Elemental Cats

The half-naked Toz and Anaster, who was only a vest from being in the same state, stood only a few meters away from each other. The two stood like statues in a painting as they waited for an opening. With each second that passed, the situation grew more tense.

However, both of them had obligations and things to do after the fight was done. And Toz also wanted to get ahold of the information that Anaster promised him.

So, before long, they eventually just decided to attack. While it would be safer and might give them a lead if they waited for the other to show an opening, neither of the two was the type to rely on that kind of thing when they fought.

Anaster was a true-blue battle junkie, and Toz used his reflexes and agility to respond to his opponent's movements during combat unless they were so weak that he could overwhelm them with his strength and magic. But Anaster was too strong for Toz to be able to overpower him.

And when Anaster began moving, Toz realized he would have trouble just defending himself, much less winning against him. Anaster didn't have any weapons or use magic. He relied on his body and its physical prowess, reinforced by his demonic energy, to get close to Toz and stick to him like a leech.

Toz had been confident in his body and its strength and agility, even more so after he noticed how the Baptism of Fire had refined his body further. However, Anaster showed him what it really meant to be strong as his fists unleashed torrents of wind that blew past Toz's head, which he only narrowly managed to move out of the way.

The bursts of wind unleashed by Anaster's fists as they flew through the air pierced into the Fortress' ruins on the other side and ruined whatever was left behind after Toz's inferno.

Toz was only able to narrowly dodge Anaster's fists, and he shouldn't waste any effort thinking about other things. But he couldn't help but notice how Anaster held back whenever he punched in a certain direction. And when he looked in that direction with his mana vision, Toz saw the spatial fluctuations.

It seemed like Anaster had earned his burn scars from defending whatever caused those spatial fluctuations from Toz's flames. However, Toz couldn't figure out why. The final battle had already started, and reinforcements might not be of any help even if they came through what was most likely a portal.

Toz's thoughts were interrupted by a kick toward his thigh. Since his sword was in his hand on the same side, he flipped it around and held it in a reverse grip so that he could stab it into Anaster's leg. However, Anaster's leg, which had been moving forward like a log in a rushing river, stopped before it could reach Toz, which made Toz miss and left him open to an incoming fist.

Anaster's fist pierced through the air, straight toward Toz's arm that hung in the air after his sword missed. Anaster's fist would probably be more than enough to break the bone in Toz's arm. But only if it hit.

Toz let go of his sword. And before Anaster could pull back, Toz reached for Anaster's arm with both hands. Anaster realized what Toz had planned and hurried to resume his leg and kick Toz to make him let go of his arm.

But after Toz let go of his sword, Anaster put it out of his immediate concern and focused his attention on Toz's hands since they were the primary threat. Unfortunately, that proved to be a costly mistake.

Although Toz might look like a fire attribute swordsman since he fought with a burning sword, he was, inf act, a mage who used a sword when he fought. And he had five other attributes in addition to his fire element. Sure, his fire mana was the only one at the seventh level and would be the only one that was useful against Anaster.

But that didn't mean Toz couldn't use his other elements to create favorable circumstances for him. Toz could, for example, use metal magic to freely manipulate his sword however he wished.

So, when Anaster kicked, Toz's sword didn't lie on the ground as he thought. It was hovering in the air, blocked from his sight by Toz's arms.

And since he didn't see it, Anaster naturally kicked it with as much force as he could muster from that short distance. He canceled his movements as soon as he felt an obstruction earlier than he should have. But that was enough to destabilize his rhythm temporarily.

And that destabilization was enough for Toz to grasp Anaster's arm with a vice-like grip as he tugged on Anaster's arm and brought it downward at the same time as he brought his knee upward.

Anaster stopped resisting. Now that Toz already had such a firm hold of his arm and was using all of his strength, Anaster wasn't sure he would be able to avoid taking damage. However, he could make sure that he wasn't the only one who took damage.

Instead of futilely trying to get out of Toz's grasp, Anaster swung his other arm toward Toz's head. Toz would either go through with breaking Anaster's arm and receive a full-powered punch to his head. Or he would let go of Anaster's arm and dodge his punch. Those were the two outcomes Anaster envisioned.

However, contrary to Anaster's expectations, there was another third option that Toz decided to use.

"Achoo!"

Toz, who had seemed as healthy as a bull, sneezed from seemingly out of nowhere. And that wasn't the only thing. Instead of saliva or snot, Toz spewed flames straight into Anaster's face.

With the experience of Toz's flames ravaging the Fortress of Death still fresh in his memories, Anaster reflexively moved his free hand to shield his face and eyes. The flames weren't powerful enough to hurt Anaster. But Toz's knee strike certainly was.