Gareth's smirk died and the flames around his body intensified—no longer flickering casually at his fingertips but roaring to life, enveloping him completely in a cocoon of orange and red. The temperature on the stage spiked as the stone beneath his feet began to glow faintly.
He charged forward.
Fire-user close combat was always aggressive. The element rewarded confidence, punished hesitation, and encouraged practitioners to close distance fast and overwhelm opponents before they could set up defenses. Gareth moved like someone who understood that principle intimately as he charged towards Kael with a flame fists with a jet like flame at his elbow boosting the force of the puch.
Kael didn't dodge.
He raised his fist in response.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave rippled outward, cracking the stage floor in a spiderweb pattern. The crowd flinched. The referee raised a barrier automatically.
