The arrow split the air with a sound like lightning cracking stone.
Karna didn't even blink. His bow moved so fluidly that it was almost eerie.
One sharp flick and his own divine energy arrow intercepted Arjuna's mid-flight. They collided mid-air with a burst of golden sparks and disappeared.
Karna was the next to attack. As he shot the arrow, it pulsed, twisted mid-flight like a serpent, curving to chase Arjuna. But Arjuna rolled under it and fired three shots at once from a crouch.
Karna didn't care to dodge those arrows.
With a thought in his head, a golden armor appeared over his torso. As soon as the arrows struck it, they were absorbed into it. But the sheer force made Karna stumble slightly, his sandals forcefully digging into the concrete floor and supporting his stance.
"Found an opening."
Arjuna concentrated on the concrete floor beneath him. He slamd the Gandiva's tip into the ground, Earth attribute energy erupting from his hands and flowing into the concrete battle platform.
And then in seconds, the entire platform shook like an earthquake, a wave of roots erupted from it, right around Karna. Karna tried to move away, but the enchanted vines twisted toward Karna's legs like living chains.
"Argh…"
He still jumped, twisted mid-air, and shot down at the vines, the arrow bursting into flas as it left the bow.
The vines exploded in a blast of fire.
Karna landed and smirked.
"Too slow, Prince," he said in a calm voice.
Arjuna growled. "We'll see about that."
He clapped his hands together, once again releasing his attribute energy.
But this ti, it isn't Earth. It's the wind.
The wind twisted around him, got faster and faster every second, eventually forming a ten-foot mini tornado wall around him. However, it wasn't actually the tornado. It only looks that way from far away. But high-ranking Arcana Masters, as well as Karna, who is nearby, could see that it is filled with wind arrows all around him. There are dozens of them.
His eyes were closed while he was muttering the long chant.
At the sa ti, the divine energy shot from him to the sky like a beam of light, before slowly transforming into so kind of bird, shaped like an eagle.
Karna narrowed his eyes and responded in kind, raising his bow high, whispering. "Soul skill: Chayabhratr Astra."
He unleashed the soul skill right away. And suddenly, a shadow twin shimred beside him, made of smoke and red light. It held a bow, too.
Both of them dashed in the opposite direction and took their places.
They shot energy arrows at the sa ti.
But since Karna is closer, his arrow reached first.
As soon as the arrow struck this tornado wall of arrows, it trembled violently and just exploded. In the next second, another explosion occurred as the other arrow, launched by his shadow twin, also caused an explosion. It was just a pair of minor holes made in the defense, but Karna saw it clearly.
Receiving a telepathic order, the shadow twin launched another energy arrow.
And Karna shot another arrow, with a delayed timing, which changed its path serpent-like in mid-flight, following the other arrow.
Just as one energy arrow struck and caused a tiny gap, before the wall of arrows could even recover, Karna's arrow shot through that gap and struck his chest.
"Ack…"
A groan escaped from Arjuna, the spell was interrupted, and the golden divine beast he was about to summon vanished. His eyes snapped open, and he motioned with his hand.
The wall of wind revolved around him for one more round before it transford into four-dozen arrows, attacking a wide range.
The arrows that struck Karna disappeared into his armor, but his shadow twin exploded in a puff of smoke as soon as one of them hit it.
Pain flared through his chest, but Arjuna didn't flinch. "Alright. I can't hurt you with normal arrows through the upper body, and attacking the lower body is not righteous, but I don't need to hurt you to win. I can just throw you off."
He dug his heels in, leaped backward, then forward, sorsaulting as he fired an arrow that glittered like a miniature star. Karna saw the arrow, which seed like it was aiming at his foot. "Was he going for the lower part of the body? How unrighteous." Karna frowned, just moving a couple of steps backward to dodge the attack.
But just as it was about to hit the ground, Arjuna snapped his fingers with a smile. The energy went wild all of a sudden, and the arrow exploded, and a blinding flash of light filled the space before him.
Karna staggered, half-blinded. His next arrow misfired, slicing into the ground.
Arjuna didn't waste a mont. He instantly conjured the arrow, unleashing the soul skill.
"Soul skill: Himabindu Astra."
The arrow flew, leaving a cold trail. It was aid right at Karna's neck, where his golden armor doesn't give protection either.
Karna's eyes widened.
But just as it was about to hit, Karna hurriedly activated his divine earrings, the other part of the set. The Golden Armor and the Divine Earrings were a set of Arcana spirits
A golden aura instantly burst out of his ears and chest like a living shield, absorbing the energy of the frost arrow and dispersing it into snowflakes.
*Wooo*
The crowd went amok in cheers.
It was just a battle between kids, but the things they just saw were just on the whole another level.
*
Below the stage, on Team Celestials of the Heavenly Academy side, Eon's jaw dropped as she comnted, "Bro, just how many elents Arjuna possesses? First, Earth, then wind, and now, Ice?"
"You forgot light, Eon," replied Rael. His face also seed serious, as if he underestimated this teammate of his, a lot. Rael was also getting competitive, wanting to fight him when an opportunity arose.
It was then that Bheema, standing nearby, smirked as he crossed his arms, "Our lineage is different from you people. You awaken the elents. We attain elents through training, although you need aptitude for that."
"You attain elents through training?" Eon frowned, turning her head to look at Bheema.
Yudhisthira replied in Bheema's place. "Yes, we undergo elental training at the age of 4, long before we awaken our Arcana spirit. And we can change the elents of our soul skills based on how many elents we have learned." He had a proud face as he said, "Arjuna has already attained the knowledge of a total of 9 elents."
"9?"
Not just Rael and Eon. Even the others around couldn't help but gasp in shock.
*
Back to the battle platform, Karna stood slowly, his hair windblown, his face dusted with frost but unhard. He looked at Arjuna. "You surprised , Prince."
Arjuna exhaled, panting now. "No, you surprised more. That attack should have finished off this battle. For soone born in the family of charioteers, you possess too many gifts. Are you sure you are not adopted?
While Arjuna only praised, Karna took it differently. He felt like the other person had just insulted him and his background.
Karna responded by drawing back the string of his Vijaya Bow. "Soul skill: Agnishakti."
The arrow that ford in his hand wasn't a regular energy arrow. It burned white-hot, pulsing with fire. Even from across the field, Arjuna could feel the heat.
"If you can counter this, then please do, If not, then dodge, Prince. Or else, this son of a charioteer might vaporize you to death.
Arjuna doesn't need his reminder to understand. He could feel it.
Taking a deep breath, He raised Gandiva, prepared to counter it. His eyes narrowed with sharp focus. Sparks danced along the bowstring as he whispered sothing under his breath in response to Karna's soul skill.
"Soul Skill" Vajratara Astra."
A single arrow ford in his hand, instantly. But unlike before, it wasn't made of light, wind, or ice. This one pulsed with thunder. Cracks of lightning rippled across its form, raw and unstable.
Both of them released the arrows at the sa ti.
The Agnishakti, the Divine Flaming arrow, scread through the air, trailing a white-hot streak of flas that heated up the space around it.
The Divine Lightning Arrow cut through the air, leaving sparks behind as it flew straight at the incoming arrow.
The two shots collided mid-air in a flash and exploded at once. An enormous explosion, a blast of energy, was released by the collision. Boom!
Both boys were flung back like ragdolls.
Arjuna hit the stone floor first, rolling three tis before he snapped up onto his feet with a wince. His palm had scraped raw, but he still tightly held Gandiva. He was sweating hard now, breath short. His aura flickered.
Karna landed more cleanly. He didn't roll, didn't fall. He slid back on one knee, bow upright, hair windblown and eyes burning. His golden armor glowed like a sun rising through fog, absorbing the impact.
"Still standing, huh?" Arjuna panted.
Karna didn't answer. He just looked. And then, he vanished into a blur.
Zip!
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