A/N I will be referring to Belladonna when he identifies as Don as âhimâ, and âherâ when she identifies as Donna. Itâs not dependent on the disguise, though sometimes that is the case.
Hope that will clear up any future confusion.
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Roninâs eyes widened with interest.
So Jasny Krustal was a hero of Elyr, after all. Frejaâs husband and the God of Summer, Prosperity, and Brotherhood.
It would be a showdown between winter and summer. Ice andâ
âHeatwave!â
Jasy Krustal spun his halberd, and the faster he spun, the temperature around him had increased to the point that it became unbearably hot.
But not for him. He was unaffected, but this heat had caused the surrounding grass to turn brown.
Duke Taevas panicked. âPlease stay away from the crops! Thank you!â
âOh.â Inspector Jasny was wearing his âgame faceâ on earlier, but it faltered when he was given this weird request.
But he just raised a thumbs up, and nodded. âWeâll keep that in mind, Your Grace!â
He moved forward, and Don had felt the heat aura slowly spreading and spreading..
If he doesnât move now, he would be toasted to a crisp.
In retaliation, he also spun his Morningstar and yelled:
âBlizzard!â
The air around him had become colder and snow came out of nowhere, about a 5 meter radius. Similar to Inspector Jasnyâs heatwave range.
Which means that if either side went closer, these temperatures would just clash and cancel out each other.
Don had analyzed the situation well. It was something Freja had thought him.
(Both our weapons require a bit of distance. But unless we close that distance, the effects of our skills would not be cancelled out.)
(Is his range dependent on his weapon, or on him exactly?)
While thinking this, he dueled with the old inspector, thinking that he may be able to use his speed and agility to gain leverage.
He studied the old manâs techniques and movements.
CLANG! CLANG!
The morningstar and the halberd hit each other. The halberdâs piercing pike tried to stab into the icy morningstarâs rounded base, but failed.
Itâs not as frail as the Inspector thought, so it must not be made of normal ice. Which wasnât really surprising for a Hero Mage.
It was a divine weapon that could not easily be broken, just like his halberd.
His eyes sparkled in delight, as he always loved a good powerful divine weapon.
âYour Morningstar is not bad, dear boy! Freja must have favored you a lot. Did you pick it yourself or did she place a special meaning to itââ
âGrah!â While the old man was busy questioning him, Don went for the old manâs shoulder.
Before the spiky bits of the morningstar hits his flesh, the fat Santa Claus look-alike easily sidestepped.
(His reflexes are still not bad, but his reaction time is noticeably lesser.) Don evaluated.
He planned his course of action thoroughly. (I could make a run for it and faint an attack, before spinning it to the other side and knock his weapon by the handle!)
After all, the most dangerous part of the halberd would be the half-ax and the pike. The rest was a shaft, a handle.
âItâs the same with spears,â Ronin thought, evaluating the fight as well.
âThatâs how Maellaâs spear got snapped in half by his fatherâs sword back then.â
âThe shaft is the weakest point, and if you can somehow get past the dangerous tip, then you can slice through it!â
But with the Heatwave surrounding him, it would be difficult to get an attack on Inspector Krustalâs halberd shaft.
It was the same with Donâs Blizzard, though.
The only reason he wasnât able to stab the boy using that sharp pike was that he was avoiding to. And the heat from the weapon freezes when it gets in contact with the Blizzard.
Don calculated his movements carefully, and both of them were having a very well-matched fight.
After all, they were complete opposite forces. They balance each other.
The only way to gain leverageâ¦n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
(Sorry, old man. But I would have to play dirty.)
He grinned, and taking a note from a past experienceâ¦..
He summoned a fog.
Even with the heat, the fog would not exactly dissipate. In fact, it would increase if he summoned snow around the area as well, which will evaporate into a cloud of smoke.
âCough, cough!â Inspector Jasny Krustal could not believe whatâs happening.
âBoy, werenât you a Hero Mage?â The blinded inspector asked beyond the thick fog. âI heard you calling out to Freja just now.â
He continued to enthusiastically evaluate the child despite how dire his position was:
âAnd yet he also had capabilities that were usually for Clairo Mage. You have a weapon, and yet you can also summon elements from his Mage Focusâs domain.â
He laughed, very much like Santaâs âHo ho ho!â. âArenât you a special one? Just like your cousins before you and your servantâs son!â
âThe House Zafeiri sure brings up all kinds of special onesâ-â
Clink!
He felt a strong hit towards his halberdâs shaft, but had been able to hold firm.
They were past their ranges now and their powers had fully cancelled each other.
The temperatures were mixed, and almost the same as the normal temperature before. The browned grass had been buried and cooled in snow, which also melt into puddles.
Don did not stop there, and swung his foot in an attempt to hit the old manâs shins!
Inspector Jasny just chuckled, and used the long extended part of his halberd to hit his attacker, which successfully hit him in the face!
It broke Donâs nose, and the fog disappeared. He was wearing a glare until he noticed something.
Even though the halberd wasnât knocked off or snapped in halfâ¦
There was a large dent on it. It wasnât broken, but bent a little.
âWell done! Well done!â He told him, making the halberd disappear. âNobody had ever made a dent on my halberd before! This house is truly full of extraordinary warriors!â
He offered his hand to help Don.
âYou have much potential. Once the vacation is over, we expect to see you in the Academy for your first year!â
Don wasnât satisfied with the result, actually. In truth, he wished he knocked out the weapon and did better.
But as he was about to sulk, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
âYou did well, Don. Take the Inspectorâs hand and be a good sport. You have achieved what you wanted.â
He looked up to Ronin, who was smiling at him. His father was also there, singing him various praises so loud and fast that it was incomprehensibleâ¦
But only the praise of his brother mattered to him.
âYou did well.â That was all he said, empty and hollow in delivery.
Yet Don thoughtâ¦.. or at least, he wanted to believeâ¦
That deep down, Ronin was also proud of him.
He smiled, and wiped the blood off his nose. He took the inspectorâs hand and shook it.
âI really did well, didnât I?â