Iskara does not expect Jacob to fully recover. She believes that if she is careful, he will not be able to place any Afflictions on her. As long as she stays alert, she still has the advantage.

  She is about to move when she suddenly stumbles. A burning sensation spreads through her veins. Her eyes widen as she looks down at her hands. She recognizes the feeling at once. An Affliction has taken hold—Smoldering Blood. Almost immediately, another sensation follows. Heat seeps into her muscles and bones. That is Cinder Rot, and she knows what it means. The more Mana she uses, the more damage her body will suffer.

  “How?!” Iskara shouts, looking at Jacob. “When did you apply the debuffs?!”

  “Do you think I’m stupid, Iskara?” Jacob walks slowly around her, placing himself between her and the obelisk. “Do you really think I wouldn’t have done anything in case you betrayed me, that I would have just watched while you take away the fruits of our work for yourself?”

  Jacob grabs the sword with both hands and then looks at Iskara with cold eyes. “I inscribed those two traps, one for Cinder Rot and one for Smoldering Blood, on your armor we rested and I asked to check your equipment.”

  “You did what?!” Iskara looks at her own armor, made with Rafnov’s pure Platinum.

  “You heard me,” Jacob says. “I would have never triggered the traps if you had not betrayed my trust.”

  “You had no right to do this!” Iskara shouts and then says. “Greater Regeneration—”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jacob smiles.

  Iskara coughs up blood and feels her forehead burning up.

  “Didn’t you say you inscribed only Smoldering Blood and Cinder Rot?!” Iskara says, feeling the effects of Ash Fever.

  [Ash Fever]

  [Description: the target’s regeneration turns hostile. Healing effects still trigger, but a percentage converts into internal burn damage instead.]

  Iskara is about to rip the armor off when she sees several wisps of fire raising from the armor.

  “I lied,” Jacob says while several faint red circles appear on his arms and start emitting sharp thunderclap sounds alternated by jets of steams. “You underestimate me too much. But I'll fix it.”

  Jacob moves so fast Iskara feels like he's just teleported in front of her and slashes at her. Iskara has no choice but to cross her arms, cover them in Mana, and take the attack.

  She expects a devastating attack, but Jacob barely taps her forearms, putting almost no strength in the blow before slashing three more times, taking advantage of her defensive stance to use one Diavolo Hypercut after another to inflict Affliction after Affliction.

  Iskara jumps back, panting.

  He's playing me. He had me believe he would use an attack like the one he used on the Boss, but he was, of course, just looking to inflict more Afflictions...

  Iskara is speechless. Jacob's fighting IQ is something out of this world.

  I need to calm down. I'm still stronger. I've been panicking. If I stay calm, he's mine.

  “You're strong, Jacob,” Iskara says, relaxing her shoulders and exhaling. “But if you think that this is remotely enough to take care of me, you must have been dropped on your head as a baby.”

  “Show me your worst, Princess,” Jacob says, steam and thunderclap in the background of his speech.

  “Crimson Night.”

  After Iskara activates the spell, the sunlight is suddenly blotted out and a red darkness falls upon them.

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  She feels the vitality being sucked away from Jacob and empowering her, but there's a surprising amount of resistance in Jacob.

  Then they move again, trading strike for strike inside the crimson-tinted atmosphere.

  They crash together again.

  Iskara swings wide, a brutal arc meant to cleave him in half. Jacob slips inside the strike, the blade passing so close she feels it cut the air from her chest. His sword flashes upward, scraping along her side. Pain blooms, sharp and hot, and she answers with an elbow that slams into his temple.

  Thunder cracks.

  Jacob stumbles half a step, then plants his foot and twists, using the recoil to drive a short thrust toward her abdomen. Iskara snaps her knee up just in time, metal shrieking as the blade skids across her armor. The impact rattles her bones. Cinder Rot flares, heat surging through her muscles, and she grits her teeth to keep from crying out.

  She retaliates with raw force, Mana flooding her limbs despite the cost. Her punch lands squarely against Jacob’s ribs. She feels something give.

  Jacob exhales sharply, blood spraying from his mouth—but he smiles.

  The red circles on his arms flare brighter. Steam explodes outward, and he vanishes into the haze for a fraction of a second.

  Too fast.

  Iskara barely turns before his blade bites into her shoulder from behind. She roars and spins, claws of Mana raking across his chest. Flesh tears. Blood splashes across the crimson-lit ground.

  They break apart again.

  Iskara’s breathing is heavier now. Every pulse of Mana sends fire through her veins.

  Ash Fever twists at her regeneration, turning each attempt to heal into fresh agony. She can feel her strength bleeding away, stolen by her own spells and warped by his traps.

  Jacob is not unscathed. His movements are sharper, more deliberate, but slower than before. One arm hangs slightly stiff. Blood runs freely down his side, soaking into his clothes. Crimson Night gnaws at him relentlessly, trying to drain him dry.

  Still, he stands.

  “You’re burning yourself alive,” Jacob says, voice rough. “You can’t keep this up.”

  Iskara laughs, low and vicious. “Neither can you.”

  She raises her hand. Mana coils, dense and violent, despite the pain screaming through her body. The air trembles.

  Jacob lowers his stance, sword angled forward, eyes locked on hers with no hesitation or fear.

  Steel meets Mana in a blinding clash. The shockwave tears through the crimson darkness, cracking the ground beneath their feet. Iskara forces him back with sheer power, step by step, ignoring the way her muscles feel like molten lead.

  Jacob suddenly drops low, sliding beneath her guard. His blade flicks upward in a tight arc.

  Pain erupts in her thigh. Her leg buckles.

  She reacts on instinct, slamming her fist down. The blow catches Jacob across the shoulder and hurls him away, skidding across the ground before he rolls to his feet.

  He's getting stronger and stronger, Iskara thinks. The longer this goes on for, the higher my chances of losing.

  They face each other across the torn battlefield, both now seriously wounded.

  “Just give up,” Jacob says, holding his ribs.

  They're broken, Iskara frowns, recognizing the signs. The Devil's Engine makes him stronger, but his body is still weak.

  “For a moment, I forgot you're not a member of the Three Great Races,” Iskara says, straightening her spine.

  “I consider that a compliment,” Jacob says, cleaning up some of the blood running down from his mouth.

  “Give up, Jacob,” Iskara says.

  “Don't steal my words,” Jacob shoots back. “You're not going to win. I haven't even played all my cards yet.”

  “Good bluff. Even with all these Afflictions on me, you're still weaker. Your body is breaking apart. This is the difference between my talent and yours.”

  “Iskara!” Jacob suddenly shouts angrily, making Iskara take a step back. “Stop underestimating humans!”

  Jacob lets his sword float in front of him and closes his eyes.

  Iskara lunges at him, “do you really think I'm going to let you use a Primordial Spell on me, you puny Human?!”

  Iskara suddenly finds herself frozen a few inches from striking Jacob, when he opens his eyes and says, “who said anything about a Primordial Spell?”

  He looks at her and then smiles, “I think people assume that because I'm using a Primordial Spell on the Domain, I can't actually use the Domain, right? And they'd been right until a little moment ago. That last Affliction and the fact that I maxed The Devil's Engine puts me right above the threshold needed for me to sustain both the Domain and its Reverse Form together.”

  Iskara's eyes widen and she feels a terrifying power filling the plateau and pushing back against her Crimson Night.

  “Cool Skill that you have, Miss Infernal Princess of the Three Great Races,” Jacob snickers. “But watch what this puny human can do. Domain of Ruin and Bones.”