Invidia and Allocrix hovered above the fray and looked down on the wreckage below them. In the midst of the billowing clouds of dust and smoke stood Mongu'nin, the massive demon's frame covered in wounds that already showed signs of healing.

"AHHHHHHHH!" the mighty demon roared to the heavens with a feral grin plastered across his face. "I KNEW YOU WOULD BE WORTHY ALLOCRIX!"

A flicker of emotion ran through Invidia, a faint whisper which so rarely occurred that he looked at it, paid it attention. There was more than just a burning desire to possess the kind of regeneration that the war demon displayed, along with a background need to have everything he could see. That was a constant for him. Instead, this new feeling that welled up expressed a different sort of need, the need for greater strength.

Once again he drew on the vast powers of his mind and drew forth the mana that rested within his core, weaving and shaping it into a series of detonations that ignited mere centimetres from their opponent’s body. The concussive force of the explosions was enough to rock the massive demon from side to side, but not enough to cause any major damage to him. His toughness, regenerative speed and strength were simply more than the envy could surpass.

Allocrix was less limited in his offence.

The burning eye pulsed with mana, the sheer volume of energy that radiated from him was enough to force the air around his form into an indistinct haze. Invidia felt a surge as Allocrix compressed and shaped the mana in an instant, causing a concentrated beam of pure fire to lance down onto their foe. The moment it touched the war demon, an enormous ball of fire erupted, the burst of heat rolling through the air and forcing Invidia to blink lest his eye dry out.

Even the ants below were forced to draw back another ten metres. In a few seconds they had reformed their lines almost a hundred metres away and resumed the long range acid barrage that had rained down on Mongu'nin almost constantly from the moment the battle had begun. It still wasn't enough. Though the force was enough to send the giant form of the war demon sprawling back, he recovered and planted his feet beneath him again. Invidia watched closely at the claws of his opponent as they began to glow bright, a sure sign of a Skill activation. He went to work the instant he saw it, forming barriers around Allocrix and himself as fast as he could.

With a vast roar that shook the air, Mongun'nin slashed out with both hands, his claws rending the air itself and sending crimson waves of energy towards them that screamed of wrath and ruin the closer they came.

[Hold firm,] the calm voice of Allocrix rang within Invidia's mind.

[Of coursssseee,] he hissed back.

He continued to weave defences even as the first layer he had formed was cut like it wasn’t there. The deadly attack sliced through the shields he erected the moment it touched them but still he continued to put more layers into place as those dreaded claws grew larger in his eye. If he were here by himself, then he wouldn't be able to stop this strike. It would cut through all the barriers he could muster and he certainly wasn't fast enough to be able to dodge it. Though he remained calm, Invidia couldn't help but feel irritation rise within himself. Not being strong enough was not something he had ever known. The master had defeated him, a previous him, he was aware of that, but thus far nothing had challenged him like this. He felt… inadequate.

[Hmmm,] Allocrix rumbled.

The eye of flame rippled before a sphere of force expanded from within. As it grew it crushed the shields Invidia had prepared before it impacted against the claw strikes. There was a calamitous boom in the air that forced Invidia backwards as the air pushed against him. Flaring his wings, he halted his momentum and cast his senses wide to see what had happened. He quickly identified his ally, still hovering in the same position nearby but realised that the war demon had vanished from his previous position.

Mind constructs spun in a dozen different directions and he instantly began to prepare for a number of scenarios. Energy began to be focused in his eye even as he wove shields and detonations that he held at the ready to deploy the moment he needed them.

[Where?] he grated to Allocrix.

[Above,] calm the flat reply.

It was true. Far above them the war demon hung in the air like a horrific idol of destruction, claws aglow once more. He must have leapt to that height somehow after using the claw strike and Allocrix's response as cover.

[He has sensed that he has reached the peak of his strength and seeks to end the battle in one decisive strike,] Allocrix advised.

[How isss thiss possible? Hiss strength hasss peaked now?]

[A war demon grows stronger the more they are wounded and the longer the fight draws on. They hunger conflict and draw power from it. We have pushed Mongu'nin to the brink, but it is more accurate to say that he has allowed himself to be pushed to the brink. Now that he believes he has reached the apex of his strength, he seeks to end our battle with one decisive strike.]

[Thisss isss our chance!]

[Just so. We must draw out all of our destructive capabilities and finish him before he can unleash his blow. Hold nothing back, little one. Any amount of power could tip the balance.]

The two of them communicated at the speed of thought and in an instant they had coordinated their plans. No defence. Invidia cast away his prepared shields and put all of his brain into charging his eye. The dozens of mind constructs he supported drew on each other to reach out and seize as much mana as possible from within his core and the surroundings, converting it all to the pure energy he required to power the eye of envy. Green light erupted from within as he drew on everything that he could. More. He needed more!

His vision blurred, becoming washed out with green as his eye absorbed every ounce of power that he could give it but still he needed more. Above them the titanic form of their foe reached the peak of his leap and began to fall, hands ablaze with an unfathomable light. It was if Invidia was staring into the face of death itself, but still he was unmoved.

Your life. I will takkess it!

When he felt as if his eye would burst, as if his brain would melt within its pocket dimension, he finally unleashed it. His eye flared like a green sun as a beam of pure energy burst forth, piercing through reality itself as it lanced into the sky. It was impossible to miss the demon as he fell and he struck right in the chest. Mongu'nin laughed as his flesh was burned away and felt his body energise even further as he drew yet closer to the brink of death. The power in his claws leapt higher still and his body fought to regenerate the damage even as it was done.

"COME!" he roared, heart soaring with joy and rage. "COME ALLOCRIX! GIVE ME YOUR ALL!"

Far below the falling war demon, the eye of fire pulses once before a catastrophic wave of mana is unleashed. Invidia feels half his body seared with pain as the world becomes flame.