Pyrus and Nemu Cryoson took their places on the Z City Ice Clan's Training Arena's white surface. On the opposite side, Nemu Cryoson glared at Pyrus maliciously.

  Celine was in the stands with some Ice Clan soldiers, wandering her eyes across the arena with impatience. She was worried about being a burden in the battle. She had heard so many things about Nemu's viciousness and raw power. Celine could not help but glance at the unoccupied space where he should be, feeling her frustration rise.

  "Come on, Kai," she muttered under her breath. "Don't let him do this alone."

  But, unbeknownst to her, Kai was actually miles away from the arena, presently subjugating Monsters around the outskirts of Z City, focusing on clearing the area. He had traversed halfway back when suddenly, a flash of lightning came crashing down before him, pulling him to a standstill.

  "Alright, who the fuck threw that?" Kai muttered as he narrowed his eyes and turned to face the source of the lightning.

  Standing before him was the former Mercenary Champion of Z City, Desmond Benjamin, who glared back at him with flames of hatred in his eyes.

  "Ciphera! You're the reason I fell from the top!" Desmond roared with fury, "I've been training for weeks just to get my revenge!"

  Kai frowned, clearly unimpressed. "Do I know you?" he asked with a mocking tone.

  Desmond's eyes bulged with rage, and he charged forward without a second word, striking at impossible speed like a bolt of lightning heading for Kai's face. But Kai simply didn't move; his Energy Barrier absorbed the attack without a dent. Desmond skidded to a halt, dumbstruck.

  "What…?!" Desmond gasped, his fists crackling with fury. "How-how did you block that?!"

  Kai shrugged nonchalantly, "Look, I need to get going. We can do this later."

  Then, with a slight flick of his finger, Kai sent a burst of kinetic energy through Desmond's body, launching him into the air and slamming him into several nearby buildings. Desmond's body crashed destructively through walls and debris, which sounded like a clap of thunder.

  Back in the Training Arena of the Ice Clan, the referee's whistle cut through the tension-filled air. It was about to begin.

  Pyrus and Nemu found themselves in front of each other, across the length of a white expanse. As he conjured up two glowing ice swords, the air around Nemu grew colder, in stark contrast to the blinding sunshine that poured across both blades.

  Nemu dashed forward, feet trailing frost behind him.

  "I'll fucking rip you to shreds!" Nemu yelled, bloodthirsty.

  Pyrus waited as he gripped his fists and conjured an ice sword, even if the form was trembling compared to Nemu's finely crafted swords. The two clattered swords, making an explosive sound. The sound of sharp cracking ice echoed in the arena as the two used their swords blow after blow.

  Clearly, it was a losing situation for Pyrus. Every movement of his was slower and less practiced than Nemu's, and soon, each of Nemu's slashing movements left his skin with a cut across it. Nemu laughed while he watched Pyrus struggling to catch up.

  "Fucking Pathetic!" was Nemu's taunt as he slashed across Pyrus's shoulder. "Did you really think that you could beat me in a swordfight?!"

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  Blood gushed from the wound, causing Pyrus to stagger back.

  Celine winced from the sidelines, but Pyrus gritted his teeth, not letting himself fall.

  Nemu was smiling and overly confident, and that one moment, Pyrus made himself think about Kai's training. A sudden blast of ice was shot from Pyrus' feet, freezing Nemu's legs in place. With a quick surge, Pyrus formed his ice fist gauntlet and punched Nemu in the stomach, sending him sliding backward.

  Nemu's anger flared. "You cocky bastard!" he bellowed, an echo noise traveling across the arena.

  He slammed his ice swords into the ground, and suddenly, a blizzard erupted. The howl of winds filled the soundscape as snowflakes blurred the air while the temperature plummeted.

  Pyrus' body shook. Despite his resistance to the cold, frostbite would soon appear on his exposed skin. Quickly, he summoned a protective ice dome around himself.

  But Nemu was unrelenting. With a swipe of his arm, he shattered the dome and sent icy shards flying into Pyrus' body. Alone, the frigid air was enough to rip through Pyrus' flesh, rendering him bleeding and gasping for air.

  The difference between them was egregiously clear; Nemu was too powerful.

  But Pyrus was not finished yet. With the last of his strength, he began to absorb that cold, pulling it into his body.

  Nemu's eyes widened as he understood what Pyrus was doing. "Crazy motherfucker!" he shouted, taking a step back.

  Pyrus kept going, straining through the pain. It was tearing him apart, but his body began to shine from the ice energy he had absorbed. His breath became ragged, his hands trembling, but he still refused to stop.

  Nemu sprinted, running towards Pyrus, thinking that, at last, Pyrus was finally worn out.

  He was wrong.

  In a flash, he was suddenly at Nemu's side, leaving a trail of ice blasts in his wake as he redirected himself at incredible speed. Just before Nemu could react, Pyrus released all absorbed ice energy—his own as well—into one gigantic raw beam aimed directly at Nemu's face.

  The beam covered Nemu's whole body, pushing him backward, with the force of the blow blasting through the walls of the arena. Ice flew to all sides, and the explosion froze the area outside the Ice Clan HQ.

  As the frozen mist began to settle, they saw Nemu standing there with a body frozen to the core, encased in ice. The only thing that remained of his haughty smugness was the cold, lifeless expression on his face.

  Celine and the soldiers of the Z City Ice Clan erupted in cheers. Pyrus had done it—he had beaten Nemu Cryoson.

  Yet as the V City soldiers began to carefully move Nemu's frozen body, they shouted their threats: "The Head of the V City Ice Clan will hear of this!"

  The threat lingered in the air as they exited, and the crowd hushed.

  Celine ran toward Pyrus, her heart racing from the adrenaline of pride. She pulled him down and held him in a passionate kiss.

  "You did it," she whispered, her voice trembling.

  But just as they were kissing, a familiar voice broke the tension.

  "Well, well..."

  Kai stepped into the arena, grinned at the sight of Nemu's frozen body being carried off, and chuckled.

  "You seem to handle the situation just fine," Kai said with amusement.

  Celine wheeled around with her anger firing. She charged at Kai with a flurry of punches and kicks, each landing harmlessly on his Energy Barrier.

  "You damned asshole!" Celine yelled, "You promised you'd watch the fight!"

  Kai just shrugged as his barrier absorbed each strike. "Sorry, I got held up. Some idiot decided to fight me on the way here," he said casually.

  Celine glared at him, her frustration bubbling over, but finally, she sighed.