Affinity:Chaos

Reynolds and the duo stood on the platform. Reynolds was still in the same condition, but the duo were finding it hard to catch their breath. Blood was dripping from the side of their mouth as they tried to breathe.

They looked at Reynolds, both stunned beyond words. They never thought Reynolds would still be able to overwhelm them even with their combined strength. Yes, they saw that Reynolds' attack had an increased strength, but they also increased the strength of their attack and still weren't able to get the advantage over him.

"He's too strong." One of them said.

The other one nodded. He was also confident they would be able to at least fight Reynolds to a draw.

Reynolds looked at the duo, he didn't feel strange by the fact that they survived the attack. To be fair, he knew there was no way he would be able to defeat them with just that strike. However, just like the duo, he was a hundred percent certain that he would defeat them.

"Still want to go?" He asked with a calm expression.

The duo nodded and prepared to attack. They've come to understand that giving Reynolds the chance to attack was a grave mistake, so the best option was to be the one taking the lead. As long as they didn't give Reynolds the chance to unleash his dreaded attacks, they would be safe, and the battle might tilt to their side.

Reynolds saw them and lightning arcs appeared around him on the platform. He was making use of his domain, while also using the Elemental Warrior.

The duo made use of their domains as well as they attacked.

Multiple fire blades shot towards Reynolds.

Reynolds created a lightning screen to block the attack, but the screen broke after receiving multiple attacks.

Reynolds was aware the screen wouldn't be enough, his aim was to stop the attack, giving himself time to move away from the targeted spot.

His plan was successful since he got the chance to dodge the attack, while also countering with lightning bolts.

The duo didn't try to dodge the lightning bolts, rather, they made sure to use their fire element and their domains to block against the attack.

Boom!

The attacks collided, causing an explosion.

Reynolds moved into the middle of the explosion and unleashed more lightning attacks at the duo. The duo followed Reynolds' lead and jumped into the dust from the explosion, attacking with everything they had.

Other than Alice's battle, this was the most intense battle. And unlike Alice's battle, Reynolds had the advantage, but the duo were still fighting due to sheer determination. Given the impact of attacks they've received while going toe to toe with Reynolds, they should've given up by now, but they didn't want to.

To the duo, this was their chance to improve from pressure, and they didn't want to miss this chance.

Reynolds was forcing them back with each attack, but they continued coming back.

As the battle progressed, Reynolds started to show signs of losing his temper. He had been holding back since he didn't want to accidentally kill the duo, but with them not wanting to give up, he wanted to crush them and be over with it.

Reynolds' mood changed, which also affected the strength of his attack. At this point, he wasn't holding back any further and his attack power has seen a significant increase.

The duo he was fighting didn't sense the difference until they were hit by his attack. This time, they weren't able to block the attack and were both sent flying. One of them left the platform completely, but the other was able to stay inside with the help of the other one.

"You can't fight me on your own." Reynolds said when he saw just one of them left, blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

"Since we challenged you together, he can come back to the platform. We haven't been defeated yet." The young lady said.

The young man sacrificed more injuries to ensure the young lady stayed inside the platform. This will give them a chance to continue their battle with Reynolds.

Reynolds laughed and his figure flashed through the platform, like a lightning bolt, he appeared close to the young lady and attacked. His attack power was beyond what the young lady could defend against on her own.

The young lady's figure was sent flying, but Reynolds saw another person standing on another side.

"You guys don't care about your safety, do you?" Reynolds spoke, a little dissatisfied with how persistent the duo were.

"We'll…"

The young man was about to reply, however, he shut up when he saw a bolt of lightning headed his way.

He tried to defend against the lightning.

Things didn't go according to his plan when he saw that the lightning bolt wasn't actually a lightning bolt but Reynolds himself.

The young man, who wasn't at his peak was left speechless. He tried to block the attack, but the force was beyond what he could handle. A Peak Venerable appeared, but neither of them stopped their battles. They both were confident in their abilities.

Reynolds' strike sent the young man flying. The young lady tried to get back on the platform, but it was already too late as both of them had been sent out of the platform.

The young lady stepped on the platform, but both figures were outside the platform, so it was Reynolds' victory.

"You tried, but I believe you know I will win." Reynolds said to the young lady.

The young lady felt dissapointed at the ease with which Reynolds was able to beat the two of them.

'He's too strong.' She said with a sigh of defeat.

There was no way for her to defeat Reynolds, and since she wasn't able to get on the platform before her counterpart was eliminated, it was over for them.

She wanted to try to slow Reynolds down since the victor hadn't been declared yet, but she didn't stay on the platform for more than a few seconds before she was also sent flying by Reynolds.

Reynolds smiled and looked at the middle-aged man who appeared on the platform to announce the winner.

After being declared the winner, Reynolds left the platform and went back to his friends.

"Where did you go to?" He asked when he saw Grey.

The other two looked at Grey, waiting for his reply.

Grey didn't hide anything from them and told his how he took Flint away from here before he fell to the ground.

"How honorable." Klaus commented.

"Yes, very honorable." Reynolds added.

"Well, there's no point letting him pass out here. Besides, I was already victorious. That's enough." Grey knew why they were speaking in such a manner.

"That's your choice. I don't like cocky people, so I wouldn't mind putting him down here." Klaus shrugged.

"That's because you're an evil person." Alice said.

Klaus grinned, not denying her statement.

With the four showing off their abilities, others came up on stage to show off their abilities as well, fighting against anyone they felt like. Other than Alice who fought above two stages, no one else repeated such a fit. In short, the things the four friends did were not repeated by anyone else as the battle went on.

Klaus and Reynolds started to feel bored and wanted to leave, but there was no way Grey was going to miss out on the chance of getting a few tips on the array formation. He was waiting for the battles to be over before he heads over to meet up with the middle-aged man and tell him to fulfill his promise.

They stayed there for a few hours before the battle was finally over.

Everyone left, but Grey and his friends sat in the same place, staring at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man seemed to understand why Grey was staring at him and he walked over to them.

"You want what was promised, don't you?" He asked Grey.

Grey nodded.

"To be fair, that's all on the Faction Leader, but I'll make sure he helps you with it. What he impacts to you depends on how he sees you." The middle-aged man didn't hide the fact that he didn't have the power to impact the knowledge to Grey, but he also made him aware that he would be able to help out to ensure he got what he was promised.

Grey didn't see anything wrong with the man's words, he knew that was how some Factions were, and the Leader was the one with most of the power.

"Uncle… you're really going to take him to see Teacher?" Aries asked when the middle-aged man walked over to where she was.

"Yes, what's the point in going back on my word?" The middle-aged man didn't see anything wrong with it.

"But… that's the Firelord's secret formation and something available only to the Phoenix Faction." Aries tried to argue.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." The middle-aged man said and invited Grey and his friends over to go meet with the Faction Leader.