You lost kid. It's time to act as a good boy and die here." As the red haired man taunted, all the people who were standing behind him started surrounding Arthur in a circle.
Blue flames emerged on Arthur's shoulders, it was as if his shoulders were burning, steam aroused around him. It looked like the ground below him was releasing it.
"Twelve people huh?" Arthur smirked, and then muttered slowly "Vor...tex Imprisonment" His face turned from expressionless to a cold devilish one. One which would cause anyone to feel chills in their spine.
Splash!! Splash!! Splash!! Splash!! Splash!!
Each of the twelve people surrounding him were engulfed in the sphere's water.
Quite a basic technique, which imprisons a person inside a ball of water, making his attacks a lot times weaker and makes him vulnerable for a few moments, causing mobility issues. Not much useful in one to one combat until you have multiple allies by your side. The technique is easily counterable. Even a kid having an attack with powerful force can break the prison.
But alas, the people inside weren't given enough time to react before...
"Hah, you thought those useless sparks were my true flames? Let me show you the true fury of the almighty flames!" Arthur declared, as he lifted his head, having a cold grin on his face.
"Eternal... Flame... Barrage... "
Woosh!!
A lot of fireballs manifested over his head. But this time, it was different. The flames were blue, making them more than twice as strong as the normal yellow ones.
"Blue flames, you are really something, kid." Askovow had realised the impact of those flames, blue fire is more than twice as powerful and impactful as the normal orange ones that many people make.
"BOIL…" Arthur uttered..., as his sword sliced through air! Stopping immediately as it pointed towards the ground.
All the balls of fire got projected towards the water prisons. As they entered the prison, they got extinguished releasing a small steam.
At the beginning, the people inside didn't feel anything, they were almost prepared to force their way through the giant sphere of water.
The temperature of the water started rising. The flames kept getting fired, continuously, heating the water. They did not stop, not even for a second... The heat increased, and increased, and increased... Even more...
And soon, only voices were heard…
"Gyaaah.."
"Hyaaaaa.."
"Aaaaa…"
"Heeeelllp!!!"
"Save meeeee… !"
Screams and cries of pain could be heard from the water prisons. The warriors, who had just unwavering determination just moments ago were crying in pain.
They screamed, their skins burned, their flesh torn apart by the heat of the water, dissolving and vapourising their flesh.
Giving them the most painful death one could ever ask for. Their skins dissolved, bodies evaporated. The water had surpassed its boiling point, but the flames did not seem to stop, they kept being fired, just like a never ending nightmare.
Within just a few seconds, the liquid surrounding the warriors had been changed into vapours. The balls were still being fired... The temperature still ever increasing.
The vapours weren't allowed to dissipate and were being forced to stay in their spherical shape.
The screams of the soldiers had already stopped coming a while ago. What happened to their bodies?
Just a moment later, the question was answered. Skeletons dropped down from the vapour spheres.
"He's such a pain..." Askovow gritted his teeth.
It didn't stop there, without giving any time for preparation, Arthur released his next attack. The vapour spheres suddenly started acting differently and before letting a thought cross someone's mind...
'Phssst...'
'Phssst...'
'Phssst... '
'Phssst... '
Like bullets! Extremely dangerous and hot, steam bullets started being fired from the vapour spheres...
If it were just one of the spheres, one could have evaded them easily... But alas... This time, there were twelve of them, each directed towards the demonic man! The steam bullets left a slight trail, making the trajectory visible for everyone.
Askovow immediately dropped his sword and performed various flips and bents to dodge the steam bullets
'Psss…'
"Argh..."
One of the flames hit his shoulder. The impact made him disbalanced, but he balanced up.
'Pss…' Another!
'Pss…' One more....
'Pss…' Yet another!
This situation could make anyone tense up… but Askovow laughed, he laughed like a mad man... Seemingly enjoying the attack.
"Finally Finally! Someone worthy enough to give me a great challenge!!" He shouted with a wide grin on his face.
Enjoyment was not everywhere, on the other side, Arthur was heavily panting. Sweat was raining down from his body.
He thought in his mind, "This ability is really tough to use, it costs a huge toll on my energy tank."
Someone patted his shoulders from behind.
"Hey brother, try and calm down yourself, you are going rectless again. Don't let your energy level deplete to zero, you know the consequences… right?"
"Yeah, I know." Arthur replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Energy, the main resource used to cast all of the abilities known to humans. Energy is present throughout the nature but it takes some time to replenish the energy used in the formation of an ability.
Each person has a specific amount of energy that they can store in their bodies, they are born with that limit. That limit is not fixed and can be increased through excessive hard work, but the difference achieved is not big. Energy consumption is also dependent on the proficiency of the person in that skill.
If one person can cast one ability, another person can cast three of the same ability in the same amount of energy.
The biggest risk is if one's energy depletes to zero, that is a really rare case as almost everyone faints before that happens, but still... When one's energy depletes to zero, there is almost no chance of survival as, when the energy becomes zero, the life force starts being extinguished.
Using too much energy at the same time can also lead to death, due to exhaustion.
"Gah!!" Askovow scoffed "Finally… Finally, it's been a long time since I found someone strong enough to fight against me. Bring it on!!"
He tightened his fists, deciding to fight only with his hands.
Without wasting any more time further, Arthur charged towards Askovow at his maximum speed, unleashing both fire and water abilities consecutively.
'Clash!!'
The fist and the blade collided. Both of them continued trying to land a hit on one another. The clashes of the fist and the blade sounded as if two pieces of metal were being hit with one another.
Almost every of Arthur's attacks were easily blocked by the man's fists. "How's that even possible?" He asked himself. "Is he hardening his own blood?"
Arthur's attacks were useless. He tried everything he could have possibly done. He was losing his composure.
Suddenly! A punch landed on his face, this was a result of his slight distraction. Such a mistake could prove fatal. Before he could regain his balance, another punch landed on his face!
Then another!
Another one!
Once again!
And it went on… This was just bullying. A one sided beatdown which just continued with no sight of stopping.