Parallel Memory

One of the things separating Rank-S from other ranks was that they had the ability to fly. Others might be able to fly through special skill, but that wasn't efficient due to the mana it burned.

So, Rank-S always had an advantage over lower ranks.

And for close-range fighters, fighting with a flying opponent is almost impossible. In addition, Princess Elenia could directly attack Zero from the above but Zero couldn't do the same.

Princess Elenia believed that with such an advantage, Zero was sure to lose.

Moreover, she believes that Zero's mana must be running low after having frozen the entire arena which isn't an easy task. Pity that all that work was for nothing.

Zero gazed up at Princess Elenia with a calm expression, seemingly undeterred by her aerial advantage. Princess Elenia was a bit annoyed that Zero still had that always calm face despite facing her.

( Humph! Let's see how calm you are when you get defeated! )

Princess Elenia thought.

She pulled her bowstring as she got ready to throw a barrage of arrows at Zero.

With a swift and graceful motion, Elenia released a volley of arrows, each arrow imbued with her formidable magical power. They streaked through the air, closing in on Zero, who remained grounded, seemingly defenseless against her relentless assault.

[ "Frozen Shadow Dance" ]

Zero quickly disappeared into the ground and dodged the attacks. However, Princess Elenia wasn't going to give up and she has already seen through that skill.

By imbuing mana into her arrows, she strengthened the speed of her arrows and attacked Zero. Even though Zero was able to dodge the attack, as long as mana skill hit him, he would get injured even if he was in shadow form.

-BOOM! -BOOM!

Princess Elenia was destructive. Every arrow, when it hit, exploded like someone had used a powerful explosion magic.

Anyways, Zero was narrowly able to dodge the attacks. But being on defense wasn't going to make him win the fight.

He canceled his Frozen Shadow Dance.

!!!

Princess Elenia believed it was her chance and began bombarding Zero with even more powerful attacks.

[ "Dual Art: Dark Ice Embodiment" ]

[ "Icy Shadow Wall" ]

Elenia watched in astonishment as her arrows, once unstoppable, were now repelled by the Icy Shadow Wall.

With Dark Ice Embodiment, Zero was able to control his mana more efficiently and that enabled him to strengthen his Icy Shadow Wall.

But it was still not enough as the Icy Shadow Wall crumbled after taking the attacks of Princess Elenia.

However, before his barrier was completely destroyed, he was already with what he wanted.

[ "Shadow Cryomancy Bomb" ]

Sneakily, Zero was also planting the Shadow Cryomancy Bomb to catch Princess Elenia by surprise. With him never showing this skill in his previous fight, it was sure to catch Princess Elenia by surprise.

Moreover, Icy Shadow Wall not only served him as a barrier but also as a way to prevent Zero from using this skill.

[ "Shadow Ice Shard" ]

Zero also attacked Princess Elenia with his long-range attack. But those attacks were nothing in front of Princess Elenia as she effortlessly destroyed it with her arrows.

Princess Elenia smirked as she looked at Zero from above. From her point of view, Zero was sitting duck who was just resisting what is inevitable. Without him getting close to her, she knew that she would always have the advantage. "Zero Elea, just give up and apologize. Without-"

She was going to urge Zero to give up but then her expression changed!

Zero also knew that he was at a disadvantage because of Princess Elenia being in the air. But he still has a secret weapon that many have no idea about.

[ "Frostwing" ]

From Zero's back, two Ice Wings which appeared to be that of Dragon appeared. The crowd in the arena gasped in amazement at this unexpected turn of events.

Zero stretched his newly formed Frostwing wings wide and gracefully ascended into the air, matching Elenia's altitude. Zero appeared before Princess Elenia with a sword in his hand. It was now time for the fight in the air!

"What? He can fly?"

"Dammit! That must take an insane amount of mana!"

"Looks like Princess Elenia no longer holds the advantage of flying." …

As Zero soared into the air on his Frostwing wings, the entire arena erupted in excitement and disbelief. The spectators were on their feet, their cheers and gasps echoing throughout the grand coliseum. The battle had just taken an unexpected turn, and the crowd was captivated by the unfolding spectacle.

Princess Elenia, once confident in her aerial advantage, now found herself on equal footing with Zero. Her earlier arrogance had turned into a look of surprise.

"Indeed! It seems like you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve but don't forget that your mana isn't going to last if you keep using that skill!"

Princess Elenia said. "Is that so? Then let's end the battle before that happens."

Zero replied. The two opponents were now engaged in an aerial dance, circling each other high above the arena. [ "Aurora's Grace" ]

Princess Elenia made the first attack since they were in the air. The reason was to check whether Zero was proficient in flying or not.

There are many who could fly but most of them were slow and they couldn't dodge properly or swiftly when in the air. But Zero swiftly dodged with his wings.

[ "Glacier Shadow Slash" ]

Zero also attacked back. [ "Tempest Veil" ]

Princess Elenia summoned her wind barrier and blocked the attack.

There was more confrontation between the two and everyone looked up in the sky to watch their battle.

The more the battle continued, the more surprised the spectator was with how much longer Zero was surviving against Princess Elenia.

Princess Elenia was no longer the confident warrior she had been when she had the advantage of flight. Zero's Frostwing wings allowed him to match her every maneuver, and he seemed to have an almost unlimited reserve of mana, a fact that surprised many.

Elenia's attacks were met with swift counters from Zero, and their clashes sent shockwaves through the air, creating dazzling displays of magic and power that illuminated the entire arena.

Each time she thought she had him cornered, Zero would slip away with a graceful twist and turn, using his newfound aerial prowess to evade her onslaught.

Elenia's frustration grew as Zero continued to hold his own. She had expected him to tire quickly due to the immense energy required to maintain flight and combat simultaneously. However, it seemed like it was she who was running out of mana due to her own flying skill.

"Dammit!"

Princess Elenia yelled angrily. It seems like she was the first one to give up on flying since her mana was critically low.

Whereas Zero was still using all his skills without any concern about his mana. This just showed that he has a lot of mana reserve, a fact which hurt her pride since she is Rank-S and a lot stronger than Zero.

She descended back to the ground which was still covered in Dark Ice. Zero also descended back. With the arena as Dark Ice, it was he who had more advantage in the arena.

[ "Tempest Blade" ]

With determination in her eyes, Princess Elenia made a decision. It seems like she wants to compete in close range. She charged toward Zero, her footsteps crunching on the frozen ground. Her remaining mana surged through her body as she prepared to unleash her powerful attacks.

"Activate!"

Just as she was about to reach Zero, he activated the Shadow Cryomancy Bomb that he had planted earlier. The ground beneath them trembled, and a dark, icy aura enveloped the area. Princess Elenia's eyes widened in realization, but it was too late to escape.

The Shadow Cryomancy Bomb erupted in a blinding flash of cold and shadow, creating a shockwave that sent shards of frozen darkness in all directions.

This surprise attack caught Princess Elenia by surprise and she wasn't able to defend the skill in time.

Her body was slowly getting frozen by the Shadow Cryomancy Bomb.

"ARGH!"

If this continues, her whole body will be frozen and she might get defeated. At the thought of that, she became angry.

How could she lose to Rank-A? She? A Rank-S losing to Rank-A?

"It can't be!"

Princess Elenia yelled as she forcefully broke through the ice while simultaneously injuring her body.

[ "Regal Renewal: healing" ]

But she wasn't worried since she could always heal her body including those broken bones.

[ "Ice Prison" ]

Taking advantage of that small period of time when Princess Elenia was occupied with his surprise attack, Zero managed to use his Ice Prison skill to immobilize Princess Elenia.

Princess Elenia once again tried to break through with her brutal power without caring about her injuries, however, unlike Shadow Cryomancy Bomb, Ice Prison was very powerful, and as long as Zero had mana, he would be able to keep Princess Elenia immobilized.