Ice bloomed across his face; it felt like a fire was burning him, but instead of flames, it was the ice. Cold and yet hot? How could ice be hot?
This question raced through the giant's mind. When he tried to move his arm, something stopped him. Looking down, his eyes widened: his arm was completely covered in ice.
At that moment, he could no longer feel his arm; it was as if it had never existed. Gritting his teeth, he tried to move, only to feel something strike his cheek, throwing him backward.
Poul merely watched him coldly, his arm covered in ice, walking toward the giant who was now missing two arms, frozen solid on the ground. Despair consumed the giant's mind.
Poul walked forward, and the large, ice-covered arm disintegrated into ice particles that flew toward the hero of ice's other arm. With every step he took, the ice grew, both on the ground and over his body.
Sighing deeply, the air leaving the human's mouth was cold and heavy.
Seeing this, the giant broke into a cold sweat that ran down his spine. Swallowing hard, he thought:
'Am I truly seeing this? …I'm going to lose to a human!'
Without his arms, he gnashed his teeth, his heart tightening with every step the human took.
The ice grew as the fire dwindled. The terror of the fire only increased, and despair took over not just his mind, but his body.
The elemental giant, who had been superior moments ago, was now nothing more than a dog trembling with pure fear. But he had never even felt fear before.
'What is this I'm feeling? W-Why am I trembling? What is the reason for me being like this?!'
Even so, fire reappeared on his shoulders and flowed down to form his arms. He placed his new arms on the ground, which was covered in dried blood.
Seeing this, Poul burst forward, leaving patches of ice on the ground where he stepped. Brandishing the blue-tinged sword, he delivered a horizontal cut.
A wall of fire erupted, melting Poul's sword, which made him widen his eyes in surprise.
Planting his feet on the ground again, he leaped backward as he felt a hot wind reaching his back.
Turning his face, he saw the giant stretching his arm back, grinding his teeth, the color of his eyes matching his element.
'Ah… damn it. I got careless. Looks like I'm going to die.' Poul thought with a cold, dead expression. His eyes held no sparkle.
'Jay!' He remembered his purpose for coming to war: his son. As his son's smile flashed through his mind, he quickly formed a shield.
"I…" The giant slammed his fist toward the human in front of him. "Will not lose to an…" The blow struck the shield. "Insect!"
The shield cracked. The hero of ice felt his arm cracking, and not just cracking—it shattered as the blow traveled through his entire body. The fracture ended up becoming a complete break.
Flying like a projectile, he cut through the wind with speed.
Hitting the wall, smoke rose, and parts of the impact area cracked.
The fissures slowly widened.
Poul was in the hole, listening to the shouts of hatred and despair, the sound of metal clashing. The hero of ice felt something sliding down his skin, both from his head and his arms. It was warm, like freshly heated water. He also couldn't feel his legs or arms. His vision was blurred, and a part of it slowly turned reddish.
He tried to move his limbs, but he couldn't. Even moving his head was impossible.
'I… I'm going to die. Just because of my carelessness. What the… what the hell, damn it, damn it, damn it.' He thought, gritting his teeth.
'I won't die, I refuse to die. I can't, I have to.' The image of his son reading in the room, his eyes shining, appeared.
Just seeing him like that cheered up the rest of his day. 'I have to keep my promise to him!'
The warm fluid turned solid and cold over all parts of his body. The ice that had been consuming his body had melted with that blow.
The ice reconnected the broken bones, muscles, and healed organs.
Poul's element consumed the entire hole, as he detached himself from the ice that had formed around him. Cold, frigid smoke emerged and covered the whole crater. Grasping the outer edge of the ice-consumed wall, Poul pulled his body out, while the icy wind surrounded him.
His skin was pale, as if he had been buried under snow. His gaze was cold, yet filled with hatred.
In front of him was the battlefield, with fire and burning smoke, limbs on the ground holding weapons of war, and roaring battles being heard. The sound of explosions could be heard as the smell of gunpowder intensified.
Stepping forward, he let gravity pull him to the ground, landing with a blue substance consuming the earth. It was beautiful, but at the same time, horrifying.
A giant struggling not to fall saw the human with the ground being consumed by something blue, his skin pale, and something solid blue growing on his neck. Swinging his sword at the human with a horizontal cut.
Poul merely looked ahead and continued his path toward the elemental giant.
The giant who had attacked the hero of ice was completely frozen. The hero walked, and with every step, the ice consumed the earth. His breath was cold and heavy. With every sound of swords clashing around him, he made the ice particles slower in the creation of his weapon.
At that moment, the elemental giant felt the pressure of an aura, coupled with an intense murderous intent large enough to make all the giants tremble, sweating coldly with every step taken.
The hot air battled the cold and heavy air. Poul wanted to kill not only that giant but also… all the giants…
The elemental giant, after striking down another giant, dashed, leaving trails of fire where he passed.
Poul quickly turned to his rear flank, parrying his enemy's punch with his particle-laden sword. Throwing himself back, he faced the giant who stared back, with flames burning from his arm to his face.
The hero didn't think twice and charged. With every icy step he took, a part of himself was lost.
Stretching out his hand, several fireballs emerged in the air, launching them toward his enemy.
In a thick voice, the giant said. "Die, insect."
Running toward the giant and seeing the fireballs coming toward him, Poul merely created wings on his back.
Flying, dodging, and cutting the fireballs, while drops of water slid from his sword. Before approaching the giant, he spread his wings and flew into the sky—the fireballs pursuing him.
High up, Poul saw the entire wall. Seeing that his soldiers were having great difficulties but were managing well.
A slight smile came to his face, with ice consuming half of it, encircling his eye. Opening his arms, he let gravity pull him down.
The wind carrying the gunpowder shook his hair and clothes. He stretched out his arm, opened his hand, and a burst of fire emerged.
Poul merely spun during the giant's attack until a part of the attack transformed into a flaming sword. Pulling it back.
Poul came with a thirst for blood. His icy sword was melting, but he paid no mind to that detail.
"AHHHH!" Poul shouted with his purest hatred.
The elemental giant launched a horizontal attack with his flaming sword.
The impact of the two swords caused a hot wind mixed with cold. The hero's wing melted as the fire ignited his body's host.
The swords trembled, the fire being extinguished by the water dripping down.
The two pulled away from each other. They stared at one another, as their two elements consumed their bodies.
He could no longer feel, or even move, a part of his body; his breath became increasingly cold… and heavy. The air also didn't help; the smell of blood, fire, or even burning was breathed in through Poul's nostrils.
'I can't… feel or even move part of my… mouth anymore.' Poul thought, while the giant inhaled the gunpowder air into his nostrils.
A heavy sigh came as the beginning of a roar. Opening his mouth to speak, hot air came out. "An insect… how can an insect like you be so." Grinding his teeth before finishing. "So powerful, who are you?"
"Who am I?" The hero of ice gave a slight smile. "I am just your worst nightmare." He said, with only one half of the rest of his face moving.
"Nightmare?!" He said in a serious yet comical tone. "Don't make me…"
His right eye began to glow, and the fire that was igniting his arm began to spread across his body.
"…laugh, we haven't even properly started. Insect."