"Dammit, the Inferno Kingdom is already outside." "How many minutes left?" "Just two." Drake paced back and forth, a serious expression on his face. He prayed deep inside to whatever dragon god cared to listen. The last thing the Dragon Prince wanted was to replace their trump card—the very reason they'd reached this point of the competition—with someone less impressive. They were the strongest seven of their age grade. Every other person was much weaker and probably wouldn't last even a minute against a terrifying force like the Inferno Kingdom, whose warriors were well-fed and well-trained, having won the previous Competition of Kingdoms. Outside the chambers, on the fight platform, the Inferno Kingdom stood with eyes fixed on the northern side where the gates of the Frostpire team remained closed. "Dammit, why are they taking this long?!" "I think the Frostpire team is scared." "I doubt they'll chicken out—not after coming this far." All the spectators were whispering among themselves at once, making the arena very chaotic and noisy—loud enough to burst the eardrums of low-level Awakened. For dragons, however, it was bearable. Valkor narrowed his eyes and glanced at the officiator, who hid his anxiety behind a stern face. He was, after all, a citizen of Frostpire. Even though he had been straightforward all this while, he couldn't help but delay time a little, hoping that Kawl would show up. "Why is it taking so long?" Valkor asked, his tone chilly. "Wait, let me go get them again," the officiator said before rushing into the Frostpire chambers. But just as he arrived and was about to berate the team, a flash of golden light passed by him, followed by a familiar voice. "Sorry for the wait, I'm here!" Naturally, this person was Nox, and everyone sighed collectively. "Son of a bitch!" "Did you do this on purpose—to steal the show or what?" "No, I didn't," Nox chuckled, as memories of the ancient forest resurfaced in his head. "I was busy with something." "Well, let's head out, shall we?" The moment the northern gate opened and the Frostpire team marched out confidently, the entire arena exploded in cheers and roars—mostly from the Frostpire stands. "Beat them!" "Show them ice is the superior element!" "Kawl! Kawl!" "Seems the people love you a lot—even more than me, their prince," Drake said, a fake, depressed look on his face. "Hmmm, try to outshine me then. You might just win back their love." Drake's eyes flashed. "Is that a challenge?" "Yes, a challenge," Nox smiled. The Frostpire team came to a stop just a few meters away from the Inferno Kingdom. The eyes of both teams clashed, each of them emitting a crashing pressure as if they wanted to overwhelm the other. The tension soared. It was Ice vs. Flames! A showdown nobody had expected, yet it was now presented before them. Valkor didn't pay any attention to others. The Inferno Prince's gaze was solely fixed on the biggest threat—Kawl. It felt as if he had met him somewhere before, but the prince couldn't wrap his head around it. The feeling felt very familiar... and unsettling. As for Elise, she tried to ignore Kawl—the mysterious Ice Dragon—but every now and then, she couldn't help but sneak a glance at him. Her ears would burn, and her heart thumped even louder in such close proximity. 'Heavens, good thing Valkor changed the tactics... if not, I'd have embarrassed myself fighting him,' she thought. Sometime later, the fight began. Elise didn't waste time. She immediately lunged at Drake, who had been anticipating this for a while, while the other six clashed. Valkor had transformed his legs, and with a thunderous stomp to the ground, his body shot forward toward Nox in a blur—his fists encased in burning purple flames. FWISH! SWOOSH! Nox formed an ice shield from thin air to deflect the attack. A loud bang echoed, but the shield held firm, not even showing a crack on its surface. Valkor stumbled back, surprised—but Nox was already upon him. A katana made out of ice appeared in his grasp. 'I didn't learn only dagger arts during my time with Master Eve,' Nox thought as he lifted his katana above his head, the blade catching the sharp glint of sunlight. 'I also learned how to use all the weapons Master had available... after daggers, my second favorite is the katana.' BOOM! [Divine Velocity activated!] Nox's body turned into a flash, and before anyone could take a full breath, he appeared before Valkor—who was shocked and stunned, unable to follow his opponent's movement. He hurriedly raised a wall of purple flames around him, but it was too late. Nox was several times faster—he had already entered the flame wall's range before Valkor even activated it. Shing! His arm swung furiously, and the ice katana flashed through the air, emitting a sharp hiss as it cut toward its target. Valkor had no time to act—only managing to transform his arms and parry the attack at the last second. However, using his transformed arm couldn't successfully absorb the full impact of the strike. He was still sent sliding back, his feet drawing deep trenches in the ground. "Hmph, impressive. Now let me see you deal with this!" Valkor huffed as he stretched out his hands. Countless tiny fiery magical circles hovered around Nox. From these circles, dozens of condensed flaming bullets shot out, streaking across the air toward him. Nox held his katana tightly and lunged fearlessly at the barrage of flaming bullets. Because Divine Velocity was activated, he moved much more swiftly—cutting down bullets and dodging them all at once. The scene was terrifying yet beautiful at the same time. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, watching Nox as if they didn't want to miss a single moment of his fight with the Inferno Prince. After successfully deleting all the flaming bullets, Nox arrived before his enemy—who was unnaturally still—and swung his sword at him, intending to decapitate him. However, just before the sword strike connected, Valkor grinned, sending alarm bells ringing in Nox's head. "Got you," he muttered with a smirk on his face. Before Nox could figure out what was going on, a flaming purple magical circle appeared beneath his feet. He tried to move, but a trace of horror flashed through his eyes. "I'll show you the true capabilities of the Purple Starlight Flame. Be honored—you're the first one to be killed by this skill!" Valkor declared with a boisterous laugh as his flaming fist shot forward to pulverize his opponent's head.