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Three turns of waiting and powering up, and Griff charged in towards Ryugi and his sword, Griff's sword colliding first with the green orb, which was actually stronger than Ragnarok itself. As for the second apparent weakpoint, the "V" was also wishful thinking on Griff's part. And while not stronger than the sword, it was reinforced with heavily tempered and strengthened Dragonsteel.

Ragnarok did have a few weaknesses, as did all swords, but they were as unconventional as the sword itself. Ryugi easily blocked Griff's attack with his sword, and grinned, speaking as he moved.



As Griff's weapon colided with Ragnarok, Ryugi pushed back, stepping forward and pushing Griff off of him. This would knock Griff back, and give Ryugi just enough time to thrust his left hand out and towards the wrist of Griff's katana wielding arm, gripping it snugly in a firm clasp...

Griff FAR underestimated Ryugi's ability to flow along with his opponent in battle, and underestimated his defenses as well. As His grasp missed, Ryugi's hand actually caught the green katana and allowed it to slide harmlessly through his armored gloves. Ryugi was a swordfighter at heart, and his gloves were specially designed to allow him to grasp bladed objects at will, without hurting his hands.

Next, Griff slid towards Ryugi's left, and Ryugi turned about to face the man as he moved. Then came the kick which was easily avoided with a quick crouch on Ryugi's part. Finally, Griff flapped his way back towards the edge of the arena, and Ryugi followed, Ragnarok on his shoulder, ready to strike soon... Four.

Back and forth. Thats exactly what happened. Ryugi was knocked back towards the wall, the sonic boom making him flinch as he came back down. Then came the second blast, pulling him towards Griff and the sword,the boom making him wince in pain. Luckily, nothing serious, but it was painful. However, Ryugi was used to force based attacks like this. As he recovered in a crouch from the first blow, he stabbed his sword into the ground nearly halfway down the blade.

No one had ever really seen or tested the true strength of Ryugi. Mental resolve had been tested numerous times, but never his real physical strength. Four G's meant that nearly 600 pounds were being exerted on Ryugi's body. It was difficult, but Ryugi stood strong, Ragnarok helping him resist the strength of Griff's attack. And soon, it would be time...Five.

Griff moved towards him, but it was already too late! As soon as Griff moved, Ryugi erupted into action! It had taken him six turns, but he'd done it. He was ready to let lose with more power than Griff had seen him use yet! With a cry of inner strength, he yanked Ragnarok out of the ground as his legs flexed to their maximum power, sending him rocketing nearly one hundred feet into the air without use of his flame abilities. As he rose higher and higher, flame energy could be seen engulfing his body, and growing larger.

When he reached the apex of his jump, he spun around, and with a ripping sound, two thin but powerful dragon wings exploded from within his jacket, forcing him even higher into the air, and out specially designed slots in the material. The force from the wings launched him to nearly three hundered feet high. The flames roiled and flowed around his being before ballooning out in front of him to form a sphere roughly thirty-five feet in diameter.



The shpere pulsed with energy and light and Ryugi dove straight into the burning inferno below him! The massive shpere then began to drop towards the ground with a terrible speed of nearly one hundred feet per second. Glowing tendrils of energy followed behind the massive blast as Ryugi dropped along with it, the temperature around the arena climbing to nearly 300F degrees.



The ball sped towards the ground, the severe heating of the air causing a wind of roughly 50 mph to whip around the arena floor, tossing smaller cracked pieces of rock to go flying about like tiny missles. The shpere's intense heat now raised the temperature to nearly 600F degrees as it drew nearer to the ground, winds now whipping at speeds of roughly 75mph.



The shpere slammed into the ground, and detonated sending chunks of melted rock flying for nearly 100 feet in every direction, and with enough force to level the small grouping of houses at the end of a culdesac. Temperatures from the blast would rocket to nearly 1500F degrees as bits of flame energy shot outward in powerful searing waves similar to the dying throws of a star. The statue of the two mysterious swords would be broken, burned, charred, and crumble under the power released from the attack.

The aftermath of the attack would become clear after the massive chunks of rock had stopped flying about, the high temperatures had subsides, and the flames had ceased to burn. The returning air would sweep in and claer the field of smoke and ash to reveal a crater blasted into the arena by the immense forces at work within Ryugi's attack. And in the center of the crater, Ragnarok in hand, stood Ryugi. His dragon wings visable, and ready to kick the fight up a notch...if his opponent was still able.

((Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirdman! xd Sorry Griff, I just HAD to say it.))

The pull of Griff's weapon once more threatened to cast Ryugi towards it, but he was once more saved by his reflexes. As he felt the tug once more he stabbed his sword into the ground and rode out the pull until it subsided. Then, he gawked for a moment at Griff's strange avian form, thinking for a moment about how tasty some chicken flavored ramen would be at that moment.

However, his noodle filled bliss didn't last long, because pretty lights generally meant a not so pretty something else heading your way soon. And as it turned out, he was right. The Griff-in sped towards him, aiming a stab right at Ryugi's head. Now, Ryugi wasn't someone to enjoy a stab through his noggin, so he decided he'd avoid it. His head was hard, but not THAT hard.

Griffin sped towards Ryugi, and for a moment it seemed like his attack would go off without a hitch. Wrongo. And Ryugi had timed it perfectly. A thrusting, stabbing attack uses alot of assurance from the attacker. This meant that Griff HAD to be sure his attack would hit, or he wouldn't have left himself so open to attack. Obviously this form of his had increased maneuverability, and possibly increased offensive and defensive abilities as well, thus meaning Ryugi would have to very wary around it.

So, playing on Griff's confidence, Ryugi waited until the last second, and then ducked rolled to Griff's right as Griff's stab would be about to pierce his forehead. Ryugi then swung Ragnarok up with his retreating right hand, aiming the razor sharp edge of the blade into the thick base of Griffin's right wing. The blade wasn't swung with enough force to dismember the wing, but it would be enough to cut to bone and leave the appendage attatched, albeit with much bleeding.

Ryugi's own wings would fold against his back, protecting them from harm as the birdman whizzed past him. His roll would leave him in a crouch, facing away from Griff, but Ryugi would turn his head to keep an eye on his opponent as Griff moved away from him, his momentum following it's previous heading. Ryugi's sword would be laying next to him, the tip facing forward, the handle resting firmly in his right hand, ready to strike.

So... THATS how this being was going to fight eh? Well, as much as Ryugi hated it, this wasn't a fight anymore. This was a matter of life and death, and perhaps no creature in thw whole of Gaia fought harder than a dragon trying to protect itself.

As Griff's claws got ahold of Ryugi, his eyes turned redder, more blood-red, and his pupils dilated, now looking like reptilian slits. His gaze was feral, one of menace. As the talons locked onto Ryugi's arms and pinned him, Ryugi's forearms and hands shot up, grasping the tallons, hard, with a grip powerful enough to crush bone and tendon alike, Ryugi's pointed fingertips digging into the flesh and bone of his opponent. If Griff were to look now, Ryugi's canines had grown, and his muscles began to bulge...

Then, as Griff's sword came whizzing towards Ryugi's eyes, Ryugi leaned his head to the side, the blade digging deep into the ground below. And in one single motion, Ryugi's legs snapped up and wrapped around Griff's neck, then snapped back down to the ground, causing Griff's head to colide with the floor with terrible, bone jarring force. Ragnarok wasn't needed now, and it lay off to Ryugi's right side, abandoned for the time being. What would be coming next, WASN'T going to be pretty...

And it would stay like that, for as Griffin thrashed about, Ryugi finished his transformation. He was now in his hybrid dragon form.



And now, he was stronger than ever, and more than capable of crushing the proverbial canary. It was about time the battle took place on more even terms...