An ethereal creature came crashing down at me. The image of a Dragon tore apart the earth, shredding through the ground, blending it into mud and spraying it into the air. A [Flame Burst] pulled me to the side just in time. I barely avoided the attack. It was the kind of Skill I expected a [Hero] to have. Not some random Kobold man!
“[Wrath of the Old Gods]. Hrmph, so you survived its fury.”
Zix strolled past the carnage he had wrought, casual, ignoring the falling debris and dust around him, each nonchalant stride bringing him closer and closer to me. I growled, activating [Ember Core] as he came to a stop ten paces away from me. With that single Skill, he ravaged half of the area, turning it into a cratered mess jutting out with the occasional spiky rocks and rubble, poking out like shattered teeth hiding in the sand.
The crowd was deathly quiet now; the damage Zix inflicted upon the land was enough to even instill fear within the watchers. I couldn’t see my companions from where I was standing, but I had no doubts that they were clutching at their chests and worried for my life.
I shook my head, dusting myself off.
undefined“That makes no sense.”
I steadied myself, facing down Zix as he loomed over me. He was large for a Kobold. His scales were the same color as the night. But that didn’t matter. I tugged at the threads at my fingers as I spoke out.
“You’re saying that you want to kill all Humans just because a few of them are doing bad things?”
“No.”
He let out a mirthless laugh. It sounded more cruel— the kind of chuckle I’d expect from a wild Demon. The flames girdling the arena cast a sheen over his obsidian body; the fire danced in his eyes, flickering, swaying, reflecting a burning hatred in them.
“I do not simply wish to eradicate all of Humankind. I will bring their [Heroes] to their knees, tear down their monuments to both Spirits and Demons, and cleanse the Mortal Realm of all the heretics who dared challenge the Cult of the Old Gods.”
I blinked.
“That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps, but it is the only way the world—”
He didn’t get to finish. Once again, Zix was so caught up in his own words, he let his guard down. I dashed forward as the Star Forge came into existence right behind me. Its twinkling form shifted. It contracted, then began to expand as I lashed out at the Kobold man with a [Barrage of Cinders].
Bracing himself, Zix held up his arms in a cross. But I pulled away at the last second. [Flame Burst] yanked me to his right as the enlarged Star Forge snapped down at him. The warped orb of fire began to twist and turn, spiking out from all sides as a significant chunk of my mana disappeared, before it finally combusted.
The blast shot up out of the ground like a white spear. One that consumed everything within it, incinerating even the ghost of the ashes caught within the flames. It lit up the night sky. A beacon for all those around Unarith to see.
But that wasn’t all. I stepped back from the raging inferno and unleashed a cone of blue flames into the mix. The blazing wave washed over the earth, turning it into a deep black. If this arena ever had arable soil— if it ever was capable of growing crops— it was no longer the case now.
It’s a good thing Zix talks a lot. It was something I noticed, even back in Ghostlight. He enjoyed hearing himself speak. It was something that resonated with me. The sound of my own voice was alluring, especially when I wasn’t in my Mortal Form. And I often made the mistake of speaking too much in battle.
But I wasn’t the one making this mistake now.
I was grinning. I created a kusarigama, ready to strike whatever burnt remains of a Kobold came stumbling out of the flames. But the smile soon slipped off my face. My tongue receded back into my mouth as I saw the obsidian-scaled Kobold walking out of the fire. He halted as my magic dissipated. His robes were entirely burnt off, the wound in his chest still there. And his body was singed, covered in light burns. But otherwise, he was unharmed.
I stared at the High Zealot as he showed a grin of his own.
“H-how…?”
***
Edithe couldn’t believe her eyes at what she saw. She just witnessed Salvos let loose some of the most powerful magic the Demon had ever cast, only for Zix to shrug it off with only a few scratches to his body.
The red-haired woman knew it was magic above Salvos’ level. She knew that Salvos could only conjure such powerful flames that quickly thanks to Daniel’s boon. But it wasn’t enough to even come close to killing the Kobold.
“That’s fucking bullshit!”
Daniel glanced her way, startled by the sudden outburst. Edithe didn’t feel embarrassed. She couldn’t help but curse. That was because she saw something only she could see. Perhaps Salvos might be able to discern it if she really looked for it. But Edithe highly doubted that was high in the Demon’s priority list right now.
“What is wrong, Edithe the [Mage]?”
Xidra stepped up to the red-haired woman’s side.
“What’s wrong? You tell me what’s wrong— how the fuck does Zix have a dozen different layers of spells protecting him against fire?”
“Does he?”
“And it’s not just regular spells. They’re Skills! They have to be Skills. There is no way he was able to cast magic that uniform so many times over himself.”
Edithe watched as Zix leapt at Salvos. The battle in the arena resumed after the brief interlude. The powerful magic from Salvos had taken many of the onlookers out from their immersion from its intense heat. But now, they were starting a soft chant. A susurration that was slowly spreading through the crowd of Kobolds surrounding the arena.
It pissed off Edithe. Why were they all on his side? There had to be some supporting Salvos, right? Well, if they were present, they were being awfully quiet. Maybe only Xidra and the few guards from the Risen Dragons were actually rooting for Salvos.
And they were here, far to the side, almost entirely separated from the arena.
“That is… an interesting observation.”
Xidra’s voice drew Edithe’s attention away from the fighting. Zix was relentlessly pressing Salvos with powerful strikes. The Demon managed to avoid most of them, but failed to rally any sort of proper counter attack which could harm the Kobold. So, they were at a stalemate.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
The tone of Xidra’s voice clued Edithe in that something was amiss. Xidra crossed her arms, her face twisting to a scowl.
“Zix the [Warrior] may be powerful, however he lacks the capacity to cast such magic. His Class is a variation of a [Monk]. He draws power from his own will. He does not use mana or magic in the sense which you are describing. The same goes for his evolution. My nephew can attest to that.”
She glanced over at Hoxle, and he nodded.
“Yep. We’re [Dragonets]. Well, I’m just an ordinary [Dragonet] since I haven’t gotten past Level 40 yet for it. But even if he somehow reached Level 100 for his evolution, I don’t think he could’ve possibly been given a super [Mage] kind of an option along the way. We’re a very physical Subspecies, you see.”
He flexed an arm and spread his wings out wide. Edithe ignored it, instead looking at the arena in anger.
“That damn cheater!”
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