The duel raged on as their elemental beasts began assaulting each other, Joshua went straight at Fitz. Swinging his gunblade downwards.Despite using two Fitz's strength was not as much as Joshua's. The sparks being emitted by the gunblade was shared by the two of them smiling at each other. This may be a duel but they were clearly having fun. It's been a while since Joshua could go all out like this. It was neither one sided or too difficult for one another.

The main reason why Cold Cage is a counter is because being in the Cold Cage's vicinity turns the environment to a chilly hell of sorts. However, Joshua's flaming griffins made quick work of the sharks. Their very steps and presence was enough to give Joshua more footing. His ice skates faded away as he pushed Fitz back with a bit more force. Sending Fitz's feet skidding on the ice, he didn't trip. Perhaps this was due to it being his element. It would not make sense for him to trip on his own element.

Joshua fired off a few shots, keeping Fitz on the defensive. The snowflakes formed over Fitz where it created barriers that meant to stop the bullets from reaching Fitz. That was a brilliant tactic, Fitz fired at Joshua. A strong defense makes a good offense, Joshua's thorns did not help much but the flow of red petals burned the bullets from reaching him any further.

The petals may scatter to an unknown pattern to the untrained eye, but this was Joshua's mind controlling their pattern with the wind of Barakas's blessing. It took some concentration out of him because this was his first time, but the petals need only move to stop the bullets. Disintegrating them first before reaching him. Joshua fired back at Fitz as they began their gunfight. Their bullets being stopped by their powers. Joshua was closing in while Fitz was going to keep his distance. Firing a few shots at the ground that turned into sharks of ice. They leaped out of the water as Joshua's griffins intercepted them.

Fitz must be replenishing his mana pool, trying to use this in anticipation of Joshua's attacks to create the mist to keep away from Joshua. His mask may not be able to detect Fitz because of the intensity of the ice blocking the heat seeking capabilities of his mask.

"You're open!" Fitz came from the left, swinging the gunblade to Joshua's neck. A quick step back as Joshua narrowly evaded it, grazing his mask as a few sparks were emitted. A snap of his fingers that caused an explosion to push Fitz back for a brief moment. Fitz clicked his tongue once again, this time unleashing ice that was black like the darkness. The surroundings became clad in the element of ice and darkness. A dark mist began to seep into the atmosphere where Joshua could only see the petals. No sharks and his griffins were confused to the sight. Joshua pulled out another rose, placing it close to where his jaw was.

"Ancient of Spring's Blessing. The Radiant Butterflies." The rose exploded, petals scattering into butterflies that began to float all around him at fixed distances. One to his 7 o'clock moved, Joshua fired off a shot. Hearing ice shattering instead, creating more mist. The butterflies were slowly vanishing, it seems that Fitz had caught on to Joshua's plan.

"Butterflies to sense where I am? You're not just a tank after all. You've got some strategy but this darkness will take away all of your freedom!"

"Is that so?" Joshua spoke as he snapped his fingers. Absorbing all of the darkness into a black rose in hand. Seeing Fitz who served another set of black ice to keep Joshua in the darkness. Not a bad plan, but for Joshua it would mean he'd have to keep making roses.

Joshua held his gunblade as light began to illuminate to its barrel. Becoming a torch within this darkness, the entire terrain had changed as his thorns began to cover everything, granting him a rough idea of the environment.. All of these powers he was using? It was something Joshua never thought he'd use that much.

Fitz was setting something up as Joshua could hear sounds of gears and objects stirring about. Joshua heard something spinning up where he got to the ground first. Feeling the bullets zip above his head. The darkness began to fade, revealing Fitz pointing his gunblade at Joshua but it had an additional set of barrels attached to it. Blasting away bullets that turn into ice sharks, overwhelming Joshua's griffins. The Vermillion Flames used quite a bit of MP, Joshua needed to figure out a plan. Fitz essentially had a minigun in his hands, constantly firing at him. Joshua could see that it was sucking in the mist that he had made earlier. So to fire more projectiles, that means that Fitz would have to keep using it instead of his mana.

Unleashing a hail of bullets that transformed into ice sharks, Joshua kept running to dodge the oncoming sharks. Knowing that they were swimming at him from behind. When one leaped out from the ground to attack him, Joshua's thorns would pull it back in as red petals followed suit. Blowing things up from below. The explosions created more mist for Fitz to continue his suppression of Joshua, focusing on limiting Joshua's movements.

Joshua pulled out a red rose, throwing it at Fitz before rolling to the side behind an ice pillar. Casting Ancient of Summer's Blessing, the Hollowed Ground that exploded to burn everything to cinders. Joshua made his move, seeing Fitz creating a larger ice field to stop the heat from reaching him but the damage was evident. Joshua fired off a few shots at Fitz. Fitz grit his teeth, smiling at Joshua. Firing off a shot into the walls, creating tendrils of ice that pulled him upward.

"You're mine!" Joshua braced himself for the damage, it was chipping away at his health within seconds. Losing a quarter of his health,Joshua burned through tendrils with the petals. Springing off a fallen ice barrier to get in close, slashing the gunbarrels of Fitz's gun, kicking Fitz back. Where Fitz pierced into the floor. Joshua gave chase finding themselves in another area. An entire metropolis of ice.

Behind Joshua was Mulligan's current state. This was a comparison of each other's hells and the result of their trials to become what they were now.

A splendid duel.

The Gods in observation are clapping to your resolve.

Mulligan and Versalia have merged.

Now your fight will no longer be confined to the space of the Avatar of Destruction's field.

Begin your final round!

Joshua looked at Fitz whose uniform was torn, though the same can be said for Joshua's Coat of Crimson. Despite negating attacks, it seems that he took on some heavy damage as a result of it. They still had a ways to go with the fight, now they charged at each other. This time blade against blade. The ice metropolis began to manifest its snowflakes to match with Mulligan's flaming petals.

The stage for their duel had been set as they continued to fight onwards, slashing at each other's throats without much reservations. Roaring at each other's faces like two lions fighting to the death. The horizons shaped their path as Joshua kicked Fitz's shin, causing Fitz to lose his balance, falling to the ground where Joshua put his weight over Fitz to keep pushing him to the ground.

The ground cracked as the thorns from Mulligan and the ice from Versalia began to collide.

"Ice Pillar!" The pillar of ice launched Joshua into the building by the side, breaking through a number of them. The impact was severe and the force that launched him, had Joshua in a state of dazed. Even pointing his gunblade forward was already troubling.

"Tch." Joshua leaped out as the thorns formed a slide for him to ride on, where Fitz made his move where the ice formed into a rail that he used to get near Joshua. Both of them were taking it above the speed limits, now fighting in an intense battle on the rails made by their elements. Constantly flipping to one rail after another, firing and dodging each other's attacks.

The on rails shooting action between them both was a testament to the games they played in their time as a normal person, both of them grinning as Joshua's mask was damaged from a few shots from Fitz. The upper left side of his mask cracked even more, but Joshua returned the favor by leaving a hole in Fitz's captain's hat.