As soon as Kyle's words fell, a small crack appeared in the middle of the shield. Then, like a spiderweb, the crack spread across the entire surface. Immediately, everyone floating around him or standing beneath him panicked and used every protection skill or spell they had to shield themselves from the flames.
Kyle's forehead turned sweaty when the effect of the enchantment pill he had taken a minute ago finally kicked in.
'I'm gonna beat that dwarf if I saw him again... He said it wouldn't be painful, but it's hurting like hell!'
A vein flared up on his neck and his strength shot up with incredible speed. He vanished from his spot, only to reappear amidst the shining symbols above him. The symbols trembled and zoomed toward his body with lightning-fast speed.
Kyle clenched his fists when an even sharper pain coursed through his entire body. Yet, he stubbornly absorbed every drop of mana that came his way. The chaos and noises ringing in his ears disappeared, and everything around him became quiet for a split second.
At that moment, Mia lost her balance, but before she could fall, Carcel grabbed her waist with knitted brows. She closed her eyes with a gasp on his shoulder, not even daring to look at the shield.
The crowd's hearts raced as they fixated their gaze on the shield, some even started running backward toward the border. But just as the shield was about to crumble into countless pieces, the symbols around Kyle disappeared and he whispered under his breath.
"Ice Domain.."
A drop of blood oozed from his mouth as a tremendous amount of mana left his body and traveled towards the shield. The air grew extremely cold, and a translucent dome materialized out of thin air, enveloping the shield and the surging flames in a chilly embrace. The dome shook a little due to the amount of heat radiating from the flames, but countless icicles formed in the air, and thick clouds gathered in the sky to pour ice on the fire.
The monster lord, watching everything from the other side, retreated further back with dilated eyes as he witnessed the ice melting into water, extinguishing the once domineering flames.
Clouds of black smoke rose to cover the sky in a dark blanket, and the cold air became humid. The crowd snapped out of their reverie when the icy dome dropped down with a loud bang, and the remaining ice scattered into mesmerizing ice flakes that floated gracefully in the air.
Kyle raised his hand, and an ice flake landed on his finger. His lips curled into a snarl as he locked eyes with the monster lord through the smoky curtain. Anger, frustration, and a multitude of troubling emotions filled the monster lord's gaze. It was no surprise, considering the latter had witnessed its entire army crumble before its eyes.
"Now... it's your turn."
Kyle wasn't sure if the monster lord heard him because his body went limp from exhaustion. The enchantment pill's effect would vanish after an hour, and he mentally prepared himself to endure the same exhaustion for a whole day. Nevertheless, putting aside the pill's side effects, it's unbelievable that the West Continent possessed such a powerful object and never shared it with the other continents.
Kyle closed his eyes and let his body fall. Well, he still had a little bit of mana to make himself float before he crashed into the ground. But he hummed when he felt Bia's presence underneath himself. The phoenix clicked her tongue and soared through the sky when his body landed on her back.
-'Jeez... you know you always overdo things.'
Kyle chuckled at her words.
'I just want to finish it as soon as possible. Let's find Ray and Neon after we are done with the monster lord. I saw them with Nine for a brief second... but I do not know where the trio went afterward.'
The phoenix frowned a little when she felt Kyle's body temperature. It was way too cold, even colder than his usual temperature. But maybe it's because he exerted so much strength in such a short time. So she just brushed it off.
-'Okay... okay, just rest for a while or else you will faint even before you find them.'
Kyle sensed another familiar presence floating above him and opened his eyes to see Yue's face, looking at him with a worried smile.
He stared without blinking. She had her hand crossed on her chest, and her long hair was flowing down towards his face.
Yue tilted her head and began speaking in a soft voice that only the two of them could hear.
"You scared me when you dropped down so suddenly. Are you alright?"
Kyle smiled and closed his eyes.
"I'm fine. What about you and the others? You all also used the array."
He felt her gaze lingering on his face, but he didn't say anything. Then, a warm finger landed on his forehead.
"If you're fine... why are you knitting your brows? I noticed you've been doing it for a while now."
Kyle grabbed the finger on his forehead, and Yue blinked in surprise. Normally, she would have noticed Kyle's temperature, but she got distracted when he pulled her and patted the spot next to him with his other hand.
"Stop floating above me and sit down... I'm getting dizzy."
"...Oh, okay."
She sat down beside him and gazed at his face again, completely unaware that a certain phoenix was grumbling inside Kyle's mind, speaking about how others shouldn't be allowed to sit on her back. Bia grumbled for a while but stopped when she sensed Kyle's peaceful mood.
-'Well, just this one time is fine.'
Kyle's ears twitched when he heard Alec's loud voice calling for others to surround the monster lord who tried to escape after it realized it was alone. From Alec's shouts, Kyle was certain that the monster lord would suffer twice as much as they did.
