It was exactly as Maximus disappeared that Valerio understood the purpose of the glasses; they enhanced his processing speed and let him see into the void without burdening himself.
He watched as Maximus shifted to the void, took a step, and reappeared behind Vermillious. Vermillious sensed the disturbance in space, shifting his head to the right and narrowly avoiding Maximus's fist. The punch was followed by an overwhelming rush of air that promptly disappeared as it reached the edges of the arena.
Most arenas had a protective formation built around them that shielded the audience from the aftermath of the battle, allowing two powerhouses to fight as they pleased without harming anyone, although it meant they were confined to the arena's space.
Vermillious countered with a right elbow to Maximus's face.
Maximus shifted again, disappearing.
The elbow hit space.
Vermillious responded with one small and one larger fireball in separate hands. He threw the smaller fireball towards where Maximus had disappeared. The fireball's density was greater than what the 5th Plane world could handle, temporarily weakening the fabric of space.
Thus, the barrier between the material realm and the void became thinner. The second, larger, fireball followed, puncturing the fabric of space and broke through the thin barrier between the material realm and the void.
The void tried to erase the unnatural energy.
Alas, the fireball was too dense.
Maximus didn't have time to dodge, the fireball hit him square in his chest.
Maximus flew backwards, stabilising himself as a smile grew on his face. He took another step, closing a distance of hundreds of meters and appearing in front of Vermillious with a high kick aimed at his face.
Vermillious dashed backwards as he blocked with his right arm, and dust flew into the air from the aftermath of the kick.
Valerio watched as punches, elbows, and kicks were exchanged inside the arena, his glasses allowing him to see not only the void but also the speed at which they were sparring.
Every movement of his dad and Vaermillious were followed by sonic booms, the blasts of air almost harmonising with their movements.
He was sure that there was more to the spar than what he could see, like feints, reads, or perhaps combinations with specific purposes; unfortunately, he didn't have the battle experience to decipher them.
Gradually, the spar turned into a close-quarters competition, Vermillious and Maximus vying for supremacy as their movements turned into a blur. Maximus's fists disappeared and appeared seemingly randomly. Vermillous responded, suddenly his movements seemed to harmonise with the world itself, granting him strength.
The ground beneath their feet seemed to wail in agony with every step as the arena was torn apart by the sheer force of their movements. The air around them took on a dangerous hue, a swirling mix of fire and darkness as flames and void collided in a chaotic dance of destruction. Yet, the devastation only added to the thrill of the spectacle.
Vermillious and Maximus, the two sources of this chaos, wore matching grins of fierce excitement, their faces alight with competitive fervour as they exchanged hundreds of rapid, powerful moves. Neither showed any signs of slowing, each blow driving them to push harder, their intense competitiveness on full display.
Suddenly, both separated, looking at each other for an instant before clashing again. The arena finally gave out, the ground pulverising as a result of the 5th Plane experts.
Veronica gave an apologetic smile to Isadora for her husband's antics. Isadora smiled and waved a hand, indicating it wasn't important.
The arena descended into silence as Maximus ceased his attacks and shifted into the void, Vermillious spread his soul sense out, searching for disturbances in the fabric of space.
Valerio watched the void as his dad winked at him and started channelling Void Lu into his palms. Valerio could feel the pull through the protective barrier. Sensing the same disturbance, Vermillious responded with his fire, channelling it towards his palms.
Maximus wanted to take out his weapons since he was already fighting, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it from Isadora and decided to end the battle here.
He'd just have to hit hard.
Maximus concentrated on channelling a [Void Sphere], a lineage talent of the Augustine. The void bent to his will, forming a blue, swirling sphere.
Maximus's voice, filled with authority and power, rang out in the arena, "Fade…"
Hearing those unholy words, Vermillious' eyes widened in shock, yet his shock was overshadowed by the immense look of battle lust on his face. The fire that had been slowly concentrating on his palms suddenly tripled in size. The audience felt the temperature of the area go up, prompting Isadora to wave her hand again, and the temperature to stabilise again.
"Phase"
"Shift between realms and planes,"
The fireball in Vermillious' hand became golden as he prepared to intercept.
The void purified anything other than itself, no matter the resource. However, users of [Void Sphere] could focus the destruction of the void onto anything they had a deep enough understanding of. This included objects, Lu, and even concepts.
Maximus channelled his lineage talent as he marked Vermillious' fire; how could he not have gained an understanding of it? This wasn't the first time Vermillious had put him in a bind.
As soon as he felt the strength of the [Void Sphere] bordering on the barrier's limit, he stabilised it and drew his right hand above his shoulder as his left leg raised, entering a pitcher's stance.
Maximus' voice rang out again, reverberating throughout the arena, "Forgo Balance…"
Maximus stood in the void. The blue-black void around him contrasted with the blue-indigo [Void Sphere] in his hand, making him look like an emperor, as if he were the sole ruler of the void.
Likewise, Vermillious had activated [Harmonious Domain], a defensive lineage talent meant to nullify all attacks using the strength of the world and fire. The bright yellow domain extended 3 metres around Vermillious. His bright red figure enveloped by his domain, he continued to layer Fire Lu into the domain while strengthening his harmony with the world.
The guests stood shocked; the implications of Vermillious activating [Harmonious Domain] were too obvious. If Vermillious was using his best defensive move, Maximus was about to use his best offensive move!
The plaza descended into silence, the guests afraid to blink in fear of missing the collision.
The last of Maximus' chant—like a whisper of death—echoed in the ears of the guests and Vermillious.
The hundreds of thousands of guests finally couldn't contain their excitement, the arena's previous silence was broken as they erupted into cheers.
"Consume…" Maximus' voice layered above the cheers, as if it would be heard no matter how loud they were.
"Void sphere."
Maximus released his pitcher's stance, hurling the palm-sized [Void Sphere] towards Vermillious and shifting it to the material plane. The speed of the sphere was so fast that it appeared as if it had simply teleported into Vermillious' domain.
Vermillious' eyes snapped open as he let out a groan as a revolving, blue-indigo sphere collided with his domain. A flash of yellow and blue enveloped the plaza as void and fire battled for finality. The young heirs and children closed their eyes, their survival instinct kicking in, the intensity of the light too high for their weak bodies. The only youth watching the scene was Valerio. He watched his father hurl the [Void Sphere] towards Vermilloius.
A hint of excitement built up inside of him, 'How long will it be until I can wield such strength?'
Shortly after the flash, the light dissipated to reveal Maximus and Vermillious with a hand over each other as they both shared a knowing look.
Both scoffed, "Show Off"
Simultaneously, they turned their heads back toward each other, bursting out into laughter, and the audience finally seemed to awaken from their stupor as they started cheering and clapping.
Maximus walked back towards the table with a stoic face, though Valerio knew he was in a good mood. Afterall, he was smirking his face off earlier, a cocky smile grew on Maximus's face, "How were the glasses?"
Valerio took them off and tossed them back, "Not too bad"
Maximus let out a chuckle, realising he wasn't gonna say anything about what he'd just seen.
He directly grabbed a knife and glass as he tapped the two together, signalling for attention as Isadora restored the arena with a wave of her hand.
The crowd quieted, their anticipation growing as Maximus prepared to deliver his speech.