Despite Rubio’s valiant stand beaming with confidence beforehand, he hiccuped and slumped to the ground giggling. His two best friends immediately ran for his aid.

Haruto lifted Rubio’s upper half with both arms from behind. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…. Just sober me up, now….” He hiccupped some more as he spoke.

Haruto sighed, eyes closed briefly, “Well, you’re lucky she took the time to learn this just for you.”

Rosette cast a complex runic array around Rubio’s body, removing the alcohol in his system. Afterward, the prince got up doing stretches. Asking her over what to do next, she suggested sneaking up where Feuer was thrown to, ready to fight back if he survived Rubio’s punch. As the three did, no attack occurred, even when they were nearing the demolished “mountain.” Still, they kept their distance. Eventually, Rosette was proven right.

Feuer limped toward the trio, eyes stern as ever. Blood covered his entire body, and he suffered thirteen fractures—five of which on the compound category. As he neared Haruto and friends, he cast runes on himself. The three were shocked to see that Feuer could use Runic Art handsfree—a highly advanced technique. Along with his wounds, his fractures corrected quickly. His blood absorbed back to the skin.

With all that, Feuer now stood face to face with another challenger: Alaric’s prince Rubio.

Feuer’s warm beige complexion benefited his stern, stoic, and cold nature. Narrow green eyes, a noticeable jawline, and slicked-back long brown hair. Feuer outgrew the Alaric Empire general uniform a long time ago. He now wore a dark red suit-and-tie with yellow-orange streaks swirling around like lava—and a pair of black shoes. Feuer also donned a black cape showing Coelestis’ emblem. Ever since then, he never wore anything different on duty.

Haruto, Rubio, and Rosette gazed at Feuer, preparing their stances. The stoic latter stood tall, not intimidated in the slightest. “Mind your head….” he spoke calmly.

Looking up, the three flash-stepped immediately in their fear. It was a gigantic, white-hot magma ball the size of a meteorite falling onto them. As the earth rippled around the attack, large chunks of dirt flew up, obscuring the trio’s vision. Around the vicinity, the heat became too intense for them to concentrate. As a result, Haruto, Rubio, and Rosette settled on some unaffected ground from afar.

Feuer flash-stepped to their new location, walking to them slowly, “I am at a loss for words with you.” he pointed at Rubio. “You could have destroyed my technique with one hand alone. I’ve known your ilk for some time, yet you are reluctant. However—I will not do the same….” Another devastating wave of magma occurred with a swipe of his right arm.

Once again, the trio flash-stepped into another location.

“We cannot keep this charade, Rubio! We must intercept the enemy!” Rosette looked at him from behind.

“What’s the matter with you?! We can turn the tides now!” Haruto stood beside him.

The prince grunted in frustration, “I would!” His fists clenched. “But I don’t want any of you dead…! You have to be very far away….” he looked at Feuer from afar, eyes squinted.

“Wait… that’s it!” Haruto turned his head, “Rubio! I have an idea….”

After their brief discussion, they left Rubio on his own as Feuer closed in the distance.

For Feuer, he thought they would call for aid elsewhere. Becoming more confident than ever, he smirked. “If you plan to call in Adel here as you hold me back, it would truly pique my interest further.”

“No….” Rubio shook his head. “I just don’t want my friends hurt.” he walked closer.

“How very honorable of you… as expected from a prince.” Feuer bowed down. “Let us find out which is stronger… your resolve—or my tenacity. I’ve already prepared against your ilk. If only that bloodthirsty brute Hokori were here. Your fiery yellow eyes are the same yet hold a different feel….” Feuer fully clad himself from head-to-toe in black igneous plates of cooled down magma—the faults between uncooled and flowing all around. After that, complex gold runes covered the armor—fortification amplified to absurd levels.

Cocking back Feuer’s left arm, the armor heated up with steam. His arm combusted, causing it to propel faster. Rubio took on Feuer’s attack with his right fist. The clash’s shockwave warped the land once more. After that, the two were now in melee. Their power matched blow for blow; more vicinity crumbled before them. Rubio did not miss any chances to gain the upper hand, and when he did, he punched Feuer in the gut, hurling him afar again.

Feuer managed to land on his feet with enormous drag. Next, he experienced the unexpected. In front of him were the Haruto and Rosette, nearing their swords at him before he could react. As they swung, they kept their distance at the same time. Each swing was not random—all timed to hit within the vulnerable faults in Feuer’s igneous armor. As a result, he bled profusely.

Feuer prepared to counter with another magma attack. However, the two generals flash-stepped away. After they did, the prince stepped in even faster, throwing Feuer into another mountain in the distance. As Feuer got himself out of the rubble and himself, Rubio stepped in again. Haruto and friends used the strategy multiple times against the Coelestian archmage.

However, Feuer quickly found out, entrapping Haruto and Rosette inside magma globules that covered their bodies apart from their heads. Curiously, the two were not burned by it as Feuer made the two globules float midair. Rubio looked up, crying out his best friends’ names.

Feuer stood by, looking sternly at the distressed prince. “That was indeed very clever… but I’ve no time for tricks now. Any more fighting—and your wills would strengthen. And so—I must finally conclude this battle.” he underwent Zenith Corpus before Rubio’s widened eyes.

The black igneous armor Feuer had before crumbled—replaced with his body having a blinding, incandescent glow. Rubio shielded his eyes and pondered that it was like staring at a red sun. Feuer’s presence alone caused wildfires to ignite, with boulders melting.

The second phase battle now commenced.

Now more powerful than ever, Feuer returned all of the favors given to him by Rubio. He battered the prince endlessly. As Rubio tried to punch his opponent and defend himself, he screamed in utter agony over the burns felt. Feuer had a new attack; magma flamberges flying straight at the prince.

Rubio realized that the intense heat of Feuer’s amplified power severely hampered his bodily regeneration. As a result, he suffered an enormous greatsword to his stomach. “Aaaaaaaagh!” Now on his knees panting, Feuer walked closer for the kill. The prince vomited blood constantly—agony worsening.

“DO IT, RUBIO!!! USE MORE OF YOUR POWER!!!” Haruto shouted from above.

Rosette looked down, “PLEASE FRET NOT ON US!!! WE SHALL ALL LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER—”

“Enough….” Feuer snapped his finger, creating rings of magma to strangle the two.

The two tried crying out their best friend’s name again, but it was inaudible. Their eyes rolled up as skin turned purple, still trying to speak; eventually, veins became bloodshot.

With the pests taken care of, Feuer turned Rubio over to his back and stabbed him with more flamberges, making him scream louder.

Eventually, Rubio could only grunt through the pain. His eyes closed, teeth clenched, “I’m sorry, you two…. It’s not that I want to be weak— Aaaaaaagh!” he was stabbed again.

He clenched his teeth, “…I just hate—death so much…! Forgive me, if you perish by my hands….” Using what was left of his willpower while shouting, Rubio punched away a magma greatsword with a right hook, causing a shockwave that blinded Feuer.

Standing up, Rubio delivered the final blow on the Coeslestian archmage: a simple straight punch to the chest. Feuer’s Zenith Corpus deactivated, and his internal bleeding sprayed all over Rubio’s face, still shouting. The archmage’s eyes turned white as his unconscious state obliterated an entire mountain range in the distance; a canyon stretching sixty kilometers wide formed in its wake.

After painstakingly taking off a greatsword still lodged in his body, Rubio fell on the ground, utterly exhausted. The magma globules that trapped his friends before disappeared, indicating a clear victor. The two generals ran to his aid.

“Rubio! Are you okay?” Haruto witnessed his charred visage.

He opened his eyes slowly, “Yeah, I’m fine… just let me heal myself…. It’s much faster, anyway….” As such, Rosette knew not to interfere.

Looking at the aftermath, Rubio joked that the massive chasm he created would be perfect for an equal-sized swimming pool; Rosette batted his head. The remaining soldiers went back, mesmerized by the trio’s efforts. They kneeled.

Later on, Haruto, Rubio, and Rosette accompanied the soldiers to partake in the memory of their lost comrades. The prince walked in front, drawing blood over an Italian cypress sapling—an ancient Alaric ritual that never changed, reserved for royalty.

In a faraway Coelestian military camp, Feuer woke up in a tent, tended to by brigade mages. Inside the tent was another archmage and a Novus imperial mage he once partnered with years ago.

The former walked to him and snickered. “Hahahahahahahaha!” he sighed, “You see, pretty boy… when people say ‘Leave it to me.’—you gotta own up to dat, or else you receive the world’s sharpest L up your bunghole. In other words, you done fucked up cuz you thought the W was within reach. But it was sleepin’ with me the whole time!” He pointed at his chest with his thumb.

Feuer sighed, looking away. “I care not for your insults, simpleton. And if you truly cared for our missions, you could have retaken those lands in one day….”

The man snickered again. “Hahahahahahaha! I’m no savior of dirt, bruh. I want good times! With my title, I get a lot of dat! But you tho?” he pointed at Feuer, “Ya ain’t no good time… you’re a bruh time.”

Feuer’s vein popped after hearing the man’s insults. The latter imperial mage stepped in, prepared to break up a potential fight between the two.

She looked at the Coelestian archmage. “Leave Feuer alone, Hokori…. he’s done enough for one day. He did fail—but that only means we have a million more chances to retake those lands.”

Hokori’s eyes rolled and crossed his arms. “Oh really now, Grimace Locks? Then why not just waltz straight in there and plant Adel’s head on your turkey skewer?!” he pointed to the distance outside, “I will hold my breath.”

The two argued further until they pulled up tangents—one even about fruits and vegetables. The bedridden Feuer was completely bewildered over their egos, and brigade mages outside looked upon the tent as their heated exchange intensified.

“I told you this is not a turkey skewer!” Tokino walked closer. “Rapiers have a lot more subtlety than that just stabbing opponents!” she pointed sharply at Hokori.

The archmage cleaned his ear with a pinky, “Uh-huh, yeah sure…. How ‘bout you cut those two front strands of yours? They annoy the fuck outta me.”

“My mother gave me these! How dare you?!” Tokino held one strand and pointed again.

Hokori chuckled. “Oh, yeah…. I forgot about that chemo-ridden—” Suddenly, Tokino drew her rapier to his neck.

“Take that back…. Now….” She expressed in a calm rage.

He chuckled again, grinning widely. “And if I don’t…?”

Tokino’s eyes narrowed, “Take it—back!” she began hyperventilating.

Just as something was about to go down, the two were interrupted by a brigade mage opening the tent. “My greatest apologies to all of you… but this is very dire! We’ve found more information about his whereabouts! He is now near….”

The mage’s words changed Hokori’s to that of pure dread looming over his soul. Tokino’s eyes widened, covering her mouth and sweating bullets, “No… it can’t be….”