Chapter 112 Turning the heat up with plasma

Words : 1551 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Across the other side of the blockhead, Lucas and Jayden met. The air sparked with ozone as electricity coursed over Lucas's fists, casting sharp shadows across his determined features. Across from him, Jayden's hand moved to his hip, drawing a pale blade that seemed to glow under the emergency lights—the distinctive ivory sheen of beast bone catching the dim illumination. 'Category 3 bone,' Lucas noted, electricity intensifying around his hands. 'Non-conductive. Smart bastard.' The temperature continued to drop, frost crystallizing along the tunnel walls in intricate patterns. Jayden's breath came out in visible puffs as he raised the blade, his other hand trailing along its length. Where his fingers passed, blue flames sprouted and danced, wrapping around the bone like hungry serpents. "Remember this?" Jayden's voice carried that same mocking edge as he settled into a familiar stance. "You always did hate my sword work." Lucas shifted his weight, eyes tracking every minute movement. "Funny. I remember you hating my right hook more." They moved simultaneously—Jayden's blade cutting a burning arc through the air as Lucas ducked and weaved, electricity trailing behind him like luminous afterimages. The first exchange was brutal and quick: sword meets lightning-charged forearm, sparks scatter, bodies pivot and separate. 'Still favors his left side,' Lucas thought, dodging another slash. 'Some things never change.' The tunnel filled with the sound of crackling energy—both electrical and thermal—as they clashed again. Lucas caught the flat of the blade between his palms, electricity surging, but the bone composition nullified any conducting effect. Jayden's smirk widened as he pushed forward, the blue flames intensifying. "Having trouble?" Jayden taunted, breaking the blade lock with a sudden twist. "What's wrong? Can't shock what you can't conduct through?" Lucas rolled with the movement, putting distance between them. The metal floor beneath his feet had become treacherously cold, ice spreading in concentric circles from where Jayden stood. 'He's not just heating the sword,' Lucas realized. 'He's actively cooling everything else. Creating temperature differentials.' Jayden pressed his advantage, blade weaving complex patterns through the air. Each slash left trails of blue fire that lingered for seconds before dissipating. Lucas was forced to backpedal, looking for openings while avoiding both blade and flames. "You're different," Lucas noted between exchanges, deflecting a thrust with an electrically-charged palm strike. "Your control's better." "Aww," Jayden mock-cooed, transitioning smoothly into a spinning slash. "You noticed? I'm touched." The fight carried them deeper into the tunnel, their powers painting the metal walls in alternating flashes of blue and white. Lucas maintained his defensive stance, analyzing, waiting. Each clash sent cascades of sparks showering around them, ice melting and refreezing in their wake. 'His rhythm hasn't changed,' Lucas observed, counting the beats between Jayden's combinations. 'Three strikes, then reset. Always three.' The next exchange was fiercer. Lucas timed his counter perfectly, stepping inside Jayden's guard during the reset. His lightning-wrapped fist grazed Jayden's ribs, earning a sharp hiss of pain. But Jayden responded instantly, the temperature around them plummeting so rapidly that Lucas's next breath felt like inhaling needles. "First blood to you," Jayden acknowledged, rotating his shoulder. The grin never left his face. "But you're still so... predictable." The sword came up again, but this time Jayden's free hand shot forward. The air between them distorted with heat, forcing Lucas to dive sideways. Where he'd been standing, the metal wall behind him glowed cherry-red. 'Distance control,' Lucas thought, rolling to his feet. 'He's trying to restrict my movement options.' They circled each other, powers flaring. The confined space of the tunnel worked against them both—Lucas couldn't fully utilize his mobility, and Jayden's heat manipulation risked becoming too concentrated. Ice continued spreading across surfaces, only to melt and refreeze as waves of heat pulsed through the space. "You know what your problem is, Lucas?" Jayden called out, blade trailing azure flames as he gestured. "You're still fighting like we're in a training hull. Still pulling your punches." Lucas didn't respond, but his eyes narrowed. The electricity around his fists intensified, casting his face in harsh shadows. "The Harbingers changed everything," Jayden continued, his voice dropping lower. "The old rules? They don't apply anymore. But you? You're still trying to play hero, still trying to protect everyone." He punctuated the statement with a vicious combination—sword thrust transitioning into a heat wave that forced Lucas to vault backwards. The metal floor where he'd been standing bubbled slightly from the intensity. "Ah yes, your little rescue party." Jayden's smile widened. "Micah and the others, right? Currently entertaining my men?" He lifted his sword, examining its edge in the emergency lighting. "I wonder how they're holding up," Lucas paused, shoulders tensing. "You know what your problem is?" Jayden called after him, heat beginning to shimmer in the air. "You always assume the fight's over just because you landed one good hit." The sword in his hand began to glow, not with the previous blue flames, but with something different—something that made the very air around it distort. 'Show you something new,' Jayden thought, feeling the familiar surge of power building in his core. 'Something I learned after you humiliated me. After you showed everyone your true power.' "Running off to help your friends?" His voice carried through the tunnel, dripping with malice. "That's adorable." The heat continued to build, metal walls groaning under the thermal stress. "But who said I was letting you leave?" Jayden said already charging with the sword now ignited with a new dangerous looking flame. The flash of intense light caught Lucas's peripheral vision first—brighter than any flame he'd seen before, casting harsh shadows that made the tunnel walls look like they were bleeding. As he turned, time seemed to slow, giving him a perfect view of what Jayden had become. The sword wasn't burning anymore. It was screaming, surrounded by a sheath of superheated matter that made the air itself warp and twist. Plasma—the fourth state of matter. The same stuff that made up stars. 'He's ionizing the air,' Lucas realized, his combat-trained mind racing to process the implications. 'Converting normal matter into plasma through extreme heat manipulation. When did he learn to—' His thoughts cut off as Jayden swung the plasma-wrapped blade in a devastating arc. Lucas instinctively channeled lightning through his arms, raising them in a defensive cross-guard. It was a mistake. The collision was catastrophic. Plasma, by its very nature, was already ionized—a soup of electrons and ions in a high-energy state. When Lucas's lightning met this superheated, ionized matter, physics took over. The electrical discharge found a perfect conductor in the plasma, creating a feedback loop that neither of them could control. The resulting explosion sent Lucas flying backward, his skin tingling with residual energy. He slammed into the metal wall hard enough to dent it, electricity crackling erratically around his body as he slumped to the floor. 'The rules have changed,' he thought through the haze of pain. 'Everything's different now.' "Beautiful, isn't it?" Jayden's voice carried over the humming of his plasma blade. "The interaction between plasma and electricity? It's simple, really. Your lightning might be powerful, Lucas, but it's still just moving electrons. And plasma?" He chuckled. "Plasma is what happens when you strip atoms of their electrons entirely. Create enough heat, and matter fundamentally changes." Lucas pushed himself up, wincing. "Since when did you become a physicist?" "Since you showed me I needed to be better." Jayden took a measured step forward, the plasma blade leaving afterimages in the air. "You held back because you were afraid of killing me? How noble. How weak." His smile turned cruel. "I held back because I wasn't ready. But now?" The temperature in the tunnel continued to rise, metal surfaces beginning to glow dull red. "You know what the funny part is?" Jayden continued, gesturing with his free hand. "Yesterday's attack on your school? That was just the bait. And you?" His laugh echoed off the walls. "You walked right into it, bringing exactly who I expected you to bring." Lucas's eyes narrowed, a cold feeling settling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the temperature fluctuations. "Bailey's sound manipulation? Countered. Oba's energy redirection? Planned for. Micah's gravity control?" Jayden's smile widened. "Child's play. And your lightning?" He gestured with the plasma blade. "Well, you just saw how that works out." "You're lying," Lucas growled, but uncertainty crept into his voice. "Am I? Your team is scattered, facing opponents specifically chosen for them. Even your surprise addition—" Jayden paused dramatically. "Noah, was it? The year one you brought along?" His eyes glittered with malice. "He's currently entertaining Diana." Lucas's eyes went wide, genuine fear flashing across his features for the first time since the fight began as he heard the last name. The name hit him like a physical blow, making his breath catch in his throat. Because Diana wasn't just another student. Diana was something else entirely. And Lucas had just led Noah straight to her.

Chapter 112 Turning the heat up with plasma

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