Hell Frozen

"Darling, did you open?" A woman asked her husband, coming down the wooden stairs to the bar below their apartment.

"Yes, dear. Me and Sherry are beginning to get everything ready." Her husband replied, gesturing his head towards his daughter who was sweeping the floor with a broom "Darla, while you're awake, can you get breakfast ready? We woke up early to clean up.".

"Yes, dear. Would you like eggs and bacon?".

"No, no, I need to eat less meat these days." He replied "Maybe some pancakes instead.".

"Dad, what's our policy on bloodied, half dead men?" The daughter asked her father, pointing outside the window.

Her father sighed, before turning and walking towards her "Is this another prank of yours? The ducks were one thing, but corpses is..." He stopped when he saw a bloodied, half dead man sitting outside on a barrel. He was shadowed due to the sun still rising, and the nearby building's shadow covering him.

"I'm going to check if he's dead." The daughter, Sherry, said.

"Sherry, don't!" Her father objected "I'll go. He might have a disease and your old man can handle any disease short of a hankey!".

"Dad, I don't think a hankey i-...".

"Off I go!".

On the outside, the man faced the seemngly unsconscious, bloodied man. He was shirtless, only wearing pants, and the blood and wounds on his body made him appear as if he had come out of a war "Hey, uh...you okay?" The man hesitantly asked.

Amon, the injured man, turned his glare, meeting with the man's "...I'm sorry." Amon said, standing up "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just needed to rest a bit." He began to limp away, leaving the scene without saying anything further.

The small town was in the middle of a desert-like area, with sand stretching far over the horizon, and the town's buildings built in rows, making squares and almost mimicking a city in its structure. Wooden houses, and only one or two stone buildings.

The man looked in confusion as Amon left, before returning to his restaurant.

Hours have passed, and the restaurant has soon become filled with customers from around and outside of town. The owner remained behind the bar, answering to customers looking for drinks, while his daughter, and other employees, served the others with meals.

The doors opened, and from the outside, Amon entered. He looked around, noticing the owner "Oh. Sorry, I seem to be lost." Amon said, walking towards the bar where the owner was, as others glanced at him as he passed by, his bloodied and injured body being a source of concern, or agitation. He sat down on a chair, grunting as he laid his arms on the counter "Can I...have a glass of water?".

"...Sure, buddy." The man said, a bit unnerved by Amon. He poured him a glass of water "Ice?" Amon nodded, being handed over his glass of water.

"Did you hear about that Dragon that flew over yesterday?" A man spoke, catching Amon's attention.

"Wasn't that just rumours? We didn't hear or see anything." His friend replied, as Amon turn half-way to glance at the two.

"A lot of reports came in. Do you think it's related to Dimaria's death?" The man was suddenly shunned by his friend, shushed fiercely.

"Don't speak like that, you moron." His friend said "Everyone is still on edge about that...They're afraid of...a war.".

A loud thump suddenly caught the attention of the bar, looking over to see Amon standing up, his fist imbedded in the wooden counter "Oh." Amon said, pulling his fist out, looking over to see it bleeding from splinters stabbing into his hand "Sorry. I'm still tired. Let me...pay for that..." Amon sat back down, panting, visibly tired and weak.

"...Do you have any money to pay for that?" The owner asked Amon, who shook his head "I hope you realize you'll have to work here to make up for the damages and that drink." He halted for a moment, before correcting himself "Ah, sorry. The water was free. Just the damages.".

"...That's fair." Amon said, standing up "When can I start?".

"When you get yourself patched up and cleaned. You'll have to work to pay for those too.".

"...Thank you.".

The Kingdom of Ice
Serena crashed onto the snowy ground, sinking deep into it. In mere seconds, he rose back up, the heat generated by his aura melting the snow within a large radius "Gah! I lost consciousness..." Serena said to himself, shaking his head, looking at his hands, arms and the rest of his body, briefly blocking his eyes from the sun's rays that just barely peaked through the grey clouds "I'm healed...? But how...?" He took notice of his newly regenerated arm, with signs of white scales on the back of his hands, as well as his sharpened, claw-like nails "...I see. The Stygian Cor blood. That bastard took the heart, but its blood was enough to heal me.".

Serena grinned widely, extended his arms up high, excitedly shouting "Hahaha! I'm back to full form, and it looks like my body got a dose of dragonification!" He said, beginning to look around "Let's see...snow, winter...I seem to be in some kind of...Winter Wonderland? Nah, that's too easy." Serena said "Still, snow in the western region is rare...".

Walking through the snow, Serena used his fires and heat to melt the snow and ice in his way, making a clear path ahead. Eventually, he saw a gigantic mountain in the distance becoming clearer, and a blizzard picking up. An excellent high point to figure out where he is. With a single leap, and a boost of his Gale Dragon Slayer Magic, he almost looked like he was flying through the blizzard and strong, cold winds. However, when he reached a high enough point, Serena began to see lights from the within the mountain, culminating in the reality that the gigantic mountain were walls of snowy rocks, hiding an entire kingdom within it.

"It...This is..." Serena grinned widely, cocking his head back, before blasting through the air downwards.

Meanwhile, within the main castle, atop the highest point of the kingdom, Invel sat, calmly sipping warm tea infront of a fireplace "I'm glad you stopped sexually harassing y maids, and doing as you pleased, Lamia." He said to Lamia, who sat on infront of him, reading a newspaper and sipping coffee.

"It took some time, but we reached a conclusive understanding." Lamia replied. She looked outside the window, before snapping her fingers, creating barriers around herself and Invel, much to the Winter General's confusion. But his confusion was cleared, and a new one risen, as Serena crashed through the window, and wall, shattering them both, allowing the blizzard inside.

The snow on his body melted, before he struck a pose. Brushing his hair back, pointing at Invel, and grinning widely, Serena exclaimed his presence "Invel! No wonder there was a spike in magical energy! And more over, I could sense it! The Stygian Cor kept by you! Give it to me, Invel!".

"Serena." Invel calmly acknowledged Serena's presence, taking a sip from his cup of tea, standing up from his chair, as Lamia's barrier dissipated "I'm glad you are alive, but you could have used the door, and caused less collateral damage." He took another sip "I hope you have a wallet in those rugged pants.".

"Hahaha!" Serena loudly bawled in laughter "You can't be this naive, Invel! I am not here for friendly chatter, I am here for my quest! To kill the Dragon!".

"...Serena." Invel placed his cup of tea down on the nearby table, placing both arms behind his back, taking up a commanding posture "Do you know what the punishment for attacking my castle, and me directly, is?".

"Whatever punishment you have in mind...nothing will pierce through his bo-...!".

"Death." Invel interrupted Serena, swiping his hand up, and then down, as Serena's entire being was encased in a thick layer of ice, completely halting all movement "Unfortunately, I don't want a corpse in my castle, so I'll have to take you outside, if you don't mind.".

"You have interesting friends, Invel." Lamia calmly stated, referring to the frozen man. She wrapped the newspaper, folding "Looks quite odd for a human.".

Suddenly, Serena moved again, breaking through the layers of ice, moving his arm forward, igniting it in flames "You think petty ice will take me do-...?!".

"Yes." Invel clenched his hand into a fist, creating a large icicle from the floor, striking Serena through the ceiling, taking him to the next floor "Out with you." Swiping his arm to the side, the icicle potruded another appendage, pushing against Serena and knocking him outside the castle. Invel dusted his shoulders, stepping towards the balcony door, going outside "I have a pest to take care of. Excuse me." He said, casually walking off the edge of the balcony barrier, landing down on the snow, maintaining his posture flawlessly. Hands behind his back, held together, with a stern and calm gaze in his eyes.

Serena stood unscathed, breathing deep, his breathe clear from the cold temperatures. He grinned, witnessing Invel begin walking towards him, as the blizzard seemed to calm down by the Winter General's simple presence "Are you going to kill me, Invel?" Serena asked his former ally "We were allies at some point.".

"Were." Invel emphasized Serena's words "As we stand now, in this day, at this moment, we are no different than two soldiers meeting on a battlefield. Whether we choose to kill each other or walk away is up to us." Invel said, adjusting his glasses "Unfortunately, you broke into my castle uninvited and threatened me, which I cannot forgive.".

"Haha, of course, of course." Serena casually responded, giving off a carefree vibe as he sighed, shrugging his shoulders "Always so serious, so to the point and humorless. This is why you were always my least favorite member!".

Invel extended his arm forth, as a wall of spiked icicles rose from the snow, leaping to stab Serena. However, with a swipe of his arm, flames swathed the icicles, melting them "You take me for a fool?!".

"Yes." Invel bluntly replied, as the ice that had melted into water splashed onto Serena, at which point, the Eight Dragon realized his error, but before he could properly do anything, the water froze solid around his shoulder, arm and chest. The ice dug its way through his flesh and scales, creating frostbite, making movement in his left arm nigh-impossible without shattering it like a block of ice "Serena, I am thoroughly confused." Pulling his hand back, Invel began to force the frozen blood within Serena's arm to poturde as bloody red spikes "Attacking me at my base, in this snowy mountain area, where I am at my strongest...tell me...".

"Purgatory Dragon's Hell Throne!" Serena exclaimed, interrupting Invel, creating a large blast of black flames from his body, increasing the temperature and melting away the snow and ice around him and on his body, allowing movement again, and using the flames to cauterize his wounds quickly. He lunged forth, his body swathed in flames, thrusting his fist forward to Invel "Purgatory Dragon's Black Hole Sun!" A perfect sphere of absolute pitch black flames formed on his fist, nearly appearing to suck in all the light into it.

"Have you always been this much of a daft fool?" Without a single movement from his body, without a single inch changed in his posture, Invel froze Serena's flames solid, but left Serena himself untouched, allowing the frozen flames to stop him instead. Through the transparent black ice, Serena glared at Invel, his eyes showing clear frustration towards Invel.

Shattering the ice around his jaw by simply speaking, Serena exclaimed "Thor Dragon's Gungnir!" The sky split open, as a single large bolt of lightning came down towards Invel.

"Stop." Invel said, as the lightning bolt became a tower of ice reaching to the skies, falling and stabbing into the ground with its sharp tip, missing Invel by mere inches, standing tall for all the people within the area to witness "I should just kill you, but, I find it oddly satisfying, and cathartic, letting your pride brittle away.".

"You're not even taking me seriously. I'm hurt!" Serena broke free of the ice encasing his body "I'll have to repay you for being so rude, Invel!".

"Give me one reason, Serena." Invel replied, remaining calm "One simple reason, why I should consider you a threat greater than a lost canine.".

Serena froze up for a moment, in realization, as his expression quickly changed into a grin, standing upright and confidently "Have you gotten any news on everyone else?" He asked Invel, crossing his arms.

"We have no concise method of communications amongst ourselves." Invel replied "Our last conversation, between anyone, was two years ago.".

"Ah, so you haven't heard the news?" Serena chuckled lightly before speaking, his expression seeming almost proud "Dimaria died. It was only a day ago, maybe even less." Invel remained as he did, almost no reaction from his expression or body "Eh? What's with that? Nothing? No tear? No anger? Invel! Have you really grown so cold towards us all that our deaths mean nothing to you? Is that it? I should've expected that. Ah, what a waste!" Serena shook his head in disappointment "Maybe...Brandish will have a more satisfying reaction.".

Invel grabbed his glasses, taking them off, as the winds began to pick up suddenly. Without any build or warning, a blizzard ensued around the two men, confined solely to their area, leaving the castle and nearby towns untouched. Putting his glasses in his pocket, Invel lowered both arms down to his waist "I miscalculated." Invel said, his tone remained the same as before, taking one step forward, as the stormy winds pushed against Serena, as if they're trying to drag him away.

"Ah...there it is! The Winter General's fury..." Serena said, excited "I've never witnessed you express any other emotion, so this is a discovery! A find! A momentus occasion to be put down for many historians to remember! This day, the day the Winter General, Invel Yura, finally sna-...!".

"Fury is a joke." Invel interrupted Serena. Somehow, his soft voice was heard clearly through the powerful and loud blizzard "This is something far worse, Serena. Fury is a flame that can't be controlled unless you force it with an equal amount of power and ferocity. No. I do not feel fury or anger or what have you." Extending his arms to the sides, Invel commanded the winds to create a twister of snow and ice around him and Serena, trapping them both within it "It is focus." He pointed his index finger forth, as a thin, near invisible icicle pierced through Serena's shoulder, with an unclear origin.

"E-...Eh...?" Serena shook for a moment "What are y-...?" The icicle extended, tearing a large chunk of Serena's shoulder off, freezing his blood solid, both in his open wound and into his body, preventing movement in his entire arm, and reaching a portion of the rest of his body "T-...This feeling...! I haven't felt this in ages! I-...I feel...cold...?".

"Serena, you may be a Dragon, and that is very good. I support your dream to be a Dragon, mightier than all. But." Invel said, rolling his sleeve past his elbow, as ice seemed to encase in thin layers around his arm "Your dream won't come to fruition, unfortunately. For I will crush you today. Here and now.".

Serena suddenly snapped, his expression twisting to pure rage "I will crush you, Invel!" He burnt through the ice and cold around him, encasing his injured arm in metal, forcing it to move again "I am the mighty God Serena, I am the Eight Dragon, and no element on this Earth can harm me!".

"Ice." Invel spoke, raising an open palm up "World." Everything became a crystallic blue, as the twister, earth and air froze up into ice. Invel remained unscathed, walking towards the frozen Serena. It seemed as though everything around him stopped, the world and time itself "Of all the people among us, do you know what the difference between you and I is, Serena?" Serena placed his ice hand on Serena's shoulder "I stood beside the Emperor for more than a mere "title". It was respect and understanding." A spear of ice extended from Invel's palm, piercing clean through Serena's shoulder, the other side become tinted red "The Emperor...who I cannot recall. In a paradox of sorts, I know he existed, yet I have no evidence. A face, a name, even a history. Nothing. And still, I feel unparalled gratitude and respect for him, or her.".

Serena broke free from his ice prison, thrusting his fist forward towards Invel's face, yet it froze once more, inches away from contacting the Winter General "Do you know what I strive for? Do you think I enjoyed luxurious life on a winter wonderland, inside a castle with men and women who willingly followed me, and did nothing?" Invel stepped back, grabbing Serena by his face "I want to fix the damages Rakshasa caused to this once grand continent, and bring it back to its former glory. And I do it all, for the Emperor's memory." A vicious maelstorm erupted from Invel's hand, consuming Serena in its chaotic stream of crystallic ice, snow and strong blizzards. One could briefly witness it taking form, a grand beast of the mountains who devours unlucky travelers and lost wanderers without mercy.

And to this "Dragon", it simply tore him apart, leaving him a bleeding mess, with his wounds and blood freezing almost instantly, causing him to shiver and struggle to just move.

However, the Dragon roared, a behemoth encased in eight elements lunging towards Invel, who rolled up his other sleeve, his arm becoming completely encased in ice. Their fists collided, Invel's ice against Serena's eight elements meshing into a storm. Serena grinned behind the elements surrounding his body, a confident look.

"Stop." Invel calmly said, as Serena's entire arm and elements froze up "And..." He placed his other hand inches away from Serena's stomach "Embrace the epitome of a winter solstice." A bellow of icy wind burst through Serena, followed by a large ice spear stabbing through him, the ice beginning to spread from that point to freeze up the rest of his body "No matter how many elements you have, Serena, you will never come close to touching me with them. I will freeze everything, be it on this earth or not.".

"Urgh...!" Serena melted the ice once more, evaporated the water as well "You're forcing my hand, Invel!" Serena exclaimed "Serena-made God Arts! Purgatory Dragon's!".

"You'll only embarass yourself, Serena." Invel said, extending his arm forth "You will die here today. Cold, and very alone.".

"Solace Sun Dance!" Serena roared, an enormous sphere of black flames circling above his head "Solar System!" The single sphere broke apart into multiple smaller spheres, but still fairly large in size. He clasped his hands together, as the spheres of black flames moved towards Invel "The Stygian Cor, my dream, they will be mine! Nothing stands in my way!".

Invel breathed out, a cold wind following suit "Absolute Zero." A between Invel's hands gathered a sphere of pure cold, glowing brilliant azure "Freeze, and never move again.".

The two forces collided, erupting into a storm of blue and black. Mixing together and creating a shockwave, the two forces pushing against each other, trying to devour and overwhelm the other into submission. It continued until it became a singular sphere, extending its radius across the land, a paradoxical energy was formed, freezing things in a burning flame, creating black forests of frozen flames, stretching higher and higher as the sphere extended.

It burst, almost like a bubble, tearing and echoing through space in a tower of glowing azure energy. Flames chased the tower into the skies, reaching the clouds and freezing them, creating a sheet of misshapen ice above the kingdom, stretching further and further until one couldn't track it over the horizon.

And so, the sky fell, burying everything beneath it in heavy pounds of shattered ice, muffling the screams of the helpless civilians who couldn't run away from the skies above.

Yet, from the layers of snow erupted crystalline forest of frozen black flames, continuing unhinged, rising further and further, stopping only once it overtook the land, a new arena forming, filled to the brim with sharp edges. And seemingly, the only two who remained were Invel and Serena, each injured and harmed by the other's attack, but standing nonetheless, ready to continue in another bout.