Runebelle took a deep breath. ‘It should be just like transferring the fire element… I can do this. I know I can.’

  She closed her eyes fully, shutting out the raging inferno around them and onto the quiet flow of ice within her core. It was different from fire—less wild, more controlled. Just then, a sudden chime echoed in her mind.

  [System Notification]

  New Skill Unlocked: Ice Elemental Transfer

  Description: The user can transfer their ice affinity to another being, allowing them to merge it with their existing magic. Side effects may include physical changes and temporary personality shifts.

  Runebelle’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a blue light. ‘I did it...!’

  The next moment, the ice within her surged outward like a mist toward Roselle and Risebelle. The cold weaved through their veins and intertwined with their magic.

  Roselle gasped. A numbing cold spread through her core. Her golden hair faded into a stark, snow-white hue. Risebelle’s blue hair paled into a nearly silver tone. She felt her control over water deepen with a newfound crispness in her magic. The heat of the battlefield no longer burned against their skins so intensly.

  Roselle blinked slowly with her gaze colder than before. “...Interesting”.

  Risebelle smirked, but there was something razor-sharp about it. “Well, well… This is more than I thought you would be able to do… I feel amazing.”

  Risebelle shot forward with her snow-white hair whipping behind her. “Hey, idiot!” she called out.

  Alan's eyes narrowed. He thrust his palm forward, sending a roaring torrent of flames toward her. "Burn!"

  Water and ice burst from beneath Risebelle’s feet, creating a powerful propulsion that launched her high into the air above the firestorm.

  Alan's smirk faltered. “Wait—how is—”

  Before he could finish, a rain of ice shards cascaded from the sky like falling stars as toward him. Alan scoffed. "Tch. If I'm an idiot, then you're a great fool." His flames surged high to melt the shards on impact. "In the laws of magic, it’s a no-brainer—ice is useless against fire!"

  Then he saw it.

  Where the ice had melted, the water remained that pooled unnaturally.

  Risebelle grinned from above while controlling the water to slither toward its true destination—right beneath Alan’s feet. The puddle beneath him surged upward in a spiraling motion, wrapping around his ankles.

  Alan’s eyes flashed with defiance. "Nice try!" His fire flared even brighter. The sheer force of his flames blasted him off the ground in an explosive launch.

  He shot into the air straight toward Risebelle.

  Risebelle smirked. “Heh. Predictable.”

  Alan’s swung at Risebelle, sending ripples of scorching air through the sky. Risebelle twisted and weaved between his attacks.

  Alan clicked his tongue in frustration. “What happened? Moments ago, your affinities weren’t strong enough to do anything against my magic.”

  Risebelle narrowly ducked beneath a flaming kick. “Why don’t you figure that out yourself?”

  Alan’s eyes flicked down to the battlefield below while launching another fiery strike. “Ah… let me guess. It’s because of her, isn’t it? That little support sister of yours. The one who heals and makes pillars." His fist came within inches of her face, but Risebelle twisted away just in time with the heat brushing past her cheek. “I bet she’s got more tricks in the bag, huh?”

  Risebelle chuckled, flipping backward as their altitude began to drop. “Hah. So you did figure it out. Not bad, for an idiot.”

  Their movements slowed from the strain of maintaining aerial combat. Alan’s flames flickered, Risebelle’s water propulsion weakened and gravity gradually reclaimed its hold on both of them.

  As they descended, a sudden chill filled the air.

  Behind Risebelle, Roselle stood with her cannon at the ready. Her usual orange aura blazed fiercely, but now, streaks of frost danced within it like icy embers.

  She exhaled with her breathe visible in the freezing energy surrounding her.

  “I’m ready, Risebelle,” Roselle declared.

  Risebelle kicked propelled herself backward with water and ice just as Roselle surged forward. They swapped places with movements in perfect sync.

  Roselle raised her cannon and unleashed a barrage of devastating shots of crackling energy and frozen shards.

  Alan roared and sent a wave of fire to counter. The flames surged forward and colided with the icy shots, only for the ice to melt into water mid-air, creating an unexpected deluge that doused portions of his own fire. The shots continued through the mist, striking him hard across his arms and torso.

  “Damn it!” Alan growled while staggering back.

  Roselle didn’t waste a second. She tossed her cannon and in the next instant, her yellow lightning erupted around her.

  She vanished in a blink.

  Alan barely had time to react before she was in his face, launching a rapid flurry of strikes.

  Alan blocked instinctively with bursts of fire-enhanced fists. “Tch—What’s with you?! You think I can’t keep up with this speed?”

  Every time Alan struck back, Roselle twisted away, dashing unpredictably around him in flickers of yellow light.

  Alan gritted his teeth—until he noticed something strange.

  His flames flickered unnaturally. The air around him had become heavy. There was also a faint crackling sound—not just from Roselle’s lightning, but from something else.

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  He glanced around and froze.

  A cage of pure electricity surrounded him like a shifting web. The moment he moved, his foot splashed into a thin layer of water.

  His eyes widened in realization.

  “What the hell is this?!” Alan barked.

  Roselle finally slowed and smiled. “A lightning cage… infused with ice. Every time you melted the ice, it became water. Every time I moved, I laid more lightning down.” Her smile sharpened. “You’re standing in my trap.”

  Roselle took a step back. She spread her hands apart and formed orbs of crackling lightning in one palm and swirling frost in the other.

  Alan’s eyes darted around for a way out. The water beneath his feet rippled as it pulsed with Roselle’s latent energy.

  Roselle slammed her hands together. The combination of both energies twisted and spiraled into a sphere of volatile, pulsating power.

  “This one’s new,” she announced. “Let’s see you survive this one!”

  Roselle took a deep breath, feeling the surge of energy course through her body. Then, she let out a fierce cry,

  “GLACIAL, SURGGE!!!”

  A massive wave of electrified ice exploded outward in a vortex that rushed toward Alan with unrelenting force.

  Alan’s eyes widened in shock for just a moment before blazing with rage. “Tch…! Looks like I have no choice!”

  The heat around him intensified, feeding into a growing mass above him. Fire twisted and spiraled into an enormous, pulsating orb of molten destruction which grew larger with each passing second. The sheer pressure distorted the air, making it difficult to breathe.

  “This might just kill me,” Alan muttered with blood dripping from his lips. “But it’s better than letting you brats think you’re so hot!”

  With a roar, he thrust his hands forward.

  “INFERNAL COMET!!!”

  The monstrous burning meteor shot downward. The ground trembled as it neared. The sheer force behind it caused cracks to spread beneath Alan’s feet.

  Once he launched the attack, Roselle’s lightning cage pulsed, sending an electric jolt through his body.

  ‘Damn it…!’

  The backlash from Roselle’s trap was brutal. His limbs felt sluggish and his body was paralyzed—but he still managed to send the comet hurtling toward them before the effects kicked in.

  The two forces met in a violent collision. Steam erupted, shrouding the battlefield in a thick white mist.

  Then, just as Alan expected—the ice melted.

  He was smirking widely. “That’s it! Looks like your big move just—”

  A sudden shift in the air cut his words short. The mist cleared just enough for him to see it—water swirling violently around the remaining lightning, forming a surging vortex.

  Roselle lifted her hand with a cold smirk forming on her face. “You know what happens when water and lightning meet, don’t you?”

  Alan’s smirk disappeared.

  “Oh, sh—”

  “RISING SURGE!!!”

  Roselle thrust both hands forward, and the newly evolved attack exploded upward, swallowing what remained of Alan’s Infernal Comet and surging straight into him like a divine punishment, swallowing him whole in a blinding torrent of electrified water.

  “AAAAAAAGHHHH!!!”

  His scream echoed across the battlefield before everything faded to white.

  For a brief moment, there was only silence. Then, Once the mist finally began to clear, Roselle’s figure stood amidst the aftermath.

  Her once snow-white hair flickered back to its golden yellow hue. The frost that clung to her skin melted away, leaving only exhaustion in its place. Swear dripped down her forehead.

  A notification appeared before her eyes.

  [WARNING: Magic Reserves Critically Low.]

  [Current Reserves: 10%]

  [Recommendation: Avoid High-Cost Magic.]

  Roselle’s legs wobbled slightly, but she remained standing. Her gaze slowly shifted to where Alan had fallen. Was he still breathing?

  Runebelle’s gaze darted around. The battlefield was still ablaze. “Why…?” she whispered.

  Risebelle clenched her fists while also checking around them. “Damn it.”

  Roselle looked up and wiped sweat from her brow. “We beat him… so why is it—”

  A slow, unsteady movement cut her off.

  Alan was standing once again. His Inferno Incarnate hadn’t faded. His once-confident smirk was gone though.. Blood dripped down his chin, but his fiery green eyes still burned with defiance.

  “If I wasn’t using this power,” Alan muttered while speaking hoarse, “I’d be dead for sure, not that I ain’t already dead.”

  Roselle stiffened. “What…?”

  Flames around his body surged violently which began to expand with unstable fire energy.

  Risebelle’s eyes widened. “Wait—”

  Alan let out a dry chuckle. “You see… I’ve got one last trick up my sleeve. In a few minutes, my body’s gonna blow. Boom.” He raised up one finger. “If I can’t take you brats out normally… then I’ll take you down with me.”

  He spread his arms. “This… is my ultimate sacrifice. For the academy.”

  Roselle glanced at Risebelle in a panic. “What do we do now?”

  Risebelle’s gaze was as cold and sharp as ever. “For one thing, Alan is not going to explode.”

  “What?” Roselle blinked.

  Risebelle motioned for her sisters to back up.

  Runebelle moved to comply. Roselle stepped back cautiously and said, "I don’t understand…”

  Risebelle’s ice swirled around her. The extreme heat struggled to overpower it, but slowly, it started melting. The ground was practically burning beneath them, but the icy aura around Risebelle only intensified.

  She looked at Roselle. “Normally, I can’t use this technique without completely destroying my own system, to the point of a magic rupture.” She clenched her fists. “That’s how I discovered it in the first place. It’s a gamble, a last resort.”

  Roselle’s eyes widened. “Huh? You’re saying—?”

  Risebelle didn’t let her finish. “It requires nearly all of my magic, every drop of it. But the only reason I can use it now is because of Alan and Runebelle.”

  Alan scowled. “What? What the hell are you talking about?”

  Risebelle’s lips curled into a grim smile. “Runebelle provided the ice. You provided the flames to melt it.”

  Alan’s eyes widened. “Wait... What are you saying?”

  Risebelle straightened her back. Her entire body began to glow with power as started to bubble and churn around her. “What you’re about to witness is my full power. “

  The ground beneath them groaned under the pressure of her energy.

  “Say goodbye, Alan,” Risebelle murmured. Then, she declared,

  "I call upon the wrath of the elements to create a torrential downpour, a power I've named 'Deluge Sea.' It's time to drown your flames and despair in this relentless sea!"

  With those words, the skies darkened as clouds gathered with unnatural speed. Raindrops began to fall very intensity until they formed a deluge. The rain transformed into a raging river of dark magic that swirled around Risebelle.

  The Deluge Sea surged toward Alan with relentless force. His flames hissed in protest as water ate away at them like a ravenous beast.

  Alan’s face twisted into a snarl. He surrounded his body with fierce wall of flames. Then, he roared and channeled his fire magic into a concentrated stream, shooting it directly at the oncoming tide.

  For a few seconds, the two opposing forces collided with deafening power, flames and water wrestling in an intense stalemate. But the pressure was growing.

  The Deluge Sea began to overpower Alan’s flames. Alan’s stream of flames, which had once been fierce started to fizzle out against the surging flood. His body, already battered from the earlier assault, trembled.

  With one final push, the Deluge Sea crashed over Alan like a wave breaking against a brittle shore. Alan’s flames extinguished in an instant, and the force of the water swept him off his feet. He was pulled under the crushing flood instantly.

  When the storm subsided, the only thing left was the sound of rushing water. Alan was gone along with the water with only a puddle of his blood seen on the ground.

  [System Notification]

  Risebelle's Lifeforce: 5%

  Magic: 5%

  "That was awesome," Roselle said with awe. "I need a cool move like that one!"

  Risebelle, breathing heavily still managed to smirk slightly. "You already have one."

  Roselle blinked,. "Huh? What do you mean? When did I get something like that?"

  "Come on, Roselle. You really forgot what you did just a minute ago?"

  Roselle blinked again and tried to recall the events of the battle. She'd used a powerful combination of magic before—something that had caught Alan off guard. Oh... the Rising Surge. The lightning cage combined with ice that turned to water. The huge attack she'd unleashed just before Alan had been taken down.

  "Wait... that was me?" Roselle muttered in disbelief.

  Risebelle nodded. "Yeah. That was you.”

  Risebelle took a deep breath. She shifted her weight, ready to speak but before she could start her sentence, something caught her eye that froze her in place.

  Roselle, still trying to catch her breath noticed her sister’s sudden stillness and turned to follow her gaze. At first, she saw nothing, but then she saw it too.

  “There’s…just no way!”

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