One Vs. All Round 4

     The lone man's journey was one step closer to it's end. He had fought against a demon equivalent to an army; a bizarre bounty hunter in a scorching desert; and an assassin of darkness. All this led to him finally seeing the destination of his objective: a castle where his greatest opponent took residence. The castle itself that had seen better days: broken down, weather worn, and in need of love and care.

     However.
     Five figures in the distance stood between him and his objective. The closer they got, the more familiar they became. And the more familiar they became, the more dread and regret pooled in the lone man's being.
     "No..." he whispered under his breath. Soon they were just feet apart.
     The one on the far right was a lean, pale man with sinister eyes. Next to him was a woman of short stature with grand hair and eyes clouded with history. In the middle was a man of small stature who looked at the lone man with hurt eyes. To his right was a tall woman of porcelain skin tone, long, onyx hair, and fiery eyes. Finally, to the far left was a woman who avoided looking at him.
     "Pleasure to see you again. Lone man," the pale man sneered with a smile. The lone man glared at him before softening to look at the rest.
     "I should not be facing you..." the lone man commented softly.
     "Too bad... Cause I'm going to enjoy it," the pale man replied, still with a smile.
     "That's enough," the tall woman interjected, "We have a job to do. Let's get it done quickly." She drew her weapon: a spear with a black blade with a silver edge.
     "Just let me pass..." the lone man stated, almost pleaded. Four of them paused while the pale man sneered.
     The woman with clouded eyes hesitantly stretched her arms out to her sides, summoning stone from the ground. Three rings of rocks circled over her palms and around her body. The pale man's eyes expanded in anticipation as drew his weapon: an all black sabre with red engravings on the blade. The others followed suit. The man with hurt eyes summoned bronze knuckles and the woman who avoided looking at the lone man summoned a paint brush. They all charged forward. The lone man had his head hung low, digesting what was about to transpire.
     "So be it."
     A cyclone erupted around him, halting the group's charge. He darted at the pale man, the easiest one for him to face.
     "Oh, come to finally finish things, eh?" He swung his sword around excitedly, "Let's do it!" Once in each other's range, they immediately struck at each other, neither getting a successful attack. The pale man swiftly and erratically swung at the lone man while the lone man was in a series of parries and counters. "You could never defeat me before, what makes you think you could defeat me now?!" The lone man grit his teeth and weaved away from the pale man. "Too hot for you, pissant?!" The lone man accelerated the winds around him.
      But before he could do anything, the knuckled man appeared from behind, swinging at his head. "Don't forget me!" The lone man whipped his head and leaned away from the knuckled man, dodging his attack. When he came back up, he used his strength and momentum to push the knuckled man at the pale man. The two got knocked away and Porcelain leapt forward, taking precision stabs at the lone man.
      Hesitation crept into the lone man. Her stabs wavered in kind, her eyes going distant. He took this chance to swing her away using his wind and at the same time Sin came back with bloodlust in his eyes.
     "Don't think you're better than me!" His sword swings were vicious, targeted to kill. The lone man's eyes hardened. The two appeared even keel, blocking each other's attacks. However, the lone man grew tired of fighting him. He cocked his arm back.
     "I've already wasted too much time on you,"  the lone man bellowed. Sin tried to counter, but was too slow. The lone man swung with all his pent-up anger toward Sin, slamming his fist against Sin's solar plexus. Sin was sent flying beyond human sight, his resting place unknown. The lone man turned to the rest of the group. Knuckle charged in, swinging wildly. The lone man dodged easily, but gained a solemn mood.

     "Fight me!" Knuckle yelled. The lone man remained silent, unaware of the boulder thrown at his back. It slammed against his body, pushing him into one of Knuckle's punches. Knuckle looked surprised and mortified, but closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and swung again. This time squarely hitting across his cheek. He was sent to the ground and didn't get up. He didn't move, even though he was unharmed.

     "What are you doing?" Lone didn't respond. "Is this really all that you got...? No!" He stepped forward until he was over Lone. "Fight me for real! I know you have it in you!" Lone slowly looked at Knuckle. Knuckle roared, about to swing at him again, though when he did, Lone caught it in his fist and the air itself seemed to pause. Lone's muscles coiled, preparing for his next attack. Wind burst from him, pushing Knuckle off of him. His eyes were closed, his fists clenched. He raised his head and opened his eyes, a fire having been reignited within him. Snapping his eyes open, he darted forward and unleashed a barrage of punches on Knuckle, no longer holding back. His finishing move was a palm to Knuckle's chest, sending a shockwave through him and launching him as far as Sin.

     Porcelain wasted no time, launching toward him and gracefully swinging at him. He used her momentum against her and tossed the spear away. However, before he could land an attack on her, another boulder was thrown at him, disrupting his flow. In his dodge, Porcelain palmed his shoulder, pushing him down. She then went to retrieve her spear and more rocks were thrown at him, stopping his pursuit. He shifted his focused to Gaia. Looking at her, he froze and she paused in kind. Everything seemingly stilled. No wind, no movement, no action. He took a deep breath, before explosively rocketing forward, moving as fast as the wind. Her shock caused her to hesitate, creating an opening for him. He straight punched her gut, knocking all the wind out of her. She collapsed. He caught her mid-fall and laid her gently onto the ground. He turned to his last two challengers. Porcelain and Artist stared him down. However, none of the three really wanted this fight to continue. The breeze and their rhythmic breathing gave background noise to their pause.

     Porcelain prepared her self for this final leg of the fight. She took stance, pointing the spear at Lone. He took a deep breath. He dug his feet into the ground and raised his fists.

     Porcelain charged forward while Artist painted in the background, ink and color flying from her paintbrush. Lone dodged Porcelain's lightning stabs while backing away. Amidst the stabs, white rose vines then snaked along the ground, steadily creeping toward his feet. After a stab at his head, he grabbed the spear and spun around, yanking it from Porcelain's grasp. Completing his 180, he sheathed the spear's blade within Porcelain, causing her to let out a exhale. Without delay, he retrieved the spear, causing Porcelain to collapse.

     He then shifted his focus to the vines approaching his feet, now painted red. He slashed the vines while heading towards Artist. His steps weren't as quick dashing toward her, not fully ready to face her.

     Though he had to.

     With great focus, she unleashed painting after painting. Floating eyes that blocked his path at every turn. Midnight walls that suddenly erupted. As much as this slowed him down, he continued making progress.

     Once closer to her, time slowed for the lone man. Memories flooding his mind; past, undying feelings adding to the mix. Though he knew he had to continue. Forward movement stopped for no one.

     He mustered all the will within him, summoning it into his fist and with a lightning crack, punched her across her jaw. This quickly ended this fight. He caught her body before it hit the ground. A torrent of emotions tore through him as he knelt with her body in his arms. Though instead of fighting, as he had much practice in, he let these feelings flow. Most of which flowed from his eyes.

     After his emotions settled, he gave a proper burial to each of his opponents. After this ordeal, his will had been reinforced. Once a tornado, now lightning. He marched forward prepared for what's ahead.