From its onset, the duel was a sight to behold. The battling Summons loomed large over the hall, the duelists and the audience of Sekuheim disciples.

Denshichiro seized the initiative right at the opening signal. He sent his Yeti forward and the Summon leaped towards its target at a deceivingly quick pace. Within an instant, the Yeti was in range of the Minotaur and unleashed a barrage of clawed attacks.

Elem swore he could feel the air in the hall tighten as he watched the Minotaur block the Wind Summon’s blows with its horns.

The assault didn’t seem to faze Master Ardan at all. He was prepared for the Yeti’s aggression. His Minotaur crouched low into a defensive position, its large horns pointed at the challenger as it attempted to pierce the Yeti’s claws with every incoming strike.

The Minotaur’s excellent defense created a stalemate. A shield the challenger couldn’t easily penetrate. Elem had seen this strategy play out a few times before. His father would let the opposing Summon tire itself to the point of frustration. And then he’d use their impatience against them.

Master Ardan didn’t have to wait long. As the Yeti moved closer to force its way past the bull’s horns, the Minotaur took a step back and dropped deeper into its defensive stance. Denshichiro let out a grunt. His Summons was throwing power behind its strikes but the effort didn’t seem to make an impact.

“In a duel, anger is always a mistake,” Aja noticed astutely.

The Yeti lunged forward. Its claws aimlessly slashing through the air, pulling the Summon out of balance. This was the moment the master of the Sekuheim school had been waiting for. The Yeti overreached and now it was time to strike back.

The bull snorted as it sprang up with all the power its hooves legs could generate. Its rock-hard head dug deep into the Yeti’s abdomen, sending the Wind Summon in the air. The sound of cracking ice rippled through the hall when the Yeti hit the ground. The creature groaned and so did its Summoner.

“Don’t think you can beat me this easily,” Denshichiro growled. “Now you’ve just made me angry!”

Elem wanted to believe the challenger. The Yeti had quickly gotten back to its feet and now angrily blew cold winds from its nostrils. Denshichiro may have been hurt but he wasn’t defeated yet.

“Mountain winds can cut like blades. Glaciers shear away at mountainsides. And your Minotaur can freeze just as well as the deepest lake,” the challenger yelled from the top of its lungs.

The Wind Summon steadily opened its tusked jaws. The room instantly grew colder and darker as if the Yeti’s gigantic maws were able to absorb all light whole. Suddenly, the Yeti looked even larger than it had before. Its white fur sticking out in the dark hall like the moon on a dark night.

“Mighty Yeti,” Denshichiro called from the top of its lungs, his eyes flashed even brighter than before. “Give me a snowstorm! Give me a BLIZZARD!”

Cold and powerful winds raced from the Summon’s tusked mouth, forcing the Minotaur to return to its defensive stance. But the winds were only the beginning. Within seconds a stream of snow emerged from the Yeti’s breath. The frost instantly clung to the Minotaur’s body.

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“This isn’t good,” Aja whispered to Elem. “The snow is gonna slow the Master down considerably. If he doesn’t take action now its effects will grow larger and larger.”

Elem moved to the edge of his seat. His friend was right, she always had a tactician’s eye. The Minotaur was an extremely quick Summon but by slowing it down with snow, Denshichiro was taking away one of its prime advantages. This duel was about to get interesting.

The Minotaur shook the layer of snow from its body and began its approach towards the Yeti. Although the wind increased in strength by the second, it wasn’t strong enough to keep Master Ardan’s Summon in place.

In response the Yeti growled and the snow quickly crystallized into hail. The tiny shards smashed into the Minotaur like a flood of small pointy rocks.

“Getting cold yet?” the challenger teased. Ardan did not reply but Elem could see how his father was suppressing a grimace. Denshichiro, however, did not appear winded at all. The hulking man seemed prepared for a war of attrition.

Increasing in size and speed, the hailstones began tearing into the Minotaur’s flesh. The mountain winds kept coming, becoming so powerful that the entire audience of school disciples was forced to move to the back of the hall.

“What now Aja?” Elem asked his friend while trying to ignore all the commotion. His father hadn’t lost in a duel in years but this challenger was the most capable he had seen in a while. He couldn’t stop himself from getting nervous.

Aja scratched her chin as she answered him, “Although Master Ardan’s Minotaur may be a physical wall, it seems vulnerable against that Wind Summon’s long range attacks. But Master’s Earth Summon has its own abilities. I am sure there’s something he could do.”

The hail kept smashing into the Minotaur. It was an avalanche that nearly pushed the Summon to its back. The Earth Summon staggered back, roaring, but it wouldn’t give up without a fight.

A twinkle appeared in Master Ardan’s eyes.

“I was waiting for a fight like this! Let’s see if we can get through this.”

The Minotaur roared as it slammed its fists into the floor. A thick slate of earth emerged from the ground, blocking the hail.

Elem and Aja let out a unison cheer.

“Of course!” Aja called. “The labyrinth!”

Denshichiro’s hail attack had a velocity comparable to bullets but it couldn’t penetrate walls. At least not yet.

The Yeti squeezed its fists, readied its body and stepped up its assault. The Summoner cursed with pain as his Wind Summon began to pour all its essence into the blizzard attack. Now bigger and pointier, the icicle projectiles chipped away at the Minotaur’s wall. It wouldn’t take long before it would pierce through.

The Minotaur didn’t waste a second. It jumped away from the slate in a diagonal direction and pulled up another. As the Yeti adjusted its beam, the Minotaur leaped again.

The move was brilliant, Elem thought. Using the Minotaur’s ability to form walls, it was able to avoid its opponent’s attack and move closer at the same time.

It took Master Aedan’s Summon three more jumps before it was in striking range. The Minotaur lowered its head and crashed into the challenger’s Summon.

The impact sent shockwaves through the air. This time, the Earth Summon’s attack was enough. Denshichiro dropped to the ground. He clenched his stomach, whimpering with pain.

The referee raised her black baton.

“We have a winner!”