Without waiting for the reaction of her friends, she pushed her way through the crowd. For once, her height served her well, so she didn't have to go all the way to the front to see what was going on.

"Ouch!"

Laki and Zhèngyi had a harder time with that, and squeezed between the people with a scramble until they reached Kiyu. However, since the other two were smaller, they took a few more steps forward.

"What are we doing here?" asked Zhèngyi, staring at the small wooden stage that they had erected in the middle of the street. It rose a good half meter above the ground, which is why you could see the people there very well.

On the left side was a man dressed in a blue fur coat. Unlike most of the people present, he was muscular and looked more like a hard-working person than a Spiritformer. But that was not what astonished Kiyu.

'How can he wear a fur coat in this weather?'

It was spring, and the temperature was pleasant. So how could he stand there without even sweating? Just looking at his clothes, she felt like she was getting warmer.

"I want to see what he's doing," she whispered. "So far, all we've seen are fighting Spiritformers. Siwang, Xianzhu, and Toras as well. There must be more to it than just fighting, right?"

"Sure there is. I can't use my powers for fighting, for example." Zhèngyi replied. "Still, I don't see what this little show would do for us. But if you insist."

"Step closer and look at the man who does not fear fire," the showman of the little attraction called out as he walked up and down in front of the stage.

A stagehand had placed a fire bowl in the middle of the stage. It was about a meter in diameter, and a fire was already blazing.

Horatio waited with folded arms until the stagehand bent back. Grinning, he walked up to the fire bowl and extended his hand to within an acceptable distance of the bowl. Everything was silent, and all eyes stared spellbound at the fire crackling away in the bowl.

Not even a breath could Kiyu hear anymore. She used some of her spiritual energy to strengthen the vision of her eyes, with which she, like everyone else, monitored the fire. Inch by inch, Horatio guided his hand to the fire, letting it pause just above it.

'Doesn't it feel heat?' wondered Kiyu.

What was it about the cool arts? Was he able to cool his body? Unlike Xianzhu, she was could not discern the nature of a Spiritformer's power on first sight.

However, before she could give it another thought, the fire transformed.

"Incredible!"

"Wow!" exclaimed many.

The crowd cheered, and Kiyu had to swallow hard. As a precaution, she rubbed her eyes to make sure that her eyes still functioned. The fire, before still blazing and crackling, got frozen! The flames got frozen. Not just extinguished, no. Horatio had trapped the flames in a layer of ice!

"How is that possible?" marveled Zhèngyi.

Even he couldn't think of a way to explain what the group saw there on the stage. At least, Kyu assumed so because of his open mouth and wide eyes. Laki's reaction was no less surprised either.

The assembled crowd applauded as Horatio bowed.

"Thank you, thank you. But that was just the warm-up," he said with a smile, making his way back to his original position on the stage.

"Wasn't that exciting, ladies and gentlemen? But be excited for more, because we're just getting started," the showman announced.

"Whoever wants to thank us with a copper can do so with a coin," he called out.

The helper, who had earlier brought the fire bowl to the stage, walked along in front of the first row with an upturned hat in his hand, and Kiyu could hear more and more often the jingling of coins hitting each other inside of that hat.

After walking the path twice, he returned to the stage and removed the fire bowl, while the hat with money remained with the showman.

"Okay, we're going to start the next stage, honored spectators!"

'What's next?' wondered Kiyu.

Horatio's ability maybe had something to do with ice like freezing, but what could he present now?

While Kiyu was still mulling over other possibilities, the stagehand aimed a tense bow at Horatio, which drew cheers from the crowd.

"Hey, watch out!" shouted Kiyu, trying to warn him.

But it was too late. There was no time for more than the warning. The stagehand let the arrow slip from his hand, which then sped toward Horatio at high speed. Some others also looked surprised and held their breath when they saw the arrow flying towards him.

Kiyu gathered as much spiritual energy as she could in her legs and upper body, took a running start, and leapt onto the stage. She made it over the crowd but would not make it in time.

As she landed on the stage, she crouched down to cushion her jump. But as she feared, she was too late to intercept the arrow. The crowd behind her went wild and was no longer subdued. Kiyu turned her gaze to Horatio and was wondering whether she could believe her eyes. Beside him on the ground lay the remains of the wooden arrow, split in two by a sword of pure ice he held in his hands.

"What?" she stammered.

Was this all still part of the show? In that case, she had just embarrassed herself. Then again, how was she supposed to know? There was no announcement, no explanation, just nothing. The crowd, on the other hand, just kept cheering and didn't seem to mind Kiyu's unplanned appearance.

'Do they think this is all still part of the show?'

"The incredible Horatio, ladies and gentlemen! And it's straight on to the next act!"

Even the speaker didn't seem shocked by Kiyu's appearance, although after all, he had to know that what just happened was no longer part of the act?

Without warning, however, Horatio sped toward her with his ice sword, just missing her head.

"Don't worry, little one. Nothing's going to happen to you. We'll have a show fight, okay?" he whispered in her ear.

He had taken the opportunity of the attack to pause in a crouch in front of her. After he had committed Kiyu, he jumped back with a big jump. "Ha! Not bad! But let's see if you can do it again!" he roared and ran at her again.

This time, he swung his blade down at her from above.

'A show fight, then?'

Kiyu suppressed her grin as best she could, since she forgot she wore a mask.

'He can have that one!'

She let spiritual energy flow through her entire body. Without relying on his fighting skills, she dodged his attack by pulling her shoulder, at which he was aiming, backwards.

The crowd was just buzzing with excitement. And yet the two of them hadn't even done much? After all, this was their first real exchange of blows, apart from the posed attack. But they seemed to enjoy it?

"Not bad," Horatio whispered, grinning.

"Do you think you can do any better?"

Kiyu also grinned, nodding her head. Again, Horatio swung his weapon. But this time at a diagonal angle from above. This dodge would no longer be an act, even though he might not be swinging his sword with full seriousness. Kiyu ducked just a few inches from under the sword. She stood bent over in front of him; her legs spread out so that she could let her body stretch through.

She had shifted her weight on her left leg, with which she bent into a crouch. Without hesitation, she straightened up again and took the momentum in her right leg to lunge for a kick at her opponent.

Horatio countered her attack with the flat of his sword. The whole thing was still a show fight, and no one was going to get hurt. Kiyu had also held back her strength, because she didn't want the weapon to break.

After the blocked kick, Kiyu pulled her leg back, and the two stood facing each other in silence.

'Was that it already?' wondered Kiyu.

Judging by Horatio's actions, their brief interlude was over. He stretched his sword arm high into the air, and the blade disappeared into nothingness. From one moment to the next, the solid ice had dissolved into nothing.

The crowd faltered. No one uttered a word, and all looked spellbound at Kiyu and Horatio. The latter approached them in large, heavy steps, grabbed their arm and lifted it high in the air with his.

The people went wild, bursting into cheers and applauding after the show ended. Horatio, on the other hand, bowed while still holding Kiyu's arm, showing for her to bow as well.