Crimson Phoenix Guardian- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage 4

Episode 29: Flame vs. Flame

"No. I'm not. Rather, the opposite. I didn't expect your kick to be that strong," I said, rubbing my left arm.

"So, you expected an easy win. Jude taught me easy wins aren't a thing." He vanished again.

He could still move like that despite his leg injury?

I slammed my hands against the ground. "Radix Furor!" I yelled. Thick roots shot out of my hands and tore the white tiles and whipped the air.

If I got to the final, this spell would bite me back due to the cracking of the air caused by the speed of the roots.

Cart grimaced as he was slammed away by one. He nearly hit the barrier, with only a few inches of separation saving him.

He pushed himself and staggered forward. "Damn, I couldn't ignite them."

I held out a hand and raised a fist overhead. "Your flames aren't enough to set them on fire."

He curled his hands into fists. More embers floated around them. He had yet to demonstrate the kind of firepower he had against Jude. Why was he holding back? Didn't he want to win?

Carter rushed at me and leaped into the air. "Lion's Roar!" he shouted.

"Tate no Yami!" I chanted. I held both hands up and formed a shield out of darkness.

Carter's eyes widened as he pushed back against the shield. "Is this... Kyuu Seishinian magic?"

"A Kyuu Seishinian friend of my brother's made this spell," I said, kicking my feet against the group to send myself flying.

Carter's eyes widened as I slammed the shield down at him. He staggered back as soon as he hit the ground, bleeding from his head. Cart let out a grunt and slapped my shield, flinging it into the barrier. A series of explosions echoed from his hands.

I smiled. "About time that you show me your real power."

He held his hands behind him and set off another series of explosions, this time bigger than before. The force from them propelled him at me just like during his match with Jude.

"I won't be caught off guard," I said, clapping my hands. The roots which had retreated into the ground shot up. Some of them whipped Carter, causing him to scream. He crashed to the ground. His hands let out weak crackles like those of dying fireworks.

I frowned. Was that it? I'd expected more from him.

I sighed and stepped away from him just in case he got up. Not that it looked like he would.

"Seems I won," I mumbled.

"N-no. You haven't," Carter said, glancing up. Black lines had formed around his eyes which had become more lion-like.

I smiled. "Still got some juice in you, huh?"

He cupped his hands together and unleashed a fireball which incinerated my roots in mere seconds. I formed a wall of earth and jumped into the hole the displaced dirt had formed. My earth shield shattered like overheated clay, though some part turned into what appeared to be lava.

How hot could those flames of his burn? Jude's ice spells had also been evaporated instantly during their match.

Carter smiled as he stared down at me. "You should've finished me off when you could, Nate," he said, wiping blood away from the edge of his mouth. A sphere of rose flames formed in his left hand.

I thrust my hands forward, stopping the sphere in its tracks. Carter jumped back and snapped his fingers. The fireball exploded, sending dust into the air. If not for the rocks I had gathered around me, I would've been badly hurt by it.