"Shit!!"

Xavier bent his knees before explosively launching himself high into the air.

CRAAACKKK!!

A gigantic ice spike erupted from the ground where he had been standing. It didn’t stop there. The massive spike continued growing, chasing Xavier upward like a living pillar of ice.

"Tch... Annoying."

Blue lightning burst from Xavier’s body.

BOOM!

The ice spike shattered into countless frozen fragments. Yet before he could catch his breath.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

More colossal spikes erupted from the earth from every direction. Each one twisted upward, relentlessly pursuing him through the air.

They rose one after another, forming a deadly forest of jagged ice that sought to impale him.

"Dammit!"

A short distance away. Noah remained hidden within the tall grass, kneeling low with his breathing ragged.

Slowly, he rose to his feet. In his hands rested a spear forged entirely from pure ice. Its translucent shaft shimmered with a beautiful glacier-blue glow beneath the fading evening light.

Tiny frozen spikes covered the grip where his hands rested, allowing him to maintain a firm hold despite the moisture from melting frost.

The surrounding temperature continued to plummet.

His veins throbbed violently beneath his skin.

Mana poured out of his body at an alarming rate.

During his retreat, he had already consumed two Mana Recovery Potions and a Healing Potion.

They had eased his condition only slightly. His reserves were depleting faster than ever with how much he eas using his ability.

"...Just a little more."

He forced even more mana through his core.

Pain shot throughout his entire body. Blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Even so he refused to stop.

BOOM!

He kicked off the ground with all his strength. The earth beneath his feet shattered.

His body shot forward like an arrow. As he sprinted, another massive ice spike erupted ahead of him, rising diagonally toward the sky.

Without slowing down, Noah stepped onto it. The enormous pillar continued growing while carrying him higher into the air.

It was as though he were running along a rapidly rising frozen bridge.

Xavier landed atop another ice pillar. He immediately spotted Noah charging straight toward him from another spike.

The young man’s glacier-blue eyes glowed brilliantly, leaving faint icy trails behind every movement.

Cold mist escaped with every breath he took. The air around them had become bitterly cold.

Frost spread across the surrounding trees.

Xavier narrowed his eyes.

"So you’re making this your battlefield..."

Lightning exploded from his body. Blue arcs danced wildly around him. The crackling electricity shattered every incoming spike before it could reach him.

Ice burst apart one after another.

Still Noah continued advancing without hesitation. Blood now leaked not only from his mouth. Thin crimson trails also flowed from the corners of his eyes.

His body had begun reaching its limit. Yet his feet never slowed.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

’Defeat him.’

The darkness of evening had already settled across the forest. Only the faint orange glow of the setting sun lingered beyond the horizon.

Against that dim backdrop, Xavier resembled a living bolt of lightning.

His lightning reflected against the crystal like ice spike. Which brightened the dark forest beautifully.

His sword blazed with dazzling blue thunder. Every swing released arcs of electricity that blasted apart the incoming ice.

Noah finally closed the distance. He planted his left foot firmly upon the frozen pillar.

His right arm drew the spear back over his shoulder. Cold mana roared around it like a raging winter blizzard.

His muscles tightened. Then he threw it with all his strength.

WHISSHHHH!!

The spear shot forward like a glacier-blue comet. The air screamed as it tore through it.

Its target,Xavier.

The distance between them was barely several meters.

Xavier calmly stepped forward. Lightning exploded beneath his feet.

In an instant he vanished from his position. Like a flash of blue thunder, he appeared directly before the incoming spear.

He landed lightly upon the very ice pillar Noah was sprinting across.

The spear was already upon him. His sword moved.

It was So fast that Noah couldn’t even follow the motion.

CLANG!!

The brilliant lightning-covered blade sliced through the ice spear effortlessly. It shattered into thousands of glittering frozen fragments.

A confident smile spread across Xavier’s face.

"So that’s your trump card?"

He raised his sword.

"That’s it, young man."

Noah’s expression never changed. He continued charging forward. His left hand stretched outward.

He opened his palm.

His cold eyes remained fixed upon Xavier. Then he clenched his fist.

The countless fragments produced from the shattered spear suddenly changed direction. They accelerated toward Xavier from every side.

Like a deadly blizzard of razor-sharp ice.

SHHHHH!!

The frozen shards slammed into the lightning surrounding Xavier. Blue electricity immediately began vaporizing them.

One after another.

But Noah had never intended them to pierce through. He only needed them to get close. The instant the fragments surrounded Xavier.

BOOM!!

Every shard exploded into freezing mist.

An enormous cloud of frost swallowed the demon completely.

For the first time Xavier’s eyes widened.

"...What?"

Frost rapidly clung to his light armor beneath the cloak, his clothes, his skin.

His movements slowed ever so slightly.

And that single moment was all Noah needed.

He was already there. Only a single step separated them.

Xavier ignored the frost spreading across his body. He swung his sword downward.

The strike was unbelievably fast.

Even Noah’s eyes couldn’t completely follow it.

But he sensed its trajectory. Instead of retreating, he abruptly leaned his entire upper body backward.

SLASH!!

The lightning blade tore across his chest. A deep crimson wound opened instantly.

Hot blood sprayed into the freezing air. The attack had nearly cut him in half.

Yet it had missed every vital organ.

Xavier’s confident expression faltered. "He intentionally took the hit...?"

Noah ignored the searing pain. Blood poured freely down his chest. With a wave of his hand, more than thirty ice weapons materialized around him.

They were swords, spears, daggers and axes. They formed in blinked of an eye.

Noah had never made them so fast before.

Each one shimmered with deadly cold.

His shoulders had already become coated in frost.

His arms trembled violently. Even his legs had begun freezing after continuously standing atop the massive ice pillar.

The cold bit deeply into his own flesh. His vision blurred from exhaustion. His body screamed for rest.

Yet...He remained standing. His eyes glowed with an unnatural icy brilliance.

Xavier instinctively felt danger. He felt genuine fear.

Suddenly his focus lost for a brief moment. His vision blurred, his mind become daze. Before he could come out to his own senses.

Noah calmly snapped his fingers.

Snap.