EndGame: The Successor's Legacy-Chapter 44: Grin

The whole forest felt electrified, as the pillar of white light rose into the sky.

The trio glanced at each other for a moment, it was truly strange...they had just met, some mere minutes ago yet they all understood it without needing a single word to be exchanged.

Sparks of searing flame flickered around Vian, as the grass beneath his legs turned black, smoke coming out of them.

While, the wind around Adrian moved with such intensity that it felt like a green tornado was surrounding him, in an angry dance.

Calix also wasn’t behind them, rank was one thing however right now. He wanted to test himself...to see where he stood against the true giants of the game.

Amethyst lightning, wrapped around his legs dancing with a chaotic glint as the ground beneath his feet trembled from the sheer load.

All of this had happened in just a few seconds. The three ducked, ready as they settled on the blinding pillar.

"Well guy’s, see you there." Vian said, waving his hand lightly.

"That is, If you all didn’t come dead last obviously." Adrian said with a competitive smirk.

They all turned their heads to the last one. Calix tilted his head lightly, slightly agitated from their attention.

"Well, wouldn’t you have some encouraging words for us, Calix." Anaerah teased lightly.

"Uh, look out when you are close to the pillar and...uh? see you guys later?" He said.

"Hahah." A slight laugh escaped through all of their mouths.

Then, in a blink the three moved.

Whish.

Boom.

Fwwip.

Three different sounds ripped through the forest as the three bolted toward the pillar of light.

Vian was the first to explode forward. Fire detonating beneath his feet, as the ground caved in, leaving a searing arrow of orange shooting through the trees.

Flames roared behind him, leaving scorched earth and broken trunks in his wake. His body cut through the air with terrifying momentum.

Adrian followed.

There were no explosion, no excessive flashy moves as wind wrapped tightly around his body, compressing, sharpening, until he became a blur.

A thin green line streaked through the forest, branches snapping and leaves scattering a second too late. He wasn’t just running...no, he was gliding, carried by perfectly controlled airflow.

And then there was Calix.

Lightning screamed, as Calix became a streak of pure, raging amethyst. Thunder cracked violently as he tore through the air, lightning wrapping around his body like living chains.

Trees split apart as he passed, the forest illuminated in flashing purple arcs. Each step was a detonation, each movement a violation of distance itself.

High above, magical drones struggled to keep up.

Their lenses failing to capture the impossible.

Three figures moving at insane speeds, three colors cutting through the forest in parallel paths.

Orange.

Green.

Amethyst.

In the arena, the crowd erupted.

Cheers rang aloud, shouts escaped while gasps were taken.

All they could see were streaks of light blitzing through the woods, tearing apart everything in their path.

The instructors watched in silence.

Then, a low laugh broke it.

"Oh, I am loving this," the beastkin professor said, baring her fangs as her tail flicked wildly. "Look at that speed!"

Another instructor nodded slowly, eyes sharp. "Maintaining that level of output... even after hours of combat."

A pause was taken then...

"It’s confirmed," someone said quietly.

"These students surpass last year’s batch."

******

Harsh wind lashed around the three as they tore through the forest.

Trees blurred into streaks of green and brown. Branches snapped before sound could even catch up. Leaves were shredded and flung skyward in their wake.

Candidates they passed barely understood what happened.

One moment they were running the next, three colors flashed past them.

Some of them tried to react.

A spear of earth rose from the ground in front of Vian. It didn’t matter as Vian didn’t slow.

His blade flickered once, wrapped in fire, and the earth construct evaporated instantly. The candidate behind it vanished into light before he even realized he’d been struck.

Adrian passed another student who had begun chanting a spell. A pressure hit the candidate.

Wind compressed brutally around the caster’s chest, slamming him into a tree. Before the bark even cracked, his body dissolved into light.

Calix didn’t even turn his head.

A blade came swinging from the side. Lightning flared as the attacker never finished the motion.

Purple thunder split the air, and the candidate disappeared mid-step.

All of it happened within a blink.

None of the three slowed.

The pillar of light loomed, massive and radiant, piercing the sky like a divine signal. The ground around it was scorched, cracked, and warped by mana.

They reached it almost together and then...

The ground exploded.

Stone shattered upward as something massive forced its way out of the earth.

A giant human-like stone monster rose, its body formed of layered rock and glowing runes.

Its head scraped the canopy as it let out a deep, grinding roar. One massive arm swung down toward them, air screaming under the weight.

None of the three hesitated.

Vian moved first.

Fire erupted violently as he slashed upward, a blazing arc of orange flames tearing into the monster’s arm and melting stone like wax.

Adrian followed instantly.

Wind screamed as he thrust his blade forward, compressed air drilling straight into the monster’s chest, cracking its core open.

And then...

Lightning descended.

Calix raised his hand, amethyst thunder condensing into a single point before detonating forward.

The three attacks collided.

Fire.

Wind.

Lightning.

They fused for a single, catastrophic instant.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion swallowed the monster whole.

Stone disintegrated, as it’s form shattered. The core imploded under the combined force, and the giant collapsed inward before it could even fall.

Silence followed.

The three stood before the pillar of light, unharmed, their auras slowly calming. No words were exchanged throughout.

They didn’t need to be, as they already released that the match had been draw. No one, had one yet there was wide...large grin on Vian’s and Adrian’s face.