He dodged the first and punched him in the gut.
He dodged the second and kicked him in the head.
A third came from behind while three more attacked him head-on. He grabbed his leg and used him to smack the others aside.
What he didn't know was another was waiting for his moment, and once the others were down, he took it.
He grabbed Zack from behind and held him down. Before Zack could even think of growing, he lit himself on fire, smothering the two in a sea of flames.
Zack didn't scream.
Didn't shout.
Didn't even whimper.
For some odd reason, despite the heat, he didn't feel anything, just mildly annoyed. He kicked the assailant so hard he went through several piles of debris.
Immediately after, he turned to see four more men approaching him, flames covering each of their fists. Zack shrunk himself to the size of a bullet but kept his weight intact. Then he focused all his might into pouncing at the first one.
With so much force behind his fist, the warrior didn't stand a chance. Just as he was sent flying, Zack ricocheted off him and hit another one. Before the other two could react, Zack had already bounced off them, knocking them out.
Five more men came next, but Zack ricocheted off them like a pinball, knocking each one out.
A group of ten watched the scene unfold and realized they stood no chance in his current state, and they began a ritual.
By the time Zack was done, he turned back to his normal size. Once he looked ahead, he nearly froze at the monstrosity before him.
A 30-foot-tall dragon made of pure magic flames, the same flames those men were using for combat. Inside, he could see the silhouettes of more than ten men, all doing strange hand signs and rituals.
Before he could say a word, the dragon charged up and fired a giant ball of flame at him, but he reacted quickly enough to jump into the air and avoid it.
As he was preparing to fall back down and counterattack, he realized something.
He was still in the air, floating like a balloon.
Just as he asked himself what was going on, the dragon attacked again, sending another fireball his way, this one hotter than the first. It was so hot, in fact, that it incinerated everything in its path, and he was sure he would meet that fate if he stayed in the air any longer.
That's when the sudden realization hit him. Why he was floating. When he shrunk down, he maintained his weight for extra damage, and when he grew back, he must have accidentally made himself weightless.
Immediately after he realized this, his weight returned and he fell back down, narrowly avoiding the fireball. Just as he landed, however, it fired another one, even hotter than the one before.
"I've just about had enough with you," Zack said with a smile and jumped into the air again. Then, once he was out of the fireball's range, he made himself weightless. Then he kicked the surrounding air to propel himself towards it at a speed it could barely react to.
Before it could even finish charging another blast, Zack was already a few mere inches from it, pulling back his fist for a devastating strike.
This time, instead of expanding its size, he increased its weight tenfold, only for a second. In that second, he punched the dragon so hard it disintegrated to nothing but hot air, leaving its creators falling to the ground unconscious and defeated.
Zack landed back down after his punch, holding his fist in pain from the heat. When one of those guys tried to engulf him in flame earlier, it had no effect, so why now? Even he didn't know the answer to that.
What he did know was that it was over.
He had won.
"Did he just..." Luck started, dumbfounded at what she just witnessed.
"Take down our army of armored-up soldiers? Yes," Blaze answered before she could finish.
"Just one of those guys was as strong as you were before you donned your armor," Long said.
"And he took them down with barely any problem at all," Blaze continued with a nervous smile. "Perhaps we overlooked this guy."
"Incredible," Bolt said, surprising Long and Blaze with his presence.
"You?! Aren't you supposed to be gone? The portal is literally right in front of you," Long shouted.
"Yeah, I must admit I held that off, but how can I miss a show like that? The lad has truly outdone himself," Bolt said with a playful tone while still holding Paulina in his arms.
"And from what you've seen, are you going to interrupt my fight again?" Blaze asked, slowly approaching him.
"Oh, heavens no! His feats may be impressive, but they aren't beyond your abilities. Honestly, I think I'm going to stay and watch how this goes," Bolt answered, getting a smile from Blaze.
Blaze then turned to Long and was about to speak, but she nodded before he could. Blaze then walked forward to a panting Zack.
Zack was about to say something, but Blaze cut him off by shooting a massive green fireball at him. Zack narrowly avoided it, only for it to circle back and hit him from behind.
He was ready to scream in pain but felt none of it. Rather, he felt his stamina instantly return.
"Wh..what is this?" Zack asked, feeling himself return to peak condition.
"A healing technique my mother taught me long ago. To return an ally to their full strength. It's a shame I can't use it on myself, though."
"Why did you.."
"I want a fair fight. You've proven yourself a worthy adversary by defeating my men. I may have lost some of my honor by donning this suit, but I'm not about to throw all of it to the wind by fighting an injured opponent," Blaze said, getting his battle stance ready.
Zack frowned.
"You don't seem like the type I'd associate with Bolt," Zack said, his tone softening. "Why work for him? He's using you!"
"I used him to attain a level of power beyond even an All-star. It's only fair he use me and my men to further his goals."
"You don't even know what those goals are."
"True, but with all he's done for us, it'll take a lot for us to turn our backs on him."
"And this is all for what remains of your honor?"
Blaze nodded.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you when the inevitable happens," Zack said, his voice hardening as he prepared his battle stance.
"If Bolt does betray me, your words will be the first thing I remember once I die. I assure you," Blaze said, ready for combat....
To be continued