He’s bluffing!

That was Isyd’s first and immediate thought. There was no way for someone as young as Prinse Krovtur to have a Legacy Art!

The young man extended his right arm in the air, where tens of thousands of Commands were dancing. He then pulled it back slowly, as if he were reaching for something inside an invisible container. A bright blue fire engulfed his hand and rolled up his arm, then his shoulders, before spreading to his left hand. The flames were of a blue so bright they didn’t look real; so bright they hurt to look at.

The floating [Ice Chains] that Isyd had prepared and that were about to strike Prinse vanished. They didn’t sublimate into mist, or melt into water, but simply vanished as soon as they got close to the flames that wrapped around the young man.

“What in the hell is that?” Marzena muttered in shock.

Isyd didn’t think twice; he grabbed her by the arm and raced back behind the cluster of spruce trees.

Prinse clasped his two hands together and spewed forth a jet of flames. It set the trees ablaze and spread rapidly. It was as if the whole forest was tainted in blue colours.

“To be honest, I didn’t plan on using my trump cards so early in the Tourney, but you all forced my hand!” Prinse shouted gleefully, enthralled by the azure bonfire.

Isyd and Marzena were trying their best to escape the fire that had now engulfed the cluster of spruce trees. A flame managed to leap onto Marzena’s greatcoat and without hesitation, she yanked it off as well as the shirt, threw them to the ground and stamped on them to extinguish the flames. It had all lasted for a couple of seconds but her greatcoat was no more except for one sleeve as well as more than half of her shirt. The blue flames burned hot and fast.

Marzena exchanged a look with Isyd. “I have never seen a fire like that…” she muttered.

“It’s because it is not a normal fire,” Isyd explained. “I can’t believe he knows a [Legacy Art]!”

“And what is that? It’s the first time I hear about it.”

“Legacy Arts aren’t normal [Spells] anyone can learn. They’re secrets – ancient, family-bound. It’s the accumulation over generations, over centuries, of research, craft and enhancement to develop powerful [Spells] that cannot be replicated.”

Their hurried steps led them back to the riverbank of the Little Stream. This suited Isyd. Without missing a beat, his Idpulse latched onto the Water Essence and Isyd spun on his heels, ready to face Prinse.

His mind couldn’t help but go back to Prinse’s Legacy Art, trying to grasp how it works. It had to be something more than an extremely hot fire. He thought back to his [Ice Chains] that had disappeared upon contact and to Marzena’s clothes that had caught fire…

Isyd didn’t have the occasion to think more about it because Prinse appeared from the woods, on their heels. He was surrounded by thousands of Commands – on his hands, on his forearms, on his clothes and even in the air around him – that were bright blue instead of the usual gold. In fact, it was difficult to discern where the Commands ended and the flames began, as the former seamlessly created and melded into the latter.

Prinse launched a jet of his flames in their direction. Marzena came up with a [Air Shield], but Isyd was faster and threw a [Deflecting Spell]. In both cases, it didn’t matter because the blue flames burned through both unaffected. They threw themselves to the ground in extremis to avoid being burned.

“Damn this! We can’t fight that!” Marzena shouted.

“We can!” Isyd retorted. An idea had appeared in his mind. The possible limits of his Legacy Arts. “Throw all the [Spells] you know at him, no matter their strength! Give it your all and don’t let him rest!”

The look Marzena gave him was circumspect, but she followed his lead. Isyd seized the Water Essence of the Little Stream. As the [Hexes] appeared on his fingertips, the surface of the water began to tremble. Despite the itch of letting lose to match the threat posed by the Legacy Art, the presence of his [Limiting Arcane] reminded Isyd to constrain himself to simple [Spells].

“[Boreal Arsenal]!”

This was a more advanced, modified form of the [Ice Shaping Spell]. Dozens of ice weapons spawned from the river behind him. Spears, swords, knives, axes, halberds as well as arrows and with a flick of his wrist, Isyd sent them flying towards Prinse.

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The young man clasped his hands engulfed in flames and a blue wall of fire appeared in front of him. The ice weapons vanished in a hissing sound upon contact. Isyd didn’t relent however and as the first wave of weapons disappeared, he created new ones and threw them. As for Marzena, she had seized the Earth Essence of the gravels on the riverbank. Hundreds of small pebbles were dancing the air, sharpened and guided by her [Spells], and were trying to penetrate Prinse’s defence, without success. Marzena then tried to coalesce all the stones together to form a bigger rock before flinging it at the fire wall with all her might. As soon as it touched the flames, the boulder exploded into hundreds of it composing pieces while hundreds of others turned into ash.

Despite his defence appearing seemingly impenetrable, Prinse was struggling. He was sweating profusely trying to maintain the wall and the constant onslaught prevented him from launching a counterattack.

“Enough!” he finally yelled through gritted teeth.

He twisted the Commands of his Legacy Art and the fire roared like a beast awoke from its slumber and grew two-fold. The flames were so hot that some part of the soil turned glassy and the pebbles cracked open. Prinse pushed the fire wall toward Isyd and Marzena.

“YIELD!” he shouted at them to be heard above the roaring of his fire.

With nowhere to run on this side of the riverbank, Isyd swiftly grabbed Marzena by the waist and leapt above the Little Stream to the other side. This snatched a yelp of surprise from Marzena, but she quickly regained her footing and turned to the flames as they were now licking at the waters. She put her hands in the frigid stream.

“He’s not the only one that can let loose a little…” she grumbled as the Commands began to dance at the tip of her fingers. “[Mermaid’s Spear]!”

All the water of the Little Stream obeyed her [Spell]. Both upstream and downstream currents converged toward Marzena and surged into a powerful surge of water. The jet stream hit the fire wall with the force of thousands of hammers and for once, it didn’t immediately vanish. The point of struggle between the two [Spells] exploded into a cloud of steam that quickly expanded.

“Come on! Come on!” Marzena was growling, leaning forward.

With all her might, she tried to pierce through the wall of fire, wincing through the hot steam that was blowing on her face.

Eventually, her [Spell] collapsed and Isyd grabbed her just before she fell headfirst into the Little Stream. Even with the thick cloud of vapour that enveloped them, Isyd could see the blue light of Prinse’s Legacy Art still burning.

“[Let There Be Void]!” Isyd whispered to the wind with a twirl of his finger.

It was the same [Voiding Spell] he’d used when fighting Snake in the warehouse. The air around them trembled and contracted as if it was being sucked away, before suddenly vanishing. Isyd then helped Marzena regain her footing. Her steps were unsteady and he was certain that it wasn’t due to her ankle injury.

“Do you—” she began.

At the corner of his eyes, Isyd saw the fog shift. He pushed Marzena to the ground and spun on his heel. At the same time, Prinse jumped out of the mist. He had extinguished his flames to sneak closer, but now they danced once more on his fist. A ball of fire spewed forth, but Isyd ducked in time and riposted.

“[Storm Front]!”

The quickness of his [Spell] casting took Prinse by surprise. The rolling wind caught him squarely in the chest and sent him flying into a briar patch. The thorns of the plants snatched at his uniform, tangling him just enough for Isyd to follow up with another [Spell].

“[Ice Chains]!”

As if they were alive, the chains wrapped around Prinse’s neck and arms. Prinse growled in frustration and flicked his right hand; the blue flames sparked from the tip of his fingers and rolled up his arm toward his left hand. It burned in passing the shrubs and sublimated the [Ice Chains].

Prinse was panting when he got up and his face was deathly pale and covered with sweat. He glared at Isyd and Marzena.

“Tired already?” Isyd goaded him.

“Not even!” Prinse retorted.

But this seemed more like bravado than anything. It was obvious that the young man was exhausted. Just like Marzena, the loss of [Limiting Arcane] had prompted him to go all-out and this left him now drained, barely able to stand on his two feet.

Still, Prinse gave them a cocky grin.

“One last time, shall we?” he said as he slowly clapped his hands together repeatedly. “[Soul Flare]!”

The azure flames engulfed him at once before coalescing on his plexus. Isyd did not give him the chance to finish. He dashed towards him and closed the space between them in the blink of an eye. He tackled Prinse to the ground right before the jet of concentrated fire was let loose. It flew towards the blue sky where it seemed to disappear.

Prinse let out a curse in a foreign language but couldn’t wrestle free from Isyd pinning him to the ground.

“Isyd! Isyd!” Marzena hissed behind them. “Look at that!”

Isyd turned toward her and then followed her finger pointing above her head.

It was a sight to behold. Whereas the rest of the sky was cloudless blue, a growing patch of it was dark, as the night sky should have been. It was like a blotch of ink on a perfect painting, a blotch that slowly kept expanding.

“What the hell is this?” Marzena muttered.

“The Illusory Construction is being burnt away,” Isyd said with a smile.

Oh, the Song of the Grace was so sweet to his ears!

He turned to Prinse still pinned down and deathly pale. “So, it’s safe to assume that you yield, right?”