Clone A dove from above, forming a complex Foxfire Shield to push Bastion's sword arm aside, while Clone B attacked from behind with a combined [Ice Spike] and [Foxfire Explosion] skills.
Meanwhile, Cain leaped back, pressing his palms into the open air. A deep crimson glow began to form beneath his skin, swirling and intensifying around the tips of his long nails.
Bastion refused to be subdued even though he was temporarily being cornered. Despite being outnumbered three to one, his fury and boosted stats still won. He tensed his core muscles and flexed his arms, using a Flame Cyclone that blasted outward.
Both clones staggered from the explosive force. The swirling wind of fire howled over Bastion, incinerating ice shards in midair and blasting foxfire flames away like leaves in a storm.
Breaking away from Clone A's shield, Bastion landed a brutal front kick to the clone's abdomen, sending it flying across the battlefield. The clone rolled end over end, losing shape momentarily before stabilizing with an audible growl of frustration.
"Your illusions won't save you!" Bastion snarled again, slashing horizontally at Clone B, who tried to parry with his foxfire blade. The parry connected, but Bastion's immense strength overpowered the block.
A shriek of metal-on-flame rang before the clone's sword-like foxfire was cleaved in two. The destructive wave hammered into the clone's body, scattering it across the scorched ground.
With both clones temporarily disabled, Bastion turned toward Cain. "Now," he rasped as flames erupted around his blade. "Let's settle this."
At last, Cain felt the coalescence of power in his core reach its peak. The swirling red aura around his body began to transform, with streaks of darker crimson and black.
"It's time," Cain murmured, his voice echoing unnaturally. He spread his arms wide, nails glinting with renewed energy.
In a reverberating pulse, Infernal Ascendance took hold, doubling the fire damage in all of Cain's flame-based skills. This time, Cain didn't show the flaming wings on purpose as he felt like it, nothing more.
A strange silence fell over the battlefield. Even Bastion, overwhelmed by anger, sensed the shift. The foxfire swirling around Cain intensified, the color deepening to a scarlet that rivaled even Bastion's blood-burned flames.
Cain was engulfed in a whirlwind of scorching wind, and the ground beneath his feet shattered in a spiderweb pattern, reminiscent of Bastion's previous display of strength.
Bastion's lips curled into a feral grin. "Do you want to show me your true power?" "Then I'll bury you alongside it."
Cain replied with a chuckle. "You might have higher stats advantage after burning your blood essence, but now my fire is more potent than yours. Let's see it yourself."
With those words, Cain raised both hands, creating a Foxfire Explosion the size of which Bastion had never seen before. The swirling sphere of flame pulsed with arcs of crimson red and gold, crackling dangerously.
Although battered, Clone A and Clone B also began to recover nearby. In response to Cain's ascension, they shone faintly with increased power, as if feeding off the main body's newly unleashed energy. Their wounds stitched together in flickers of foxfire, and their previously fluctuating shapes stabilized.
Bastion then charged forward, aiming to stop Cain before he could finish charging his attack. A blazing blade slash roared through the air. The strike was intended to decapitate Cain with a single, decisive blow.
But Cain, full of newfound confidence and fueled by Infernal Ascendance, moved with a quick speed. He pushed aside Bastion's sword with an Advanced Foxfire barrier that flashed brilliantly, deflecting the burning steel.
Bastion snarled, pressing harder. However, Cain twisted his body and rolled to the left, using the momentum of Bastion's strike to carry him forward. Cain then countered with a Foxfire Explosion, smaller than the massive one he'd been charging but still enhanced by Infernal Ascendance.
The blast knocked Bastion off his feet and sent him tumbling across the scorched ground. For a moment, it appeared that his entire chest plate would melt from the heat. Steam and smoke engulfed him. He coughed violently, spitting blood onto the ground.
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Yet Bastion stood again. His limbs trembled, but his gaze remained filled with unwavering hatred.
They surrounded each other, the air sizzling where their auras met. Bastion's ragged breathing indicated at the cost his body was suffering from the increased stats, yet the destructive potential he wielded remained severe.
Bastion was concerned about Cain's clones recovering their footing. Clone A had already resumed the action, taking up position to Bastion's right, while Clone B approached from behind.
The triangular configuration threatened to encircle Bastion again. But this time, Cain was different as he intended to be a little bit more aggressive.
Bastion clenched his free fist. The skin on his knuckles had begun to crack, a small steaming of blood running down his forearm as a sign that the effect of him burning his blood was ravaging his body from within.
Subsequently, Bastion unleashed another of his skills– Crimson Sun Flame. He pointed his sword to the sky, calling down a pillar of flame that bathed the entire battlefield in brilliant red light.
Cain and the clones shielded their eyes, momentarily disoriented. Bastion capitalized on this, charging with his blade angled for a direct thrust at Cain's heart.
Cain, on the other hand, noticed the scorching wave and pushed himself sideways, avoiding the attack. In retaliation, Clone B charged in from behind, slashing at Bastion's ribs with elongated foxfire claws.
Bastion twisted, meeting the attack halfway and deflecting it with his armored elbow. In the same motion, he spun and let out a vicious back kick that connected with the clone's abdomen. The clone staggered, but not before landing a hit that left a burn mark on Bastion's armor.
Cain took advantage of the brief distraction. He shoved both palms forward, creating an Advanced Foxfire lance that crackled with ferocious red energy as it was amplified by Infernal Ascendance. The massive projectile blasted across the dusty field, scorching a path in its wake.