"You're Atticus, right?"
Kael's voice was calm, almost too calm. One would never think that he had just been punched so hard in the guts a few seconds ago.
Hearing Kael's question, Atticus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in slight confusion, but he still decided to answer his question, "Yeah."
Kael nodded.
The eight swords strewn across the forest floor began to tremble, and in a seamless motion, they shot towards Kael's form. Each sword swiftly sheathed itself in the corresponding scabbard on his waist.
Kael turned his neck to the sides, cracking it, rotating his shoulders trying to get rid of the stiff feeling in his body.
"I owe you an apology," Kael declared, taking deliberate steps toward Atticus, his voice carrying an air of nonchalance. "I haven't been taking this fight seriously."
With each step he took, the atmosphere around Kael seemed to change. The wind intensified, causing leaves and branches to rustle in response.
Kael advanced further, muttering under his breath,
"Berserk Form: Unbound"
Simultaneously, crimson like marks erupted from his chest, weaving a complex tapestry of intricate tattoos that snaked their way across his entire form.
His eyes glowed with a red hue as his physique expanded in both mass and height, each sinew and muscle gaining an almost supernatural vitality.
The sheer growth tore at his clothes, unable to withstand the newfound strength and size. Fabric strained against burgeoning muscles, revealing the raw power surging beneath.
His brown hair seemed to lengthen as it grew down, cascading down to almost ankle level.
The sheathed swords around him seemed to hum with a compelling urgency, as if they themselves yearned to be unsheathed
Kael placed his right hand on the hilt of the broadsword hanging on his back, effortlessly lifting it up as he held it in front of him.
Locking his glowing red eyes on to Atticus, Kael continued, his voice resonating throughout the entire forest,
"My name is Kael Stormrider. Remember it."
As soon as Kael uttered those words, each of the eight swords around his waist shot in to the skies.
Before Atticus could fathom what was happening, Kael's colossal figure rocketed towards him at supersonic speed, the ground he previously stood on instantaneously imploding.
In an almost teleportation like speed, Kael materialized in front of Atticus, his broad sword enveloped in a palpable red aura, raised skyward as he brought it down in a devastating arc.
The speed was so intense that the air seemed to run away from it, as though disdaining to come too close to the sword's unstoppable and powerful descent.
Atticus responded with lightning fast reflexes, darting to the right like a streak of lightning, effectively evading the impending attack.
BOOOM!
The ensuing impact was nothing short of catastrophic, striking the earth with a resounding boom and sending shockwaves rippling outward in every direction.
Trees within a 30 meter radius were instantly uprooted, unable to withstand the force.
The resulting shockwave propelled Atticus backward for several meters. However, before he could catch his breath, his heightened sense of 'feel' detected movements from all directions.
Atticus reacted instantaneously, balancing on one leg and executing a rapid spin in the air, narrowly evading eight gleaming swords that threatened to pierce through his form from all angles.
Just as Atticus was about to land, his senses detected another movement from behind. Swiftly swerving, he crossed his hands on his chest, immediately manipulating the earth to coalesce and reinforce around his arms and torso with lightning speed.
A supersonic punch struck his form, the force so strong it created multiple concentric circles around the point of impact, shooting Atticus backward through the air. He crashed into multiple trees in rapid succession.
Not even allowing him to breathe, Kael's form immediately materialized on top of Atticus, who was still shooting backward, his broad sword already slashing downwards, threatening to turn him into mush.
Atticus' gaze turned cold.
'Don't get cocky. Fire mimicry,'
Atticus form flickered to the side instantaneously, narrowly evading the devastating swing.
His hands pointed downward, he released a massive burst, propelling himself towards Kael at a speed the latter couldn't hope to match.
Another powerful blast from his right heel followed, delivering a brutal uppercut kick to Kael's jaw. The attack landed with a sickening crunch, sending Kael shooting upwards through the air.
But Atticus wasn't done; instantaneously releasing rapid, controlled bursts from his hands and legs, Atticus' figure rotated rapidly in the air, his spinning form instantly appearing close to Kael up in the skies.
His legs raised skyward, and Atticus focused the entirety of his gathered spinning momentum into his right leg.
Controlling the earth to wrap around his leg, he released a colossal burst, accelerating the velocity of his descending leg to unimaginable heights.
BAAAMMMM!
The attack landed on Kael with brutal intensity, generating shockwaves that rippled outward.
Kael's figure shot down through the skies, landing on the forest floor and forming a huge crater.
Atticus swiftly zoomed towards where Kael had fallen, intending on ending the fight. But just as he got to a few meters away from the crater,
ROOOAAARRRRR!!
A loud, resounding roar shook the forest floor, its intensity alarming, sending shockwaves ripping outward in all directions.
Dust filled the air as the force swept through the scene, propelling Atticus through the air. He executed a backflip mid air, swiftly turning to face Kael within the huge crater.
Inside the crater, Kael stood. His body seemed to have undergone another remarkable change, doubling in bulk, attaining a colossal height of 10 feet.
His hair had grown longer, now cascading down with an almost ethereal grace, adopting a striking red hue.
The red like tattoos that adorned his body, already a mesmerizing display, now glowed with an even more intense luminosity.
Eight swords rapidly spun around Kael's transformed figure. The blades moved with an almost preternatural speed, creating a whirling dance of lethal precision.
Kael's red eyes landed on Atticus, his voice bestial as he uttered,
"Berserk Form: Fury,"