Ira did not stand idle while the other servant underwent his transformation. Whatever his opponent was about to unleash was sure to be immensely powerful, and just sitting around waiting for it to happen would be suicide.
Facing the gathering storm that was Rider, Ira brought his spears together and closed his eyes. "I call on the strength of the Pharaohs," he murmured, beginning to channel energy into his weapons. A wind kicked up around him, but it was not the humid, tropical breeze of the city, but a hot desert wind. One could almost feel the sting of sand amidst its currents. "I who stood at the side of the God-Kings, who carved their legacies and monuments. I call on you to pay that debt."
In his hands the spears began to glow with brilliant light, and their forms shifted, melding together and broadening. At the same time, across from him, Mag readied his charge.
"It was an honour, Ira. But this is the end."
'I wouldn't be so sure of that, friend.'
In the instant before Rider rushed him, Ira spread his arms. "To me! Disk of the Sun, Aten-Ra!"
As the other servant crossed the space between them in an instant, the light in Ira's hands flared, blossoming into a mighty golden shield. In its surface was carved sigils and hieroglyphs, and an elegant engraving of the sun disk of Ra. Ira braced himself behind it as Magnan's sword descended.
The blade struck, and the resulting shockwave shook the earth. The ground cracked and trembled, as shipping containers and heavy machinery were tossed away like leaves in a gale. The Sun Disk gleamed with the blinding light of its namesake as the tremendous force of the impact ran through it, crashing like a tidal wave against the shore.
For a moment, Ira didn't budge. His feet dug into the concrete and the shield absorbed the phantasms force. Time stood still for an instant.
And then he flew.
With a grunt, Ira was taken from his feet and - Sun Disk in hand - catapulted backwards. He shot through the air like a bullet, punching a path through shipping containers and their contents like they were paper. A trail of dust and debris followed in his wake until he eventually struck the far wall of the shipping yard, striking a deep crater into the concrete and sending a web of cracks shooting through its surface.
Within the crater, Ira groaned. His body ached from the successive impacts and the force of the initial strike, and all over him, little trails of golden light rose from injuries. Aten-Ra remained in his grasp, but the golden disk was riddled with cracks. Despite that, though, it still gleamed.
The light from the disk was blinding, living up to its name, and as Ira pushed himself out from the wall and dropped to his knees at its base, despite his injuries... he smiled. 'Gotcha.'
Pushing himself up enough to brace against the ground, Ira raised the blinding shield and directed its surface back at his foe. He took a breath, focused on his distant target back through the trail of broken scenery, and unleashed back what he had taken.
The shield's surface erupted. Golden sunfire poured forth from it, exploding outwards like a mighty solar flare and tearing across the shipping yard. Steel and concrete alike warped, bubbled and turned to cinders as the might of Magnan's own strike was channeled into a retaliatory supernova. The flames didn't bear the phantasm's full force, but they came close to it. They seared across the wide gap between the two servants in mere moments, threatening to swallow Rider and much of the area behind him in fiery destruction.
As the last of the flames left the shield, however, the damage on its surface took its toll. With a pulse of light, the cracks split across its full surface, and the disk shattered. Ira blinked down at his now-empty hands in shock.
"Oh come on, that's not fair! You can't break the sun! That's gonna take a while to come back..."
Facing the gathering storm that was Rider, Ira brought his spears together and closed his eyes. "I call on the strength of the Pharaohs," he murmured, beginning to channel energy into his weapons. A wind kicked up around him, but it was not the humid, tropical breeze of the city, but a hot desert wind. One could almost feel the sting of sand amidst its currents. "I who stood at the side of the God-Kings, who carved their legacies and monuments. I call on you to pay that debt."
In his hands the spears began to glow with brilliant light, and their forms shifted, melding together and broadening. At the same time, across from him, Mag readied his charge.
"It was an honour, Ira. But this is the end."
'I wouldn't be so sure of that, friend.'
In the instant before Rider rushed him, Ira spread his arms. "To me! Disk of the Sun, Aten-Ra!"
As the other servant crossed the space between them in an instant, the light in Ira's hands flared, blossoming into a mighty golden shield. In its surface was carved sigils and hieroglyphs, and an elegant engraving of the sun disk of Ra. Ira braced himself behind it as Magnan's sword descended.
The blade struck, and the resulting shockwave shook the earth. The ground cracked and trembled, as shipping containers and heavy machinery were tossed away like leaves in a gale. The Sun Disk gleamed with the blinding light of its namesake as the tremendous force of the impact ran through it, crashing like a tidal wave against the shore.
For a moment, Ira didn't budge. His feet dug into the concrete and the shield absorbed the phantasms force. Time stood still for an instant.
And then he flew.
With a grunt, Ira was taken from his feet and - Sun Disk in hand - catapulted backwards. He shot through the air like a bullet, punching a path through shipping containers and their contents like they were paper. A trail of dust and debris followed in his wake until he eventually struck the far wall of the shipping yard, striking a deep crater into the concrete and sending a web of cracks shooting through its surface.
Within the crater, Ira groaned. His body ached from the successive impacts and the force of the initial strike, and all over him, little trails of golden light rose from injuries. Aten-Ra remained in his grasp, but the golden disk was riddled with cracks. Despite that, though, it still gleamed.
The light from the disk was blinding, living up to its name, and as Ira pushed himself out from the wall and dropped to his knees at its base, despite his injuries... he smiled. 'Gotcha.'
Pushing himself up enough to brace against the ground, Ira raised the blinding shield and directed its surface back at his foe. He took a breath, focused on his distant target back through the trail of broken scenery, and unleashed back what he had taken.
The shield's surface erupted. Golden sunfire poured forth from it, exploding outwards like a mighty solar flare and tearing across the shipping yard. Steel and concrete alike warped, bubbled and turned to cinders as the might of Magnan's own strike was channeled into a retaliatory supernova. The flames didn't bear the phantasm's full force, but they came close to it. They seared across the wide gap between the two servants in mere moments, threatening to swallow Rider and much of the area behind him in fiery destruction.
As the last of the flames left the shield, however, the damage on its surface took its toll. With a pulse of light, the cracks split across its full surface, and the disk shattered. Ira blinked down at his now-empty hands in shock.
"Oh come on, that's not fair! You can't break the sun! That's gonna take a while to come back..."