A few kilometers away from the twin mountain peaks, two people sat cross-legged on a path of grass as they played a game that resembled chess back on Earth.
Kevin rubbed his chin as he thought of his next move. After a few seconds, he looked up to the shadow of the twin peaks, his eyes glowing warmly as he watched the progression of events. He could easily see what was happening, even with the distance between them.
“Those two never calm down around each other, do they?” He mumbled and turned back to the game board, pushing a piece forward.
“Hehe, they should be best friends, you know.” His counterpart chuckled and made his move, carrying a piece across Kevin’s and snatching Kevin’s piece off the board, earning a scowl from Kevin.
“You win again, Dmitri.” Kevin sighed in defeat as he looked at the board.
“As always.” The yellow haired boy opposite Kevin tossed up a golden coin and caught it out of the air. “Now, pay up.” He held out a hand.
“One more match. This time, I’m betting two gold coins.” Kevin held up two fingers. He snapped them and the pieces rearranged themselves on the board.
“You’ve got yourself a deal!” Dmitri grinned wickedly, running a hand through his dyed hair.
The duo played another round, and Kevin actually won this time. Dmitri stared at the board for a whole minute before turning to look at Richard and Moses who were about to begin their fight. After watching them for a few seconds, he snapped his fingers and a literal bulb of light appeared over his head – a manifestation of magic.
“I get it now! You won’t win that way next time!” He grinned and handed Kevin a single gold coin. Kevin simply laughed and dropped the gold coin into his large coin pouch. He had won many more times than Dmitri had this time.
The board between them vanished into thin air and the both of them turned to face the mountain tops. The fight was about to begin.
“Who do you think will win this time?” Dmitri asked Kevin.
“It has always ended in a tie. Why do you think someone will win this time?” Kevin shot an amused glance at Dmitri.
“I don’t know. Just a feeling, I guess.” Dmitri shrugged, not taking his eyes off the escalating battle.
.
.
“Grrrr… You blood sucking bastard…” Richard growled with irritation as his tongue flicked out and licked the drop of blood welling on the tip of his nose.
“I do not know how you ignorant fools get off on stereotyping my kind that way.” Moses snorted and waved his hand. He was holding a small flute which he used as some sort of sword. Right now, that flute was glowing brightly as Moses channeled his mana into it, turning it into a brightly glowing sword.
“Humph!” Richard snorted and rolled his eyes, brandishing his glowing claws. From his back, a silver sphere took shape. From an ethereal form, it slowly manifested into something much more grounded in reality before it began to expand. It distanced itself from Richard as it grew in size until it took the form of a bright, silver moon that illuminated the space around the twin peaks.
“Your domain had grown much more powerful than that measly representation back when you were only B rank.” Moses smiled, appreciating the sight of his opponent’s domain. He looked as if he was taking a walk in the park when he was actually in a much more disadvantageous position!
Moses sighed and gathered his power. Richard did not stop him, as the only way he would feel satisfied with this battle would be if they fought at their absolute best.
When the power Moses was gathering had reached a peak, he let it burst out of his body, turning into a curtain of golden wisps like snowflakes that showered across the land. This was the manifestation of his domain.
Richard frowned at the sight of this. He was not familiar with this.
“You changed your domain?” He asked.
“Yes, this form fits my needs and fighting style more. I can understand why you did not change yours, as it conforms to the need of a ‘territory’, as your kind prefers.” Moses smirked, his eyes gleaming as he challenged Richard. He was sneakily just saying that Richard was too lazy and uncreative enough to do something different.
Richard scowled and a deep growl vibrated through his chest and shook the mountain tops. His eyes flashed with power as he fed his mana into his domain, while it also fed power back into him. He lunged at Moses, turning into a silver blur that was almost untraceable, even to Kevin and Dmitri.
Just before the silver light of his claws could graze Moses’ cheek, a golden flash of light shrouded Moses, and he appeared a few feet behind Richard, his golden flute-sword primed in a stabbing motion straight at Richard’s neck.
Richard smoothly twisted his body, showing off his amazing control and flexibility before lashing out with his feet and tail. His tail turned into a silver flash that aimed straight for Moses’ wrist, while his legs went for his torso.
Light flashed again, and Moses appeared elsewhere, his flute-sword still aiming for one of Richard’s blind spots. But Richard had no blind spot. Even if his eyes could not see that area, as long as one was within his domain, it was impossible to get the jump on him.
The same went for Moses. His domain was aligned with his Light magic element, and those wisps of light served as stores of his power. He could instantly teleport to any one of them, which aided his speedy fighting style.
Although Moses was faster, Richard was not too far behind, and he held the strength advantage between the two; not that Moses was weak in any way. He also was not too far behind Richard in terms of strength.
Like that, an epic battle that decimated the twin peaks ensued.