Dekai's pressure was insanely heavy. It was as though he had been containing his vast amount of power deep within him.
Atticus felt the temperature of the summit spike. The area where Dekai stood was simply hardened ground. There was no hint of flames in a significant radius around him.
The sound of his walking stick hitting the ground echoed like a war drum. An intense heat wave spread out, followed by the air around Dekai igniting.
It was unlike anything he had done before.
Completely unlike the demonstrations he had given. His flames looked so solid and thick that Atticus couldn't help but think it was lava.
It didn't take a second. The flames coalesced and arranged themselves with a speed that many in the area found hard to believe.
In the next second, a large construct was formed in front of Dekai, a perfect image of himself, down to the last detail.
"He's a goner,"
Duran exclaimed from the side. He and the others were still trying their best to recover from Dekai unleashing his presence. If Duran had been standing in place of Atticus, he would have run without a second thought!
Joana instead watched the unfolding scene calmly. The boy kept on showing amazing things upon amazing things; it would be unwise to believe he couldn't do so now.
'So this is the father of fire,'
Atticus clenched his fist hard. Currently, with Dekai not even doing anything, Atticus could feel the surrounding fire molecules had gotten insanely heavier.
'This won't be easy,'
Atticus prepared himself for the worst. There was no way he was defeating this monster of a man in an orthodox battle.
'But I only have to get one hit in. I can do it!'
The world slowed as Atticus's perception ramped up to full throttle. His entire being went into controlling his construct.
From each molecule to limbs, to joints, Atticus reinforced everything that would hinder his construct's movements.
Dekai had already given the go-ahead to begin the battle. Atticus wasted no time.
His focus at its peak, Atticus sent waves of instructions to each molecule.
His construct responded in kind, abruptly coiling back before shooting forward with the force of a rocket.
The ground trembled as the construct blazed towards Dekai's construct, the massive distance getting covered in a flash. Atticus's construct was precise and accurate, moving as though it were a normal human.
Such control was something that Atticus shouldn't be able to display considering the short time he had spent here. But currently, everyone along with Dekai had learned to take everything this boy did at face value.
Dekai's gaze remained impassive and firm. There was not a single ripple of change on his face.
His response was slow and deliberate, but its consequences were devastating.
Dekai slightly raised his walking stick, his construct mirroring his movement. It descended in the next instant, the sound of it hitting the ground echoing like a thunderclap.
Like an intense tsunami approaching the shoreline from every direction, a wave of scorching fire radiated outward, approaching Atticus's construct with blazing speed.
Atticus's gaze widened. If that wave of fire hit, his construct would be a goner! He acted instantly.
The katana on its waist exploded into its grasp, the construct coming to an abrupt stop. The tip of the fire-made katana glowed an intense blue and it thrust it into the ground.
Just as the wave of scorching fire was about to hit, a palpable blue wave radiated out from the construct, encompassing it like a barrier.
The wave of fire passed through, and the barrier held.
Atticus didn't waste a second.
The construct stood up and exploded forward, its katana held with two arms behind it as its legs moved with speed.
The distance between them was closed in a flash, Atticus's construct reaching Dekai's unmoving one.
Abruptly, Atticus's construct feinted left before slashing downward at Dekai's right leg.
However, Dekai's construct mirrored every demeanor of its master, calm and utterly still.
A small barrier the exact size of the katana's blade sprung up and deflected the strike effortlessly.
But Atticus didn't falter. His construct stomped forward, halting its momentum before unleashing a torrent of swift, devastating slashes.
Each attack was met by a small barrier, appearing just in time to block the onslaught with uncanny precision.
Atticus's gaze narrowed. His construct leaped backward, creating a few meters of space. Raising its massive katana skyward, it erupted into a wave of blue fire.
The onlookers' eyes widened in shock. It was the same technique Cerron had used! Had Atticus mastered it in mere minutes?
The flaming blue katana descended, unleashing an arc of intense blue fire that hurtled toward Dekai's construct. The air sizzled with its passage, and the ground scorched beneath its path.
Dekai's construct remained unperturbed, a slight smile playing on Dekai's lips as the devastating attack closed in.
'Ah, I truly can't wait to see his future. I hope I'm alive to witness it,'
The attack hit, an intense wave of scorching fire erupting and shooting outwards.
"W-what the hell!"
Duran, Joana, and the others struggled to withstand the heat wave, their attires fluttering.
An intense amount of smoke covered the area of impact, and Atticus along with the onlookers fixed their gazes, trying to see the result of the attack.
'Did I get him?'
Atticus's question was answered, but not by him.
An intense laughter rocked the entire area,
"Hahahaha! Good! Good! You have mastered the fire element to such a stage in a short time frame! Your control is impeccable! Your battle sense is top-notch and you can calmly analyze and react despite the situation.
Amazing, amazing!"
Dekai spoke rapidly, and each second that passed made the smoke clear out, allowing Atticus and the rest to get a clear view of Dekai.
Their hearts trembled.
The man, along with his construct, was completely unharmed, not a single damage was on them or even the ground around them.
It was a scene that made Atticus's gaze narrow. This wouldn't be easy, not even in the slightest.
Dekai's voice suddenly boomed, the rest of the smoke around him dispersing, "I've allowed you to attack so far, now it's my turn."
Dekai's walking stick hit the ground with a loud bam, and then his construct… disappeared!
Atticus's gaze widened, but it was too late. Dekai's construct appeared directly above Atticus's, its firm stance undisturbed as it descended like a meteor crashing to earth.
Atticus's construct pointed its arms to the side, instantly releasing a powerful blast that pushed it out of the way.
Dekai's construct hit the ground with a cataclysmic impact, sending a wave of fire spreading outwards.
Atticus struggled to regain control over his construct, its figure performing a mid-air spin and skidding down the hard ground.
Atticus turned his gaze to Dekai's construct to see that it had already disappeared!
'So fast! Shit!'
He returned his focus back to his construct, its katana instantly raised up to block a downward strike from Dekai's construct's large walking stick.
The impact was so intense that Atticus's construct was forced down to one knee.
Atticus struggled to withstand the force, his whole body straining, but he wasn't given the chance.
A blazing kick landed on the right side of Atticus's construct's torso, sending it shooting to the side with supersonic speed.
Dekai's construct instantly appeared in its path, delivering another powerful kick to its chin, sending it flying upwards.
High in the air, Dekai's construct materialized again, unleashing a devastating downward kick that sent Atticus's construct hurtling toward the ground with incredible speed.
Before it could even hit the ground, Dekai's construct vanished and reappeared, delivering another kick that launched Atticus's construct back into the air.
This cycle repeated with rapidity, each kick sending Atticus's construct rocketing in a different direction. The impacts were relentless, the force behind each strike growing more intense.
"So this is the father of fire," Duran muttered, the rest of the onlookers gazing at the current scene with awe.
Atticus felt his control of his construct waning. He had next to no control over it anymore, each of the molecules having gone out of control.
'What do I do, what do I do,'
Atticus's mind was swirling, rapidly shifting between different scenarios that could be helpful in this battle.
Dekai's construct was fast, unrealistically fast. It moved with such speed and precision that Atticus couldn't even dream of achieving currently.
His construct kept on getting hit without him even being able to react.
'This can't continue!'
Atticus abruptly raised both arms in front of him, and just as Dekai's construct appeared in front of it, a large flaming orb abruptly shot out from within Atticus's construct, its form suddenly combusting with intense power.
The force of the explosion separated the two of them, sending Atticus's construct flying away.
The smoke around the area cleared, and Dekai's construct was completely unharmed. It descended slowly and landed on the ground.
Dekai's voice suddenly resounded, "You're going to have to try harder than this, Atticus. This is not enough to pass the test of the fourth summit!"
A small smile appeared on Dekai's face. 'Now, what will you show me?' His anticipation was bubbling.
Atticus breathed heavily. He had lost control of a significant number of molecules with the bombardment he took from Dekai.
His construct had reduced in size, and he was finding it hard to control more molecules. The strain of controlling his construct in just a few seconds of battle with Dekai proved to be more difficult than fighting Joana for over 20 hours!
Atticus let out a deep exhale.
Regardless, he wasn't going to give up. He was going to win this battle no matter what.
Atticus's gaze flashed, and his construct responded in kind.