The Trial

"Show me that the lesser fire-fiend is even capable of my mercy."

Vulcan was already worn out, so it was my time to participate.

I muttered under my breath, "Vulcan, grant me your flames!"

Vulcan surged through me, fire flicking at every inch of my being, igniting my soul. My entire body ablazed with his fire.

"With your great disadvantage here, I won't ask you to dig your own grave. That would end me too. Then let it be like: if you can manage to evaporate these two aquaspheres above my palm before using every bit of your fire and erasing the fiend yourself, I shall grant what you seek." She stated the condition of my victory with her unwavering commanding tone.

"Erasing?" My brows furrowed at that particular phrasing. "I never knew it was possible to terminate a spirit by overusing its power."

"They can't."

"That refers to my infinite time, doesn't it?"

"I would never challenge you with something that big advantage to your side. This is to prove your worth, not some play. You'll know what I meant before long."

What could I be missing? Without the full information, all I can conclude is that I can't use Vulcan's prowess to its full extent. There must be something about overusing in this case.
Fire against water. This is gonna be a hard one.

Yet, a smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. Maybe with the fear that stood against me... or for the challenge I was about to face.

This is gonna be the first time I use Vulcan's flames after our contract—true potential of Vulcan... and mine.

Flames ignited in my palm, and I hurled a fireball straight at one of the aquaspheres. It went straight toward one of the orbs. 

She didn’t flinch, didn't even raise her hands to protect the sphere. Yet, the fireball was extinguished midair.

I began rapid-firing them. Still, each one of them dissipated before reaching their target... not even close enough.

Albeit, what truly annoyed me was not my failure, but her expression. It was a feeling of disgust... disgust at being given to such a vessel, an unworthy one.

Refusing to waste more energy, I altered my approach. I focused on closing the distance. 

She remained still for some moments after my shifting tactic. 

Then—

There it was, her first attack. She summoned cascades that appeared above me. But those were very slow before me. I could spot them spawning in the air before they get to fall. So, I dodged them one by one, pretty easily, slowly getting closer to her. 

Suddenly, a waterball appeared before me.

Huh! Wha—

Before I could react, it exploded, sending a rush of water that slammed me back to my starting point.

Damn! Back to square one.

But to my utter wonder, her attacks stopped again. 

Why? Why holding back now?
Is it because she doesn't want to hurt her vessel? Or is there something else...

Her moves were repeated. Same cascades and waterballs. Over and over again.

Yet the most notable fact was about those attacks. Her Cascades were so easy to evade, but her waterball formation out of thin air was something that I couldn't catch even after several tries.

When I went for it again, my luck answered and somehow I managed to evade every waterball. From there, I shot another fireball, aiming at the aquaspheres. This time it wasn't vanished, it grew closer to one and eventually hit the target.

Though it was not evaporated. It needed more firepower. To keep the limit of usage, I formed them weaker. But it was a success, not much, but still.

Then suddenly a hydropillar rose beneath me throwing as a projectile. I fell hard on square one... again.

Noooo! Not again!!

But then—another thing flashed on me mind.

I launched another fireball fueling it with great power, but... Alas! Again they were put off.

It proved everything.

All of her moves were to keep the distance. And for me to lose, somehow killing Vulcan myself... by overusing him.

After several times of trying, I came to three conclusions—

First, she is a spirit. An uncontracted one, to e certain. Just like Lady Temina told me once,
"...When a spirit is bestowed upon a vessel, they gain partial consciousness—just enough to exist. But with a contract, their awareness fully awakens..."
She can only think to this simple extent of repetitive attacks.

Second, there is an invisible veil between us. It extinguishes every fire that comes from outside. It was the sole reason for wasting too much fire at the beginning. But if I make it inside, this veil becomes useless.

And third, she has the same limits as mine. She can't overuse herself either. That's why she only uses strengthened water abilities when I go near her.

With the new strategy, I charged again. The first obstacle—invisible veil.

Though it wasn't any obstacle, it was the mark where her attacks were to start. There came the sluggish cascades and then the waterballs.

The waterballs were truly annoying, generating in the midair without any certain pattern, unlike the cascades, which only spawned over my head following my trajectory. So it was hard to evade them while trying to close the distance. 

To be precise, waterballs can be described as an integrated attack. The initial ones are just balls, and when they burst, they create a small flood. 

After deducing the strategy...

When I charged the first time, I was instantly washed away by the flood burst. The first one was enough for me to get hit. 

On the second attempt, I decided to hit them with my flames right after they started forming. 
With that in mind, I departed. Bypassing the cascade section, I stepped into the waterball area. Like the previous time, one began forming right before me. But, I was prepared for it...

Shoot!

The result was outstanding, to be honest. Just not in my favour. The waterball still turned into a flood, but it was triggered earlier than the previous ones due to my shot. With an unpredictable flood flushed me back to the starting spot.

But with this discovery, I could manage to erase one attack—the waterballs. It will only remain as the flood. And dodging a flood is easy when I would be the one who triggers it.

I am ready now. This time for sure...

I dashed. Over me, there emerged cascades. I used a zigzag path to cross them easily. I was already used to it. Then came the real challenge—flood-burst.

Just as I planned, when the first one materialized before me, I initiated the flood with a fireball and jumped over its extent. But there was another one in the air where I was heading. Even if I stimulate the burst myself, I would be caught in its range. 

That situation called for an idea out of the box. I lowered my arms and flattened my palms. Then ignited a fire jet. It propelled my legs to go before my torso. And as a result, my body flipped over the waterball in the midair, and I barely managed to avoid hitting the it. After I landed that one burst and I was already out of its reach.

But the time for succession hadn't arrived yet. This time, two balls appeared on my both sides, and the gap between them wasn't quite enough for me to pass by. So, I followed my initial plan once again. I stirred up the flood-bursts by launching two fireballs from both hands. I leapt over them and concluded that section.

Yes! 

The next one—hydropillars.

It did cause trouble for me for the first time. But now that I know what it is, it won't be a problem anymore. It was not much different than the rock spikes that brother launches.

But there was a difference. Unlike spikes that harm directly, these hydropillars were meant to let me falter and manage the distance between Styx and myself. So I used them for my ownself in a different manner.

I rode on them.

They were a fine stream for me to catch momentum and gain height. I flew over her head.

And while I was over there, I hit the one aquasphere on her right palm directly from a close distance with great firepower. 

I landed behind her. I looked at her right palm, and a sheer joy surfaced across my face.

Yeah! One down. One more to go.

But... my foot was within her territory of those damn waterballs. 

Boom!

One burst just before my face, and I skidded back, eventually losing my footing. It got me a lot of distance away.

I hit hard on the shadowy ground beneath me. Though there was nothing actually, yet the impact was noticeable.

But the left should be easier now, as I have already finished one. I just need to do the same again one more time to finally get it done.

Or so I thought. But with that, she finally began her play.