"Yeah, you're pretty awesome, no doubt." The boy took a moment to stand back up. He rolled his shoulders, shaking himself off as his own blazing aura flared into being. "That little stunt with the rocks was freakin' sweet, by the way."

"The hell's your game, Blue?" It was apparent to him that Lyric could see right through his compliments as no more than battleground fodder, but hiding that wasn't his intention.

"What, am I not allowed to say something nice?"

"I'd just prefer that you saved the soft talk for when we're back at our room. Out here, you and I are rivals."

"Jeez, okay, way to kill the mood. Let's pick that back up, then."

"WITH PLEASURE!" As anticipated, it took no time for Lyric to fall for his taunt, her immediate rush perfectly lining her up for a counterattack. She ended her dash with a slide, springing upward and sending another arc of electricity toward him. Kyoya intentionally took the brunt of the move, barreling straight through it and landing a compact blow to her abdomen. She recoiled hard, leaving room for a following kick that knocked her just high enough into the air to be socked right back down with another downward-angled slug.

She tumbled for a moment before stopping herself by jamming the spear into the ground again, this time throwing herself forward off of it and right into her own flurry of swings and slashes. She gave a feint, forcing him to play the dice and block low, whereas she swung high and broke his combo, blowing him away in the process. Without anything to stop himself, he stomped hard and kept his heels dug in until coming to a skidding stop while still standing up.

When Lyric came at him again, he tried playing things riskier.

Her attempt at a greedy, reckless upswing was met with his catching the staff once again, but she ripped it away before he even had a chance to fight for it. He was left vulnerable, and quickly found himself being pulverized by a rampage of punches the likes of which he'd never felt, each following hit akin to being stabbed with an electric prod and left to become sore before being struck again. She concluded her string with a fierce headbutt to his collarbone, a sly laugh escaping her as he was sent into recoil.

Seeing the tables turn like that threw Rory into a frenzy.

"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND! AND JUST LIKE THAT, LYRIC SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN A SOLID HOLD ON THE MATCH!"

"Don't count either out just yet, Alberick. Making it this far is no fluke." Added Solitaire.

Lyric eyed him, the pair's competitive auras clashing as monstrous waves against a ravenous fire.

"You seriously can't tell when to give up, huh?"

"Never knew how, never gonna learn. You wouldn't be all that happy if I did."

"I really can't stand that side of you, y'know."

"Sounds like a you problem to me!" This time, Kyoya lead the assault, adopting a new style of split-second change-ups to keep her from seeing his next move. To his immediate surprise, the Seraph's main defense of prediction-based counters was given too much to try and see straight through. He wouldn't have long before she adapted, but keeping up his offense had to be a priority before she managed to turn it back in her favor.

The Miscreant slashed away at her dwindling defense, burning talons in a head-to-head against the electrical spiral of her polearm. But, just as quickly as her defense began to weaken, it suddenly became leagues more powerful, to the point that he was becoming overpowered by her block.

"That sudden change in tides is a result of Lyric combining her Affinity with a skill she calls Storm Wall, taking attacks head on while spinning the staff and absorbing impact to power itself back up. Looks to me like she's got something big in mind." Ryder looked to Solitaire, who simply nodded while still staring out to the battlefield.

The thunderous spiral was bearing down on him now, Kyoya aware that so much as getting clipped by that wheel of electricity could mean the end of this fight. He kept up his own block to keep that from happening, but she pulled away before he even knew what happened, leaving him to lurch forward on account of pushing so hard. Lyric stepped to his side and cracked an elbow down on his back, sparks and rubble erupting from around him as he was smashed into the ground once more.

"Not long now, Blue! We'll be done before you know it!"

She threw him out of the dirt with her staff, knocking the Miscreant back into the air with a wicked kick to his ribs. He could hardly breathe after that, not even given time to inhale before another, harder kick from around the pole sent him rolling into the wall. Again, he was able to scrape by and duck a guillotine swipe from the weapon's blade, but things weren't looking any better.

He rolled under another swing, attempting a shoulder-tackle, but when she began spinning the staff, he realized just how exposed he'd made himself. "IT'S OVER! STEER THE STORM!"

A blast of electricity surged out from the center of the spiral, paralysis finally setting in and locking him standing in place after the sparks died out. All of the roaring cyclones she conjured earlier began closing in, quickly transferring all of their energy to her weapon as she leapt up and reared it back for a decisive falling overhead.

In the moments before the battle would have been decided, a thought found its way to him. He knew that sitting there and taking it would be the end, so why not go out with a bang?

The boy's body began to respond to his movements, Lyric's eyes widening on her way down. "Wh-what!? You shouldn't be able to move!" Despite that, the knowledge that her tactic of keeping him still had failed seemed to only intensify her aura, now a cloak of screaming hurricanes ready to end any chance of victory left for him.

Kyoya smirked and lined himself up with the incoming attack, the Seraph's confusion morphing into rage as she swung downward with animalistic fury.

No one could have predicted that he'd take such a hit head on, but the true extent of his idiocy was revealed when the shockwaves and dust settled.

The audience was silent, commentators slack-jawed, even King Altar staring in complete disbelief.

Kyoya stood with a massive crater at his feet, completely withstanding any and all force that came with her finishing attack. His body was absolutely quaking, from both sheer adrenaline and unfathomable levels of electricity coursing through him.

He'd caught the staff in his teeth.