=It appears that Mysticlassic is doing quite well against their chosen opponents. Although, I do wish that they would do so with a touch more efficiency,= Logos chided as she watched the kaijin finally get to the point of their fighting where they decided to kick things up a notch and bring out their more personalized attacks.

<Bah, leave it,> Pathos defended the kaijin. <It's been awhile since the lot of them had a chance to properly fight without worrying about mortal safety or holding back because of our current lord's honor code. Let them have their sadistic fun.>

=I suppose...then again, it does also look like our Lord is having a good time fighting against that Bishop Olmen character...then again, that might be because of the Ragnarockers' having their fun working together in such a manner.=

...

"Bah!"

Getting sucker punched by a wall of enhanced sound was never fun, even if one was covered in a [Regalia] that should've protected one from such things.

Bishop Olmen let out a cry of shock and pain at the sudden attack, not because it had managed to do a major amount of damage, but because the attack was completely unexpected.

In all his previous years, he had faced many warriors who considered themselves "flexible" or a "jack of all skills" but they always had a tendency to default to a select number of aether arts and skills that were the most compatible with their respective formulas.

This was the first time he had ever faced an opponent that had changed everything about themselved in the middle of a battle.

Zhen Liu and the kaijin were unaware of this moment of shock overcoming Olmen at this time, and were just about to ready to perform a follow up in their own attack...or at the very least, prepare themselves for a counter attack.

...

'Alright, if he doesn't recover from us smacking him upside the head with sound before he bounces off the ground, Frosttusk swap with Nepherage and we stomp his ass into the dirt. If he does manage to recover, we do an encore except with a touch more elemental power. Switch up will be the same though.'

[Why didn't we do that for the initial power chord?] Hurricroak asked.

'Honestly,heat of the moment.'

[Fair enough!]

[Incoming!] Frosttusk rumbled.

...

"Filthy...heretic!" Bishop Olmen shouted as he channeled aether into his [Astra] before spinning mid-air and slamming the axe-like in the ground.

The momentum and force launched Olmen into the air and back towards the guitar-wielding Zhen Liu. Using a touch more aether, Olmen positioned himself in the air in such a way that he could swing his axe down upon Zhen Liu's head. Of course, he wasn't going to just rely on brute force to do the deed.

[Erupting Execution!]

Aether began to condense around Olmen's axe and form into a shell that vaguely resembled magma. Once fully encased, jets of flame shot out of it and propelled Olmen forward.

...

'Okay, looks like we're going with plan two. Frosttusk. Nepherage. Switch!'

[On it.]

[This is the most we've done this sort of thing in awhile!]

...

"Back for an encore?!" Zhen Liu shouted at Olmen as he saw that the encroaching attack was slow enough for a response. "Then allow me a costume change!"

[MY Driver: Volcanic Stigma!]

[Freezing Berserker Possession, Set!]

Before Olmen's eyes, Zhen Liu underwent another transformation.

The viking-like ice armor melted away and reformed into a crimson jade armor that made Zhen Liu appear as if he was a wandering hero from another time and place.

In sharp contrast to this look that seemed to be filled with scroching pride, though, Zhen Liu's aura had suddenly begun to feel a lot colder and a touch more stoic.

On top of these changes, even the guitar in Zhen Liu's hands exhibited small changes, going from an electric guitar decorated with animal carvings to an electric bass that was still decorated to the nines but now has additional features that appeared to be made of ivory.

This transformation clearly happened before Olmen's eyes and he could clearly sense it happening, but he was still absolutely flabbergasted.

'What the fuck? He can change his formula even more than before?!' Olmen mentally cursed while maintaining his forward attack momentum.

Despite the sudden switch-up, Olmen had no choice but to keep going...which was just fine to Zhen Liu.

Channeling the power of ice into the [Taboo,] in his hands, Zhen Liu performed an aether art that had become somewhat of a signature amongst his family members. Well, an improved version of it.

[Echoing Frost: Fimbulwinter's Howl]

With a strum of the bass in his hands, Zhen Liu released a powerful wave of sound that transformed into an equally powerful blizzard that slammed into Olmen at full force.

However, the attack did not immediately send him flying as he had hoped.

Instead, the blizzard and axe-wielding bishop had ended up in a stalemate that could only end in advantage for either side depending on whether or not they had the power to keep up their assault, or had a follow up that could turn things around in their favor.

Both sides opted for the latter option, but Olmen managed to make that move first.

"I will not be frozen solid by some demonic heretic. I was hoping to keep this particular card in my hand, as it is only an ember, but you have done an amazing job in pissing me off!" Olmen said as a strange-colored flame began to manifest around his body. "Behold! The power of the Sacred Flame!"

With that declaration, Olmen's entire body began to erupt in holy flames that boosted his power further and

caused the [Icon] on his chest to become even more vibrant than before.

As a result of tapping into this power, Olmen pushed towards Zhen Liu in a menacing manner, slowly pushing back against the blizzard.

...

'Well, that's not good.'

[Do the second part of the Echoing Frost!] Frosttusk said.

'That's the plan, and I even got a follow up that I'm not looking forward to doing!'

...

"You wanna try and use elemental might against me? Two can play at that!"

Circulating aether into his fingers once more and into the bass in his hands, Zhen Liu prepared for the second act of his attack.

[Echoing Frost: March of the Giants!]

Zhen Liu's first attack summoned a giant blizzard that was meant to mimic an eternal winter that would freeze the world several times over.

This second attack was suppose to represent the immediate aftermath.

From his bass guitar, a giant made of ice and snow began to manifest while surrounded by a swirling flurry.

Once the giant has become solid enough, it lunged forward to punch the offending bishop with an oversized fist of ice.

At least, that was the idea.

The ice fist, instead began to rapidly melt and evaporated as it got closer and closer to the [Sacred Flame] aura that was encapsulating the holy bastard, until it fully disappeared.

Zhen Liu's expression was covered by his own [Stigma], but it was currently shocked.

...

'Oh balls, that ain't good.'

[Should we try it again?] Frosttusk asked.

'Yes. And this time we're amplifying it further. Hurricroak prepare for [Infusion].'

[Let's party!]

...

"Foolish blasphemer! The Sacred Flame will burn away whatever heretical techniques you dare to throw my way!" Bishop Olmen yelled, his burning form getting closer by the second.

Zhen Liu didn't respond to the man's bloviating, instead, he opted to use his own power-up.

[Astra, manifest!]

Concentrating his aether, Zhen Liu summoned [Senbonzuru] before immediately wrapping it around the [Taboo] that Hurricroak transformed into.

In an instant, the guitar became more elaborate and ornate as the scarf infused itself into the instrument and several floating speakers began to manifest around it.

If one were to take a closer look at these speakers, they would notice that these speakers all resembled floating animal heads.

"Let's try that again, shall we?!" Zhen Liu yelled to hide the modicum of worry in his voice.

[Echoing Frost: March of the Giants!]

The speakers around Zhen Liu began to float in a circular fashion around him before amplifying the guitar chord that Zhen Liu had chosen for this attack.

From the speakers, multiple giants made of ice, snow and lightning began to form, looking more solid than the original giant that had melted moments ago.

Not only that, but each of the giants were now wearing helms that vaguely resembled the animals that composed Hurricroak's form and weapons of various makes.

The frost and lighting giants crashed into Olmen with the fury of a massive winter storm...at least, that's what was supposed to happen.

Instead, like the ice giant from before, the [Sacred Flame] surrounding Olmen began to flare up and melt the attacking squad of lighting-ice giants.

"Ha! See how your feeble attempts to injure fail to—wait a minute, what?"

However, these ice giants didn't immediately melt and evaporate, they just melted...into giant splashes of electrified water.

Needless to say, once the water splashed against Olmen, the results were... electrifying.