For... Al

"Bam, bam, bam!"

The sound of fists striking flesh rang through the empty ring. Accompanied by the human mage's wild laughter and the elf's muffled groans, faint as a mosquito's hum, the entire arena gradually fell silent.

Kaynell lay on his back, his face covered in blood, twitching faintly, but that earned him neither mercy nor respite from the human mage.

The bloodlust rooted in his bones made Xylem ever more twisted. He swung both fists, hammering the elf's face, chest, abdomen... until his hands were covered in blood.

"Huff, huff."

The human mage panted heavily. He raised his bloodstained fists and examined them carefully, then let out a strange laugh.

"Hehe, hehahaha!"

His sinister, sickly laughter echoed through the arena. Even the dwarves who had been furious over their compatriot's death stopped cursing, unable to bear the elf's wretched state.

"Mommy, will he die?"

The little girl whispered, not daring to look at the brutal scene below. Her mother wore a complicated expression and firmly covered her eyes.

The stands, which had fallen silent, suddenly filled with noisy discussion.

"That elf... has proven his valor."

Mel, the dwarven woman who had shouted the fiercest earlier, suddenly said this to her companions for some reason.

"That's right. He's a true gladiator."

Her companions lowered their heads, their thoughts unknown, but all agreed with Mel in unison.

Time slowly passed, and the elf's pained groans grew almost inaudible, until...

"Let him go!"

A little boy shouted toward the ring, but one person's voice was too small, after all. Before long, it vanished beneath the clamor.

"Let him go..."

The boy shouted again. This time, he was no longer alone. Companions around him gradually joined his cry.

"Yes, let him go, you coward!"

"Let him go, you bastard who only takes advantage of others! You have no right to take that warrior's life!"

"Yes, let him go, now!"

The little boy's lone voice gradually became two, ten, a hundred, until... everyone joined in.

People no longer looked at the dying elf through prejudiced eyes. His effort and intelligence had earned everyone's recognition.

"Let him go!"

"Let him go!"

"Let him go!"

The unified roars washed over Xylem's eardrums again and again like surging torrents.

"What a swarm of annoying flies."

The human mage's twisted face gradually grew savage. He was tired of this feeble torture. It was time to end everything.

Ice-blue light rapidly gathered, and a spike of ice gleaming with cold light appeared in Xylem's hand.

He pressed the ice spike against the elf's throat, but instead of rushing to stab it in, he cast Amplification.

"All of you, shut up!"

Amplification made the human mage's voice thunderous, instantly silencing the spectators roaring in unison.

"You want him to live that badly?"

His mocking voice was answered by curses from the audience and a deluge of rotten apples and empty bottles.

"You coward, you craven! You don't deserve to win this match! You've defiled honorable gladiatorial combat!"

Mel roared with all her strength.

"All right, all right. This year's audience really is hard to handle."

Xylem stood up, ignoring the dying elf, and continued.

"Since you want me to spare his life, and as a member of the Kirin Tor, I will of course heed the people's wishes, let me ask the man himself: is he willing to concede?"

With that, he crouched down and hauled the elf up with utter mockery, bringing his ear to the elf's cracked lips in a show of listening.

"Poor little elf, are you willing to concede to the great Xylem? This is the only chance our dear audience has won for you."

Beneath Xylem's grinning face lay cold malice and sickness. He had already decided that even if this weak, pitiful elf begged for mercy, he would end his life without hesitation.

Kaynell opened his almost comically swollen eyes a little. He struggled to bring his lips close to Xylem's ear, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Ah, my ear!"

Xylem, who had looked certain of victory just moments earlier, violently flung the elf to the ground and screamed shrilly. He crouched in agony, his trembling hands clamped over his left ear as streams of blood slowly dripped between his fingers.

"Hah... hah, haha, hahahaha!"

Lying on the ground, Kaynell spat the half-ear from his mouth as though using every ounce of his strength. Through Amplification, every spectator heard the elf's heavy breathing and exultant laughter.

"How dare you, how dare you! You filthy worm! I'll freeze you in eternal ice and flay the flesh from your bones, slice by slice!"

Xylem staggered upright like a madman. The dripping blood stopped flowing, and his half-missing left ear froze under the effects of frost magic.

Violent magical fluctuations swirled through the arena, almost tangible. Kaynell struggled into a half-seated position, laboriously supporting himself with his left arm, the only one that was not broken.

Snow began drifting through the entire arena as the chaotic Arcane mana instantly transformed into frost mana.

Antonidas exhaled almost imperceptibly, and a hint of a smile appeared on his previously rigid face.

"That bastard... is finally getting serious."

An enormous frost tornado coiled around Xylem. The violet emblem on his forehead flickered faintly; he had clearly activated some kind of enhancement trinket.

Kaynell's lower body instantly froze solid. No matter how he struggled, not a single crack appeared in the hard ice.

Xylem chanted frantically as translucent ice spikes gradually formed, one, two, then three.

Metamagic [Shatter] triggered {Your frost spells gain double critical strike chance against frozen targets}

"Die!"

With his shout, the three crystalline ice spikes wreathed in wind and snow gained tremendous momentum and spiraled toward the elf.

Fifth-circle frost mage inscribed spell [Ice Storm] cast!

Everyone in the stands cried out sharply at the sight. Some timid adventurers even covered their eyes, not daring to watch the tragedy to come.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

After three enormous blasts, the entire arena fell silent.

Xylem felt a little dizzy, and a fine sheen of sweat seeped from his forehead. This quasi-epic spell had drained almost all his mana.

He was not normally so reckless, but that damned elf had cost him half an ear. No spell, however cruel or powerful, was excessive when used on that lowly worm.

Xylem wiped away his sweat, straightened up, and swept an erratic gaze over the stands. The previously furious spectators instantly quieted, not daring to meet the bloodthirsty high-ranking mage's eyes.

But no one noticed the grain-sized red gleam flashing in the central magical circuit of his [Brutal Gladiator's Silk Raiment].

"I-am-the..."

Xylem raised one hand and looked imperiously toward the elves' VIP seats, speaking each word separately as though challenging them.

"You... aren't."

The halting voice lodged the rest of Xylem's sentence in his throat, leaving him unable to finish.

The icy mist dispersed, and the golden shield around Kaynell slowly vanished. The weakened elf actually stood up, little by little.

"Is that... a Limited Invincible Belt?"

Rommath spoke in disbelief, then shook his head in denial and muttered.

"Impossible. The Limited Invincible Belt's shield can only withstand an intermediate mage's full-powered strike. How could it..."

"Limited Invincible Belt 2.0. It can withstand a high-ranking mage's full-powered strike. Something I made for fun in my spare time. I never expected it to come in handy..."

After saying this, the boy ignored the elves' reactions and continued watching Kaynell in the ring with a grave expression.

"Why, why? You stubborn cockroach, why won't you die?"

Xylem's eyes bulged with fury. He condensed his scant remaining mana into one Ice Lance after another, until they surrounded him as densely as raindrops.

"Metamagic [Fingers of Frost]!"

Amid Xylem's roar, Ice Lances dealing triple damage under the metamagic's effects shot toward the trembling elf, one after another.

"Squelch."

"Squelch."

"Squelch."

Thumb-sized bloody holes erupted across Kaynell's body, which already had not a patch of unbroken skin.

The elf did not dodge. Perhaps he simply had no strength left to dodge. His cracked lips trembled faintly as he squeezed his long-depleted mana pool.

A faint orange-red light flashed on Xylem's robes, earning only wild laughter from the human mage.

"Out of tricks? Stupid elf, don't you understand what I'm wearing? Haha, is that weak, laughable [Scorch] of yours supposed to tickle me?"

Xylem laughed wildly as he launched the hovering Ice Lances.

The faint orange-red light continued flashing over the human mage, but Xylem merely snorted disdainfully and paid it no further attention.

The [Brutal Gladiator's Silk Raiment] the Speaker had given him was enough to block all ordinary spells below the sixth circle.

Bloody holes continued spreading across Kaynell's body, but the tenacious man merely retreated slightly without falling. Even his previously heavy groans ceased. He simply repeated his weak spell, stubbornly, again and again.

"Die!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

With every furious shout from Xylem, another bloody hole appeared in Kaynell's fragile body, which was on the verge of collapse.

Time slowly passed. Many people were already streaming tears, their mouths covered, unable to speak. Even the rough, forthright dwarven woman secretly wiped tears from her eyes, murmuring something unintelligible.

Perhaps the pride of her heart, her hero, was no longer the dwarven mage Arfus Alphamale, who had been so hastily killed off. The hero in his heart had long since become the sissy, spineless elf she had spoken of.

That man's name was... Kainar Flamesun.

"Die!"

"D-"

Xylem waved his arms frantically, but he had already fired every Ice Lance around him. The human mage suddenly felt a little frightened. Perhaps realizing this weak emotion had arisen, he shook his head hard and deliberately forced a sick, twisted smile.

But from that flickering gaze, Kaynell could tell that this human... was afraid.

"Haha, haha! So what if I'm out of mana? Do you have the strength left to cast anything stronger? Stupid elf, the moment my elemental pool fills will be the moment you die!"

As though something had occurred to him, Xylem spoke to the elf who was still casting, fierce in appearance but weak within.

Metamagic [Evocation] cast

The human mage fervently raised one hand. A deep-blue mana storm began swirling around him, and his depleted mana pool slowly began to refill.

While Xylem was still imagining how he would torture this damned elf to death after recovering his mana to win everyone's awe, the mana storm suddenly vanished.

Xylem stood rooted to the spot, staring in astonishment at the last wisp of mana fragments in his hand.

"This is... how is this possible? How is this possible..."

He looked incredulously toward the elven mage. Kaynell Sunfire was slowly withdrawing his hand, and as chance would have it, a wisp of Arcane fragments lingered in his palm as well.

"Counterspell... it was actually Counterspell... why... you..."

As though unwilling to believe it, Xylem repeated incoherent words.

After a long while, as though coming back to his senses, his dull eyes suddenly lit up.

The human mage dragged his exhausted body slowly toward Kaynell.

"It's all right... it's all right... hehe... heh... haha! I'll be the winner in the end."

Amid his disjointed, incoherent muttering, the human mage began accelerating. His previously sluggish steps grew somewhat unsteady, but his pace quickened.

Squeezing out the sliver of mana [Evocation] had just restored, the human mage formed a short ice spike in his hand. As he watched the elf draw closer, a bloodthirsty smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Kaynell, meanwhile, was still casting [Scorch], unwilling to give up. The human mage's robes remained as pristine as ever, without the slightest damage from his feeble spells.

"Die, you lowly maggot."

A victor's smile spread across Xylem's lips. He slowly raised his arm, the short ice spike gleaming with sharp, cold light beneath the magical spotlights.

"Bang!"

Time seemed to freeze at that instant.

The ice spike in the human mage's hand stopped before the elf's chest, unable to advance another inch.

A burst of white-hot flame ignited on his chest just like that, spreading over his entire body in moments.

"Impossible... why?"

Xylem rolled frantically on the ground, but the little flames on his body began burning fiercely, as though they had encountered gasoline?

The human mage frantically squeezed out his mana, but that negligible frost magic had no effect whatsoever against the 4,000-degree white-hot flames.

"Help... help me."

His entire body transformed into a torch, Xylem reached one hand toward the elf, seemingly trying to grasp something.

But before long, that charred arm also burned away in the raging flames, leaving only a handful of black ash.

"Idiot!"

Antonidas smashed the vase on the table and departed with Teleport without another word. Modera stood beside him, silent as a frightened cicada. On the Speaker's face, she had seen a rage and gloom absent for a long time.

"That swineherd..."

A hint of amusement in his eyes, Al turned to look at the grand archmage.

"I mean that elf named Kaynell. He... why..."

Rommath seemed to realize he had misspoken and grew somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, but his curiosity compelled him to ask.

"When that human mage cast [Ice Storm], Kaynell wasn't idle either. Activating the Limited Invincible Belt at the critical moment wasn't all he did."

"He also secretly cast his newly invented fifth-circle spell on the human mage the instant the icy mist spread..."

Al paused, thought for a moment, then continued:

"The smartest thing he did was realize that the gladiator's robe had frighteningly high magic resistance, so he cast that spell precisely in the center of the robe's core circuit."

"What exactly was that spell?"

Kael'thas asked curiously.

"Kaynell once told me that spell's name was... Combustion."

Metamagic [Combustion]: After activation, each damaging fire spell you cast increases Combustion's burst damage by 10%.

"And I counted carefully just now. That fellow Kaynell... cast Scorch thirty-seven times in total."

The young elf spoke with unreserved admiration, leaving the whole group dumbfounded.

"S-so... you mean that human mage was burned alive by a 370% Combustion?"

Rommath stammered. He had never imagined that one day, a metamagic spell created by a mere fifth-circle mage could make a Grand Archmage's jaw drop.

"That's right. Stop standing around. Hemet, hurry up and save him."

"On it."

There was neither light nor darkness in Kaynell's eyes. In his blurred vision, his father's figure appeared first, then John's, before finally settling on the boy's brightly smiling face.

"For... Al."

In the final second of Amplification, the elven mage finished those words and toppled backward.

PS: A two-in-one chapter. Fight scenes really are hard to write.