1958: Aura

Aura

Two giants stood across from one another, their auras blazing. Leonel's black spear pulsed with dense black fog, rising like a tide and forming a twin pair of menacing blades. At the same time, Armand pulled his twin axes from his back, the veins along his forearms pulsing.  0

Leonel's Force rippled with a dense crimson. Armand's skin seemed to redden, a white steam coming off of him as his heart seemed to rev up like an engine. 

The two moved at once. 

BANG!

The ground cracked, rippling Force spreading out in all directions. Despite their size, they moved like wisps of wind. For most, the only way to keep track of them was to follow the trail of white and red. The colors intertwined, connecting and separating, spinning around one another and separating, sending one flying, and then the other reciprocating. 

Armand's gaze sharpened and his blood continued to heat up. After the first exchange, whatever excitement he had had for this battle had waned. He had a poor habit of being lazy. He couldn't seem to get up to do things unless there was a great battle in store for him. Not only his actions, but his face seemed to reflect this. He cared too little about many things. 

However, after the second exchange, and the third, and the fourth. 

His eyes began to slowly redden. His muscles grew a size and a pair of horns began to slowly manifest from his head. It seemed that with every exchange, they would grow another inch, and with them, his strength would rise explosively. 

By the time they had grown to just over two feet, Leonel's combustion was being quickly suppressed. 

Even so, in that moment, the two of them suddenly laughed, a booming laughter that rumbled like thunder and struck like lightning. 

BANG!

Leonel was sent reeling backward as Armand spread out his arms, his aura towering. The shimmering, but faint image of a creature loomed behind him. When it appeared, his body expanded by double its original size, his aura continuing to climb. 

… 

On the outside, the Taur family elders sighed a breath of relief. In truth, they were quite helpless. Armand was the most talented junior to be born into their family in a very long time, maybe ever. But his laziness was a real problem. He should have been spoken about along with the likes of the Sword Deity and Bow Deity, but he couldn't be bothered. 

This state of his… This was the first time they had seen it in a very long time. They were surprised that it was Leonel who could bring this out of him, especially since, with their sharp eyes, they could tell that Leonel wasn't nearly enough to threaten him, at least not with the power he was using currently. 

However, Armand could sense something familiar from Leonel, a familiar sort of arrogance. 

It wasn't that Armand was lazy, it was rather that he didn't feel much was worth his effort. He wasn't interested in recognition, nor was he interested in accolades. His position in the Taur family had already stabilized the day he was born, so what was there to strive for? In fact, he was only participating in this battle because his elders had made him. 

But for some reason… He suddenly felt excited. 

…

Leonel clapped his second and third pair of hands together, causing a resonating shockwave to spread out in all directions. To his back, his three Stars suddenly became five, a pair of dark blue Stars pairing with his three radiant bright blue Stars. 

Armand swung both of his axes downward without the slightest hint of mercy in his eyes. A bloodlust leaked from his body. He seemed to have forgotten about everything, even his fellow family members. All he wanted was battle. 

The wind kicked up and Leonel's Absolute Spear Domain suddenly manifested. However, it was decidedly different from usual. Rather than a simple radiant gold, it carried a dark blue heaviness to it. 

Armand found his twin axes slowing before he even made contact. 

Leonel's smile seemed to have vanished and all that was left was an abrupt coldness. What excitement and pleasure that had been on his face seemed to have been entirely suppressed. 

"[Star Fusion: King's Might]."

Leonel's aura erupted once against, the dense crimson becoming an even denser violet. It felt as though a King had descended, the spear crown on his panda construct's three heads growing in size and magnificence. 

His spear pierced forward, vanishing through the void. 

Armand's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly reversed the flow of his Force, something that would have shredded apart the body of almost anyone else, but he seemed to do it with ease, blocking with all his might. 

BANG!

Armand stumbled a step back, but Leonel had already retracted his spear and pierced forward again. At the same time, the motion of his second and third pair of hands shifted, a large accumulation of Void Star Force appearing in the skies like surging flood dragons that descended with a deathly momentum. 

Swift. Swift. Swift. 

Leonel's spear seemed to have changed entirely, its magnificence on full display. It felt as though he had just been toying around before. His previous attempts had entirely lacked the same elegance, the same oppression. 

Forceful. 

BANG!

Armand's block was nearly thrown back entirely, his back bending at an awkward angle. The excitement blazing in his eyes only seemed to be increasing. His muscles pulsed so quickly that they seemed to vibrate. He dug his heels in the ground, his horns turning red under the heat his body was giving off. 

ROAR!

Holding his axes, he punched out, meeting the twin flood dragons of Void Star Force. He seemed to completely ignore Leonel's spear as it approached and pierced into his chest. 

BANG!

He was sent flying backward, his body arcing as he oriented himself in the skies and landed heavily. 

Suddenly, his expression changed. Leonel's aura had changed once again. 

Before the eyes of everyone, the two dark blue Stars began to quickly accumulate Runes, its aura growing. 

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