Jay stood several meters away from Holluk. Every muscle in his body ached, and burn marks lined his arms and torso where the flames had grazed him.
Holluk twirled her staff lazily. "You've lasted longer than the other one," she said mockingly. "But that just means I'll enjoy burning you a little more."
Without another word, she slammed the bottom of her staff into the ground. Two blazing fireballs shot forward. Jay dodged sideways, the ground erupting where he had stood a second before. He rolled, came up on one knee, and dashed forward, taking a few stones mid-run.
He threw them one by one, aiming for her face. Holluk flicked her staff, a quick burst of flame disintegrated the rocks midair. Jay gritted his teeth and used the distraction to leap onto a nearby tree, pushing his legs with every ounce of strength he had left.
From the top branch, he launched himself down toward her, bringing his heel down in a crushing axe kick aimed straight for her head.
"Too slow."
With a smirk, Holluk tapped her staff on the earth. A pulse of energy burst outward, knocking Jay away. He crashed through a bush and skidded across the dirt, coughing as smoke and dust filled his lungs.
"You can't win," she said, raising her staff again. This time, dozens of fireballs materialized in a circle above her and shot toward Jay like a deadly rain.
He managed to dodge a few, but three of them struck his back and shoulder. The explosions sent him tumbling, damaging his skin and nerves.
Somewhere far away, one of the missed fireballs soared into the horizon. It traveled until it struck a distant mountain, right into the side of a temple located atop its peak.
The structure shuddered, part of its entrance reduced to rubble. Within the smoke, a lone figure stepped out of the temple. She looked toward the forest below and sighed.
"…What a mess," she murmured before walking into the distance.
Back in the forest, Holluk tilted her head. "You're surprisingly tough," she admitted, seeing Jay still move despite his injuries. "But next time will be the last."
Jay staggered, glancing toward Lina's unconscious form lying behind a fallen tree. His instincts screamed at him to grab her and run, so he did.
But when he turned to flee, he slammed face-first into something invisible.
"A barrier?" he muttered.
Holluk grinned. "I knew you'd try to crawl away. So I made sure there was nowhere to run." She raised her staff high. "Goodbye."
The sky turned red as she unleashed her spell. Hundreds of fireballs, smaller, faster, and all homing in on their target, appeared in the air before rushing toward Jay.
He had no time to react. He knew there was only one thing he could do. He threw himself over Lina, shielding her body with his own.
Then...
*FOOSH*
A whisper of cold wind.
The air around them suddenly froze, the heat from the fire snuffed out in an instant. The fireballs fizzled and shattered midair, breaking apart into harmless sparks.
Holluk's eyes widened. "What...?!"
A voice, calm and crystalline, echoed through the clearing.
"It seems your little mischiefs have gone too far this time."
From the shadows of the trees emerged the same figure from the mountain. She had short hair as white as snow, and her eyes were as blue as the unclouded sky. The air around her shimmered with frost, and her face was cold.
Holluk's jaw tightened. "You? What are you doing here?"
The woman sighed. "You destroyed a part of Bruce's temple," she said flatly. "And as always, he leaves the cleanup to me. So now, your carelessness has become my problem."
After hearing this, Jay noticed something.
Bruce…?
He remembered Mozar's words: "Beyond the Frozen Pass lies a place called The Shattered Peaks. There, you'll find a man named Bruce."
This woman…she could lead me to him, he thought.
"Whatever!" Holluk snapped. "I don't care if you're the Ice Princess of that lazy hermit! I'll burn you all to ash!"
She thrust her staff forward, releasing a massive stream of fire like a flamethrower. The beam roared, tearing through trees as it rushed toward the white-haired woman.
"Watch out!" Jay shouted.
But the woman didn't move. The torrent of fire engulfed her completely.
Holluk laughed. "Hah! For a second, I thought there was trouble. But you were just all talk after all!"
Then...*crack*.
At the tip of the beam, ice began to spread. Slowly at first, then faster, racing down the flames like water freezing midair. Holluk's eyes widened in horror.
"No… no, no!"
The fire turned to ice, solidifying in an instant, and then...
*BOOM*
The frozen stream shattered, exploding into thousands of shards. When the frost cleared, the woman stood unharmed.
"I'll show you," she said, her voice as sharp as breaking ice, "what supremacy truly feels like."
She calmly walked towards Holluk.
Holluk stumbled backward, her confidence cracking as she desperately traced runes into the air.
"I won't lose!" she screamed. The ground behind her split open, summoning monstrous forms of molten rock and black smoke, serpentine creatures similar to the one Jay had fought before.
"Tear her to pieces!"
The monsters lunged forward.
The Ice Princess sighed. "So noisy."
In the next instant, the ground beneath her turned pale white. Frost exploded outward in all directions, spreading faster with a speed no one in the area could react to. Everything it touched froze solid, trees, beasts, and even the very air seemed to crystallize.
Within a single heartbeat, the entire battlefield was encased in glacial silence. The creatures were statues of ice.
Jay stood in awe, untouched within a small circle of warmth she had left for him and Lina. Holluk was frozen in place, her entire body encased in thick ice, except for her head, which trembled as her lips tried to move.
"Ah… Aahhh…"
"Sleep for a while," said the Ice Princess softly.
Her hand moved, and the last fragment of Holluk froze completely.
The wind fell silent.
Jay looked up at the woman, impressed.
The Ice Princess turned her gaze to him.
"And you are?"