Arthur's feet swerved and spun as he evaded the barrage of fireballs that was sent his way.
The explosive power behind each of these crimson graze fae, was by no means small, considering that they were Rank 2 Fae. However, the charge time between each fireball was roughly 2.5 seconds, meaning that so long as Arthur had moved several metres within the last two and a half seconds, he would be completely fine.
"Twisting" the spherical fireballs proved to be a more difficult task than Arthur originally thought, and narrowed his eyes as he sidestepped, switching to a wind stalker fae to enhance his speed.
He could cancel out Randolf's blaze gown fae with his own power of Intent, but that didn't meant that it was an omnipotent power. It couldn't apply to certain concepts or physical phenomena.
Arthur would take the time to fully excavate every tiny little piece of potential from his Intent. He was only using this battle to find the limits of his ability, so that he could plan its future development.
Randolf narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he stopped throwing balls of flame.
The Rank 2 Fae Master switched tactics, and opted to use Rank 1 flame lance fae, in order to create flaming lances above his head, ready and aimed at Arthur.
Despite being Fire Attributed Fae, their explosive power wasn't as strong as say Crimson Fae, but as a result, their piercing power was much higher.
Since they were Rank 1 Fae, Arthur didn't have to worry about them destroying his Fae, or depleting his origin essence even further, so immediately he went on the offensive.
Activating both his halberd fae and moonsword fae, the ground beneath Arthur's feet exploded as his body shot forward, heading directly towards Randolf on the other side of the platform.
His physical strength had exceeded the limits of a Rank 1 Fae Master, and in conjunction with the wind stalker fae, his speed had reached the same point as a vapour ruby origin essence Fae Master.
It may be the lowest realm as a Rank 2 Fae Master, but it was on par with Randolf's current speed.
Even as he tried his best to put distance between him and Arthur, Randolf himself was lacking in a powerful Fire Attributed movement type fae.
Arthur couldn't be sure whether or not he had one, considering his influence on Parachenko Village was much more than he would've liked, but seeing Randolf quickly try to circle around him, Arthur's eyes narrowed.
'It doesn't matter, so long as I keep pushing, he'll be forced to reveal any trump cards he has left'.
Arthur felt the origin essence inside of him flare slightly, as he activated a myriad number of fae, letting his halberd fae glow with a silvery yellow light.
He wasn't planning on using the power of Intent yet, but just let out a deep breath, and steadied his hands as he thrust forward, sending a bright spear-shaped beam towards Randolf.
The young man quickly activated his blaze gown fae once more, along with a flaming shield that appeared around his forearm.
The brightly coloured beam of moonlight cut straight through the blaze gown fae and pierced through the flame shield fae on his arm, like a hot knife through butter. The sound of metal colliding with metal resounded throughout the platform, as Randolf suppressed a grunt.
Randolf had used the variation fae "Fire Arms Fae", which was similar to Arthur's "Metal Arms Fae" in that it transformed a part of the body into a particular element.
The flame arms fae could be used offensively as well, and didn't just increase defense.
Arthur's "Silver Waning Moon" had pierced through all three layers of defense and left a large cut on Randolf's arm. The wound was quite deep, and blood continuously leaked out of the wound profusely as Randolf's eyes locked on Arthur's figure.
'The power behind that attack.... Arthur has also being holding back....'.
The foreigner let out a minute "tsk" before a small flame appeared on the tip of his finger.
It was a tiny Rank 1 Candle Fae and its only power was to release a small flame, the same size as a candle.
Many in the crowd cringed, or flinched as they saw Randolf guide the candle fae towards his wound, gritting his teeth deeply as he let the small flame sear his wound shut.
The cut itself was deep, but only a couple inches wide. It was better to temporarily seal the wound, and let it heal later than to continuously drip blood out, which might be used against him.
Arthur made no change in expression as he watched Randolf "fix" himself.
He had lost a hand a few months ago, and let his grandfather reattach it back on. He could still carry two people, in addition to his severed hand for a while, before passing out from the blood loss.
Pain was something that a Fae Master had to get used to. As was evident with the battle between Alina and Vladya.
Randolf let out a deep grunt, and wiped his brow as he flexed his arm a little bit.
The pain was still there, and the burning sensation hadn't left him yet, but-.
"If I can still feel. I can still fight", he muttered.
The Rank 2 foreigner let out a deep breath before moving his gaze to meet Arthur's.
Despite having come so far over the past year.... he still felt as though Arthur looked at him, with the same, superior look in his eyes.
Randolf didn't feel as though he needed to prove himself to Borik, Ratimir or Alina, who, in their own right were also geniuses. But....
Arthur was different.
There was something about him.
He was undoubtably a killer, that much he was sure of.
He was strong, talented and very perceptive as well.
He had read in books and novels that the main character always needed a rival to help them grow stronger..... perhaps he had been unconsciously pushing that role onto Arthur in his mind.
Randolf let out a deep breath, blinking a few times before shaking his head.
The pain was distracting him. Even if he couldn't feel anything other than pain right now, that didn't mean he couldn't focus on something else.
Arthur didn't even let him take a single step before he waved his moonsword fae and flicked another half dozen or so moonslices towards Randolf.
The Fire Attribute Fae user dodged to the side, but accidentally let a single moonslice hit his shoulder. The power behind it was suppressed greatly, due to his Rank 2 Fae Master physique, but the bloody wound still caused more pain for Randolf to focus on.
So many thoughts were racing in his mind, he almost let himself get distracted and narrowly avoided another set of moonslices.
Randolf activated his blaze gown fae, and let it protect his rear as he gritted at Arthur, biting his bottom lip to the point where it drew blood.
He paused for a single moment before letting out a small sigh, letting the vast majority of his thoughts go with it.
This wasn't his first battle, nor was it his first fight, but he couldn't help but feel something that he didn't in either of his previous battles.
Randolf felt his heart beating wildly, the blood in his veins pumping madly, the beads of sweat on his brow turning to steam as an intense head was released from his body.
His pupils grew unfocused as he turned towards Arthur, activating the sole Fae that he had hidden from the Clan.
He had found it in the ruins after the first beast tide, in the body of a Baron Ranked Lava Essence Fox.
He kept it hidden, and spent quite a while refining the Fae, despite it having a relatively timid temperament.
It was his trump card, as well as his strongest Fae.
Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he took a step back as a huge gust of hot air brushed past him. The strength behind such an intense heat, had definitely exceeded the limits of a Rank 2 Fae Master-!
Many of the Fae Masters in the audience, as well as the Elders on the platform above them, went wide eyed when they saw the Fae in Randolf's hands.
"But that's a-!?".
Randolf's slightly crazed face turned maniacal as he felt this Fae burn the soles of his hands.
He was a Rank 2 Fae Master trying to use a Rank 3 Fae, it was only natural that there would be repercussions.
"I hope you can dodge this Arthur!".
Randolf waved the Rank 3 Conflagration Axe Fae towards Arthur. The sheer heat and weight of the axe caused the very ground beneath Randolf's feet to boil as it quickly approached Arthur.