With Zacharia's wrist firmly in his grasp and with his scaled shoulder already closing with an activation of [Heal], Ethan had the juiciest opening since the fight had started. Sure, he was a little surprised the man had managed to tear through his scales, though now that he was holding the man's wrist, he could sense the reason why.

Considering how powerful that strike had been, it made complete sense. For now, it was time to pay the man back.

Igniting his scales at full strength, the heat blasted outward like a raging furnace, wrapping itself comfortingly around his scales and making Zacharia recoil in alarm, but Ethan didn't let him go and a beat later, he blasted the black-eyed man, wrenching a bloodcurdling scream out of his throat. The shout lasted for barely a second before it cut off as the man managed to erect a defense, but whatever it was, it was immediately tested once more as Ethan stabbed with his left claws. The energies of his Prime Manifestation coursed through him, making his movements unstoppable, and his claws found their target. But while Ethan expected to hear the quiet whisper of them puncturing flesh, he felt only a thud mixing with the grunts of Zacharia.

It wasn't that the man's stomach was too tough to stab. He was sure of that. It was just that right as his claws made contact, their ability to pierce had fizzled out and just like his lance from earlier, he felt the talon impact harmlessly. But with his Zenith state active, he sensed something else. Something meeting his unstoppable force and refusing to submit, and in that moment, two forces locked horns; Ethan's trying to stab and cut through any obstacle, and Zacharia's, which refused to concede.

Two Prime Manifestations met, and neither would buckle. At first. But while Ethan just had to keep his grip on the man's wrist and stab with his left arm, Zacharia had to match him and stave off the raging fire blasting him point-blank. In the end, Zacharia's resolve wavered first, but not before he managed to twist away and dodge a second stab, which then freed him to focus his effort on slipping away.

With a mighty wrench that managed to pull Ethan along for a few inches, Zacharia's wrist cracked, and with Ethan focused on trying to score a strike with his claws, the man did something to Ethan's grip and managed to slip his broken arm away before flitting a good distance away, face contorted in pain. Ethan cut off his flames and the Zenith state to save on his resources, and he took a good look at his opponent.

Zacharia had a bunch of red welts on his skin, and both his pants, hair, and wings were smoking, while the edges of his horns smoldered like ignited incense sticks. He held his mangled hand in front of him and slowly, Ethan watched, frowning, as the bone straightened up. Curiously, [Sphinx's Gaze] could see no trace of a spell activating. Unlike his encounter with the curse caster earlier, activating a spell created some sort of 'noise' in the area, but he could see none around the healing hand.

Was it another function of his Prime Manifestation? What even was it? And could Ethan learn to heal himself with his Manifestation?

With his hand back to form, Zacharia opened and closed his hand before re-summoning the claws, shooting Ethan a hateful glare. "You're not just a brute after all, huh," he said, teeth bared. By now, all semblance of confidence was quickly leaking away from his features, and Ethan wondered if the man had thought he'd been the only one who had access to the Prime Manifestation.

Ethan knew it wasn't common this early, having sensed Amanda beginning to manifest hers. But he wasn't arrogant enough to think he was that special. Though the man in front of him clearly did, and without bothering to respond, he burst forward, unwilling to give him too much time to recover with idle chitchat.

That wasn't why he was here.

Holding the Manifestation's trigger within reach, mana rushed up to his horns and an [Arc of Force] flew out. Fireballs were already forming atop his head, and a pressurized [Water Jet] was ready to shoot as soon as he figured which direction Zacharia intended to dodge. Ethan believed he would, because he didn't think the antler-crowned man was that tough to just keep tanking whatever Ethan sent his way. He wasn't weak by any means, but it just seemed that he'd been bolstering his defenses with his Manifestation, which, while versatile, couldn't last forever.

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Now that Ethan just proved he had the same trump card in hand, he suspected Zacharia would be more frugal with his. But as his flight ate through the distance separating them, he was proven wrong.

Instead of dodging away, Zacharia stood his ground and with a horizontal chop, the mist behind him swept forward, creating an edge on which the [Arc of Force] broke like a wave against a breakwater barrier. At the same time, the antlers glowed with hazy purple as he pointed both hands out, and Ethan barely had the time to urgently swerve as barely-visible lance shot out. It was much larger than the daggers he'd seen before, and it might have been able to skewer him if he'd let it land. He'd only seen it thanks to [Sphinx's Gaze].

As Ethan circled, readying himself for another charge, he hummed. It seemed that Zacharia was done underestimating him.

A glowing bolt zipped upward, missing him by a wide margin, but stealing a glance down, he saw some of the warriors pointing and shooting up at him as they ran down the road, so he just pointed the lance down, and cast out enlarged [Sunshard].

The spell surged out of the lance, but Ethan didn't spare them a look and instead, he flew back at his main opponent only to be met with a massive invisible lance that threw him off course as the man furiously watched his own people running for their lives, and as the massive boom of the large rock rumbled as it cratered on the ground, the black, glittering eyes swiveled to him just as a couple of notification slipped into his interface.

Apparently not all had made it out.

"I'll make sure your precious little town pays for this," Zacharia spoke, voice echoing ominously, sending a shiver down Ethan's spine which he just burned away with another activation of his Zenith state. Wings tucked, Ethan blurred forward once more, coming at his opponent at awkward angle from slightly above. The mist moved forward, curving in his direction to catch and wrap itself around him, but Ethan just barreled through, form burning as he stabbed with the lance into the reaching mist. He sensed something try to oppose his Path, but it barely held for a beat before his lance detonated, scattering the glowing purple and pink mist while he charged past it, following after the retreating Zacharia. But even as he backed away, the man had never stopped glaring, and Ethan—while still pursuing—readied himself for something. He didn't know what yet. He didn't know if it was a trap, some allies, or some hidden ability.

But the face he was seeing wasn't of one who was just desperate. There was something else, still. And as if the world—or his opponent—had realized he wasn't going to be caught unaware, mana swirled around the man's throat like a growing maelstrom, quickly outshining everything around the man's form and anything he'd cast so far.

As he relentlessly pursued, Ethan's mind flashed to the earlier part of the flight where the man's voice had messed with his resolve. He thought of the Eldritch magic he'd encountered and how insidious it had been, and so he suspected what was about to come his way.

He couldn't allow himself to be affected by such, especially if this might end up being the trick Zacharia intended on burying him with. So Ethan drew on all of his reserves of essence and resolve, and empowered his body and mind with the Prime Manifestation.

His focus narrowed. His worries fell away to the wayside, fading away until all that was left was the man who had so carelessly sent his people to terrorize and attack Ethan's. His current opponent, not the first, and certainly not the last. A barrier to break through.

An obstacle.

Zacharia opened his mouth and spoke, and while Ethan couldn't tell if he had heard them with his ears or his mind as the wind whistled around him, the buzzing, echoing voice rang in his mind, as if spoken by hundreds, thousands of small voices all at once.

Sleep.

The order stole over his mind like a veil that muted all sounds and colors. Muting his emotions. But when the wave of apathy and somnolence reached the burning impulse to demolish the obstacles ahead of him and burn them to ash, it was brushed aside. The order fell on deaf ears.

But Ethan could play that up a little.

With his wings still tucked, Ethan feigned a dive, and he almost smirked when he saw Zacharia's face light up before his features twisted in alarm as Ethan sped up and soared, the lance appearing in his hand, Zacharia reacted too late and while Ethan didn't know if he'd caught him by surprise or if he had burned everything he had on that last order, he knew one thing as his hand and shoulder shook from the impact.

It's gonna take Zacharia a lot to run away with the lance halfway through his chest.

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