Haukea raised her hand. Currently, her body is barely covered in ice. Using her Magic Seal would cause her body temperature to drop. Water's freezing point is 0 degrees Celsius. Haukea's body temperature was slowly rising.
Indrain analysed the woman. With a decisive nod, he swung his arms around.
"Spatial Inventory."
A pocket of space opened up. Indrain picked a three-section staff. The man playfully swung it around.
"This will do. Mass Manipulation."
Skiping along the ice, Indrain whipped the three-section staff at the woman. A horn of ice protruded from the floor. Indrain destroyed it with the staff.
"Hm..."
Haukea hummed, looking at the man's staff. Multiple horns of ice branched toward Indrain at a high speed. He destroyed each one by spinning it around him.
'Not a single gesture. There's some ice on her cheek.'
Indrain didn't fight instinctively but rather by analysing his opponents. He couldn't do anything reckless before he knew what level Haukea was at as a World Magician.
Haukea narrowed her eyes.
'He's fast and good with that staff. He said Mass Manipulation. My ice got beaten with little force. He's swinging the staff around but he's using the tip of it. I have to be careful not to overexert myself.'
Even Haukea Crystal was being careful. As a World Magician, she was one of 71 of the most powerful magicians in the world. However, even World Magicians had enemies who they fared worse against compared to others.
Indrain was exactly that to Haukea. Haukea acted like a magician, like one from a novel. Her bodily constitution was the same as a normal human. She didn't have any magician enhancements. Her Magic Seal is the only thing she has going for her, along with her magic.
'I'm guessing that the Mass Manipulation doesn't affect him. There's no way he'd be able to swing around something so heavy like it was a normal staff.'
Haukea thought.
"I'm not interested in making this into a long battle."
Haukea was terrible in a battle of attrition. Her body couldn't last the cold forever. Using mana is a way to increase her time at low temperatures.
The woman brandished her hand. The blotches of ice on her body increased. For a short time, her body temperature dropped below zero.
"—!"
Indrain leapt into the air. A myriad of icicles shot up at him. Two mouths of ice also closed in on both sides like sharks.
"Shit! Spatial Inventory!"
As the ice reached Indrain, they were crushed to dust in one swoop.
"..."
Haukea was slightly wary of that pocket space of his. The man currently held two scimitars in his hand. Indrain held one of them in a reverse grip. He exhaled before raising a leg.
The white-haired woman grimaced.
'Is he going to throw it...?'
"Here we go."
He breathed before launching the scimitar. It zipped past Haukea without her eye ever catching it.
"Huh?"
It scrapped her cheek.
"Don't you know the equation to kinetic energy? Mass multiplied by velocity squared. You probably already know that I can manipulate mass. My magician body allows me to throw it to add even more kinetic energy to the scimitar as it's being thrown."
He explained. Haukea didn't appear entertained.
Her body temperature dropped even further. The ice that they were standing on began to crack.
'I can't use Niflheim in this area. It'll reach the streets.'
"Cryo Lance."
A massive lance of ice formed above Haukea's head as she snapped her finger.
'Let's see how he handles this.'
"Don't you think it's time that we stop playing around?"
A chill.
Haukea felt a wave of discomfort. The playful eyes of Indrain became narrow. The air around him changed. At that moment, Haukea undid her Cryo Lance. She took a step forward.
Blotches of ice practically covered her entire body. She was at Absolute Zero.
Indrain had changed the weapon he had. He wielded a warhammer. He dashed toward the woman.
The man wasn't anything special. His unique Magic Seal of Mass Manipulation enabled him to change the mass of an object. The changed mass wouldn't affect him but rather external things.
Indrain had a limit to how much he could increase the mass up to. Using his enhanced constitution, he was able to produce superhuman attacks. However, he wasn't anything special.
The reason is because it wasn't anything fantastical. It all was kept within the realm of reason.
Haukea exhaled.
"Condensed Mana Realm—Niflheim."
Haukea Crystal's Magic Seal did not stay within the realm of reason. It was something that was outside of it.
The woman couldn't move. She silently stared at the ice sculpture in front of her. Indrain had been frozen solid by Haukea's condensed Niflheim. Indrain had lost. He was stopped in his tracks.
"Minus 200 degrees... Minus 187 degrees..."
She slowly counted as her temperature slowly rose back to its appropriate level.
Niflheim was a spell that Haukea used with her Magic Seal. It could cover from a 100m radius to a 200m radius, depending on the mana used. Using more mana, Haukea condensed it into an even smaller zone, only using it for a short time. It was like a flash freeze.
Haukea condensed it down to a 25m radius range. It cost more mana than it would take to cast any other variation of Niflheim.
Indrain's frozen statue slowly cracked.
"I wanted to ask who sent you but... I was too rash."
Haukea looked at Tower Bridge. That was when she noticed the spectators, watching her battle. There was nothing she could do about them. They all probably recognised her.
"Andy is going to give a good shouting at later."
She murmured. That was when she realised. Haukea glanced at Indrain.
'Why did he come after me?'
She thought to herself. While she was immobile, Haukea decided to analyse what Indrain's motives may have been.
'A goal... He was fighting a World Magician. He should've known that.'
She didn't want to sound conceited while thinking it but she was sure that Indrain would recognise her. As the wife of the president, Haukea Crystal is another face of the United States. Whether people knew her or not, they would recognise her face.
'So, what is his goal...?'
She was currently at minus 48 degrees. Haukea could move but not excessively. Being patient was the best thing she could do.
"Lady! He's glowing!"
Haukea looked up at the spectators. A man shouted at her.
'What's this about?'
She turned back to the statue of ice.
"...!"
Indrain was glowing. Haukea was going to attack him. She stopped herself. If she attacked him in this state, he would die. If this fight was private, it wouldn't matter as much but there were spectators all around.
"Shit...!"
She didn't know what to do. Using her ice after that condensed Niflheim would hurt her. Not just a finger but perhaps even an arm. Jumping from minus 30 degrees to minus 150 degrees, or so, would be dangerous considering her mana reserves.
The real question was what was Indrain doing. Why was he glowing?
The dangerous red flash could only mean one thing. For a second, the flash stopped. Haukea thrusted her hand toward Indrain.
BANG!
A sharp noise rang out along with a small flash. Indrain self-destructed.
·———·
On top of Tower Bridge, watching the event, was another man. He exhaled in disappointment before turning around.
"I thought there'd be some fireworks. Good job, Haukea Crystal."
He called someone on his phone. They picked up instantly.
"It's me. Indrain has self-destructed. What should I do now?"
He listened for a short while. He averted his eyes in frustration.
"You're saying it's my turn. You're crazy. I'm surviving until Halloween at the very least."
The man told the person, defiantly. Despite him being a part of the Round Table, the man was selfish. He didn't want to sacrifice himself for a reason that didn't suffice.
"Okay, I'll do it. By the way, are those three on the move for the Key? They are? That's good. I was wondering how long she would delay the plan."
The man named Aindeau cut the call and threw his phone into the river. He walked away from the scene while holding the cross around his neck.