Heat vs Cold

[Hongyeom]’s flame, released reflexively, shattered the city like jelly, turning it into a lava plain.

[Espresso] rose from the white-hot ground.

It was unbelievable that she could withstand the heat and light of ‘The Sun’ without turning to ashes.

[Hongyeom], eyes wide, extended her white-hot palm.

A Heat Beam, emitted with the will to end it all at once.

Just barely enduring with ‘The Sun’ was evident from her body, riddled with bullet-like holes. It was terrifying that she wasn’t dead yet, but the Heat Beam flew to push [Espresso] off the edge of death.

However,

“…What?!”

The Heat Beam warped.

It curved into a circle and began to orbit around [Espresso].

It formed a ring around [Espresso], and [Hongyeom] cut off the Heat Beam. The ring of Heat Beam gradually lost power and disappeared.

Then, [Espresso], moving her skeletal body, rushed forward.

What is this?

What just happened?

The Heat Beam warped.

How?

As her mind grew complicated.

───It solidifies.

As [Espresso] took a step, the lava her foot touched turned black and hardened.

The hardened lava became land, and white smoke heavily settled.

[Hongyeom], who had Awakened her flame ability and was sensitive to heat, recognized it at a glance.

Frost.

[Espresso], even with ‘The Sun’ on her body, was rapidly cooling herself to counter it.

She knew from the start that [Espresso] was using some method to cool down, but this was too much.

She’s being pushed back.

Cooling down.

‘Don’t cool down on your own!’

She reached out her hand.

Her palm brightened.

The more dazzling it became, the stronger the light and heat attached to [Espresso]’s body became, distorting the surrounding light.

Suffering erupted from the skeletal face, and [Hongyeom] shouted.

“Die!”

As Strength was applied, the light grew, and the city was dyed white as if a small sun had descended.

Electricity has been studied extensively.

Among those studies was a cooling method using electricity.

Americano, an Electrical Ability user, could create a cooling effect by following that principle.

The theory, which she thought would be useless because of her Nine Yin Constitution, was needed right now. As her body was about to burn away, she instinctively executed it.

Since she didn’t know the principle exactly, there were several attempts, dozens of times in short succession.

When it succeeded, she felt cooler as she generated Electricity following the cooling principle.

The more she did, the more [Hongyeom] intensified the heat, but,

Heavenly Slaughter Star dug into that gap and opened Americano’s mouth.

A face no different from a skeleton.

Empty eye sockets.

She breathed fire from her mouth as well.

Her completely burned body could no longer be Healed.

But she could move.

Cooling.

Cooling.

Cooling.

Bones that cooled down and emitted Frost.

As her sensory cells all died, she gradually forgot the pain.

As even her brain melted away, the scope of her thoughts narrowed, and only Heavenly Slaughter Star remembered the goal left by reason.

Kill.

Kill that one.

Her bones cooled,

Regardless of the external heat,

Internally, it had long been cooled to near absolute zero.

As it cooled down more and more, superconductivity occurred.

Heavenly Slaughter Star didn’t do it knowingly.

Americano had already lost her reason.

The firepower that [Hongyeom] emitted exceeded what she could withstand, and it was as good as a loss already.

Even so, the fact that she remained in the Duel Arena and continued the match was her dregs, and she left a will in her dwindling consciousness even as she lost her reason.

Heavenly Slaughter Star was simply carrying out that will.

Peltier effect?

Superconductivity?

Nuclear fusion?

Tokamak?

She defended against [Hongyeom]’s flame using all sorts of scientific theories, but,

Her unconscious mind, having lost its reason, automatically processed everything.

The unquestioning calculation was fast.

Unlike Machines, senses allowed for some error, and that error was instantly adjusted, putting the theory into practice with her body.

Her body cooled down enough to support itself,

Heavenly Slaughter Star propped herself up on the ground with her slender arm.

She shakily raised her body.

The light and heat that [Hongyeom] was applying no longer affected Heavenly Slaughter Star.

She walked.

She ran.

She runs.

The skeleton, stained with the electromagnetic effect, was now just the muscles of a body with nothing but bones left.

Kill.

That one.

Kill!

In the midst of the light.

She found a human figure.

Flame is coming.

She pushed back the flame with superconductivity and returned it to [Hongyeom].

But,

“You.”

[Hongyeom] is a flame ability user.

Flame doesn’t work.

“Don’t mess with me.”

[Hongyeom] plunged her palm, gathering flame Magical Power, into Heavenly Slaughter Star’s chest.

Reflexively, she tried to grab [Hongyeom]’s arm and break it, but before she could, she was swept away by the explosion of flame with a bang.

Superconductivity pushed back the flame, mitigating the impact.

Electrical Ability shot lightning, covering [Hongyeom].

The moment Electricity touched her skin, [Hongyeom] detonated flame, preventing electrocution.

Electrical Ability launched the skeletal body into the air like a railgun at [Hongyeom], and she warded off attacks by wrapping Electricity around her body.

The head of the skeletal body, flying like a rocket, pierced through the flame with superconductivity and collided with [Hongyeom]’s head.

Flame and lightning mixed.

Her body flew away from the impact.

She almost flew away.

But superconductivity and Magnetic force withstood the impact, and she spread her limbs and hugged [Hongyeom], who was also withstanding the impact.

She bared her teeth and bit her neck.

She plunged her fingertips into her skin.

She plunged all the sharp ends of the skeletal body into [Hongyeom]’s body, fixing her in place.

[Hongyeom] was surprised and spewed flame. The moment she grabbed her body, the match was decided. Awakened Ability is a natural phenomenon the moment it is manifested, but before it is manifested, it is Magical Power.

Ice Crystal

Ice Crystal

Ice Crystal

Ice Crystal freezes Magical Power.

The influence of Ice Crystal starts from where the skeletal body touches.

Flames spew from [Hongyeom]’s body, which was outside that range.

Magical Power froze, reducing the output of the flame, but it was still high heat.

The ice of Magical Power was about to melt, and Heavenly Slaughter Star raised her Magical Power, using her body as a bomb with self-destruction as a premise.

“This..!”

[Hongyeom] put Strength into her body. She applied Magnetic force even more strongly, fixing the skeletal body even more firmly.

“Let go!!!!!!!”

[Hongyeom] spewed fire from her eyes.

She even spat flames from her mouth.

The leisurely and calm face she had seen on TV was nowhere to be found.

A war of attrition.

The one who runs out of Magical Power loses.

Heavenly Slaughter Star was trying to freeze [Hongyeom] with the inexhaustible Magical Power of her Nine Yin Constitution, but [Hongyeom] also showed no signs of running out of Magical Power, strangely enough.

“Ugh…”

“Kuh-heuk!”

“Kuaaack.”

“Kuaaaaaack!!!!!!!”

[Hongyeom] used the Strength she was holding in.

The flames spewing out through the gaps grew more intense as she did.

Full Strength coming from the conviction that the flame would not burn her.

Heavenly Slaughter Star was also cooling her body with cold and the Peltier effect, using Ice Crystal with self-destruction in mind, but,

The faint speck of reason remaining deep in her heart analyzed the current situation in a still calm tone and answered.

‘She’ll lose.’

If it goes on like this, she’ll lose.

She can’t kill her.

Heavenly Slaughter Star’s subdued murderous intent could not tolerate that fact.

She looked for a way to further enhance her cooling power, and the Mana Cultivation Method was activated by Heavenly Slaughter Star.

Mana Cultivation Method increases the amount of Magical Power by enlarging the Mana Hole.

The total amount of Magical Power leads to the output of Awakened Ability.

Following the path formed solely from the thought of killing the opponent,

The Mana stat rises.

The Mana, which was 20 points immediately after the second Rebirth, had been steadily cultivated to 41 points each time Boost was used.

That rose further.

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

It rose more and more.

Each time it rose, the Frost deepened,

[Hongyeom] was surprised at that moment.

With a surprised face,

“Hup..!”

She raised the heat even further.

Her output was already at its limit.

But she increased it even more from there.

If her reason had remained intact, Americano would have suspected [Hongyeom] of having a martial arts physique.

She would have put something like Nine Yang Severed Meridians in her flame ability.

She would have been dumbfounded that she was doing such a dirty trick, enjoying only the benefits of Nine Yang Severed Meridians without any risk.

But she didn’t have the luxury to argue about that now.

The Frost that had spread melts again.

The more it melts,

[50]

More Mana accumulated.

Freeze.

Freeze over.

Freeze solid.

‘Die.’

Heavenly Slaughter Star was only filled with the thought of killing [Hongyeom].

[60]

She broke through 60 points.

[70]

She broke through 70 points.

[80]

She broke through.

[90]

She broke through.

“Keuk..!”

[Hongyeom] couldn’t keep up with Heavenly Slaughter Star’s momentum, and [Hongyeom]’s body was gradually stained with white Frost.

Then [Hongyeom] gritted her teeth.

“I didn’t want to use this.”

Then,

At that moment,

The flames from [Hongyeom] began to intensify even more.

Heavenly Slaughter Star, who was freezing Magical Power and directly facing the fire, knew.

It was a fire with a different nature than the flame she had shown until just now. Flame and fire mixed, doubling the firepower.

The Frost melts.

Rather,

The skeletal body began to sizzle.

It turned red-hot, and smoke rose.

But,

[91]

Heavenly Slaughter Star,

[92]

Was already,

[93]

Prepared to self-destruct.

[94]

[95]

The Mana stat was approaching its peak.

[96]

The higher the stat, the harder it was to raise, and the speed at which it rose slowed down the moment it entered 70, 80, and 90.

[97]

Even so,

[98]

Quickly,

[99]

It filled up.

[100]

It reached its peak, and she could no longer raise Mana.

As Mana no longer rose and the cooling power did not increase, the skeletal body quickly heated up.

The fingertips she had plunged into [Hongyeom]’s body were carbonized and crumbled,

The teeth that had bitten [Hongyeom]’s shoulder also crumbled black.

The bones that were most closely attached to firmly fix [Hongyeom]’s body were no exception.

They crumble.

They collapse.

They fall.

Unable to hold onto [Hongyeom]’s body, she fell to the ground.

“It’s humiliating. I ended up using the flames from the game.”

[Hongyeom] looked at Heavenly Slaughter Star.

She kicked her hard with her foot.

Powerlessly,

Her head flew off.

Only the skull rolled and met eyes with [Hongyeom].

She reached out her hand as if to finish it, and the light increased.

Heavenly Slaughter Star, who had lost even her body. But even with all her teeth burned away, her jaw only gaped, wanting to bite [Hongyeom].

Then, a system message appeared in front of Heavenly Slaughter Star’s eyes.

[5 stats have reached 100 points.]

[Conditions are met.]

[Would you like to proceed with the 3rd Rebirth?]