CHAPTER 147: BATTLE OF THE SCARLET ROSE INN (2)

Soon the ice covered the whole hallway, freezing the whole place, its coldness seeping into every inch of the place. Even the guards and the underlings they were fighting could feel the coldness emanating from the place.

"Ugh..." Rufus groaned as his head throbbed, the effects of the alcohol starting to make him woozy.

"Ice Magic: Frozen Prison."

Rufus mumbled, and a large chunk of ice rose from the floor, trapping the muscular man within it as the ice started to cover him, moving up from his feet.

"What the fuck? You are not gonna catch me with this, elf." The muscular man roared, as he tried to resist, trying to break free from the icy prison.

But the ice was too thick, and the muscular man was unable to move, his movements restricted by the cold, heavy substance.

"You won’t be able to move," Rufus said, his tone serious. "You better give up or else..."

The muscular man glared at Rufus, his expression filled with anger and hate.

"Damn you, you elf! Do you really think this will be enough to stop me?" He shouted, his voice filled with rage.

Rufus’ eyes narrowed, "Yes, I do."

And with that, the ice fully enveloped the muscular man’s body, sealing him in the frozen prison.

"Haaah..." Rufus breathed a sigh of relief as the ice completely froze the muscular man.

"At last he is dealt with. Now I have to save the princess."

’But first, I have to sober myself up.’

With that, he began chanting an incantation, his voice filled with intensity and concentration.

"Ice Magic: Aqua Cleansing."

Suddenly, faint red smoke started to emit from his body and faded away after a moment.

The smoke was the effect of the alcohol leaving his body. No, it was more like the alcohol was turning into smoke and leaving his body.

The alcohol he drank had now left his body. His head felt clear, and his movements were no longer sluggish.

’That’s better.’ Rufus thought.

He glanced at the frozen muscular man, his gaze filled with contempt.

And after confirming the man was properly sealed, he pulled his sword from the frozen ground, ready to sprint towards the princess’ room.

’There’s no time to waste. I have to go save the princess.’

But before he could move a step, his eyes caught a fire emitting from the muscular man’s wrist, a bracelet was the source of the flame.

’What? That’s..’

’The Fire Magic Bracelet?!’

Rufus’s eyes widened, his expression filled with shock.

’It can’t be. How can that man have it?’

The Fire Magic Bracelet was a legendary treasure, it allows its wearer to control the power of fire at the cost of their vitality.

It was created by the Flameheart family a thousand years ago. At that time the Queen of the Alvon kingdom had a curse that was slowly turning her body into ice.

And it was not long after she got the curse that her whole body except her face and neck was already frozen.

And the king of that time, in a desperate attempt to save his wife, sought the help of famous mages, alchemists, and blacksmiths. But no one was able to create anything that could cure her.

And it was only then it was discovered that the queen wasn’t cursed, but she was born with a rare bloodline that grants her Ice abilities.

She was born with the ability to manipulate the water and ice around her and was thus able to produce ice at will.

However, as the queen grew up, she began to lose control over her powers and her body would randomly generate ice.

This made her condition worse and it wasn’t long before the ice started spreading across her body.

The king was desperate and thus he searched for any ways to cure the queen.

Then finally, the Flameheart family came forward who possessed exactly the opposite bloodline as the Queen, Fire.

Their bloodline gave them the ability to manipulate fire and heat, and could even produce flames at will.

Thus they came forward and offered their help, they examined the queen and they found a way to counter the curse, using their blood and the blood of the queen, they created a bracelet which was later named the Fire Magic Bracelet.

It could absorb the queen’s power and release it in the form of fire, and thus the queen could regain her control over the ice and could also use fire as well.

And that’s why the bracelet was named so.

But, the bracelet had one flaw, it required the lifeforce of the wearer. It would slowly drain the life force of the user and would cause them to age faster.

In short, the wearer will live a shorter lifespan and will look like an old person after wearing the bracelet for some years.

However, the flaw couldn’t affect the queen since her rare ice bloodline gave her thrice as much life force and vitality compared to a normal human.

Thus, the queen was able to regain her powers and her condition got better.

However, the bracelet was lost in history, it was a lost artifact and the bracelet was considered to be a myth.

It was written in the books of every kingdom including, the Alvon Kingdom, Dragonic Kingdom, and Elven Kingdom. Even the Beast Kingdom had books containing information about the bracelet.

It was written that the bracelet still had some of the queen’s power within it. And that it was also the only thing that contained her blood.

Cause of the curse, she couldn’t give birth to children, thus she couldn’t pass on her bloodline.

She was the first and last human with the ice bloodline.

Rufus knew all of that. After all, it was a story written down in the books of the elven kingdom as well.

He had read the story multiple times and knew all about the bracelet, and its legend.

And if the story is true then the bracelet could be a deadly weapon. Cause it would have the power of the queen’s ice bloodline stored in it, and the bracelet had the ability to convert it to fire.

But, the question is how did the muscular man get his hands on the bracelet.

’How did he get it?’

Rufus narrowed his eyes and stared at the man.

’I have to be careful. This guy is not normal. If the story is true then I should treat him with caution.’

Just as he was thinking, a large burst of flame exploded outwards from the muscular man’s bracelet, melting the ice surrounding him.

Rufus watched in astonishment as the ice gave way to the searing heat of the flames. The muscular man stood unharmed, a wicked grin on his face.

’What the fuck? Is the story true?’ Rufus’ eyes widened, his expression filled with disbelief.

"You underestimated me, elf," the muscular man sneered, his voice laced with arrogance. The flames continued to spread from the bracelet, enveloping him in a fiery aura. The intense heat radiated outward, causing the frozen surroundings to hiss and evaporate.

Rufus gritted his teeth, realizing that this was no ordinary opponent. The Fire Magic Bracelet was real, and the power it contained was formidable. He had to act quickly before the situation escalated further.

With a swift motion, Rufus raised his sword, channeling his own magic into it. The blade began to shimmer with a blue aura, a stark contrast to the fiery energy emanating from the muscular man.

"Ice Magic: Froststrike!" Rufus shouted, bringing his sword down in a swift arc. A frigid energy covered the blade, creating a sharp, icicle-shaped projectile that flew toward the muscular man.

But the man reacted with lightning speed, raising his humongous sword in a defensive stance, which had also started burning, its blade engulfed by a blazing flame.

The clash between the icy icicle and the blazing sword created a dazzling burst of steam and sparks that filled the hallway.

Shockwaves of fire and coldness erupted from the point of impact, causing the walls to tremble and leaving scorch marks on the once-frozen surface.

’Damn it, his reflexes are incredible,’ Rufus cursed inwardly, his expression serious.

The muscular man grinned, a confident gleam in his eyes.

"Is this the best you can do, elf?" he mocked, his tone taunting. "If so then I will be disappointed."

While blocking Rufus’ icicle sword, the muscular man raised his leg and kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him crashing into the wall behind him.

A large burst of flames erupted from the kick when it connected with Rufus’ stomach.

The impact knocked the breath out of Rufus’ lungs, and he grunted in pain, clutching his stomach.

"Shit..."

The wall behind him cracked, cracks spider-webbing through the surface.

Rufus’ body slid down the wall, leaving a trail of debris. He gasped for breath, his face contorted in agony. The icicle sword he was holding clattered to the ground, the icy aura disappearing from it.

’Damn, I didn’t expect him to be this strong.’

A burning mark was visible on Rufus’ abdomen, where the fiery kick had hit him.

He clutched his wound, his eyes focused on the muscular man, who was standing in front of him.

"Hahahaha, it looks like I’ve won, elf."

The muscular man laughed, his expression smug.

"We have already achieved our goal, so there is no need for me to fight you."

’No need for him to fight? Then why did he attack me? Wait...?!’ Suddenly, Rufus’ eyes wide opened as if realizing something terrifying.

’I can’t sense princess’ aura anymore...?!’