Dekai truly deserved the title he had been given. Only a few seconds of battle with the old man had left Atticus utterly drained.
'I have no strength left for a prolonged battle. I have to end it with my next move,' Atticus inwardly decided, a last ditch effort forming in his head.
It could end up not working at all, or it could be his ticket to getting out of the fire sanctum. Regardless, Atticus was willing to take that risk.
Atticus sent waves of instructions, his construct standing up straight with effort.
Dekai smiled as he saw this, a subtle excitement bubbling within him. 'What will you show me?'
Joana, Duran, and the others seemed to come to the conclusion that this next move would be the end of the battle, each of them noting Atticus's tired figure.
Atticus calmed his beating heart and his gaze became firm. Like a rocket, his construct shot towards Dekai's construct with speed.
"Come!"
Dekai shouted as he unleashed his presence fully.
Atticus felt the temperature spike once more, the fire molecules in the air becoming increasingly heavy and difficult to control. However, his construct didn't slow down for even a single second.
Atticus's gaze suddenly flashed, and his construct abruptly stopped with a large stomp of its foot.
The katana in its grasp exploded and transformed into the form of a large gun with a long and wide-open nozzle, akin to a rocket launcher.
With his focus at its peak, a shot was fired from the gun, moving with such momentum that the construct was forced backward for a few meters, shockwaves spreading out.
The shot reached its destination, a cataclysmic impact ensuing. An intense amount of smoke engulfed and covered the area.
Dekai grinned from within the smoke, "It looks like you haven't learned your lesson. This is not enough!"
The sound of his walking stick hitting the ground echoed, followed by the smoke getting dispersed by an intense breeze.
Dekai's gaze narrowed, 'Where is he?'
Immediately, the smoke cleared, and his eyes searched for Atticus, wanting to give another piece of advice, but the boy wasn't standing where he had been a second ago!
Dekai's understanding of the fire element was too profound; there was not a single person whose position he didn't know in the entire sanctum. And yet, he had lost track of Atticus for a moment. Yes, it was a moment.
Because immediately, Dekai saw the burst of fire akin to fireworks where Atticus had been standing, his heart couldn't help but tremble as he realized what the monster had just done.
He had promised himself not to be too shocked about Atticus's actions again, but this was far too much!
Atticus had utilized the fire element to teleport! It was insane.
'Where did he teleport to?'
Dekai regained his composure and instantly discovered his answer.
'He's inside his construct!'
To Dekai, the small amount of smoke that had engulfed the area was too meager; it wasn't enough to block his vision for more than a second.
However, for the rest of the onlookers, the smoke had just cleared out enough for each of them to see the figure of Atticus's construct getting into a stance.
Compared to a second ago, the construct seemed to have lost a massive amount of bulk. It was currently barely 11 feet tall. However, what each one of them was focused on was the figure that was inside the construct, Atticus!
This was Atticus's last-ditch effort. For it to work, he had to put everything into it. Atticus had always felt that if he were in direct contact with the molecules, his control over them would become significantly more fluid and free.
What he was about to do now required as much control over them as he could get. This was why he reduced the size of the construct significantly.
His construct mimicked his movements and got into a stance. A fire-made katana exploded into its arms, held by the side.
Atticus's aura abruptly exploded, an intense blue glow encompassing him and his construct.
Without so much as a word, he rocketed forward. His force and momentum were so intense that the whole summit shook, an intense wave that threatened to snuff out the flaming ground spreading outwards.
Joana, Duncan, and the rest instantly manipulated the fire molecules to hold themselves in place.
The grin on Dekai's face widened. 'He got me good,' he thought, suddenly remembering the art Atticus had used on Cerron when he wanted to cut the latter's head. The katana's first art.
Transcendent Slash: Godspeed Grace.
Atticus and his construct moved with unreal speed and appeared behind Dekai in a flash.
An intense amount of exhaustion immediately enveloped his whole body. The large form of his construct crumbled, and he landed on the ground heavily.
His breathing was haggard, deep inhales and exhales. Atticus struggled to keep himself upright, both hands on his knees.
Using the first art of the katana had been nothing other than utterly exhausting.
Since he couldn't directly utilize mana, Atticus had to use the molecules instead to generate mana. It had been a daunting task, one that required his every focus to achieve, but he had been able to do it.
Regardless, he forced himself up, his gaze turning towards Dekai, who was looking at him with a huge smile on his face.
Atticus's eyes drifted towards Dekai's back, a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he saw Dekai's construct walking stick along with a significant amount of his attire slashed off.
Dekai's voice sounded, "Congratulations, Atticus Ravenstein, you passed the test of the fourth summit!"
An intense laughter escaped Dekai's lips after he spoke, one that lasted a long while. He seemed completely amused that Atticus had actually passed the test.
'If he had been facing a normal instructor, he would have been able to pass without even using that last move,' Dekai thought.
Dekai was thoroughly satisfied. He had intentionally increased the difficulty of the test because he wanted to see what Atticus would do.
He did see it, and it was nothing other than mind-blowing.