Valorverse: Dulzak Arc

[True Grave]

Firestar had dropped his SEL down to one and he was now doing light sparring with Crusader. He had regenerated his helm and was focused on protecting his face.

"Your best bet for victory against Mozgus is to defeat him quickly. In order to do that, you'll need to take the Fist of Valor to a whole new level."

"You mean I should try to beat him in one shot?"

Firestar shook his head.

"Against an opponent like Mozgus, you'd have no chance of that. He has way too much experience to go down from a single shot."

"Then how?"

"Hit him with rapid-fire Fists of Valor. If you can land several crushing blows on him, you can defeat him before he has a chance to draw out his full power."

Scott nodded and took his fighting stance again.

Firestar activated his power of divine immunity.

"Alright, now focus your power and strike me."

Scott closed his eyes and focused his Soul Energy into both arms. Once he felt ready, he struck with two Boxing-style straight punches in a row. Both Fists of Valor hit with tremendous force, but left Scott winded.

"Again," Firestar instructed.

 

[True Grave]

Scott and Firestar began working on his Boxing. His Muay Thai was top-tier but wouldn't help too much with punching faster. In order to do that, he was going to have to hone his Boxing. While punching based styles weren't very competitive in professional Muay Thai due to clinching, it would be essential to real fighting. A flurry of punches could take down Mozgus before he could unleash his full power. It was Scott's best chance of victory.

Firestar had Scott practice his jabs, straights, hooks, and uppercuts. They practiced them together. Using his godly invincibility, he let Scott practice them on him. His Muay Thai experience made him a quick study. His Boxing was already decent.

"Keep practicing just like that."

Once his Boxing was solid, Scott willed on his Voltari Armor and kept practicing multiple strikes of Valor. His jabs were allowing him to get more and more in. His stamina needed work, so he shadow boxed while taking breaks every now and then. Firestar respected how hard Crusader was working. If he had more time, he could definitely defeat Mozgus. With the time constraints they had, Scott had to instead rely on the punchers' chance.

 

[True Grave]

One Month Later

Crusader waited in a large open field in the realm of Firestar. They were armored up and prepared for battle. Having trained all they could over the course of a month, they simply had to let the chips fall where they may. Firestar was sitting on the throne to give the fighters space. However, he would still be a referee for this fight. Even if Crusader lost, he would not allow Mozgus to kill them.

Mozgus appeared and gave Crusader a smirk.

"Well, let's see if you live up to Firestar's hype."

Crusader took a Muay Thai stance.

"Come and get it."

Mozgus spread his arms.

"If you insist."

Mozgus closed the distance in half a second and began battering Crusader with a flurry of punches. His power was making it hard for Crusader to defend himself. Keeping his head, Scott waited and countered with a left body uppercut to the solar plexus. Mozgus was shocked, being so confident that he was winning that he had left himself open. It was Crusader's best chance to end the fight. He took a deep breath and focused his SEL into his fists.

Punches of Valor!!!

Crusader unleashed ten Fists of Valor directly into the face of Mozgus. He cried out, blood spurted from his nose, and he fell on his back with his arms outstretched. Crusader stayed in his stance but was smiling hopefully. Had the plan worked? Had he won?

Mozgus clenched his fists and slowly got to his feet. His face was twisted in rage.

"You little BASTARD!!!"

Crusader was knocked back several steps as the power of Mozgus exploded out of him. His hopeful expression turned to fear and concern. The worst case scenario had happened.

At a SEL of 100, Crusader stood no chance against Mozgus. He couldn't even see the punches that beat him to the ground. His helmet was shattered and his face was covered in blood. On his back, he was helpless as the Archdemon planted a foot on his chest. He raised his fist to deliver a crushing blow to Scott's throat. Sadistic glee turned to surprise on his face as Firestar held his wrist in an iron grip.


"I'm not going to let you kill him."

 

[True Grave]

Mozgus looked back at Firestar, scorching fury burning in his eyes. He went to take a swing at him, but the God of Fire countered by throwing him off into the distance. An orange portal to Hell opened and closed after Mozgus went through it. Firestar stepped through his own portal to Hell. Mozgus had stopped his flight and looked around at the familiar surroundings. Firestar planted his feet as he looked at Mozgus with conviction.

"As promised, I will fight you."

Mozgus grinned in bloodthirsty glee.

"Then show me what you've got, God of Fire!"

The Archdemon closed the distance between them in a blink. Firestar had raised his own power to 100 SEL in order to match Mozgus. The two exchanged punches at a furious pace, though neither could break through to hit the other.

Mozgus attempted to throw a kick aimed at Firestar's head. The God of Fire moved his head back to dodge it before countering with a kick under the chin that launched the Archdemon into the air. He rocketed after him and the two exchanged punches again. Their final clash of fists sent a shockwave ripping through the air. Mozgus grinned as Firestar fell into his trap. He dug his claws into Firestar's hand, making it impossible for him to pull away.

With a shout, Mozgus unleashed a massive red energy blast. At point blank range, the damage should have been extensive. When the energy dissipated, though, Firestar was gone. Thinking at first that the God of Fire had been destroyed, he had no time to react when Firestar suddenly appeared behind him.

"Too slow, Mozgus."

Firestar landed a horizontal chop to the back of his neck.

The Archdemon seized up and his vision began going black.

"Damn you..."

Mozgus fell face first and went unconscious on the ground. With the fight settled, Firestar returned to his own realm. He sensed that Scott had been moved to his palace by attendants. Firestar used a portal to step into his throne room.

An unused room in his palace had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. One of his green flame servants had constructed a bed and used her green flames to heal Scott's injuries, including the broken nose he had sustained during the battle with Lone Wolf. Firestar approached the bed, looking down on Scott, who appeared to be asleep.

"How is he?"

The green flame servant turned to him.

"He has recovered from his injuries and is resting now, my lord."

Firestar nodded.

"Okay. Send him to me when he awakens."

"Of course, my lord."

Firestar returned to his throne room and sat on his throne. When Scott recovered, the next phase of their plan would begin.

 

[True Grave]

Scott opened his eyes a little, flinched at the bright light, then closed them again.

What...What happened...?

Scott? How do you feel?

I...feel okay, I guess. How about you, Valor?

There wasn't an immediate response. Scott put together what happened after a few moments to think.

We lost the fight, didn't we, Valor?

In a monumental way. We didn't stand much of a chance after he got serious.

Scott clenched his fists so hard that they shook.

Dammit! I know I nailed him with Punches of Valor! He was completely downed!

Yes, but that wasn't enough to keep him down. We can do better.

Scott's snapped open and blazed with determination.

"And we will."

Scott sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up and walked purposefully out of the room. When the green flame nurse approached, Scott's expression softened. Her compassionate and meticulous treatment had made him feel like a new man. His smile toward her was bright and heartfelt.

"Thank you."

That simple phrase carried many emotions and genuine gratitude. The green flame nurse needed no explanation or elaboration to understand the words unspoken.

"Firestar wishes to see you."

Scott excused himself and walked with vigor and excitement toward his mentor. Undaunted by defeat, he wanted to get back after it and be better than the him that lost to Mozgus.

When Scott appeared before Firestar, no words needed to be said. The God of Fire looked into his protege's eyes and saw everything that he needed to see. With a smirk, Firestar stood and erupted into an inferno of Soul Energy. He flash stepped forward and threw a punch with conviction. Scott instantly put on his Crusader armor and met that punch with one of his own. These clashing fists symbolized not only each man's unyielding spirit, but their willingness to overcome tomorrow.

 

[True Grave]

Ferndale, California

In the desert outside this small northern California town, two motorcycles were parked. These belonged to Nick and Eric, who were the very picture of different reactions to what was happening in front of them. Nick was so excited that he looked like he had just drank a gallon of espresso. Eric, on the other hand, was so calm that it was spooky. Fifty bikers belonging to a local club called the Desert Mongols were pulling in across from them. They did not have friendly intentions.

This had all started while Wild & Free was making their way down the Coast Highway. They had no particular destination in mind, just going with the flow. Every now and then, the two would look at each other and reinforce the joy of total freedom. Everything was uneventful until they ended up in rural northern California. That was when the Desert Mongols came upon them and started acting like jerks. Never one to take shit from anyone, Nick slugged the leader of the outfit so hard that it damn near knocked him off of his hog.

Wanting to avoid a scenario in which someone literally hit the road at high speed, Eric calmly pulled into the desert sand and Nick followed after him. Now they were staring down a pack of angry bikers with blades and chains.

"Let's try to settle this without powers," Eric said.

"No problem. I'm itchin' to smash some faces the old fashioned way."

The calmer man chuckled at his buddy's enthusiasm, knowing that situations like this were where Nick truly shined.

Without hesitation, the two charged side-by-side, completely unafraid of these bikers. The closest one to them was punched in the face by them simultaneously and went down immediately. The two then divided their foes and started fighting their own ways. Nick was highly aggressive and violent, mercilessly headbutting and punching in the throat whenever he could. Eric was a calm and calculated counter fighter, dodging and smashing cheek bones with full force at every opportunity. No matter which side the Desert Mongols were on, they weren't a match for these military trained men who brought their own particular x factors to the confrontation.

Nick landed a headbutt that completely obliterated the nose of a Mongol. Blood splattered in his face and he whooped in excitement. The smell and feel of blood during a fight excited him in ways similar to a primal warrior. The Mongols left were openly afraid, realizing by now that they were dealing with a beast. A vicious uppercut from Nick dropped the last one on his side. Nick was jittery, still buzzing from the adrenaline rush of combat.

By contrast, the Mongols fighting Eric were backing off but not terrified. They knew he was tough and serious, so they tried to give fewer openings. That didn't help much as Eric could work around their guards and knock them down with combinations of body and face shots. The last on Eric's side lashed out with his chain. He ducked to avoid it, but it flew within Nick's reach. He grabbed it with both hands and yanked on it with both hands.

The last Desert Mongol flew forward, catching a body uppercut to the solar plexus that put him down for the count. Nick whooped in excitement.

"God that felt good!"

"Oh yeah."

They walked side by side back to their bikes and exchanged high to low fives. Not long afterwards, they were back on the highway.

It took Nick a dozen miles to burn off the adrenaline rush. Once he had calmed down, they rode in silence for a while. Eventually, Nick turned to Eric with a cocky smile.

"That was fun but not challenging enough to kick me into high gear. We need to fight our own for that."

Eric showed no reaction, but Nick knew him well enough to know that he was listening.

"Let's go to Europe. Those mutant gangs need a serious taste of Wild & Free."

Nick extended a fist for a bump.

"You in, brother?"

Eric thought it over, realized that Nick was serious, and bumped his buddy's fist.

"You're gonna need someone to watch your back, you crazy bastard," he laughed.