Destroyer of Ice and Fire

"Did you say something Clancy?" Leonardo asked.

"Legend has it that there had never been a successful attack on the Golden Demon Corps' barracks except for the one which ultimately led to its demise. In other words, there has only been a single time where anyone has reached this central area with the Demon Transforming Wax Crystals. So it is rumored that this area was actually used for training the Corps' own arcane masters," Clancy explained slowly as he looked Leonardo in the eye. "At the time… the crystal demons formed from these crystals likely provided the Golden Demon Corps' arcane masters a method for finding flaws in their skills and weaknesses in their combinations."

"For finding flaws in their skills and weaknesses in their combinations?" A light flashed through Leonardo's eyes as if he had come to a sudden realization.

Clancy nodded, "It's said that only one percent of people were able to defeat the crystal demon generated by Demon Transforming Wax Crystals. And the majority of people accomplished such a feat by looking for weaknesses in their own methods. The achieved victory by exceeding their prior understanding of their skills and taking advantage of it."

"I see. In order to obtain victory, you must manage to surpass your prior self in some aspect or another. And the easiest way to do this is to find a flaw in your own skills to take advantage of…" Leonardo let out a slow sigh as he said, "So you think Ayrin has chosen the wrong path to take."

"Correct. It seems like he wishes to surpass his limits in a physical aspect, but such a breakthrough… is much harder to accomplish." Clancy smiled bitterly as he continued, "And he is ignoring a critical point."

"A critical point?" Leonardo stiffened.

"The Demon Transforming Wax Crystal is not made of flesh and blood like our body. Relying purely on physical strength… I'm afraid that even if he surpasses his limit, he will still not be able to harm it and dissipate it." Clancy smiled bitterly at Leonardo as he said, "It's like if we went to fight a ball of steel. The steel might not be able to touch us, but no matter how much we hit the steel… what do you think?"

Leonardo froze as thoughts passed through his head.

"Even they, experienced arcane masters were not yet certain as to how to defeat these crystal demons, yet they expected these youths to?"

"Does the Office of Special Affairs not want to give away any Hearts of Fury?"

Leonardo muttered under his breath, "Are they hoping for no one to pass this last challenge?"

"This child…"

But no one heard him or responded because at this moment, all the referees and medical masters let out gasps of astonishment.

At the start, the two had been evenly matched, their blocks and attacks so fast and accurate that they seemed to be stuck together as a single entity.

But now, Ayrin's strikes were beginning to land on the crystal demon's body!

Ayrin had actually begun to take the upper hand in the close combat!

"What's going on?" several medical masters couldn't help but exclaim.

"He has taken advantage of the pressure… by pushing himself to the limit for so long, his body has surpassed the limits of his consciousness. He is no longer thinking about his movements; they are simply occurring in the most natural and efficient way as dictated by force. As a result, the crystal demon is no longer able to keep up," Leonardo explained as a solemn expression appeared atop his face. Ayrin had given him too many shocks since the first time they met.

"But most important here is his stamina. He's constantly attacking, yet his attacks haven't weakened or slowed down the slightest. His normal training must be…" A look of shock also appeared upon Clancy's face. "He consciously decided to take challenge this limit. If you look closely, he is simply cycling through the same series of attacks in pursuit of pure speed. And he has succeeded. In such a short time, his body has begun to remember these moves and do them reflexively without him thinking. In other words, his attacks are occurring before his brain can send the signals!"

Several of the referees gasped, "He's actually succeeded in surpassing his physical limits. If the crystal demon were an arcane master of the same level as him, it would have already fallen long ago!"

It was extremely evident that Ayrin's strength greatly surpassed that of a normal three gate arcane master as he was causing Black Ayrin to stagger backwards with every connecting strike.

"This child is a natural battlemaster," Leonardo silently thought to himself.

……

"My hits are landing!"

As the battle continued, Ayrin grew increasingly excited.

He no longer had to think and control his body as it moved at a speed which exceeded his normal limit. He was no longer the one being supressed and unable to fight back, but the one in control who was throwing the punches. As a result, his blood boiled, and his fighting intent grew even fiercer.

This stimulation caused his thoughts to become faster and keener than normal as well.

"No, if this keeps on, I still won't be able to defeat this thing!"

Ayrin quickly realized that his body was simply not strong enough to deliver a blow which could dissipate Black Ayrin.

Furthermore, even if he did cause it to dissipate, what said it wouldn't condense again?

However, he didn't immediately stop his actions because he didn't have another idea. Moreover, he wished to allow more time for his body to remember the feelings he was currently experiencing.

Black Ayrin was a perfect sparring partner for him.

Every strike was also allowing him to slowly replenish his own arcane particles.

"Bang!"

Black Ayrin continuously staggered backwards. But at a certain moment, as Ayrin's fist struck Black Ayrin's chest and sent it staggering once more, Black Ayrin abruptly bounced back.

"Eh?"

Only at this time did Ayrin realize that he had reached the light which marked the boundaries of this battlefield. His punch had caused Black Ayrin to collide with the light and bounce off it back towards him.

As Black Ayrin collided with the light, Ayrin felt a wave of domain energy surge across him.

"In general, only domains can be used to neutralize domains. This is because the energy contained within domains are isolated from the world itself. As a result, domains can bend the rules of the world and of arcane energy."

The voices of Carter, Lizst and the other teachers echoed in his ears.

"Only domains can be used to deal with domains…"

A light flashed through Ayrin's eyes.