Returning to Eric's situation, he and Zane were still trying to restrain Noam from acting recklessly. He wanted to hit his troublesome rival on the head, but he understood the meaning of Noam's anger, just like Hana.
As for Zane, he glanced anxiously at Herris who had suddenly fallen silent after Noam's sarcastically worded taunt. The big man was never silent. Seeing him that quiet gave Zane a bad feeling. Like a real storm was about to hit them.
"Embarrassing?" Herris muttered.
His eyes trembled as if remembering something bad as his whole body slowly shook. Not because of fear, but because of the anger that wanted to explode.
An angry growl began to come out of his mouth, "What does a kid like you know?"
The vibrations felt around them made the three children balance themselves vigilantly. They also saw several steel bars begin to appear around Herris who was trembling angrily.
"You don't know anything!" He shouted angrily as five steel bars attacked Eric, Noam and Zane.
Not wanting to risk enduring the steel, especially with the condition of their hands right now, the trio dodged the five steels quickly. One of them almost hit Noam, but Eric and Zane pulled their friend back in time.
Although the steel was supposed to be heavy, the speed at which it was thrown was so fast that they had to dodge faster as well.
"No one knows what my suffering is like! Everyone is just laughing at me! They deserve to die!"
As Herris shouted loudly, steel rods began to grow on the ground around him making him surrounded by many steel rods. But the steel on his body was still within the scope of his hands and feet.
This way the three of them could not attack freely if the steel bars surrounded Herris. The enemy could have controlled it to attack them as they approached.
"Then does that excuse you from killing innocent people just for fun?" Noam retorted with a loud shout. Zane stifled a long groan as Eric only grunted.
Herris' foot hit the ground hard creating a crack, "Shut up! They all deserve it!"
Again, steel rods continued to be thrown at them, forcing the trio to keep moving to avoid them. Now the arena around them was filled with deeply embedded steel bars, proving that the steel was thrown with great force by its creator.
Just as Noam was about to retaliate, Zane immediately pulled him to hide in one of the steel bars that was large enough to cover the bodies of the three.
"Noam! Calm down!" Zane shook Noam's shoulder vigorously, trying to bring him back to his senses.
"I know you're upset, but whatever you say will only make him angrier!" Zane coaxed quietly, not wanting to make their presence known to Herris, who was screaming angrily again. His yelling even made the ground around them shake.
Noam brushed Zane's hand away roughly and stepped back, "So what? Are you afraid?"
"Remember our priorities, Noam!" Zane hissed, annoyed at Noam's stubbornness. He wanted to hit Noam hard on the head, if only it didn't contradict his calm demeanor.
Noam snarled and grabbed Zane's collar, making his friend jump, "Don't use cowardly excuses like that on me!
"Noam."
The call in that cold, flat tone made both of them fall silent, frozen in their positions where Noam was still clutching Zane's collar.
Eric didn't care about his two friends who almost looked like they wanted to strangle each other. He was more focused on observing Herris' position before turning to his rival with a very cold stare.
"Should I remind you that if he manages to defeat all of us, his next targets will be Hana and Rose?" Eric said calmly but with a warning tone.
Eric focused his eyes on Noam, "At least think of Seth. You promised to protect him, right?"
Noam gasped as if he just realized his actions. Slowly, the hand gripping Zane's shirt collar slipped away and his arm hung limply, as if losing its strength.
Eric sighed before patting his friend's shoulder, "Calm your mind. We are not experienced enough to turn negative energy into a controllable force."
Most negative energy such as anger, hate, sadness, or annoyance can indeed make magic power stronger. But if the person is too consumed by the negative energy, then the magic can also get out of control.
It is difficult to harness negative energy and at the same time calm the mind in order to stay sane. There are only a few people who can do it, and even those can be counted on their fingers.
If even experienced adults can get out of control, let alone children like those who just had magic a few minutes ago.
Eric snorted before punching Noam's head so hard that he winced in pain, "If you keep getting angry like this, your fire magic will eventually get out of control! We'll be the ones in trouble!"
Noam grimaced as he rubbed his head, which was throbbing from Eric's blow. He looked at Zane embarrassed, "Sorry... I didn't mean to be so rude."
Zane just smiled as he shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind Noam's rude behavior earlier. Though he was a little surprised to see a side he hadn't expected from his usually cheerful friend.
Eric clicked his tongue, "Instead of just throwing angry words like that, it's better to just beat him up. It usually works on stubborn people."
As he said the last sentence, he looked at Noam with a mocking look, successfully irritating Noam.
Noam snorted in annoyance, "I'm not in the mood to listen to your lecture."
"Then shut up and start acting." Eric's retort was no less annoyed.
The two stared at each other so intently that Zane, who was trapped between them, let out a long sigh.
Zane immediately separated them, "Calm down, you two."
They both snorted in annoyance and then looked away, causing Zane to let out another tired sigh. Why did he always have to get caught between the two of them fighting? It was exhausting.
Just as the atmosphere between the three of them calmed down, a loud explosion occurred in front of the steel they were using as protection until the steel exploded, causing the three children to not have time to dodge and be slightly blown away by the impact of the explosion.
"You little brats always make me angry!" They could hear his angry scream as the three tried to get back up.
Herris appeared in front of them, his steel hand ready to strike. In a hurry, the three dodged just before the steel fist hit them.
Even with just a single blow from that steel fist, cracks were created not only from where it struck, but also spread all around. The impact was much greater than before.
Eric immediately looked at his two friends, "Split up! If you find an opening, attack him!"
Zane immediately protested, "But--"
"I know the problem is the steel body. But steel can also have weaknesses, right?" Eric asked calmly, but did not lower his guard.
Just as he was about to explain further, Herris reappeared with a fist ready to smash, along with several steel beams following from the side.
"Now you dare to ignore me!" He shouted angrily as he once again struck his fist, accompanied by steel beams that quickly headed toward the three of them.
At the same time, the three of them dodged again even though they were affected by the strong gust of wind caused by the punch and the steel beam hitting the ground.
As they backed away, Noam clucked his tongue in annoyance, "That old man sucks!" He muttered loudly in desperation.
Unfortunately, his muttering was heard by Herris, who shouted angrily again, "Damn brat!"
As if in response to his anger, the steel coating on his hands and feet spread to the rest of his body, leaving only his head and neck, which had not turned to steel. But in the same way, Herris' defenses had increased and spread as well.
Eric groaned in annoyance, "Well done, Noam."
Noam grimaced guiltily, "Sorry."
Eric exhaled before regaining his composure, "It can't be helped, this way the weakness should increase throughout the body."
He could see that Herris was still standing still, as if his body could not be moved. Although Eric was very sure that Noam's last mutterings had managed to increase his anger. There was no way he wouldn't attack Noam, especially after his strength had increased again.
Probably because his body was still trying to adjust to the new weight. Maybe he hadn't planned to turn his entire body into steel. Surely his body couldn't take all that weight at once.
Noam looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"
Eric rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Are you stupid?"
Before Noam could protest, Eric cut him off, "Have you forgotten what steel's weakness is?"
Noam paused for a moment, "Weakness?" He asked confused as Zane's eyes widened as he just realized what Eric meant.
Eric snorted, not wanting to explain any further. Just let Noam find the answer later.
"No need to change strategy. Just attack like before. Take care of the wounds on your hands." Eric said seriously.
Although Noam still did not understand, he nodded in agreement with Zane. There was a battle they had to finish as soon as possible.
"Let's do it together."