CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204- PRIDE

Glain’s breath grew heavy, his grip on the staff trembling. The ground beneath his feet quivered, not from Leo’s attacks this time, but from the weight of exhaustion pressing through his old bones.

He steadied himself, but even the air felt heavier now. The magic that had once flowed through him like spring water moved sluggishly, resisting his call.

"Getting tired, old man?" Leo taunted, hovering above the ground, his armor gleaming with divine frost. A chilling mist radiated from his body, spreading like a deathly fog. "Did you really think your tricks could last forever?"

Glain didn’t answer. His body ached. His heart thudded unevenly, every beat reminding him of the decades he had carried. Still, he raised his staff, his eyes calm, if weary.

But Leo wasn’t waiting.

He spread his arms, and the temperature dropped in an instant. Crystals formed midair, glittering with a cruel light. The world turned pale, each breath a shard of glass in Glain’s lungs.

Then Leo whispered, voice filled with arrogant reverence, "Behold the purity of ice. Cold... flawless... unyielding. Just like me."

A dozen spears of frozen energy formed behind him and shot forward. Glain threw up a barrier of vines and stone, but the first impact shattered it like glass. The shockwave sent him staggering back, his staff barely holding him upright.

"Too slow," Leo hissed, his movements now smooth and sharp, every strike leaving trails of frost in the air. His exoskeletal armor gleamed, the jagged edges now covered in crystalline ice that pulsed with divine power.

Glain swung his staff, deflecting one of the icy blades, but another grazed his shoulder, leaving a freezing burn that crawled up his arm. He gasped, stumbling as the frost began to spread under his skin.

S’o this is how it feels...’ he thought, grimacing. ’To fight a storm head-on at my age.’

He pressed his palm to the wound, summoning a faint green glow. Nature’s warmth pulsed weakly through his veins, countering the creeping cold. "Not yet," he whispered to himself. "I’m not done yet."

Leo smirked. "You can heal yourself as much as you want, old man, but you can’t heal time. Your body betrays you with every second."

Glain steadied his breathing. "And yet... here I stand, facing the so-called god who hides behind armor."

Leo’s smile vanished, replaced by cold fury. "You dare—"

He lunged forward, blades of ice forming around his arms. His attacks came faster now, each swing sharper, heavier. Glain deflected what he could, redirected others with bursts of earth and roots, but each motion grew slower, heavier.

His knees buckled slightly. His breath misted thickly in the frozen air.

’He’s faster than before... and colder. My spells are slowing down. My reactions too.’

Leo’s laughter echoed. "Face it, old man. You’re nothing but rot wrapped in pride."

Glain’s expression didn’t change, but his heart burned, not with anger, but resolve.

’If my strength fades, then I’ll use my mind. If my body breaks, the land itself will fight with me.’

He slammed his staff to the ground. The earth shuddered. Cracks spread in the frozen soil, and from them sprouted vines covered in shimmering frost, absorbing the cold, then channeling it back toward Leo.

For a moment, Leo’s smirk faltered as frost crept along his armor from below. "You..." he snarled, tearing free with a burst of energy.

Glain straightened, coughing, his voice hoarse but steady. "Even winter feeds the roots of spring."

Leo’s eyes blazed with rage. "You think your poetic nonsense will save you?"

"No," Glain said softly. "But it reminds me that even gods can wither."

And as the storm of ice gathered once more in Leo’s hands, Glain planted his feet firmly, readying himself for the next clash, knowing this might be his last stand.

Leo’s grin twisted into something darker and mocking. His wings of ice flickered behind him, each feather shimmering like a blade.

"You’re clever, old man," he said, his voice smooth with false admiration. "But cleverness means nothing if you can’t see what’s coming."

Before Glain could react, Leo’s form dissolved into a flurry of frost. The air around him warped, his figure scattering into dozens of illusory copies, each one pulsing with the same divine energy. Glain’s eyes narrowed, his instincts screaming danger.

’Illusions? No, shadows of his aura.’

He raised his staff, summoning roots to intercept the incoming attacks, but the first blow came from behind. A shard of divine ice pierced through his shoulder, clean, silent, precise.

"Ghh—!" Glain staggered forward, his staff slipping slightly from his grasp. He tried to turn, but another strike came, slicing across his ribs. He felt the sting of the cold spread inside him like poison.

Leo’s voice echoed from everywhere at once. "You rely too much on the earth beneath you, Druid. But what happens when the ground itself freezes over?"

The temperature plummeted. The soil around Glain turned to crystal, locking his roots and magic in place. His connection to nature faltered, flickering like a dying flame.

Glain’s vision blurred for a second. Blood dripped from his arm, freezing before it hit the ground. So cold... it’s slowing my pulse.

He inhaled deeply, forcing his body to move. Vines burst through the frozen crust, cracking the ice slightly. "You fight like a coward, Leo," he rasped.

"Coward?" Leo’s laughter cut through the blizzard like steel. "No, old man. I fight like a god."

The copies vanished, replaced by the real Leo descending from above, both hands raised high. A lance of divine frost formed between them, glowing with merciless light.

Glain raised his staff, summoning a shield of layered bark and stone but Leo shifted his stance midair, twisting his strike at the last instant. The spear shattered the shield and buried itself deep into Glain’s side.

"—Aghhh!" The old druid coughed blood, collapsing to one knee. His staff fell, trembling.

Leo landed softly in front of him, smiling as he twisted the spear still lodged in Glain’s body. "See? Strength isn’t about age or wisdom. It’s about domination."

Glain gritted his teeth, trying to speak, but blood filled his mouth. So that was his plan... the illusions were just bait. He forced me to defend the wrong side.

His mind reeled. The pain was immense, the frost creeping closer to his heart. Yet even as the world dimmed, Glain refused to fall.

He pressed his trembling hand to the wound, whispering a spell through clenched teeth. Faint green light flickered, weak but persistent, slowing the spread of the frost.

Leo stepped back slightly, intrigued. "Still clinging to life? You druids never know when to quit."

Glain raised his gaze, his eyes still sharp despite the pain.

Leo sneered, drawing back his arm for another strike. "Then I’ll carve it into your bones."

But even through the agony, Glain’s lips curved into the faintest smile. ’You may have wounded me, Leo... but I’ve seen the flaw in your arrogance.’