The ice grew across his face; it felt like fire burning him. But instead of flames, it was ice. Cold, yet hot? How could ice be hot?
This question ran through the giant's mind. When he tried to move his arm, something prevented it. Looking down, he saw with wide eyes that his arm was totally encased in ice.
At that moment, he couldn't feel his arm anymore; it was as if it had never existed. Gritting his teeth, he tried to move, but then felt something strike his cheek, throwing him backward.
Poul merely looked at him coldly, his own arm covered in ice, walking toward the giant whose two arms remained frozen on the ground.
Despair seized the giant's mind.
Poul walked as the large, ice-covered arm disintegrated into ice particles that flowed toward the Ice Hero's other arm.
With every step he took, the ice grew, both on the ground and on his body.
Sighing deeply, the air that left the human's mouth was cold and heavy.
Seeing this, the giant broke out in a cold sweat. He swallowed hard, thinking:
'Am I truly seeing this? I will lose to a human!'
Without his arms, he ground his teeth. His heart tightened with every step the human took.
The ice grew while the fire diminished. The terror of the fire only increased; despair consumed not just his mind, but his body.
The Elemental Giant, who had been superior just moments ago, was now nothing more than a dog trembling with pure fear. Yet, he had never felt fear before.
'What is this feeling? W-Why am I trembling? What is the reason for me being like this?!'
Despite this, fire reappeared on his shoulders and flowed down to form his arms. He slammed his new arms onto the ground, which was stained with dry blood.
Seeing this, Poul charged, leaving patches of ice where he stepped. Brandishing the bluish sword, he delivered a horizontal cut.
A wall of fire instantly erupted, melting Poul's sword. He widened his eyes in surprise.
Planting his feet on the ground again, he jumped backward just as a blast of hot wind hit his back.
Turning his face, he saw the giant stretching his arm back, grinding his teeth. The color of his eyes matched his element.
'Ah... damn it. I got careless. It looks like I'm going to die.' Poul thought, his expression cold and dead. There was no light in his eyes.
'Jay!' He had forgotten his purpose for coming to war: his son. As his son's smile flashed through his mind, he quickly formed a shield.
'I...' The giant hurled his fist toward the human in front of him. 'I will not lose to an...' The blow struck the shield. 'Insect!'
The shield cracked. The Ice Hero felt his arm fracturing, and not just cracking; as the blow connected, the fracture turned into a complete break that resonated through his entire body.
Flying like a projectile, he cut through the wind with speed. Hitting the wall, smoke rose, and parts of the impact zone cracked.
The cracks slowly expanded.
Poul, inside the hole, heard screams of hatred and despair, the sound of metal clashing. The Ice Hero felt something warm sliding down his skin—from his head and arms—like freshly heated water. He also couldn't feel his legs or arms. His vision blurred, slowly turning reddish.
He tried to move his limbs but couldn't. Moving his head wasn't an option either.
'I... I'm going to die. Just because of a moment of carelessness. What... what a shame, shit, shit, shit.' He thought, gritting his teeth.
'I won't die, I refuse to die. I can't, I have to.' The image of his son reading in the living room with bright eyes.
Just seeing him like that would brighten the rest of his day. 'I must fulfill my promise to him!'
The hot fluid turned solid and cold on every part of his body. The ice that had been consuming his body had melted from the blow.
The ice reconnected the broken bones, muscles, and healed organs.
Poul's element consumed the entire hole. He broke free from the ice that had formed around him. Cold, icy smoke poured out and covered the crater. Gripping the outer edge of the wall, which was consumed by ice, Poul pulled his body out, surrounded by the frigid wind.
His skin was pale, as if he had been buried in snow. His gaze was cold, but full of hatred.
In front of him was the battlefield, with burning fire and smoke, limbs on the ground holding battle weapons, and roars of fighting. Explosions could be heard as the smell of gunpowder intensified.
Stepping forward, he let gravity carry him to the ground, landing with something blue consuming the earth. It was beautiful, yet horrifying.
A struggling giant saw the human, the ground being consumed by something blue, his skin pale, and something solid and bluish growing on his neck. Swinging his sword at the human, delivering a horizontal cut.
Poul just looked straight ahead, continuing his path toward the Elemental Giant.
The giant who had attacked the Ice Hero was frozen entirely. The hero walked; with every step, the ice consumed the earth. His breath was cold and heavy. With every sound of clashing swords around him, he made the ice particles slow down in the creation of his weapon.
At that moment, the Elemental Giant felt the pressure of an aura, along with a massive murderous intent, enough to make all the giants tremble and sweat cold with every step the human took.
The hot air was fighting the cold, heavy air. Poul no longer wanted to just kill that giant, but also... all the giants...
The Elemental Giant, after striking down another giant, charged, leaving trails of fire where he passed.
Poul quickly turned to his rear, brandishing his sword, made of particles, against his enemy's punch. Throwing himself back, he faced the giant, who stared back, flames igniting from his arm to his face.
The hero didn't think twice and advanced. With every icy step he took, a part of himself was lost.
Stretching out his hand, several fireballs appeared in the air, launching them toward his enemy.
With a deep voice, the giant said: "Die, insect."
Running toward the giant and seeing the fireballs coming toward him. Poul simply created wings on his back.
Flying, dodging, and slicing the fireballs, drops of water slid off his sword. Before getting close to the giant, he opened his wings and flew toward the sky—the balls pursued him.
High above, Poul saw the entire wall. He saw that his soldiers were struggling but doing well.
A faint smile touched his face, the ice consuming half of it, encircling his eye. Opening his arms, he let gravity pull him down.
The wind carrying the gunpowder rustled his hair and clothes. He stretched out his arm, opened his hand, and a blast of fire appeared.
Poul just spun during the giant's attack, until one part of the attack transformed into a flaming sword. Pulling it back.
Poul came with a thirst for blood. His icy sword was melting, but he ignored that detail.
"AHHHH!" Poul screamed with his purest hatred.
The Elemental Giant launched a horizontal attack with his flaming sword.
The impact of the two swords caused a hot wind mixed with cold. The hero's wing melted while the fire ignited the host body.
The swords trembled; the fire was being extinguished by the water flowing down.
The two separated. They stared at each other as their two elements consumed their bodies.
He couldn't feel or move parts of his body anymore; his breath was getting colder and heavier. The air was also not helping; the smell of blood, fire, and burning was inhaled through Poul's nostrils.
'I can no longer feel or even move part of... my mouth.' Poul thought, as the giant inhaled the gunpowder air into his nostrils.
A heavy sigh came out like the beginning of a roar. Opening his mouth to speak, hot air came out. "An insect... how can an insect like you be so." He gritted his teeth before finishing. "So powerful, who are you?"
"Who am I?" The Ice Hero gave a slight smile. "I'm just your worst nightmare." He said, with only one side of his face moving.
"Nightmare?!" He said in a serious yet comical tone. "Don't make me..."
His right eye began to glow, and the fire that was igniting his arm began to spread across his body.
"...laugh. We've barely started, insect."