Elemental Cats

Toz's mana pool neared its limits, and Toz had to quickly find a way to break free from the stream of mana that the mana storm forced into him. Since his breakthrough was nearly complete, Toz finally had some leeway, and he spared a few moments to try and investigate the mana storm. Hopefully, he would find a way to escape its grasp. But since the mana storm prevented him from properly using magic and moving his body, it would probably be difficult.

However, before Toz could even begin to take a look at the mana storm and its effects on his body, his consciousness flared up in pain as the sensation of his entire body being ablaze filled his mind. Toz had temporarily forgotten the fire rampaging all over his body since he was so caught up in his breakthrough, but when he spread his perception, the fire and all the pain it brought returned to Toz.

Seemingly elated at Toz noticing them again, the flames jumped in joy and ate into his body even more energetically. Toz felt like there were millions of wasps burrowing into his skin and flesh and stinging him from within. The pain was so intense and searing that he couldn't even faint.

The pain prevented Toz from sensing or noticing anything else, and he quickly lost control over his mana pool. Thankfully, he had already practically reached a perfect breakthrough. Though it was hard to find solace in that in the infernal prison of pain that Toz had found himself in.

However, since Toz lost control over his mana pool, he also missed how his orange clay-like mana began trembling and almost boiling. And it was also impossible for Toz to notice how his mana moved in tandem with the flames burning across his body.

The fire mana inside his mana pool and the magical fire all over Toz's body resonated and began working together to bring Toz's body to incredible temperatures that were finally enough to make him pass out.

As soon as he fainted, Toz lost the last subconscious defense he had put up against both the fire mana from the mana storm and the magical fire. His mana pool naturally began to overflow past its bursting point. But the explosive wave-like movements of the mana inside the mana pool its resonation with the magical fire eventually spread to the untamed fire mana raging through Toz's body.

With the untamed fire mana joining in the dance of flames orchestrated by the magical fire, it no longer rushed to penetrate Toz's mana pool. Toz's mana pool was safe and wouldn't shatter. Not at the moment, at least.

But his body still wasn't safe. If anything, it was in even more trouble after the untamed fire mana joined in the magical fire's wicked dance of burning Toz's body.

With the still wild fire mana aiding the magical fire from within Toz's body, there was nothing stopping the fire from burning Toz's body, and the wildly flickering flames grew to envelop Toz completely in a shimmering ball of bright orange fire.

Toz's cocoon of fire lit up the ruins of the Fortress of Death, where all the other flames had gone out, been put out, or been drawn into Toz through the mana storm. Although the mana storm was also partly bright orange, it didn't give off as much light as Toz's cocoon and didn't help light up the Fortress. If anything, the darkness of the death attribute demonic energy subdued the little brightness of the fire.

After all, a lot of the fire mana in the mana storm had been absorbed by Toz. Toz hadn't been clearheaded enough to notice or think about it. But the magical flames covering his body eventually started blocking the demonic energy from entering him.

At first, the demonic energy just swirled along and continued hanging around Toz in the eye of the storm. However, the sphere of fire encapsulation Toz was too bright, too hot, and too resistant to the demonic energy to allow its presence close to it.

Chased away by the flames of the cocoon, the demonic energy returned to the air and rejoined the swirling mass of demonic energy that was more than half the mana storm. But only temporarily.

Not far from where Toz ended up inside the cocoon, another target attracted the demonic energy. It probably wouldn't have happened if the mana storm's center wasn't right above it, and some of the demonic energy began slipping inside purely by coincidence.

But after getting a taste for the pure death attribute within the demonic energy, the Fountain of Death released a small suction of its own. The death attribute demonic energy happily accepted that attraction and willingly began tunneling into the Fountain instead of simply swiveling around in the air.

The twisting maelstrom of fire and death, of orange and black, split up a few meters off the ground. And as more and more fire mana entered Toz and death attribute demonic energy entered the Fountain, the split between the two attributes grew.

However, both tornados kept their original size. The clash between the two elements and types of mana had helped create the mana storm. But now that the storm was fully formed, it didn't need any help to continue growing. If anything, getting released from each other made it easier for the two different attributes to grow on their own.

The death storm had an easier time absorbing nearby demonic energy and mana that suited itself, and it was the same for the firestorm.

Of course, since both storms were funneling a lot of their demonic energy and mana into their designated targets, neither of them grew noticeably apart from how they retained the mana storm's original size even after they split.

Eventually, the divide between the two tornados grew so large that it was visible even from across the battlefield.

General Scoll felt shivers creep down his spine, and it wasn't because of the Flesh Golem's movements. He flicked his gaze toward the two tornados sprouting from the Fortress of Death's location.