Thwack—!
Ether lightly snatched the sphere created by concentrated aura with one hand without even blinking.
Hssss…
The sphere naturally absorbed into Ether. It was easy to accept since it was the energy she had released in the first place.
“Oho.”
Ether quietly fell into thought. However, her gaze was not on her palm; it was constantly directed at the ice legs that began to crumble in the air.
‘Handling the ice element, to this extent?’
There weren’t many who reached the extreme realm using only specific elements in the Empire. It was quite surprising.
“You handle the ice element. I didn’t know.”
Not only did she deflect and block, but she also began to manipulate the direction.
“Your ice, the level is staggering. I’ll praise you for it.”
It naturally made her think of a man.
The one who made the current Ether.
…But it surely couldn’t be him.
‘He’s probably still in Ruben.’
The place Ether would run to right after the duel ended.
The 1st Princess reflected on what was written in the letter. He had said he was living without doing anything much in Ruben. It was too far from the Imperial Capital.
And another thing.
—Duel? Done. I’ll head straight to Ruben.
—Go ahead. I’ve called an even more interesting fellow.
The Emperor’s words as he suggested the duel to Ether. At least it meant that it wasn’t Ezekiel.
[ Once. ]
The crystal ball at her feet printed the characters.
The clarity of the letters was determined by the condition of the one handling the crystal ball, and now the characters were quite blurred. This meant he was exhausted, even if he tried to pretend otherwise.
[ Your attack, only one left. ]
“Hmm.”
There was no longer a smile on Ether’s face.
She could recognize that her opponent was a great master. But now, there was a bigger problem.
“Toy, I have one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first? I shall grant your wish.”
[ What’s the good news? ]
“You’re definitely a strong person. I acknowledge it.”
[ That’s obvious news. What’s the bad news then? ]
“The fact that you, of all your overflowing elements, chose to handle the ice element. Do you know what it means to use ice magic techniques in front of me?”
Grrrrrrr—
The aura Ether pulled up began to vibrate the surroundings. Even the ground seemed to tremble in fear.
“You wouldn’t know. There’s no way you would, but it can’t be helped. Just think of it as having bad luck. The world doesn’t usually go as one wishes.”
Ice magic techniques.
The element that the man who made the current Ether had handled.
Because of that influence, Ether did not acknowledge any ice mages except him. No, she didn’t even want to acknowledge them.
[ So, what are you planning to do? ]
“Every ice mage who has passed by me has met their demise. All of them.”
Grrrrrrr—
The pebbles on the ground began to float up.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my agreement to confirm your face. Of course, if there’s a corpse left.”
Thwack!
Ether shot a light arrow into the sky.
And moments later.
Boom!
It exploded in the shape of a giant cross and began to rain down in massive numbers.
‘Damn it.’
The remnants of mana were almost gone now.
Casting high-level magic and maintaining such a battle was an entirely different matter. It depended on one’s body and stamina, not on their technique proficiency.
Hoo.
Ezekiel took a deep breath, regaining focus.
And at the same time.
Whooosh—!
A downpour of light arrows began to pour from the sky. Of course, each one held immense power.
He calculated immediately.
As expected, he couldn’t defend head-on in his current state.
But even so, Ezekiel shook his head.
‘Abandon reason.’
The mage always moved through reason and intuition. However, there were rare moments when one had to forsake everything and tap only into their instincts.
That moment was now.
When he needed to surpass his limits and achieve his goal.
“I… will decide, and make that decision a reality.”
That self-suggestion could be considered a chant, if anything.
Ezekiel quickly clapped his palms together.
Hssss!
The chill he raised to the extreme made his nerves feel hyper-sensitive. At the same time, everything around him felt like it was moving slowly.
In what seemed like frozen time, Ezekiel surveyed everything.
The number of descending light arrows was countless.
Nevertheless.
He began to calculate each one individually.
Snap snap snap snap!
Immediately, ice spikes shot up from the ground.
With no margin for error, one spike blocked one light arrow head-on.
But that wasn’t all.
Gulp…!
An explosion occurred where the ice spike and light arrow collided.
Wham!
That explosion froze completely.
Its shape resembled a snow flower.
As it began to absorb the blasts exploding all around, the volume of the snow flower gradually increased. Soon, an ice bloom rose up to create a barrier in the sky.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom!
The light arrow downpour continued to fall.
The arrows kept raining down in overwhelming numbers, as if to smash the snow flower into the ground.
“…!”
An incalculable amount. The pressure on Ezekiel’s body continued to grow. But even so, ice spikes continued to rise newly.
“…It’s nothing.”
Ezekiel muttered as he swallowed blood.
This trial was nothing.
He had lived through downpours of light arrows before. After realizing he had a terminal illness, he felt like he was enduring the rain of arrows every day.
When setting goals, the arrows of terminal illness blocked him, trying to do something blocked by the arrows of terminal illness, again and again, blocking and blocking…
So.
This was a flower only terminal illness could bloom.
The most splendidly blooming bud at a certain moment.
Boom!
The fully bloomed snow flower surged upwards.
Ezekiel let out a huff, feeling he had succeeded in defending against the last blow.
But then.
Crack—! Crack crack crack—!
A bizarre sound could be heard as cracks appeared in the snow flower.
The cause was the already embedded light arrows. They began turning viciously, boring into the flower.
“…Ether, you’ve grown well. Should I praise you?”
Crack!
The light arrows that shattered the snow flower began to spiral downward at an incredible speed.
Just one would cause a fatal wound. The numerous rotations of light arrows would pierce his entire body.
The remaining mana was almost depleted.
‘But.’
That was all.
He was already at the point of spitting blood, enduring solely with his mental strength, but that was all he had.
He could do it. He had to survive.
In the fog-filled Dominan Valley.
Hoo—
An immense chill wrapped around Ezekiel’s body and began to spread in all directions.
Ezekiel, who had pulled out the chill from his body to the limit, began to dissolve all of it into the fog. Much of it quickly turned blue, some even froze and fell.
As the falling light arrows were about to graze his head.
“Decision.”
Ezekiel uttered. Just a single word.
Crackle crackle crackle—!
All the fog in the area froze at once. The light arrows, passing through the fog, were caught.
Snap! Crack! Smash…!
The arrows tried to spin and fall, but it was futile. They couldn’t pierce through all the frozen fog.
However, there was no time to hesitate.
Hoo!
Ezekiel kicked off the frozen fog like a stepping stone and leaped upwards wildly.
He couldn’t forever hold the spinning light arrows. Ultimately, escaping from this Dominan Valley was the only way to survive.
Having reached the highest point in the air.
Swishhhh—!
He spread the ice like waves in the air. The ice slanted downward toward the opposite canyon, resembling a massive and steep ice slide.
Ezekiel placed his foot on it and let himself go.
Swishhhh—!
He moved on the ice more skillfully than walking on solid ground. Lowering his body slightly, he surged toward his opponent.
Swishhhh—!
10 seconds passed.
He escaped the downpour of light arrows.
Swishhhh—!
20 seconds passed.
The opposite Cullinan Valley began to come into view.
Swishhhh—!
25 seconds passed.
At last, they caught each other in view.
Ether narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized Ezekiel, then widened her eyes to four times their size.
“It’s been a while, Ether.”
Though he had absolutely no mana left, he didn’t care.
Ezekiel rushed towards Ether after crashing onto the ice.
Slash—!
The sound of something tearing. Ezekiel’s figure quickly zipped past the still dazed Ether.
Thud!
Following that, Ezekiel landed.
“…”
The two stood tall, their backs facing each other.
Time seemed to stop as they caught their breaths for a moment.
“Hah… Hah…”
“Hah…?”
Their breaths, filled with heavy panting and confusion, crossed in the odd moment.
To let something fall near Ether, Ezekiel tossed something behind him.
It was the armband that had been on Ether’s shoulder.
“I won this duel.”
“….”
“But.”
Ezekiel stumbled.
“…I didn’t know this wasn’t a one-on-one battle.”
Thud!
Ultimately, Ezekiel collapsed.
“Teacher….”
Ether muttered blankly.
“Teacher, my opponent was…. You?”
The 1st Princess hurriedly turned to check Ezekiel’s condition. And she could not help but gasp in horror.
“…!”
Because Ezekiel’s body was riddled with arrows.
“What is…. What is this…?”
The woman’s gaze turned to her scout.
The scout members, trembling while holding their bows, were captured in her view as they stared at the 1st Princess.
Ether’s expression twisted beyond description.
“You pathetic little wretches…. How dare you not know your place!”
The scout leader was the first to speak, hurriedly.
“Your Highness, we acted with good intentions…!”
“That gives you a reason to interfere in my duel?!”
“We—we prioritize Your Highness’s safety! Regardless of the duel’s outcome, the opponent came charging at Your Highness with terrifying momentum, so…!”
“Pathetic, worthless scum!”
The Princess moved closer and seized the scout leader by the head.
“Your Highness, no! Gaaah, ggggaaaaaaaah!”
Then with a thud, his head exploded.
Ether seemed even more enraged rather than calming down. An immense aura erupted, causing her hair to rise into the air.
The fact that the scouts intervened meant that they perceived the 1st Princess as being at risk enough to warrant involvement.
In other words, it meant they viewed Ezekiel as a stronger opponent in that moment.
‘In other words, I’ve lost in skill as well….’
A violation of rules. She had breached the one-on-one duel rule.
A loss in skill and a loss in rules. It was a terrible defeat where she lost all the elixirs and honor at once.
But.
What truly gnawed at Ether was.
“Teacher…!”
The fact that her opponent was none other than her teacher.
The man she respected most.
The man she loved most.
…Ezekiel.
It was undeniably him, and it made her body tremble.
‘Why on earth?’
He had clearly said he was in Ruben, yet the Emperor had also mentioned that the opponent was not Ezekiel!
‘Did the Emperor deceive me?’
What on earth for?
“Rami.”
“Yes, yes!”
The one not holding a bow stepped forward from the scouts. The fastest runner among them.
“Move him to the infirmary. Forget about the value of the medicine and use everything. He must survive.”
“I understand!”
“If anything happens to him, I will turn the entire Imperial Palace to ruins. No, not just that.”
Ether’s teeth ground together menacingly.
“…I will attempt to assassinate the Emperor.”
“….”
Before discussing success, who dares to even utter assassination of the Emperor? The one receiving the order was drenched in sweat.
“I will depart immediately.”
“No, no. I should handle it myself.”
Ether looked troubled as she stopped the scouts and then picked up Ezekiel herself.
“Step aside!”
Ether slammed the ground.
Her lips trembled violently.
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