The flames are scorching, much hotter than the red fire. In this form, he is able to throw magically augmented white flames onto his surroundings. A white flame of his can traverse this hallway in half a minute if left unchecked.
He believes that his opponent will be busy dealing with all the fires he throws which will make it easier for him to use his preferred weapon effectively. However, in exchange he won't be able to maintain this output for more than ten minutes. He'll have less than ten minutes to kill his opponent in order to fully achieve his goal.
…What? How is he… even the white flames… so easily?
Orin watches in shock as all Ajax has to do to nullify the flames in the hallway is to wave his hands around nonchalantly. The burning man still believes that he is using some sort of temperature control magic, but the magical properties of the white flames make it difficult for a simple change in temperature to have such an effect on them. The boy's hands are suddenly covered in a layer of ice.
As Orin breathes, he sees his breath is visible. The temperature in this hallway is now quite a bit below the freezing point yet it is still not a temperature that will cause a great deal of harm to the people within the apartment units in this hallway. Ajax believes it to be -20C, but he's only making a ballpark estimate. He shouts for a bit more reassurance that he's not hurting anyone here.
"Hey! Get away from the doors! Retreat to the windows and balconies! There is a fire extinguishing procedure being conducted and the air temperature is dropping quickly. Unless you want frostbite, retreat from the doors!!"
As Ajax yells out a semi-convincing lie to facilitate the safety of the floor's residents, Orin clutches his ears again, gritting his teeth. Ajax raises his hands in a fighting stance that Orin can only scoff at.
Such a fucking annoying amateur…
He still cannot even fathom why the boy in front of him didn't look like he was exerting any energy at all. No incantations either for what should undoubtedly be a higher class magic than the ones he used to snuff out his red flames earlier.
He did look frustrated at the prevalence of the flames but not about the magic he was performing, as if he weren't expending any mana at all. Orin is starting to feel somewhat cornered.
Why isn't he running out of energy? Where is he getting all the mana to make the area so frigid!?
Orin bites the inside of his lower lip, causing a small amount of blood to wet his tongue. Ajax can perceive something important right now as well. He can see how ragged Orin looks, even though his injuries look like they've been repaired. It had brought to the forefront something that Ajax was assuming already.
He's struggling to deal with something and it's not just the injuries I inflicted. It must be the vial… he drank it and he didn't explode… yet. Maybe he's trying to deal with whatever the vial is trying to do with his body, trying to prevent himself from exploding. He might be a ticking fire bomb. But, at the same time, he wants to live! The nerve of this prick…
Ajax couldn't just stop at cutting off his head or destroying his heart. Just like Loman and Karise from earlier, he would have to freeze Orin solid so that there would be no chance of him setting the interior of this apartment building ablaze upon his death.
Still, how am I going to lay a finger on him? He's too fast. He's way more experienced combat-wise than I am. What am I going to do?
Ajax doesn't have the metal projectiles to use anymore. He and Orin had run away from the areas which had all the metal weapons and armor of the other terrorists. Ajax has no weapons on him at the moment aside from his own fists.
He has one last thing that he can use, his money pouch filled with silver and bronze coins. The coins aren't large and they aren't as heavy as the metal shards that he had used. However, they might be able to serve a simple distraction at the very least.
He puts his hands into his pockets as Orin starts to chuckle. His chuckle turns into a raucous laugh.
"Boy… are you a nobleman?" He asks, with an oddly warm smile. Orin is in his late thirties with an appearance as if he's in his mid forties, so Ajax is reminded of his middle school principal due to the burning man's soft voice and authoritative demeanor.
"..." Ajax chooses not to confirm or deny. He wants to attack, but his battle inexperience is making him wary of jumping right in. He feels an instinct as well, telling him that attacking while his opponent is speaking would not work, or rather, that it's too obvious a trap.
"Because if you are, you're an ungodly failure. To turn your back on humanity for the furballs… and the lizards… it's just pathetic." Orin lectures, the smile on his face dropping into a slight frown. He seems as sincere as if he were Ajax's own father lightly admonishing him.
He's trying to bait me. Fucking creepy psychopath of shit.
"...Your fucking grand existence, chosen by God Himself, reduced to fighting me in this manner. It would be better for this country's rulers that you die. I am going to end your life, boy." His face darkens.
All of a sudden, Ajax perceives a light forming in his enemy's left hand, one unlike the fire pouring out of his body. The light is not as bright as the fire and forms a cloudy, obscured shape. This new object's color is bluish-green.
Ajax leaps to prevent Orin from doing whatever he's about to do right now. The object in his hand is not fully formed yet and he believes that allowing Orin to continue uninterrupted would result in a poor outcome for him. The burning man dodges backwards and laughs as he keeps avoiding Ajax's attempts to grab him.
"Trastivon." Ajax hears Orin whisper suddenly and the light on his left arm forms a solid shape.
