As the water elemental surged into Theodor’s body, his mind twisted, not in rage at Francis, but at himself. He had let his guard down. Confident in his superior rank, he had assumed victory would come easily. But the enemy had crafted a perfect plan to defeat him. If his body were still at the Master level, he would’ve already choked.

  He pushed his core to its limit. It spun violently, heating his insides to the brink. His core region became a sea of boiling, twisted aura. The elemental writhed in agony as it burst through, its form disintegrating almost instantly. Approaching the king’s core was impossible, yet a command etched deep within its being compelled it to win at all costs.

  The elemental absorbed the abundant ice mana from the outer world, supplemented by the five swords. Though the ice mana slowly extinguished its life, it pressed on. It used the growing cold within Theodor’s body to push forward, cooling the king’s mana channels and inching toward his boiling core. Mist began to envelop the core region, breaching into his inner world.

  Theodor’s body temperature plummeted. He reached out with his spirit sense to Pyris. The weapon spirit, though trapped within him, was a separate entity, capable of acting on its own.

  “Pyris, my girl… help me just this once. I’ll give you the soul of this rat to feast on.”

  Normally, Pyris didn’t use her own abilities. She allowed kings to wield her, but her true power had only ever been used by the first ruler. Over the years, she had grown closer to Theo, his temperament most like her original master, but they had yet to fully bond. The first step had been strengthening his body, which she had allowed long ago. The next would be opening the channel between the weapon and wielder's core, like a soulbonded pair, cycling mana together, becoming far stronger.

  She let go of his body. Her ethereal form separated, the cape vanishing. Wings spread behind his frozen sculpture as she roared. The golden weapon in his grasp shone bright red, melting the ice around it.

  Francis watched in horror.

  “That damn blade… It thinks it can destroy my perfect plan. Dream on!” he snarled, unleashing another volley of ice arrows.

  The arrows struck the blade, ice regrowing fast, but Pyris was having none of it. She roared, as if to say, “You dare?!” Proud like the ancient dragons, the old wyvern spirit vibrated with heat. The greatsword scattered the ice and flew upward, escaping Theo’s grasp.

  Pyris soared around him, dodging the barrage. She ascended, escaping the mist-covered battlefield, shining brightly like a true treasure.

  Nerva and the others watched, bewildered. They had never seen Pyris fly like that. Kai stared, comparing Pyris to his own blade.

  Then, the wyvern spirit emerged from the weapon, more real than ever. She roared and dashed downward, her body transforming into pure fire. She merged back into the blade, leaving a wing on each side.

  The golden greatsword Pyris now looked like a weapon of divine wrath, burning with ancient fire. Its flaming wings cut through the mist and ice mana, hissing like seared flesh.

  The weapon clashed into the frozen elemental shell. Its fiery wings encased Theodor’s form, scattering the five longswords in all directions. The impact unleashed a massive force, dispersing the white mist and revealing the battlefield to the outside world.

  ***

  Nerva paled at the sight of Theodor, encased in ice, with Pyris crashing into him. The mist still veiled Francis, but the arrows flying from within were visible. Something was unnatural about that mist; it blocked spirit sense perfectly.

  “This is not good! We need to help the King!” Pius shouted, ready to charge forward.

  But Nerva grabbed his arm. “Calm down. He’s got this. I don’t believe he’d lose to a bastard like Francis.” His voice was firm, his belief unwavering.

  “Brother, are you sure?” Xarion asked, concern etched across his face. “In all our travels, he’s never been in such a dire situation.”

  “He always had us to plan for him,” Liliya added. “He only needed to fight. This could be dangerous.”

  The four had once been among the strongest adventuring parties in Eastsun. Their fifth member, Suzy, had long since retired.

  “His body is growing colder,” Kai observed, his spirit sense enhanced by draconic sight through the layers of ice, saw not just the king’s frozen form, but the intricate flow of aura within him as well.

  “His aura is condensing within his core, being pushed by some kind of freezing lifeform.”

  Nerva turned to them, his voice resolute. “Trust me, everyone. This is a test he has to pass. If it comes to the worst, I’ll defend him with my life.”

  As Theodor faced his first battle as a Grand Master, Nerva knew he had to learn to wield his new body and power alone, without anyone’s help.

  ***

  Pyris pierced the ice, her blade glowing with ancient fire, melting through the frozen shell as much as she could. But even for her, the ice was formidable, its density rivaled that of a Circle Eight Grand Magus’s spell. It resisted her flames with unnatural resilience.

  Her fiery wings beat furiously, generating a powerful propulsion that drove her forward. Inch by inch, she grinded through the glacial barrier, sparks and steam erupting in her wake. At last, she broke through, her blade plunging into Theodor’s armor and piercing his chest.

  It was the only way. This was the closest she could get to him, to force her mana into his frozen body.

  Theodor’s mind screamed as the burning blade stabbed into him, searing his flesh and boiling his insides. Agony surged through every nerve, but he gritted his teeth and endured. Through their bond, he reached for Pyris, drawing in every drop of fire mana she could give. Like a crimson river, it surged through his mana channels, melting the ice that had invaded him.

  At the same time, he gathered the boiling aura around his core, compressing it until it trembled with power. Then, with a roar of defiance, he unleashed it in a wave toward the nearly frozen elemental. The aura surged like a tsunami, hissing as it collided with the creature’s icy form.

  Before the elemental could react, the red-hot mana from behind severed its connection to the rest of its body. Trapped between the boiling aura and the burning mana, it realized, too late, that it had failed.

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  What remained of the elemental condensed into a single orb and detonated in a final, desperate attempt to kill Theodor. Ice spikes erupted inward, stabbing into his flesh, seeking his core. But the sun-like furnace within him melted everything that dared approach. Had he still been a Master Knight, this would have been his end. But now… now he was something more.

  Pyris remained lodged in his chest, her mana and his aura intertwining. The bond between them solidified, flowing freely through his body, heating him from within. Steam hissed from his pores, and his armor and skin began to glow red-hot. The ice shell, now unsupported by the dead elemental, cracked and melted away.

  With a beastly roar, Pyris erupted in a surge of red mana. Theodor broke free, seizing her hilt with both hands.

  “Franciiiiiis! You will pay for this!”

  His voice thundered across the battlefield as his aura exploded outward, boiling the very air. Ice shattered in every direction.

  He drove Pyris into the ground, his grip unshakable. His aura surged through her, and her mana surged through him. A perfect cycle was born, one that would last until the day he died.

  From that moment on, they were no longer two.

  They were one.

  “Heatwave!” Theodor roared, slamming his aura through Pyris, which was lodged into the ground.

  A shockwave of searing heat erupted outward, spreading in a twenty-meter radius. The earth cracked and hissed. Grass withered instantly, trees shriveled into brittle husks, and leaves crumbled into ash. The mist that had cloaked the battlefield evaporated in an instant, revealing Francis in full.

  He stood at the center, five swords floating protectively around him, a crystalline bow in hand, and strange goggles glinting on his face.

  But Theodor gave him no time to react.

  With a thunderous burst, he launched forward, his aura blazing at full force. He brought Pyris down in a devastating arc. Three of the floating swords surged to intercept, but the combined might of man and bonded weapon was unstoppable. The heat melted the ice mana surrounding the blades, and the sheer force of the strike drove them into the ground with a deafening explosion.

  The remaining two swords darted toward Theodor’s still-bleeding chest, but they couldn’t pierce the inferno swirling around him. A barrier of pure heat twisted and shimmered, warping the air. The blades glowed red-hot before he swung upward, scattering them like toys into the scorched earth behind him.

  “Crashing Heat!” he bellowed, thrusting Pyris forward.

  A concentrated beam of red-hot aura burst from the blade like a spear of molten light, slamming into Francis’s golden armor. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air. Francis staggered, his face contorting in pain, then he smirked.

  His armor glowed, absorbing the heat. “You think you can pierce my armor with just that? Ha!” he sneered, unleashing another volley of arrows.

  Theodor batted them aside with ease, his eyes burning with fury. “Do you like cooked chicken?” he growled.

  “Heatwave: Cyclone of Fire!”

  He charged again, swinging Pyris in a furious whirlwind. Each strike twisted the air around Francis, the heat intensifying with every clash. Within seconds, the space around Francis became a vortex of red-hot aura, a furnace of spinning death.

  “Pyris: Claw of the Queen Wyvern,” Theodor whispered.

  He swung again, this time channeling Pyris’s mana into his strikes, sending claw-like slashes forward. The burning heat fused with the already-twisting air, birthing a tornado of pure fire, heat so intense it threatened to ignite reality itself.

  Francis screamed as the inferno cooked him inside his armor. The golden plates glowed white-hot, warping and cracking.

  “Who said I need to pierce your armor to kill you?” Theodor laughed, his voice like thunder.

  He unleashed another barrage of slashes, each one a wave of heat, each one a promise of vengeance.

  Liliya watched from afar, stunned. “He actually thought this through… I’ll be damned.”

  Francis’s screams tore through the battlefield as his skin blistered, and his golden armor glowed red-hot. Writhing in agony, he fumbled into his storage ring and pulled out a final trump card, a small, crystalline leaf that shimmered with frost.

  It floated gently through the scorched air and landed on his face. Instantly, a surge of tremendous ice mana erupted from it, swirling around him in a blizzard of power. The oppressive heat vanished as the cold clashed with Theodor’s aura, neutralizing the inferno.

  With a primal scream, ice burst from Francis’s body, forming a jagged armor that fused with his golden plate. His face disappeared beneath a helm of glacial crystal. The five floating swords responded, releasing their weapon spirits, five identical ice wyrms that coiled protectively around him. He seized two blades in his hands while the remaining three hovered above him, poised to strike like fangs.

  Liliya’s eyes widened. “That’s an Everfrost Leaf… a Tier Eight relic. To acquire something like that, you’d need at least two million High Mana Crystals.”

  ? The sheer wealth and power behind such an artifact were staggering, far beyond anything they had ever dreamed of possessing.

  “You think you can match me in sword mastery? Fool!” Theodor growled and charged, Pyris blazing in his grip. He swung with all his might toward Francis, who still screamed as the heat-seared skin merged with ever-growing ice, the blade only melted a few inches into the armor, before Theodor had to step back, unable to pierce the living armor.

  “Strong ice, I see…” he muttered. “Fine. Let me show you the true power of the Grand Master realm.”

  His core spun like a star gone supernova. “Overdrive.”

  His aura surged into every muscle, every bone, fusing him with fire itself. His body became the embodiment of heat. The ground beneath him ignited. The air shimmered and caught fire. In that moment, nothing living could stand near him.

  “Pyris… let’s go.”

  He launched into the sky like a meteor, flames trailing behind him. “Dragon’s Descent!”

  He came crashing down, blade-first, toward Francis.

  The ice swords moved to intercept. Three shot forward like icy lances, but they shattered under the sheer pressure of the descending strike. Two broke in half mid-air, while the third lost its edge and clattered to the ground, its spirit wailing in agony.

  Then came Francis.

  Ice met unstoppable heat. The impact crushed his arms instantly, and the greatsword descended like divine judgment. It cleaved through the ice armor, through the legendary golden plate, and through the man himself. The ice vaporized. Francis shriveled like a raisin, all blood and water within him evaporating in an instant.

  Two of the five swords, still somewhat intact, fell to the ground, defeated.

  But the attack didn’t stop there.

  The heat and pressure carved a canyon into the earth, the force of the blow tearing through the battlefield, splitting stone and soil. It raced across the land, a burning scar, until it struck a distant mountain and cleaved it in two.

  Silence fell.

  Theodor dropped to one knee, gripping Pyris for support. His body trembled, spent, but he had won. And for the first time, he had truly experienced the power of his new rank.

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