John was panting hard, his left hand was burnt but other than that, he sustained no other damage. The pain in his hand felt way so real, that it was distracting. If it wasn't for master's training, he wouldn't have even been able to hold on to his dagger.
"Hoh... Not bad, to be able to cancel out my fire with water" Said the other john
The moment john saw his shadow above him, he created a water shield to cancel out the dark flames, however he was still hit. That was because unlike regular flames, dark flames is harder to burnt out and last longer. John knew this because it was a move his master usually used.
His master had aptitude for fire and dark magic. So he got to see the move plenty of times, it was difficult to deal with because it was hard to put out the flame, but eventually john learnt how to.