Ignis’s flames roared as she launched herself at Croft again, her fists wreathed in solar fire, her golden eyes blazing with fury. The old merchant sidestepped her first punch, then her second, his weathered body moving with a grace that belied his age.

"Haa... you should go easier on an old man," Croft said, his voice light, almost teasing. "My bones aren’t as strong as they used to be."

"I don’t care!" Ignis’s flames flared brighter. "You tricked us! I’ll burn you until there’s nothing left but ash!"

She lunged again, her fist slamming into the ground where Croft had been standing. Stone cracked, dust exploded, and a crater formed in the cobblestones. But Croft was already moving, sliding back out of range, his pale grey eyes sharp and assessing.

Soldiers rushed to intervene, swords raised, spears lowered. Ignis turned on them, her mouth opening wide.

"[Solar Flare]!"

A wave of superheated light erupted from her throat, engulfing the charging soldiers. Their screams were brief. The flames consumed them, leaving only blackened husks that crumbled to ash in the rain.

"Annoying," Ignis muttered, already turning back to Croft.

The old merchant’s eyebrows rose. "Dragons are such emotional creatures. That’s why I’ve always avoided dealing with your kind." He shrugged, his weathered hands spreading wide. "Too much fire. Literally."

Ignis’s golden eyes narrowed. "You talk too much, old man."

She shot toward him again, faster this time, her fist already cocked back.

Croft raised his arm to block—

And stopped.

His sleeve had ridden up, revealing the tattoos coiled around his forearm. The dragon, wrapped around his flesh like a living serpent, was glowing. Pale blue light pulsed along its lines, spreading across his skin, sinking into his veins.

Ignis’s momentum faltered. Her flames flickered as she skidded to a halt, her golden eyes fixed on the glowing tattoos. Her nose twitched.

’That smell...’ Her internal voice was sharp, confused. ’It’s like... like a dragon’s scent.’

Croft’s lips curved into a thin, cold smile. His pale grey eyes, fixed on Ignis, began to change. The pupils narrowed, elongating into vertical slits. The irises shifted, brightening into a pale, reptilian gold. And from his temples, pushing through skin and hair, horns began to grow. Small at first, then larger, curving back from his brow like a crown of bone.

Ignis’s flames flickered. Her voice cracked.

"You’re... a dragon?!"

Croft’s smile widened, revealing teeth that were no longer quite human. "No." He flexed his hands, and claws extended from his fingertips, gleaming in the fading light. "I am a man who borrowed a dragon’s power."

He lunged.

Ignis raised her arms to block, but Croft was faster. His fist slammed into her guard, and the impact sent her flying. She crashed through a wooden cart, through a stack of barrels, her body tumbling across the rain-slicked stone before she finally skidded to a halt.

She pushed herself up, shaking her head, her flames sputtering.

"Fast..." she muttered, her golden eyes fixed on Croft’s advancing form.

He didn’t stop. His hands rose, and frost gathered around his fingers, crystallizing into spears of ice that shot toward Ignis with blinding speed.

"[Frozen Lance]!"

Ignis’s flames erupted, meeting the ice projectiles head-on. Steam exploded between them, hissing and spitting, but the lances kept coming, each one faster than the last.

Ignis dodged, twisted, her flames melting what she couldn’t avoid. But Croft pressed closer, his ice attacks relentless.

"You’re lucky," Ignis said, her voice sharp, her flames blazing brighter. "You’re fighting me. I’ll melt your ice until it evaporates!"

Croft’s smile didn’t waver. "Then I’ll simply lower the temperature." Frost gathered around his hands, thicker this time, the air around them crystallizing into tiny ice crystals. "Until you can’t melt it anymore."

The temperature plummeted. Ignis’s flames flickered, struggling against the sudden cold. Her breath misted in front of her face.

’He’s... cooling the air itself,’ she thought, her internal voice sharp with frustration.

Croft raised his hands, and the frost around him coalesced into a massive sphere of ice, its surface gleaming with pale blue light.

"[Absolute Zero Cannon]!"

The sphere shot toward Ignis.

She raised her hands, flames gathering in her palms.

"[Solar Corona]!"

The fire met the ice.

Steam exploded between them, a wall of white that swallowed the street, swallowing the soldiers, swallowing the buildings. The heat was immense, the cold equally so, and for a moment, they warred—flame against frost, dragon fire against dragon ice.

Then the steam cleared.

Ignis stood, her flames dimmed, her body smoking. The ice sphere was gone, melted into nothing. But Croft was already moving, another sphere forming in his hands.

Ignis’s jaw tightened. ’He’s not even winded.’

Ignis’s flames guttered as she raised her hands to meet Croft’s next attack, but the frost was faster. The ice swallowed her fire, snuffing it out like a candle in a storm. She tried to dodge, but Croft’s eyes had already tracked her movement.

"[Frozen Coffin]!"

Ice erupted from the ground, wrapping around Ignis’s legs, her arms, her torso. It climbed her body like living vines, freezing her in place. She struggled, flames flickering along her skin, but the ice held.

"Stay there," Croft said, his voice calm, almost bored. "This will only hurt for a moment."

Ignis’s golden eyes blazed with fury. "Let me go!"

Croft didn’t answer. His hands rose, and the frost around him coalesced into a massive spike, its surface gleaming with pale blue light.

"Frozen Requiem."

The spike shot forward.

It struck Ignis square in the chest.

CRACK—SHATTER!

The sound was deafening—ice breaking, stone cracking, Ignis’s roar of pain tearing through the rain. Blood sprayed, dark against the white frost, splattering across the cobblestones. Her body convulsed, the spike embedded in her chest, pinning her to the ice that held her.

Croft lowered his hands, rolling his shoulders. His voice was light, almost casual.

"Hmm. Perhaps I overdid it."

The ice around Ignis cracked.

Croft’s eyes widened.

Ignis’s fist shot through the frozen prison, shattering it. The spike in her chest dissolved, melting into water that mixed with the blood streaming down her front. Her flames, dimmed but not extinguished, roared back to life.

She lunged.

Her fist slammed into the ground where Croft had been standing. Stone exploded, dust billowed, and a crater formed where the old merchant’s feet had been. Croft, already moving, skidded back, his pale eyes wide.

"You’re... still alive?"

Ignis straightened, her chest heaving. The wound where the spike had struck was already closing, new flesh knitting over the torn skin. But her breathing was ragged, her flames flickering.

"I’m a dragon," she spat. "We don’t die that easily."

Croft’s eyes flicked to her chest, to the wound that was already healing. His lips pressed into a thin line.

’Her regeneration... it’s faster than I anticipated.’