Agru's eyes remained fixed on the spot where the two swords had collided.
His expression didn't change much, but his eyes widened slightly—as if even he couldn't believe what he had just seen.
"That… isn't smoke."
Standing beside him, Queen Melonda heard those words and frowned. Because of the thick cloud covering the battlefield, even she couldn't properly see what was happening.
"If it isn't smoke," she asked, "then what is it?"
Both Agru and King Rose kept staring ahead silently.
Slowly, the cloud began to fade.
Every monster immediately turned toward the center of the arena where the smoke had appeared.
And the moment it completely disappeared—
everyone froze.
The monsters could only stare with wide eyes at the unbelievable sight before them.
Kondo had actually stopped the strike.
Although the pressure of Kint's attack had forced him onto one knee, he was still holding back Kint's sword head-on.
But the most shocking part was something else—
Kondo's sword was glowing faintly.
No one understood why.
Suddenly, Kim spoke in surprise.
"Those are… tiny water particles."
Shin quickly looked toward her.
"How can you tell?"
Queen Melonda answered calmly from beside her.
"Kim possesses the blessing of the Water Spirit. That's why she's especially gifted in water magic."
Label silently listened before turning her attention back toward Kondo.
Meanwhile, Kondo himself looked confused.
(What just happened…?)
Kint, however, suddenly smiled—as if he had expected this all along.
"I knew you were strong."
Kondo, who was still desperately blocking the attack, looked completely lost.
"What? You're misunderstanding things—"
But Kint wasn't listening anymore.
He jumped backward and immediately resumed attacking.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Their swords began colliding repeatedly at incredible speed.
Now, however, Kondo's blade was surrounded by glowing water particles.
Because of that, his sword could finally stand evenly against Kint's flaming blade.
Kondo quickly realized something.
Kint's attacks no longer felt as unbearably heavy as before.
(So it's because of this glow…)
For the first time, Kondo could properly fight back.
He started matching Kint strike for strike, and each clash now pushed Kint backward slightly.
But as Kondo continued fighting evenly—
he noticed another problem.
His stamina was draining at an alarming speed.
(What happend, suddenly my body feels so heavy, ) He look at glowing sword ( don't tell me... so, I need to defeat Kint quickly somehow…)
Kondo tried repeatedly to land a clean hit, but Kint dodged every single attack perfectly.
Then suddenly—
the glow around Kondo's sword disappeared.
Kondo's eyes widened.
His body had almost no strength left.
He immediately realized the truth.
(One more serious attack… and I'm done.)
But Kint misunderstood the situation completely.
(Kondo stopped using that power… does that mean he still doesn't consider me worthy enough?)
Because of that misunderstanding, Kint unconsciously increased his flames even further.
And the thing Agru feared the most finally began happening.
The fire surrounding Kint's sword started growing violently.
The temperature around the arena rose instantly.
The flames that had once only covered his blade suddenly exploded outward.
Within moments, a massive sphere of fire surrounded Kint completely.
Agru's expression changed immediately.
"PRINCE KINT! Calm yourself!"
Even King Rose looked alarmed now.
But it was already too late.
The flames completely swallowed Kint whole.
The blazing sphere grew larger and larger until nobody could even see what was happening inside anymore.
Kondo stared at the fire in shock.
Even he had no idea what was going on anymore.
Agru quickly rushed into the arena and stopped beside Kondo.
The heat coming from Kint's flames was overwhelming.
Yet Agru was shocked seeing Kondo still standing there despite such unbearable heat.
Kondo himself was already so exhausted that he could barely even sense the atmosphere around him anymore.
Agru tried stepping forward—
but the flames were so violent that he couldn't take another step.
Around them, monsters started fleeing from the arena in panic.
Several warriors quickly gathered near Agru.
One of them shouted,
"Commander Agru! We have to stop Prince Kint somehow!"
Agru tightened his grip on his sword.
"I know."
His face was filled with tension.
"Like always… we'll have to hold him back and wait for him to calm down."
But even Agru knew something was different this time.
Kint's flames had become far stronger than before.
(Can we even stop him this time…?)
Thinking that, Agru slowly unsheathed the sword hanging at his waist.
Nearby, even King Rose looked genuinely worried now.
He quickly moved Shin, Label, Kim, and Queen Melonda farther back before ordering nearby monsters,
"Take them somewhere safe!"
But Shin immediately protested.
"But Kondo is still there! I can't just leave him behind!"
King Rose answered in a serious voice,
"You don't need to worry. Nothing will happen to Kondo."
His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.
"But if we stay here… Kondo could end up getting hurt even more."
Shin didn't fully understand what he meant.
But Label quietly grabbed her hand, making her finally stop resisting.
King Rose gave Shin a small reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. I'll bring Kint back to his senses… and I won't let anything happen to Kondo."
Kim looked desperately toward the arena and shouted,
"Kondo-san! Please stay away from Brother Kint's flames!"
Kondo looked toward her in confusion.
(Stay away from Kint's flames…? What is even happening here?)
All Kondo could see were Agru and several monsters standing ahead of him with drawn swords.
Then suddenly—
the flames surrounding Kint slowly began to part.
And the moment Kint emerged from within them—
everyone froze.
He no longer looked normal.
His eyes had turned completely white, while the area beneath them glowed crimson red.
His hair looked as though it had transformed into living flames.
A blazing armor of fire now covered his entire body.
Kint lightly spun his sword in his hand—
and instantly, flames coated the blade completely while a cape made of fire spread behind him.
Then—
he moved.
No—
he practically vanished.
The speed alone created a powerful shockwave across the arena as Kint charged directly toward Kondo.
But before he could reach him—
CLANG!!
Kint's sword suddenly collided against Agru's blade.
Even Agru looked shocked.
His instincts alone had reacted in time.
Otherwise, Kint would have cut past him and reached Kondo instantly.
But then—
Kint disappeared again.
Kondo couldn't even understand where he had gone.
Suddenly, King Rose appeared beside him and pulled him backward with one hand.
Kondo was stunned.
(When did he get here!?)
At the same time, King Rose drew his sword with his free hand—
and blocked another strike from Kint.
Kondo hadn't even seen the attack coming.
Kint's blade had already been inches away from him.
King Rose pushed Kint backward with his sword.
Agru immediately rushed forward, trying to restrain him—
but the flames surrounding Kint were so intense that nobody could even touch him.
And then—
Kint completely lost control.
Flames exploded across the battlefield as he began rampaging wildly, forcing every nearby monster to flee in panic.
Kint had already leapt onto the top of a nearby tree.
King Rose immediately rushed after him, appearing behind him in an instant and swinging his sword—
but just before the strike could land, Kint suddenly dropped himself downward from the tree.
Below, Agru also jumped upward at the same time, trying to catch him, while King Rose followed closely from above.
For a brief moment, both of them were just inches away from restraining Kint—
when suddenly, words escaped from Kint's mouth.
"Lotus Flame."
The instant he spoke, fiery lotus petals bloomed around his body.
And in the very next second—
he disappeared.
Agru's hand had nearly reached him, yet before he could touch him, Kint vanished completely.
Then—
Kint suddenly reappeared directly in front of Kondo.
Seeing him appear so close, Kondo tried to react—
but his stamina was completely gone.
He attempted to move away, but his legs wouldn't even respond anymore.
Kondo slowly shut his eyes.
But instead of pain—
he heard a strange sound.
Like something sharp piercing through ice.
Then he realized something else.
The temperature around him had suddenly dropped.
Kondo opened his eyes.
And standing in front of him—
was Kim.
Kim had frozen Kint in solid ice.
Even she was breathing heavily now, having pushed her magic far beyond her limits just to reach Kondo in time.
But Kim knew her ice magic wouldn't be able to hold Kint for long.
Without wasting another second, she placed Kondo's arm over her shoulder and started helping him away.
She needed to get him out of there immediately.
Not far away, King Rose and Agru had already started rushing toward them—
but then—
CRACK!!
Kint shattered the ice instantly.
Seeing that, Kim quickly created massive walls of ice one after another using her magic.
But Kint simply jumped upward—
and the shockwave from that leap alone shattered every ice wall in his path.
In the next moment—
he was already in front of them again.
Kim froze.
Her mind couldn't even process what to do next.
Seeing this, Kondo immediately pushed Kim away from him.
Kint's sword was already inches away from Kondo's body.
Kondo instinctively shut his eyes—
but strangely—
the blade never touched him.
Confused, Kondo looked down.
The locket hanging around his neck had started glowing brightly—
and then suddenly shattered apart.
At the same time, an invisible force blasted Kint backward.
Realizing this was his only chance, Kondo quickly grabbed Kim and tried to move away with her.
But then—
the flaming sword that had been knocked flying into the distance suddenly shot back toward Kondo like a projectile.
King Rose instantly moved to intercept it—
yet the sword vanished midway.
And the very next second—
it pierced straight through Kondo's stomach.
Blood burst from Kondo's mouth.
Kim froze completely.
Her mind couldn't understand what had just happened.
Then slowly—
she saw it.
A flaming sword had pierced entirely through Kondo's body.
Her thoughts broke apart instantly.
No… no no no… NO!
Nearby, Shin's horrified scream echoed across the battlefield.
"KONDO!!"
That scream finally snapped Kim back to reality.
Immediately, she used her magic to freeze the flaming blade inside Kondo's body, trying to stop the burning from spreading further.
At the same time, she froze the blood around the wound to stop the bleeding.
Kondo dropped onto his knees.
A strange sensation spread through his body.
He had felt something similar before…
but this time it was different.
Along with warmth—
he could also feel an unnatural coldness spreading inside him.
Kondo slowly looked toward Kim.
Tears were streaming down her face.
He could see her crying clearly—
yet he couldn't say a single word.
His entire body had gone numb.
Then suddenly—
Kondo's eyes slowly began turning white.
At the same time, the green flames deep within his body started growing stronger.
Brighter.
Hotter.
The light surrounding him intensified until even Kondo himself began glowing.
And then—
a massive pillar of pure white light erupted around both Kondo and Kim.
The light shot upward from the ground straight into the sky, releasing an overwhelming sound that echoed across the entire area.
Every monster immediately turned toward it in shock.
Even King Rose stared at the scene with widened eyes—
unable to believe what he was seeing.