Darius descended before Simon answered.
His spear struck the Chaos Blade with a scream of metal. Simon angled the black sword aside, letting the point slide past his ribs. Fire erupted from the spearhead before the thrust finished.
The weapon had missed. but the explosion did not.
Simon swept wind between them and retreated through the blast, his boots carving through softened stone. Above him, the phoenix's lower wings folded inward, pouring two streams of white fire across his escape route.
"DON'T RUN NOW!" Darius shouted, laughing.
Simon stopped retreating. Wind elemental energy gathered into the Gale Crown, the first Crown of the Fury Tempest Art. Its currents preserved his movement instead of allowing it to scatter. He carried that momentum through a sharp change of direction and slipped between the descending flames.
Darius turned, but Simon was already beside him. The Chaos Blade swept toward his neck.
