The Ancient Imperial Calendar, Year 1820
Orsman and Ricardo had used their Aura to the brink of exhaustion.
They decided to use their remaining Aura as armor.
Therefore, the next phase of the duel would continue with Spells.
Orsman and Ricardo immediately began casting spells.
"I must seize the height advantage."
Orsman began rising into the sky with a wind spell.
"I expected you to do this, father."
A whirlwind of flames surrounded Orsman.
"Clever, my son."
When Orsman realized he had fallen into a trap, he calmly created a water shield around himself.
Expending intense mana, he formed dozens of liters of water for the shield.
The water in the shield instantly dispersed, vaporizing the Flame Whirlwind and creating a dense fog cloud.
"I can't see anything. Was this his plan?"
Suddenly, thousands of ice spears advanced toward Orsman from all sides of the fog cloud.
"This sly child."
Orsman created a shield by covering himself with earth, but this shield rapidly shattered under the onslaught of Ricardo's thousands of ice spears.
"He trapped me perfectly. The fog cloud blocks my vision, while endless attacks with ice spears force me to defend. Defensive spells consume more mana than offensive spells. At this rate, my mana will deplete faster than Ricardo's."
As the attacks continued, Orsman's mana drained like water from a leaking container.
Thanks to the Payrist blood flowing in Ricardo's veins, he could cast powerful ice spells while expending only a small amount of mana.
While maintaining his defense, Orsman began preparing a counterattack.
He created a ring of fire around himself with a fire spell and filled it with mana. When it was ready for a massive explosion, he stopped channeling mana into his earth shield.
As the shield shattered under the ice spears, a massive wave of blue flames erupted, destroying the thousands of surrounding ice spears.
Ricardo continuously fled from this wave using wind and speed-enhancing spells.
"Now it's my turn to attack, my son."
Orsman created four massive orbs composed of fire, earth, water, and wind.
Aligned in a cross formation, these orbs simultaneously spewed their elemental attacks toward Ricardo.
"Damn my luck! I'm surrounded on all four sides. No... there's still a way. Unlike my father, I still have plenty of mana."
Unlike his father, Ricardo chose offense over defense while under attack. Using all four elements simultaneously, he repelled all of his father's attacks and swiftly charged forward.
"My mana has greatly diminished, but if my calculations are correct, my father's mana is also nearly depleted."
Orsman, still in the sky, contemplated his next move.
"My mana is almost gone. I'm certain Ricardo still has mana left. If this continues, I'll die. Then, the time has come to use my Light Power."
Ricardo cast a wind spell, leaping toward his father in a single bound. He gathered all his mana into his hand, preparing to deliver the final, lethal blow. However, a light whiter than snow and dazzling like a star erased his fully-charged attack as if it were nothing.
"Nur Power... I see."
Ricardo deflected Orsman's incoming attack with his own Light Power.
"After your Aura and Mana are exhausted, is this your last resort, father?"
"Yes, my son. It wouldn't be a lie to say I'm playing my final card."
The third and most crucial phase of the duel—the one that would determine the fate of the duel, the West, and perhaps even the world—had begun.