The Magician led every attack, pushing himself with every move. This time, though, he wasn’t making progress.

He reverted to his old techniques, switching grips, trying to catch Jesus off guard.

The Magician threw a blade into the air, struck the handle, and created a buzzsaw. His hand summoned fire, and he pointed it at the buzzsaw. 

The buzzsaw followed the Magician’s hand motions and flew at Jesus.

Jesus: (Swinging his sword) “Heavenly Slash!”

A slash of holy energy erupted from his greatsword and struck the buzzsaw.

The buzzsaw split in two, with the halves flying past Jesus.

Moves that could have dominated the stranger before became blockable attacks for Jesus. 

The Magician slashed, failing to create an opening. The greatsword’s energy formed an impenetrable defense, frightening to strike.

He moved at a remarkable rate and swung his blades harder than ever before; he still fell behind. He couldn’t keep up since Jesus’ transformation. 

The Magician suddenly lost his footing in the air, and his concentration slipped. He was hit with a violent strike.

Magician: (Gasping, catching his breath) “Damn it.”

He tried to catch his breath, but wasn’t given any breathing room. Jesus found an opening behind the Magician and carried out a downward slash.

Having barely enough time to react, the Magician used all of his might to deflect the holy weapon.

The Magician blocked every swing he could, but attacks slipped through. The shockwaves from each deflected attack still hurt the Magician.

Cuts were made across the Magician’s body; he knew he couldn’t keep taking hits without risking his life. 

Magician: (He shouted with all the wind in his lungs) “WAIT! Please!”

Jesus stopped his swing midway and tilted his head at the Magician. Jesus raised an eyebrow and snickered.

Jesus: “What? Show me what you’ve got, come on. I want to make you fail after giving it your all.”

Magician: (Struggling to speak) “Well… you hate to see it happen so soon.” (Cough) “But. I think it’s time for another trick.”

The Magician let go of a Hell Blade and spun it into a buzzsaw, using it as a shield.

He duplicated his other Hell Blade and pointed the swords’ tips at the spinning buzzsaw.

Flames burst from his shoulders and flowed up to his arms.

They crawled to his hands, then to the blades, and shot from the swords’ tips.

The fire fanned out from hitting the spinning buzzsaw, creating an enormous wall.

Jesus sighed. Rolling his eyes, he charged up a slash of holy energy.

After charging it for a few seconds, he swung down and tore through the entire firewall. 

On the other side was an impossible sight.

The Magician finished carving a demonic summoning sign. 

He had drawn a circle with a pentagram inside; symbols were carved at five points around the circle. Flames erupted from each point with the Magician standing in the middle.

Jesus dove towards him desperately to stop him.

Magician: (Holding his blades in a cross, speaking quickly) “This accursed world, limiting my strength. To hell with balance! To hell with Heaven!” 

The circle spun faster, glowing red-hot, as sparks flew out and the air bent under pressure.

Magician: “Bring forth the wrath of Hell! This arena is mine now! HELLSHIFT!”

The sign beneath him exploded into fire, engulfing the surrounding area, blasting Jesus back. 

Fiery explosions chained throughout the sky. A dome of hellish red surrounded the nearby area.

Buildings crashed down, and the streets were destroyed. 

Civilians below struggled to breathe through the thick air. People dropped to their knees, sweating profusely. 

Heroes moved quickly to help people on the ground. The Magician glanced beneath him. He was unwavering.

Jesus slowly got up.

They faced off in the hell-state arena, filled with underworld energy. The Magician's eyes flickered with flames.