Friedrich and Roe stood facing each other in silence.
One held a rapier.
The other, a great axe.
Cold air spread around them as ice magic condensed into both weapons. Frozen flowers bloomed at their feet, fragile and beautiful against the tension in the air.
Even their mana felt similar.
Like two branches grown from the same root.
"It's a shame," Friedrich said calmly.
His blue eyes never left Roe.
"We're supposed to be half-brothers, aren't we?"
A faint breath escaped him.
"Do we really have to fight?"
He tightened his grip on his rapier.
"You've already killed our father."
Roe let out a dry laugh.
"I thought you wanted me dead for that."
He rested the axe on his shoulder.
"I sliced the old man in half and nailed him to a wall."
Friedrich's expression didn't change.
"You're right."
His voice remained level.
"I do want to kill you."
A pause.
"And I plan to."
Roe smirked faintly.
"Then what's with the questions?"
Friedrich lowered his sword slightly.
"I understand why you hated him."
His tone stayed calm, measured.
"Honestly, from the records I've seen… and from what I've heard…"
He gave a bitter smile.
"…I won't even deny that he may have deserved it."
His gaze sharpened.
"But what I don't understand…"
"…is why you want to kill me."
Roe's hand tightened around his axe.
"Because you were born."
The answer came instantly.
Sharply.
"Because you were loved in a way I never was."
His crimson eyes darkened.
"Your mother was cherished."
His voice grew colder.
"Mine was used."
A harsh breath left him.
"That bastard took what he wanted from her because she was a red-eyes secretary."
His grip tightened harder.
"Then he killed her sometime after I was born."
Silence hung between them.
Friedrich closed his eyes for a moment.
"…So it's jealousy."
He opened them again.
"That makes sense."
Roe's expression twisted.
Under almost any other circumstance, Friedrich might have pitied him.
Might even have forgiven him.
But he glanced toward the restaurant behind him and let out a quiet, tired laugh.
"Under normal conditions, I probably would have let you walk away."
He adjusted his stance.
"But unfortunately…"
He smiled weakly.
"There's a very scary girl in there who wants her date to go perfectly."
Roe blinked.
Friedrich sighed.
"And I don't particularly want to be tortured for failing to stop you."
To Roe's surprise, he actually laughed.
"She really is terrifying."
A faint grin touched his face.
"She threatened to castrate me once."
Friedrich stared at him.
Then, despite everything, a small laugh escaped him.
"So we can bond over something."
His smile faded.
"Tell me something, Roe."
He raised his rapier again.
"Are we really so different?"
Roe said nothing.
Friedrich's expression softened, just slightly.
"This is your last chance."
His voice was quieter now.
"You're my brother."
A pause.
"My only family left."
Ice spread beneath his feet.
"Leave now…"
"…and I won't have to kill you."
Roe's eyes narrowed.
Friedrich looked at him steadily.
"I don't care that you're a red-eyes."
His words were simple.
Certain.
"You're still my brother."
For a brief moment, Roe's expression shifted.
Something human flickered there.
Then it was gone.
"You're a good man," Roe said.
His voice was calm.
Almost regretful.
"But for the sake of our plans…"
He lowered his axe into a fighting stance.
"…you have to die."
Friedrich nodded once.
"So be it."
He raised his rapier.
A cold smile touched his lips.
"En garde."
Friedrich moved first.
He rushed in without hesitation.
As he closed the distance, ice magic spread from his blade and into the ground.
"Freeze."
Frozen vines burst upward and wrapped around Roe's body in an instant. Sharp thorns of ice dug into his skin, drawing blood as they tightened.
Friedrich knew it wouldn't hold him for long.
Roe was too strong for that.
But he didn't need long.
Just a moment.
That was enough.
Before Roe could fully break free, Friedrich stepped in and thrust his rapier toward the man's throat.
Fast.
Precise.
A killing blow.
Roe reacted at the last possible second.
Ice condensed around his neck like armor.
Clink.
The rapier struck the frozen guard and was deflected.
Friedrich immediately leapt back.
The next moment, Roe tore himself free of the vines with brute force.
Without wasting a beat, he slammed his axe into the ground.
BOOM.
Spears of ice erupted upward in a violent wave, racing across the earth toward Friedrich. Frozen flowers bloomed along each spear, sharp and beautiful as they lunged for his body.
Friedrich narrowed his eyes.
Then created a slick path of ice beneath his feet.
He slid across it smoothly, weaving around the incoming spikes with practiced grace.
A small smile touched his lips.
"Despite looking like such a meathead…"
He glanced at Roe while sliding past another spear.
"Your battle instincts are actually pretty good."
"Everyone keeps acting like I'm stupid!"
Roe roared.
Ice gathered around his axe, thickening over the blade as it began to grow larger.
"I know I'm clumsy!"
His grip tightened.
"But I'm getting really sick of all of you treating me like an idiot!"
The axe kept expanding.
Larger.
Heavier.
Until it was bigger than his own body.
"Elric gave me a proper education!"
Roe shouted, veins standing out in his neck.
"I can read and spell better than most nobles!"
Frozen flowers bloomed along the oversized blade as cold mist poured from it.
"I'm smart!"
His crimson eyes burned with frustration.
"So stop doubting me!"
He raised the massive axe overhead.
"Death Blow!"
The strike came down like a falling mountain.
BOOM.
The shockwave alone rattled the entire barrier around them, nearly cracking it apart. Frost exploded outward and covered everything inside. Friedrich barely managed to coat his body in ice at the last second.
Even then—
The force still blasted through him.
"Ghk—!"
He coughed up blood, the droplets freezing almost instantly in the air.
Roe stood there breathing hard, axe buried in the frozen ground.
Friedrich slowly straightened, wiping the blood from his mouth before it fully froze.
"…Alright."
He let out a breath.
"You're definitely smart enough."
A faint, irritated smile crossed his face.
"And incredibly annoying, too."
Then Friedrich let his rapier fall.
It clattered uselessly across the ice.
Roe frowned.
"…What are you doing?"
Friedrich's blood, spilled across the floor and his hands, began to tremble.
Then it rose.
It condensed.
Froze.
And took shape.
A long crimson blade formed in his hand.
"Blood Magic — Hell Blade."
Roe's eyes widened slightly.
Blood Magic.
A rare branch of water magic.
Having ice magic alone was already uncommon.
But possessing multiple specialized branches—
That was extraordinary.
Even if Friedrich could only manipulate his own blood.
Friedrich looked at the frozen sword in his hand with clear disgust.
"I hate using this spell."
His voice was quieter now.
But firmer.
He raised the blade.
"But understand this…"
His blue eyes sharpened.
"This is my conviction."
A pulse of mana surged through him.
"I'm not holding back anymore."
His veins began to glow beneath his skin.
"Blood Magic — Critical Overload."
The spell activated instantly.
Power flooded through his muscles.
His speed.
His strength.
His reflexes.
All of it surged upward.
But the pain—
Was monstrous.
It felt like his body was being ripped apart from the inside, even though no actual damage was being done.
His hands trembled.
His breathing grew ragged.
Any normal man would have blacked out from the agony alone.
Friedrich only tightened his grip on the Hell Blade.
Then looked Roe dead in the eyes.
"Now…"
A cold smile formed.
"Let's see which brother breaks first."
Friedrich vanished.
No—
He moved so fast it only looked like he disappeared.
In the next instant, he was already at Roe's side.
Slash.
His blade carved into Roe's leg.
"—Ghk!"
Roe yelped as blood sprayed across the frozen ground.
Friedrich didn't stop.
He couldn't afford to.
He became a blur.
A storm of motion.
Small, precise cuts rained down in rapid succession, each one aimed to weaken, to bleed, to dismantle.
He leapt off the barrier wall—
Using it like a foothold—
Then accelerated again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Relentless.
Roe reacted on instinct, ice forming over parts of his body to block incoming strikes.
Clink. Crack. Slice.
Some hits were stopped.
Most were not.
Friedrich was simply too fast.
Too overwhelming.
Roe gritted his teeth.
"…Then I'll just adapt."
He slammed his foot down.
Tiny frozen petals formed in the air around him.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
They drifted gently, almost beautifully.
But they weren't decoration.
They were sensors.
Even if Friedrich moved faster than Roe could properly track—
The moment one of those petals was disturbed—
Roe knew.
There.
Clang.
He blocked one strike.
Then another.
His defense tightened.
Sharpened.
Adapted.
Friedrich's eyes narrowed.
"Good…"
A twisted smile formed on his lips.
"Keep up."
His movements grew even more erratic, bouncing off the barrier again to change angles mid-attack.
"Let's keep playing."
Another slash.
Another cut.
"Will the pain consume me first—"
A thrust.
"—or will you die from a thousand cuts?"
Roe's breathing grew heavier.
But his eyes sharpened.
"Shut up."
He slammed his axe into the ground again.
Ice spread outward—
Warping the terrain.
The smooth floor became uneven.
Jagged.
Slippery.
Unpredictable.
Friedrich's next step faltered—
Just slightly.
But that was enough.
His speed dropped.
Not by much.
But enough for Roe to track him properly now.
Roe adjusted his stance.
His grip steadied.
"…Got you."
Both men felt it.
The next exchange—
Would decide everything.
No more probing.
No more testing.
No more room for hesitation.
Friedrich stood with his blood-forged blade raised, veins glowing, his entire body screaming in pain from Critical Overload.
Across from him, Roe tightened both hands around his axe, blood running down his leg, one eye narrowed with total focus.
Their determination burned equally bright.
Friedrich moved first.
He launched himself straight at Roe.
No concern for defense.
No concern for survival.
Only one thought remained in his mind—
End him.
Roe didn't retreat.
He understood immediately.
This was the final clash.
He stepped in and brought his axe down with everything he had, aiming to split Friedrich apart before the blade could reach him.
At the last moment—
Friedrich twisted.
Just enough.
Not enough to escape cleanly.
The axe came down.
SHHK.
Friedrich's arm was severed.
Pain exploded through his body as his left arm flew away in a spray of blood.
But the shift in his position—
That tiny, desperate adjustment—
Changed everything.
What should have been a thrust to Roe's throat instead drove straight into his eye.
"GAAH—!"
Friedrich's blade plunged deep.
Roe staggered, a scream ripping from his throat as blood poured down his face.
For one suspended heartbeat, both men stood there—
Maimed.
Shaking.
Dying on their feet.
And both of them understood the same thing.
Even if they fell here—
They would make sure the other never fought again.
Their voices rang out at the same time.
"Glacial Seal!"
Ice erupted instantly.
Friedrich's severed stump froze solid, the wound sealed in eternal frost before he could bleed out.
At the same time, Roe's ruined eye froze over, the blade still buried there for a brief second before Friedrich pulled away.
Cold mist spread between them.
The spell had landed.
Glacial Seal—
A curse of absolute frost.
Once cast upon a fresh wound, the ice would never thaw.
The injury would never heal.
Ever.
Friedrich's left arm—
Gone forever.
Roe's right eye—
Lost forever.
They staggered back from each other, barely able to remain standing.
Broken.
Exhausted.
Breathing hard.
And yet—
Still glaring at one another.
Two brothers.
Ruined by the same battle.
Bound by the same ice.