The arena shifted.
Stone groaned beneath everyone's feet. The smooth battlefield cracked apart as rivers of molten lava burst through the ground. Jagged black rocks rose from below, forming uneven platforms separated by glowing streams of magma. Heat surged upward in shimmering waves, distorting the air itself.
Within seconds, the entire arena had become a volcanic valley.
A murmur spread through Eta.
"Volcanic terrain..."
"Richard hit the jackpot."
Rush looked across the battlefield. Richard Dragonean stood on the opposite side, flames dancing lazily around his arms.
He smiled.
Rush understood why.
He is going to be a problem. The terrain favors fire.
Every breath felt hotter. Every movement drained stamina. It was the worst possible battlefield for Squad Three.
Spellworth raised a hand.
"Begin!"
Richard moved first. A fireball crossed the battlefield almost instantly.
Rush disappeared—Flash Step. The explosion struck empty ground.
Another came. Rush vanished again.
Then another.
Rush closed the distance. A transparent barrier appeared around Richard. Rush's fist struck it. The barrier rippled—it didn't break.
Richard stepped backward and answered with a pillar of fire. Rush escaped before it erupted.
Again flash Step.
Again barrier.
Again fire.
The exchange repeated over and over. Rush never reached Richard. Richard never let him.
Ethan and Amber had already engaged the Aetos twins. Patricia's blade moved with frightening precision. She went against Ethan's katana. Kurt supported every attack with perfectly timed spells. He clashed against Amber. Neither side gained an advantage—yet.
***
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"Interesting... but stop moving Ryanheart."
He launched another Inferno. Rush dodged.
Another volley. Rush dodged.
Another. Barrier. Rush retreated.
Richard smiled.
"So..."
Rush said nothing.
"The rumors are rumors at last."
Another fireball. Rush avoided it.
"You can't even use magic properly."
Another fireball exploded.
"You only dodge. And they tell me you defeated a demon like Phantom Sleeper on your own."
Rush rushed forward.
I can't find any openings, Rush thought.
Of course child, Beelzebub said. He's been preparing to fight you for so long.
Barrier.
Fire.
Barrier again.
Rush changed direction.
Another wall of flame.
Richard laughed.
"This is all you got against me. Only physical attacks."
The battlefield slowly became Richard's. Flame whirlpools appeared one after another—walls of fire, exploding embers, burning pillars. Rush found fewer and fewer paths toward him. Each time he escaped, another spell waited.
Rush glanced sideways. Ethan had been pushed backward. Amber was no match against Kurt's spell. They couldn't keep this up forever. If Richard continued controlling the battlefield—Squad Three would lose.
Rush felt Beelzebub stir, a quiet presence at the edge of his awareness.
"Do it now."
Rush gathered mana. He was suppressing mana actively since the fight began.
"Spiritus Empodio"
A transparent barrier covered his body instead of forming before him.
Richard noticed it.
"So you finally decided to use mana."
Rush disappeared. Flash Step. Straight toward Richard. Directly from the fire walls, fire pillar. The barrier trembled. Cracks spread across its surface.
Rush felt the mana draining too quickly.
"I can't keep the barrier up for more time. I need to finish this fast."
Richard didn't move. Rush understood why one heartbeat too late. The flame whirlpool exploded directly before him. His barrier gave up. Rush twisted in midair, changed direction, almost escaped—
Richard's fist met him first. Wrapped in crimson flames. The punch landed across Rush's jaw. His body spun violently. He struck the volcanic rock and rolled.
Before he could recover—
BOOM.
A fireball exploded beside him. Then another. Another. Another.
The arena disappeared beneath burning explosions. Smoke swallowed everything.
Silence spread through Eta.
The bombardment finally stopped.
Rush remained on one knee. Breathing heavily. Every breath carried smoke into his lungs.
Richard walked toward him. Calm. Confident. Victorious. He stopped only a few steps away.
"Give me your marker."
Rush remained silent.
Richard looked down at him.
"You disappointed me. So this is why you refused my duel."
No response.
"Still not talking— huh."
Still nothing.
Richard's voice became colder.
"You're weak. Just like your father."
Rush looked up.
"A man hiding behind a mask."
Silence.
Something shifted inside Rush. Not anger—something colder. Deeper. Beelzebub's voice surfaced, quiet and sharp:
"He is baiting you. Do not give him what he wants."
But Rush barely heard him. The words had already landed.
Everything stopped.
Even Beelzebub.
Rush stood.
The temperature dropped.
Richard frowned.
"...What?"
The flames around his fist became smaller.
The lava nearest Rush hissed. Steam rose in thick white plumes. The audience stopped talking.
One student stood.
"Why is it getting cold?"
Frost spread across molten stone. The air itself became cold.
Rush's voice was quiet.
"Frieren."
Ice exploded across the arena. Flames disappeared beneath spreading frost. The volcanic valley froze.
Richard instinctively raised his mana barrier.
Rush appeared before him.
One punch.
The barrier cracked.
Another crack.
Then—it shattered.
Rush's fist continued forward. It struck Richard square across the face. Blood scattered across the frozen stone.
Richard crashed several meters away. He touched his nose.
Blood.
He looked at it.
Then looked at Rush in disbelief.
Nobody in Eta spoke. Not one person.
"Ice..."
"He has an ice affinity..."
"Ryanheart..."
Richard slowly lifted himself. Blood dripped from his nose.
Rush walked toward him. Each step froze the ground beneath his feet. Ice constructs formed instinctively—his fist froze solid.
Richard looked at him. For the first time — fear.
"Say whatever you want about me."
Rush stopped before him.
"But if you ever disrespect my father again—"
Something wrapped around his leg.
Vines.
It was Kurt's spell — Klada.
The spell dragged Rush backward. He turned. An ice blade formed in his hand. One swing. The vines shattered.
Amber was already down. Her marker gone. Moments later—Ethan's followed.
Rush looked around. Only three people remained.
Rush. Patricia. And Kurt.
The twins attacked together. Perfect synchronization. Every opening Rush created, the other closed. Every strike, countered. The battle became a blur of blades, ice, and movement.
"Their synchronization is better than us child," Beelzebub said.
Rush ignored the comment, completely focused.
He never noticed Richard stand.
Richard wiped the blood from his face. His breathing had become uneven. His pride had cracked with the barrier.
He raised both hands. Crimson mana erupted. Too much.
"FLAMES OF HELL!"
Patricia turned. She saw the mana building.
"Richard! Stop!"
Too late.
A sea of crimson fire descended over the frozen arena. It swallowed everyone.
Rush looked up. One thought crossed his mind.
They're inside it too.
His palm struck the frozen ground.
"Frieren."
Ice erupted upward. A dome surrounded Rush, Patricia, Kurt, and Richard.
The inferno crashed against it.
Beelzebub's voice surfaced one final time, calm and precise:
"Do not drop the dome until the flames subside."
Rush didn't respond. He couldn't. Every ounce of his being was focused on the ice.
Outside — only fire.
Inside — silence.
The entire arena watched without breathing.