Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Thanks to the movement of Impulse added with the power of Rain's punch and charge, Iori was completely caught off guard… his jaw was smashed and he was sent flying in the opposite direction while hitting the surface of the water for several kilometers… even when he slowed down, he had no idea what had happened… Still, he felt the danger when Rain approached to punch him again and raised his arms to block the attack, but in the end, Rain just grabbed him by the neck and threw him in the air with all his might. As Rain flew Iori through the air with speed and power, Iori spun uncontrollably, spinning across several kilometers. The momentum was so intense that it took a considerable effort for Iori to regain control and stabilize himself mid-air, relying on his magical prowess to recover his posture and halt his spiraling motion. While Rain swiftly closed the distance between them, Iori preemptively readied himself for an impending attack. His swift reaction enabled him to adopt a defensive stance, raising his arms and preparing to confront the incoming threat. Despite Rain's approach and the imminent confrontation, Iori remained unaware of his attacker's identity, indicating a lack of recognition even at this critical moment. Still, when Rain was about to punch him, Rain lifted the helmet on his face and that made Iori open his eyes in shock… in that short window of time, Rain punched his face once more and sent him flying to space… "Wow… he still remembers me…" Rain thought. "This is quite surprising. Well, maybe not... considering that he is able to use that armor. The armor should have enhanced his hatred as well." Rain crossed the atmosphere and when he found himself surrounded by darkness, he saw that Iori had stopped moving and he was being protected against the void by a liquid looking barrier. Rain wondered how that wasn't freezing since it should be made of water, but it looked like Iori had a few tricks up his sleeve… it was hard to imagine why he would have the need to do that, but it seemed that he came to space at some point to do some training. Iori was bitting his lips in anger, to the point that they were bleeding a lot… his face and aura were changing as well as if they were being distorted by something… probably the Power of wrath. "He should have had enough time to learn how to use that, huh?" Rain thought when he slowed down. "This will be harder than I predicted. Rain took Iori out of the ocean, but it didn't seem like the level of difficulty would decrease. In any case, Rain equipped the sword and closed the helmet once more since he couldn't let anyone else recognize him. As Rain closed in on Iori, a notable shift occurred in Iori's aura, resonating with the influence of Wrath. The manifestation of this powerful aura enveloped Iori, casting an ominous shadow across half of his face. This transformation wasn't entirely unexpected, considering Iori's possession of the armor, it was a correlation between his aura's alteration and the relic's influence. However, amidst this revelation, another possibility loomed, he might have assimilated or learned some of the sin magic inherent to the dragons. The ambiguity surrounding his abilities and its potential to acquire skills from various sources left room for speculation about the origin of Iori's altered aura. This uncertainty added another layer of complexity to the situation, leaving Rain to confront an opponent whose power source and abilities seemed to stem from many origins. Rain eventually confirmed all that when Iori summoned two dark ice giant arms to protect his own… it was the same thing he used against the dragons in the war one hundred years ago. It wasn't a half bad strategy… that kind of ability was very powerful, but it came at the cost of one's reason. Iori dashed in the vacuum toward Rain and punched him with all his might. Rain blocked the attack with his sword, but he was still sent spiraling downward back to Earth… the sword resisted the powerful impact, but while he was slowing down, Rain felt his bones vibrating for quite a while. Before Rain could truly stop, Iori appeared behind him and punched his back… the crystal armor protected Rain, but he still felt his bones vibrating a bit more. In the end, Iori treated Rain like a volleyball that he punched left and right for a while, until Rain tried to stab his face while he punched him… in the laser moment, Iori move his head to the side and avoided the hit, but his left ear was cut by half and the other half froze completely. While clenching his teeth, it was hard to tell if Iori was feeling any pain, but in the end, it looked like he just ignored the pain… even though he slowed down for a bit. Rain decided to make good use of that opportunity, but soon he was forced to reconsider… while Iori was grinding his teeth, another change began to take place on him. It wasn't merely Iori's water-based magic that transformed into an ominous manifestation of dark ice. A profound sense of anger and wrath seemed to permeate Iori's being, triggering a startling metamorphosis. His skin started to emit a radiant glow, gradually assuming an appearance akin to scales crafted from diamond. This transformation wasn't weird to Rain; he had encountered similar manifestations in the past. The emergence of these diamond-like scales indicated a fusion of elemental powers, wrathful emotions, and a unique magical essence that had the potential to amplify Iori's combat capabilities to an unprecedented level. The combination of dark ice magic and the radiant, scale-like formation on Iori's skin unveiled an unsettling convergence of forces, hinting at an ominous and formidable presence on the battlefield. Even worse than expected… "That is the dragon Golems ability…" Rain thought. "They taught that to him directly?"