The Judge's voice rang out with a solemnity that pierced the suffocating tension: "The hour of combat has arrived. But, as you stand here devoid of power, take this blade." He cast a sword toward him, its steel shimmering with a mysterious light. "Within its hilt lies a gem that grants you command over the primal elements. Examine it well, and prepare."
Andre caught the sword, feeling its weight like the gravity of a new destiny. He traced the hilt, took his stance, and waited. The Judge then declared: "Let the duel begin."
The words had barely left his lips when the Demon Lord let out a low, guttural growl that sounded like grinding stone. "Finally, I am finished with your tedious prattle, Gaius."
In a flash, the Demon Lord's blade ignited with a void-black flame. He swept it across the ground, and the fire spilled out like hungry serpents, forming a ring of hellfire around them.
"And now, Andre—my nephew and my greatest foe—prepare yourself. This will not be like our encounters of the past." The flames roared upward, forming a towering wall of heat. "I shall roast you until nothing remains but ash."
With a violent swing of his sword, the Demon Lord unleashed a tempest of fire. Andre reacted instinctively, tapping into the water element within his blade. A massive tidal wave erupted to meet the inferno. The collision was deafening, but the Demon Lord's raw power was overwhelming. Andre was thrown backward as if struck by a battering ram, nearly colliding with the wall of fire behind him. He stopped inches from the heat, feeling his skin blister and crawl.
"This fire... it carries a bottomless rage," Andre whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Grandfather, what did you do to make your brother's blood boil like this at the mere mention of your name?"
The Demon Lord's laughter was a jagged, cruel sound. "Hahaha! Do you feel it? The heat eager to consume you? Savor that sensation, for I will make you taste it until your final breath."
He unleashed another gale of fire, but Andre was ready. He drove his sword deep into the earth, opening a chasm beneath him, and vanished into the subterranean dark.
The Demon Lord didn't flinch. He expanded the circle of fire, tightening the noose of heat. "Andre! Do not think you can hide from the abyss. No matter where you crawl, you are a dead man. Come out and embrace your end!"
Suddenly, the ground erupted. Geysers of water burst forth from every direction, crashing into the flames. Despite the deluge, the black fire refused to die, instead creating a thick, blinding fog. The Demon Lord scanned the mist, his lip curling in a sneer. "Are you trying to ambush me in the shadows like a cowardly rabbit?"
Then, a strange scent—the sharp tang of gas—filled the air. From the heart of the mist, Andre's voice drifted like a ghost:
"I am not hiding... I am playing your game. So, let us burn together!"
The gas ignited in a catastrophic explosion that sent a shockwave through the arena. Andre had shielded himself within a multi-layered sphere of water, while the Demon Lord stood his ground, scorched but unyielding. He touched the burns on his face, a chilling smile spreading across his lips. "Impressive... but explosions are not meant to be so clumsy."
With a flick of his wrist, the Demon Lord fused the power of wind and fire. A cyclone of molten lava rose to the heavens, blotting out the sky. Then, with a sudden snap of his will, he cut the wind, letting the celestial hellfall drop directly onto Andre.
Andre poured every ounce of his remaining strength into a shield of earth and water, but it was futile. The lava crashed down with a force ten times greater than the first explosion, burying him in a tomb of fire.
As the dust settled, Andre lay broken on the scorched earth. His arm was gone—vaporized by the heat—his skin was a map of charred ruins, and half his face was horribly burned. Yet, his heart still beat with a stubborn, dying rhythm.
The Demon Lord looked down at him with sadistic satisfaction. "This is how the game should be played. You writhe in agony, and I find my peace. I promise you, after I finish you, I will send you to join the First Lord's kingdom."
Andre's burnt hand twitched, reaching for the sword, but his fingers refused to close. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he touched the blade and commanded the earth. Rocks and minerals crawled over his stump and the hilt of the sword, fusing them together to form a crude, powerful hand of stone.
The Demon Lord laughed. "Still trying, my diligent student? Good. Stand up. Let us play again."
Andre rose, trembling, his voice a mere rasp: "She is calling me..."
The Demon Lord blinked in confusion. "Calling you? Ah, you mean Heaven? Yes, the heavens want you, Andre. So why don't you die quickly?"
"It isn't Heaven, you fool," Andre whispered. "It is my sister. I can hear her voice... she is crying."
At that same moment, in the world of the living...
Inside the Frost Squad headquarters, Emily sat by Andre's unconscious body, her tears falling onto his cold hand.
"Are you really going to leave us like this?" she sobbed, her voice breaking. "Please, wake up! Don't surrender to the dark. You haven't kept your promises yet! You still have to kill the demon that took our mother. You are my brother... didn't you say that? I won't let you give up! Please... come back. If you die, I will follow you!"
Those words traveled across the void, striking Andre's heart like a bolt of lightning.
Back in the arena, the Demon Lord continued his mockery. "She's crying for you? How pathetic. Perhaps after I'm done with you, I'll give her a reason to cry in person."
Rage exploded in Andre's veins. He lunged at the Demon Lord with a roar, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks.
"I will never let you lay a finger on her, you monster!"
The Demon Lord's eyes gleamed with madness. "Yes! That is the look I wanted to see! That is the spirit I want to break!"
A massive wave of dark energy erupted from the Demon Lord, countered by a desperate surge from Andre. But Andre's broken body betrayed him; he was blown back. Before he could hit the ground, the Demon Lord caught him with unnatural speed and slammed his charred back against the searing wall of fire.
Andre let out a scream that tore through the heavens.
The Demon Lord began to drag Andre across the flames, laughing hysterically.
"Yes, Andre! Feel it! Scream! Suffer! I won't let you die until I have drunk my fill of your agony!"