The cloak Loimos wore was burnt away in an instant, no smoke or ash left to attest to its previous existence, the living felt their like their eyes would pop out of their sockets, whilst the dead were split in between silent affirmation and a similar reaction to that of the livings, albeit, for entirely different reasons.
Maliah restrained One from jumping up like a hare under a lethal dose of adrenaline as the consumption of Loimos's cloak revealed that everything above the waist was left bare just like his skull, revealing the thick, rot-ridden bones, the ribs that seemed to itch to blast out of their spot to crush something in between their maw, the spine subtly filled with black blood, and his powerful arms.
His feet were visible as well, but as for everything else, it was still covered up, by ample pants that were clearly filled with ninety percent of absolutely nothing, the article of clothing secured by being firmly tied directly to the base of the skeleton's spine.
Revealing a spear with a flamberge blade, a weapon that had been hidden beneath the cloak this entire time as well, an undulated blade as black as soot, cracks revealing infernal flames still raging within, although the image of decay and putrefaction that was Loimos's body was certainly shocking- especially to some of the undead ladies, what truly captivated most was what was to be seen within his ribcage, taking up the space where the heart and lungs would usually be.
"Is that… No, that's definitely a flame of pyromancy…" Combuscrus was not mistaken, Loimos had somehow cultivated a fire and not in an amateur fashion, this was advanced, only specialist pyromancers could do such a thing, as the creator of this fiery art, Irlke could glean details at a mere glance.
There were multiple aspects to growing a fire within oneself, first, you needed to ignite a flame, literally, one would typically lit a small candle, from there, you needed to care for this puny fire and connect to it, let yourself be burned and eventually, you would manage to absorb it into yourself.
This was the very first step to pyromancy, the second was to learn to not familiar with it now that was within, fire was not a part of the body, it could still burn and consume you, so you had to control it and once one's hold over their inner flame was strong, it would be time to learn how to take it out, feed the flame to let it grow, rinse and repeat.
As things went on, a pyromancer would be naturally stacking up the burns, the more severe, the better as it indicated that they had grown something fierce, something that could pass over the pyromancer's resistance to burning, and had still managed to subdue in the end.
In the beginning, one would be feeding thing like branches and leaves to strengthen their inferno, simple kindling, the following step however, was a choice, either continue to do so and simply power-up the blaze continuously, or decide to let it consume special things, it could be materials as well, or things like mana, this cultivated a special flame.
For Irlke, this choice was erased by his massive talent and control, allowing for him to do both without a problem, and control a flame that could shift from multiple forms, clearly, this was what Loimos had done as well, although it currently looked a regular fire, Combuscrus was not fooled.
"I see that you have not only learned pyromancy to a master's level, but also perfected imbuing it into an item…" the duel had already begun, but neither of them had yet to make a move.
"...Do you intend on fighting using only that?" the warking was not an idiot, Loimos had definitely only learned pyromancy recently, thus, his strength should lie elsewhere.
"I intend on using the same means as you do, there is nothing to be impressed about if I just called upon water to nullify all your abilities, as a sign of respect for your culture and history, I will fight via pyromancy, your combat styles and by limiting my strength to match your own" Loimos spoke in a low tone, only the warlord hearing his words. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire
"It feels more like a disrespect, but I appreciate nonetheless if its means that I actually stand a chance" without sommation, Combuscrus fired an incinerating breath, pulling upon two different sorts of flames he could wield, that of dragonfire that he had gotten access to thanks to Dragonnerie, and the life-infused flames he had created near the beginning of Belliste's invasion and perfected through the deal.
It could not quite be called the breath of a life-aligned dragon by just melding the two together, but the effects should be quite destructive upon an undead either way.
'Only if it hits though…' a wide blade of bright orange flames carved its way through Irlke's own blaze, revealing as it faded away that Loimos had cloaked himself into dark flames to take the attack head-on.
Clearly, this was pyromancy of fire that had been fed death force, running forward, the undead was true to his word and only used the flames produced by pyromancy to enhance his body, the handle of the spear close to his back, he spun and twisted it around, which was how the frail-bodied pyromancers actually wielded their weapons when they actually had to get up-close and personal, moving it in this manner whilst using heat rendered visible to obstruct their moves, allowing for strikes that while not tremendously strong, were nearly unpredictable.
Irlke had come up with this himself too, but it was certainly harder to see through the smokes and mirrors when the opponent was nothing but bones, the trick was to focus exclusively on the arms whilst pinpointing where the weapon actually was by discovering where the visible heat was most condensed.
But despite only copying it, Loimos had already identified the weaknesses of it and made moves to cover them up, so instead, Irlke enhanced himself as well, using the same technique but to defend instead.
Which was effective as the undead was not using any loopholes or going back on what he stated, having also limited himself to the same level of perception as his opponent down to his field of vision, the level of their enhancement was the same as well, the glaive and flamberge spears clashing without either of them actually overpowering the other.
Loimos was still a more adept warrior however, and so, even if limiting himself, he was the first to spot an opening and take it, kicking the warking in the stomach, before holding out his right hand, fire condensing down into a white flare.
"Whoa! Already?" thrusting his glaive into the ground with haste, Combuscrus pumped flames into the soil, erecting a wall of hardened magma before Loimos could fire out his attack, which were flames condensed so deeply that they were launched forward into a laser-like beam.
It was helpful that Combuscrus could tell how long it would take to arrive as it was the same for him, he had not quite expected Loimos to use it so early however, but of course, even if one thing was said, it would not change that they were intrinsically different beings, like Loimos, the pyromancy he held within was eternal and tireless, there was no need to be mindful of its usage.
'He almost caught me off-guard by being honest… What a sneaky bastard!'
The wall of magma was quickly sliced open after a mere second of resistance, but it was well enough for the living to place his palm upon the ground, an orange shine emerging from beneath the undead's feet, a pillar of flames with hints of green surrounding him as liquid lava formed, aiming to sink the skeleton.
Of course, he erupted with a pulse of intense heat, displacing the air into a blast, destroying the infernal pillar and blowing the lava like it was mud.
Although it definitely did connect for a moment, once again, just like Irlke, Loimos was very resistant to being incinerated.
The two stood still, assuming postures as though preparing to blast forward into a thrust attack.
Neither actually did, instead momentarily turning into rapid streams of flames, blades grinding against one another, but once again, Combuscrus was reminded that he was no martial master, a deep laceration, slicing down to the bone of his shoulder.
Especially gruesome as a flamberge blade was meant to make an enemy bleed.
Wound soothed by flames, the warking stepped back and decided to not even try to engage Loimos with his weapon again.