stood for rebirth, renewal, and fighting to change the future.



And as Ryugi stared down the monster of a man, the self-proclaimed god of thunder and lightning, a deity of electricity calling his weapon from the heavens themselves, he did not blink, falter or flinch.



As the tide of energy erupted outward across the plains, as the weapon slammed down into the ground with terrible power, he stood tall, his scarf blowing behind him as the light enveloped him, his eyes burning red with light from within, his aura flickering as debris flew freely by him, the chunks being deflected by snapping pulses of golden energy. The shockwave was amazing, but Ryugi wasn't going to be impressed by it. As John dropped, Ragnarok was already whirling into action. Ryugi's aura flared and shot forward, burning with golden energy, the power of his will and resolve imbued with fire and light. As John struck dirt, the ground warping under the force, the power unleashed to strike into John's form with all the power of a raging freight train.



The shockwave of impact and the raining debris would part from the eruption of scintillating golden force. It would tear across the short distance with lightning quick speed as John would be recovering from his landing. The energy was imbued with Ryugi's resolve, his very will cutting into the flesh of the half-god, his fiery determination searing the man's skin, and the light of his soul shimmering to pain the eyes. But what was even more powerful was the battle cry. Ryugi's energy surged outward as he let out a shout that sounded like a crack of thunder and echoed across the battle-scape, empowering the blast to huge levels.

The Supernova attack had cost Ryugi a healthy chunk of stamina, but that was also without the assistance of Ragnarok, and that blast had managed to bloody John into his berserker state. But this blast was imbued with equal amounts of power directly from Ryugi and Ragnarok, their two pools being tapped to bring a concentrated strike down onto the Human Dynamo. In short, this attack was nearly double the incredible power of the Supernova, and all of that was concentrated to slam into the man as he struck ground, tying Ryugi's immense power with his combat skill.

If John even attempted to dodge, Ryugi's stance would shift to bring him back into the blast's area of effect, a mighty cylinder roughly ten feet in diameter. And while the blast was horrifically powerful, it would cause a substantial drain on Ryugi. However, at this range, and with absolutely no time to prepare a full on defensive action after his hammer struck the earth, John would be forced to eat the attack at full force. The costs more than justified the planned outcome.

The thunderous force of Ryugi's power had done a number on the man, but his counterattack was equally, if not more massive than Ryugi's strike itself. Acting quickly, Ryugi pushed Ragnarok to the forefront, the blade tip pointing towards the man as his energy grew, and finally unleashed towards Ryugi. The blast of electricity slammed into the golden aura surrounding Ryugi and sprayed off in crackling arcs of power and static. The aura was a manifestation not only of Ryugi's will, but of Ragnarok's, and just like its previous armored form, the aura allowed for defense against energy based attacks. It was far from perfect, however. Energy crackled around the barrier as Ryugi ate the blast through the filter the barrier provided, feeling the searing jolts of pain run up and down his form.

The ground all around him was torn asunder as the bolts struck all around him. His body cried out in pain as with as much willpower as he could muster, Ryugi stabbed Ragnarok into the ground, the sword's gem pulsing with energy as the power from the bolt was absorbed all the way to Ragnarok's holding capacity before the rest was discharged into the ground, using Ragnarok like a conductive copper wire. The leylines of the blade made it a far better conductor of electricity than Ryugi, and as electricity took the path of least resistance, Ragnarok would be the prime target for the energy to follow.

What had seemed like an eternity had only been a few seconds, but Ragnarok was full to its capacity of energy, and Ryugi panted from the strike that had been made against him, his buffer nearly depleted after his massive burst of willpower-laden energy. But rather than attack, the shimmering blade pulsed with white light inside the aura of gold, and the captured power filtered back to Ryugi as stamina, lifeblood, something to restore him and keep him going.

Ragnarok had two sides, each reflective of Ryugi's heart. One was his warrior side, the side that fought with every ounce of his strength to overcome. This side was reflected by Ragnarok in the golden aura that pulsed around Ryugi, allowing him to attack with the strength of the blade combined with the aura. The other was Ryugi's kind and protective side, reflected in the warm healing energies that the blade now used to restore its partner, and the defensive and protective aspects of the golden aura that had defended Ryugi from even greater harm. Energy was stamina, and stamina was the only thing that continued to keep Ryugi running.

His body still burned from the strike he had taken, but he was still ready to fight. Energy attacks alone would not bring Ryugi down in this state. His face was bloodied from the strain, the damage he'd taken, his whole body burned from the jolt of electricity he had taken before Ragnarok had acted of its own free will to assist him, but still, he would continue to fight. Ragnarok was still well over half its capacity for held energy, and still had its own power to provide. Ryugi's buffer had been restored to its default state, but his body's stamina had still been drained.

John Tomorrow's willpower was impressive, and his level of control over his element easily on par with Ryugi's. His body's ability to take damage was far beyond that of anyone Ryugi had ever seen before, and easily outclassed his own. He defended against attacks with his endurance, but even the mightiest of armor had to break in time. That hope, that belief spurred Ryugi onward to continue the battle. For there was one thing above all else that brought power to the will.



Without the heart, pure willpower was wasteful. It lacked its true fire to ignite the soul and bring the power into focus. A berserker state was mighty, a warrior bent to the power of his will to kill and defeat the enemy at all costs. But the heart and soul that one had to give up to achieve such levels deprived the fighter of what was truly his most powerful resource. Belief, love, desires to be more and do more than your body allowed pushed a man to achieve great things, and it was that power that Ryugi embraced. He fought with his will and his heart at his side, and it was for that reason alone that his will and resolve were unbreakable.

Ryugi knew too much time had passed for him to make a strike against John while he was recovering, so, he did the next best thing. His red eyes locked onto the crackling orbs that were John's and he stared him down, daring him to bring it on. Both had their mighty weapons, both had their respective energy absorbing batteries, all that was left was for them to fight, and show the other what they were made of...

With the hammer whirling like a huge and deadly top, Ryugi could not strike directly, even though he saw the strike coming. If he tried to attack, it was likely he'd be smashed by the blow, and thus, he did the only other thing that he could think of at the moment. A blow like that to his side would probably shatter his ribs, liquefy organs, and likely snap his spine like a twig. He could not go to either side at this point without being struck. He could not duck under the blow lest he be trampled beneath the man's bulk, and leaping over the man would likely cause the same effect of being hit, but into his armored boots, forcing him to spin like a top back into the ground where he would be trampled or smashed like a fly. He could only defend.



Ragnarok shot into a blocking position just as the first titanic swing of the hammer struck, the sheer force of the swing instantly overcoming his body's inertia to stay put. Ryugi doubted even a mountain could take that kind of a blow without being heavily scarred. The resounding clang of metal on metal echoed across the battlefield as Ragnarok's solid construction took the brunt of the blow, even as Ryugi's arms stung from the shock trauma of taking a direct strike of that magnitude.

Ryugi was like a ragdoll. His body flipped and rolled, slamming into the ground again and again as he fought to collect himself. Even with the aura flaring and trying to defend against the blows of the ground, Ryugi felt his ribs take a pounding until he felt a crack and knew that at least one, maybe two, had broken on his left side from the impact. Dirt, rocks, and dust were slammed into his face and mouth, causing him to spit it free as he finally managed to bounce into the air enough to right his position and land on his feet, stabbing Ragnarok into the ground to slow his skid.

As he spat the dirt and small rocks and felt the sting of his broken ribs and scraped face, he realized that John's blow had knocked him almost a full one hundred feet away from his previous position, and right now, Ryugi's body felt every foot of his trip. He felt like he'd fallen down a mountain, and it hurt to breathe besides. His left eye had been cut, blood dripping to the ground below as he spat the grit once more, his red glare gazing back at John wherever he was. After a strike like that, Ryugi needed time to recover and gather his bearings...

But regardless, he pulled Ragnarok to his shoulder and stared out to meet John's gaze, wherever he was. This was still a fight. And only the mightiest warrior was going to walk away the victor.

Unfortunately, Ryugi would not get the chance to recover, but it didn't take a whole lot of time to realize that something very big was heading your way from above, especially when Ryugi's right eye could follow the huge shining aura of power that was Johnathan Tomorrow.

Acting quickly, Ryugi dug his legs into the ground, fighting against his momentum from the first shot he'd taken, and pushed off, moving away just as John's hammer came down, slamming into the ground with tremendous force. Ryugi skidded to a halt a few feet away, Ragnarok in hand in a defensive position to try and block against the shockwave of debris he knew had to be coming...

Ryugi wasn't waiting for that kind of opening. Blasting the big man from a distance had been somewhat effective, but the man could absorb the energy now and dilute its effects. This meant that anything Ryugi threw at him would be mostly ineffective. Fire refused to burn, brute force refused to break the man, and Ryugi doubted that the man's thick skin and drive to defeat him would even be deterred by stabbing Ragnarok through him, assuming the man even allowed such a thing tom get through his massive hammer in the first place. Ryugi's options were truly limited at this point.



John picked his hammer out of the ground that had seemingly swallowed the weapon up. The solidity of the terrain seemed like a joke, an illusion to the sheer might that Johnathan Tomorrow was capable of unleashing. His internal battery continued tom churn out thunderous amounts of power, likely even greater than Ryugi could produce over the same period of time. As far as Ryugi had seen, the power he witnessed did not seem to strain the man at all. He was truly a king among the berserk. Nothing could touch him, or make him flinch. Even tearing away skin to red muscle, even with the severe amount of blood the man had lost, he was unaffected. He kept coming.

Ryugi was strong. He had large stores of energy ready on command, but he couldn't compare to the monster of a man that bore down on him. His strength in comparison seemed a nuisance when compared to the man before him. No, a strike from a distance simply would not work, and even a close range strike would prove mostly ineffective. But Ryugi refused to give up and give in. Everyone, no matter how mighty had a weakness, a flaw. Something had to give. Ryugi just needed more time...

As John turned to look, Ryugi reached for his white scarf. The material was the purest white one could imagine. Despite all the years, it had been better kept than any other article of Ryugi's clothing. It had more meaning to him than almost any other item on his person, save for perhaps one, the Shadow Necklace around his neck. Like the Shadow Necklace, the scarf had been given to Ryugi by a friend, a dear and treasured friend who had given her life, died, for the sake of saving and protecting Ryugi and his comrades from death. His trademark scarf was more than a fashion accessory. It was a constant reminder of Ryugi's desire and his will. It reminded him that he had to press onward, to fight for all those that had fallen for him, for his lack of ability or skill. To remove it was almost unthinkable in battle, but right now, Ryugi needed something, anything to buy him some time.

The scarf was nearly nine feet long unraveled from Ryugi's neck, and roughly a foot wide, made of durable fireproof material. It also served to keep Ryugi's neck warm. To John, it would probably be like tissue paper, but maybe, just maybe, the man would dodge, and give Ryugi an opening to attack. If he did, Ryugi would have a chance to strike, and strike hard, but if the man tore through the scarf, uncaring, he'd reach a Ryugi without an adequate defense. Ryugi had taken a gamble on tossing the scarf towards John, but right now, it was the only thing he could think about that might give him a chance to strike back against the titan.