Alen and Tonto had been fighting for a while now. At first, Alen was holding his own, matching his opponent blow for blow, but it didn't take long for him to realize the truth.
He wasn't just fighting a strong opponent.
He was fighting a genius.
Tonto had done something Alen didn't think possible. He had copied his entire fighting style, every rhythm, every motion, every trick, and was now using it against him. Except Tonto wasn't using fire. His version was enhanced by golden energy, faster, sharper, and infinitely more precise.
Because of this, Alen no longer had the advantage.
Every time he tried to launch a spell, every movement he made, Tonto was already responding, his hands flicking, his wrists snapping, releasing bursts of golden light at exactly the right moments. They weren't large-scale spells. They didn't need to be. Each tiny spark was placed perfectly to disrupt Alen's casting, to keep him off balance.
And those small attacks… they added up.
