I lunged forward, sprinting with everything I had straight at them. Ronan, Kiel, and the two vengeful spirits didn't waste a second—they charged right at .
Ronan was the fastest, closing the distance in an instant. He swung his right fist at , wreathed in flas, aiming straight for my chest. I t his attack with my sword, the clash sending shockwaves that cracked the ground beneath us. Before I could react, his left hook ca for my face. I barely managed to duck under it, feeling the heat of his fiery energy pass inches above .
"You think you can stop with only a sword?" Ronan sneered.
Behind , one of the spirits had crept up, its blade already swinging for my back. I had no choice but to do a backflip, narrowly avoiding the strike. Mid-flip, the second spirit rushed in, its weapon almost about to slice in half. My instincts kicked in, and I twisted my body, raising my sword to block the attack midair before landing safely on the ground.
"You honestly believe you can land a hit on ?" I growled, my smirk darkening as I locked eyes with him, every ounce of confidence radiating from my stance.
There was no ti to catch my breath. Kiel's strikes ca next—fast and relentless, like a storm of steel. Each swing of his blade, Voidrend, cut through the air with terrifying force, its cursed energy stretching far beyond his reach. I could feel the weight of his attacks, even as I deflected them from a distance.
"Co on, Kaiser," Kiel growled, his voice dripping with disdain. "Is this all the weakest adventurer can do? Just dodge?"
"Keep talking, Kiel. It's the only thing you're good at." I barely sidestepped his attack, my eyes narrowing in calculation. He wasn't even close.
I started running to my right, my body tilting low to the ground, gripping my sword tightly only on my left hand. My heart pounded faster than ever as Ronan and the spirits surged after , closing in fast. From a distance, Kiel swung Voidrend again and again. Range didn't matter to him—his cursed blade could strike from up to seventy ters away, and I was well within its deadly reach.
"Running won't save you," Ronan snarled, his voice a deep, feral growl. "I will hunt you down, no matter how far you run."
Soon, they closed in on . I was blocking Kiel's slashes, but the attacks ca from every direction. I fought with everything I had—blocking, countering, and dodging as fast as I could.
The forest erupted with the sound of battle—slashing, explosions, and chaos in every corner. The spirits used their powers, creating dium-sized explosions as I deflected their attacks. We exchanged blow after blow, hundreds of strikes in re seconds. The speed of their movents left trails of shadows hanging in the air behind them.
Ronan saw an opening. He closed the gap and launched a jab at my face, his fist leaving a trail of flas in the air, the fiery aura surrounding it like the wrath of a volcano. I blocked the strike with my sword, but before I could react, he seized the blade with a vice-like grip, his hands searing with the flas from his earlier spell. The heat was unbearable, burning through the air with every inch of his touch.
My body was wide open, a perfect target for a counterattack, just as I had anticipated from Ronan. His smirk twisted with fiery confidence, thinking he had right where he wanted.
But he made one fatal mistake.
"You won't get away this ti, Kaiser!" Ronan sneered, but I rely smiled, knowing his mistake.
Instead of dodging, I made my move. With a swift motion, I caught his fiery punch with my right hand, the heat of the flas searing through my skin and palms. The burn was excruciating, but I gritted my teeth, pushing through the pain. My hand shook from the force of the impact, but I tightened my grip, refusing to let go.
The flas wrapped around my arm like a wild serpent, but my resolve was hotter than the fire itself. I could feel the heat radiating from his body as if it could lt everything in its path. But it was his own arrogance that would be his downfall.
"We both know how this is going to end, Ronan," I hissed, my grip tightening.
We locked eyes as we faced off, neither of us giving an inch. Despite his physical enhancent spells, Ronan couldn't overpower .
"You're nothing but a puppet, following the strings of your magic," I spat. "You're weak."
Then, from behind, one of the spirits attacked. I dropped to my knees, using my strength to jump and flip Ronan over, sending him crashing to the ground. Mid-air, Kiel's cursed Voidrend sword slashed toward with blinding speed. I blocked every strike, my body twisting and turning to deflect them, all while fighting off another spirit's attacks.
"Impressive," Kiel sneered, his eyes glinting with malicious intent. "But this is where your luck runs out."
I landed with a thud, my legs trembling from the impact. As soon as my feet hit the ground, sothing felt wrong—too quiet. A wave of danger surged through , instincts kicking in. Before I could process it, I heard the unmistakable sound of Ronan's movents, the heavy thud of his rapid approach echoing behind .
I whipped around, just in ti to catch a glimpse of him. His voice, low and filled with malice, cut through the tension as his fiery fist lunged toward my head. The air around him sizzled, the flas casting wild, flickering shadows in the dark.
"Think you've won?" His voice was a growl, barely audible over the crackling fire. "Think again."
I barely had ti to react before he began chanting.
"Awaken the primal spirits, infuse my mortal shell. Fire of the phoenix, strength of the stone, swiftness of the wind, and resilience of the tide—lend your power! Eidolon Surge!"
His body erupted with raw power, his aura igniting as flas cascaded off him like a living inferno. The air around us grew hot, searing.
I smirked, watching his body glow with the magic, the power radiating off him in waves.
Him completing the incantation was apart of my plan. It was the perfect opportunity to show him the difference between true strength and borrowed power.
"Big mistake, Ronan," I muttered, watching his body glow with power.
Eidolon Surge was an advanced elental magic enhancent spell, designed to channel the raw essence of primal forces directly into the caster's fists. It was ant to grant inhuman strength, speed, and resilience—an overwhelming display of power that could crush anything in its path. But this wasn't enough to change the outco.
"Thanks for the chance, Ronan. Now it's ti you know how everything breaks."
Ronan's fully enhanced punch ca at with incredible force. Despite the burns on my right hand, I swung a counterpunch. The mont our fists collided, the ground trembled, and an explosion rang out, sending the spirits flying backward and clouding the area in thick smoke. Kiel's vision was blocked, his attacks halted.
"That was your best shot?" I laughed, stepping through the smoke. "Pathetic."
Ronan had enhanced his body to withstand the toughest blows, the Eidolon Surge granting him the ability to survive large explosions, deadly falls, and crushing impacts. But it was still primarily an attack spell, channeling most of his power into a single strike. But he hadn't accounted for my raw strength.
Then ca the sound—the sickening crack of bones breaking.
"AHHHH!" Ronan scread in agony.
As our fists collided, my punch landed square on his hand, slowly shattering his bones pieces. He froze in shock, unable to react. I seized the mont, jumping forward and delivering a powerful kick straight to his face.
"You should've stayed down," I said with a twisted smile, my voice colder than ever.
He was sent flying to the left, out of the smoke, but I was faster. I reached him before he could recover and grabbed him by his hair, locking him in place as he writhed from the pain of his broken bones. He was still too stunned to fight back.
"Did you really think that magic would save you, learn to fight on your strength. You will never be able to defeat with borrowed power"
With one swift motion, I slamd him hard onto the ground, the force rattling the air. But I didn't have ti to savor the mont. My instincts picked up on the cursed aura creeping up behind . I spun just in ti to block Kiel's attack.
"Don't even try it, Kaiser!" Kiel snarled, his eyes burning with fury. "You'll regret this—I'll make sure of it."
Kiel was no longer fighting from a distance. His vengeful spirits followed him closely, attacking in perfect sync. We traded blows, creating gusts of wind so intense it felt like a hurricane was forming around us.
"You're still not strong enough," I taunted, dodging Kiel's strikes with ease. "You're just like Ronan—needing dirty tricks to fight ."
The spirits were the easier part of the fight. I had already morized their attack patterns and devised my own counter-strategy. The energy around shifted, and I felt the strain on Kiel.
"If you keep pushing, Kiel, they'll get reckless. And then it's over," I warned, grinning as I avoided another strike.
Kiel was coughing, each breath shallow as he struggled to maintain control over Voidrend and keep his spirits active, all while trying to fight . A few ters away, Ronan was desperately trying to heal his wounds with magic, his hands shaking from the strain.
"You think you can scare with threats, Kaiser? You're not the only one who knows how to push past their limits."
Suddenly, Kiel dropped Voidrend, catching off guard. The spirits, sensing his shift, turned their attention to , attacking relentlessly to keep distracted. In that brief mont, Kiel rushed over to Ronan, using advanced cursed magic to heal him completely.
"O spirits of tornt, hear my plea! Feed on my pain, nd this broken vessel. Bind flesh with shadows and seal wounds with suffering—Veil of Agony!"
It was a high-level healing spell—one that drained an imnse amount of cursed energy. Unlike elental magic, this spell enveloped Ronan in a dark veil, his cursed energy swirling around him, nding his wounds and broken bones. Kiel collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood from the effort.
"So much for pushing past your limits?" I sneered. "No amount of magic will save you, Kiel."
Ronan looked at him, concern in his voice, "Kiel! Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine... don't worry about . Just go kill him now," Kiel rasped, still healing Ronan.
Enraged, Ronan surged forward, his speed now unmatched, his body completely healed thanks to Kiel's spell. The spirits, sensing his aura, pulled back, clearing the path for him. I stood still, waiting, ready for the perfect counter.
"Is that all you've got, Ronan?" I taunted, my grin widening as I prepared to strike. "Let's see how long you last this ti."
Ronan poured all his mana into his elental magic.
"Flas of the eternal inferno, rise and empower . Cloak my body in fire, strengthen my limbs, and fuel my will. Infernal Ascendance, ignite my soul!"
His hand ignited in blazing fire, scorching the ground around him. He was certain I would try to block, giving him the opening to strike while he was fully charged. Fighting him head-on would an certain death. It was a death sentence to face soone using Infernal Ascendance in close combat with nothing but a sword.
Exactly what I wanted.
I threw my sword into the air, catching Ronan completely off guard. Before he could react, I side-stepped, effortlessly dodging his first jab. I grabbed his outstretched arm, countering with my own punches, crossing them against his strikes.
"You thought simply covering yourself with fire was enough to stop ?" I sneered. "You're nothing but a delusional sore loser."
The impact was deafening. The air exploded with force, sending a shockwave through the area and filling the space with smoke. Kiel, still recovering, stood speechless as he watched stop Ronan's blazing attacks with nothing but my bare hands.
The heat from Ronan's flas was unbearable, my hands slowly burning, but that wasn't what Ronan had expected.
"HOW?!" Ronan scread in disbelief. "How are you able to stop my Infernal Ascendance?!"
"Real power lies in technique," I replied coldly. "Those who rely on magic will never understand this. That's why you've already lost the ga."
"That's pure bullshit," Ronan spat, rage in his voice. "Anyone that even cos near the fire should lt instantly. Yet you're still here standing. How is that possible?"
I smirked, taking a step forward. "Ronan, you're nothing more than a caged rat. Thinking you've gotten stronger from the incantations you've morized, believing that was enough to beat ." I chuckled darkly.
"It's just hilarious, really."
As I spoke, my grip tightened. Ronan's fists, once raised in defiance, now trembled in my hands as I crushed them with raw strength. Years of training, countless hours spent honing my body, had all led to this mont. The muscle mory kicked in, and I stepped closer to him.
With one swift movent, I released my left hand and seized his right wrist with both hands. He didn't even have ti to react. Before he could comprehend what was happening, I drove my knee into his, breaking his balance. His body lurched, and as he struggled to stay upright, I reached out and locked onto his wrist with my left hand and his shoulder with my right.
In one smooth motion, I used my back as a pivot point, twisting my body with precision and power. I tore through his gravity, completely flipping him upside down. Ronan's body hit the ground with a massive crash, sending a shockwave through the earth and breaking the montum of his Infernal Ascendance magic.
It wasn't just strength that made this work—it was technique. A technique I had perfected over ti, honed through countless battles against monsters and demons where a sword wasn't always an option.
The core of this martial art, was a theory I had read about in ancient books, wasn't difficult to implent once I understood the chanics. In order to survive in a world without knowing any magic, I had to adapt.
My body was burning. The intense heat from my struggle, the flas still scorching at my skin, made it feel like I was caught in the center of a raging fire.
Kiel, witnessing the unthinkable, was speechless. He called out Ronan's na, unable to comprehend how I was still standing.
"Ronan... how? How is he still standing?!"
The fire around began to die down, its energy slowly dissipating as it was absorbed into my hands.
At that mont, the sword I had thrown into the air finally descended, its weight cutting through the smoke-filled air. I reached up with my right hand, feeling the heat still radiating from my skin as I caught the blade, the flas still burning my hands.
The heat was unbearable, my flesh starting to blister, but I gritted my teeth and pressed forward. With my left hand, I tilted the sword toward my face, guiding it carefully as I dragged my hand along the blade's edge. The fire on my skin transferred to the blade, touching along its surface like an obedient fla.
As the flas left my hands, they burned into the sword, permanently igniting it with an ethereal fire that would endure. The flas on my hands vanished, absorbed completely by the weapon, leaving the sword blazing with a dark, almost unnatural glow. It was no longer just a weapon—it was a part of , the flas now bound to it, ready to strike with a power I had never wielded before.
Ronan's eyes were filled with desperation as he muttered, "Mana Shifting... How?"
I knew exactly what he ant. Mana Shifting wasn't just a basic magic technique—it was a way to transfer magical energy from one source to another. Typically, this is only possible using celestial magic, which directly manipulates elental forces.
But, since I didn't possess any celestial magic, I had to use my own body to perform this feat. I focused every ounce of my physical energy, shifting my mana into the sword's blade.
A normal person would have been consud by the flas, their skin searing and their bones scorched beyond recognition. But over the years, I've developed a keen understanding of how manipulation and control of magic worked, especially fire. By channeling my own energy and reinforcing my skin with a protective layer of minor mana channels, I was able to create a barrier that prevented the fire from burning through my skin.
It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. The flas raged around , yet I remained unhard, using their energy against Ronan. It's this unique resistance allowed to absorb Ronan's Infernal Ascendance flas and turn them into my own.
Infernal Ascendance is a fire magic designed to enhance both offense and defense. It cloaks the caster in a fiery armor, amplifying their strength and agility. On the surface, it makes them appear invincible, like a god wrapped in flas. But I understood its true nature—its vulnerabilities.
Though Infernal Ascendance created a powerful defense around Ronan's body, it only protected the outer layers—the skin, muscles, and surface of the caster. It was like encasing a fragile vase in steel; it might look unbreakable, but if you struck it just right, the cracks would appear from within.
That's where my knowledge ca in.
I had studied the nature of fire magic briefly, also covering how Infernal Ascendance worked, understanding that its protection was not absolute. The fire could reinforce the outer body, but it couldn't protect the inner workings—his bones, joints, and organs. The trick was to bypass the outer shield and strike at the core, where the magic couldn't reach. And from there, the spell's defense would crumble.
At first, my strikes were pointless. The fire absorbed every punch, every hit, like I was hamring against an unyielding wall. I couldn't even leave a mark. But then, I noticed his movents—slower, more labored—especially when he twisted to dodge. That's when I understood. The fire could shield the outside, but not the internal shockwaves.
I stopped wasting my energy on surface hits and focused on precision. I aid for his ribs, collarbones, and joints—places where the force would ripple through his body. I knew that shockwaves could manipulate the structure of the magic and break its hold.
When I slamd Ronan onto the ground, I used all my strength to amplify the impact. The force created shockwaves that reverberated through his body, rattling his bones and organs. I could feel the magic waver, its grip weakening as the shock traveled inward. The first crack I heard ca from his ribs, and I knew I had found my mark.
Ronan collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. The flas that had once surrounded him now flickered weakly, their intensity waning as I relentlessly targeted the core of his body. Each strike I landed seed to drain the last remnants of his fiery defense, leaving him vulnerable.
The once-invincible blaze that had protected him was now little more than a fading mory, and I could see the realization in his eyes—he was finished.
This knowledge didn't co to by accident. I had morized hundreds of magical texts—books that explored the intricacies of elental magic and its weaknesses. One of them, Elental Convergence: An Ancient History of Elents, had specifically pointed out the flaw in Infernal Ascendance's design. While most people focused only on the incantations, Ronan was missing the key understanding behind them. And because of that, he was destined to fail.
That was the difference between talent and knowledge.
Kiel's voice shattered the tension in the air, his desperate cry for Ronan to watch out. The two vengeful spirits reacted instantly, snatching Ronan from the battlefield and pulling him away, away from the fury of the clash.
But Kiel remained. Silent. Emotionless.
His once frantic breaths had steadied into a cold, unfeeling calm. He stood there, his body drained, but his eyes, devoid of hope or rcy, locked onto as he began the incantation. The words spilled from his lips with a chilling finality.
"From the pit of endless suffering, tear their souls asunder—Vengeful Grasp!"
The air trembled as Kiel's cursed magic surged. Unlike before, where the spirits had simply followed his command, this ti, the energy exploded, twisting violently.
The cursed vines, once slithering like serpents, now twisted together into sothing far more nacing. They coiled and interlocked, forming a gargantuan dragon, its massive body writhing with dark energy. The vines were alive with malice, their very essence forged from the deepest, most twisted forces Kiel could command. The beast's eyes blazed with pure wrath, burning with a hatred that matched the fury of its creation. With a primal roar, it surged toward , a towering creature of pure malevolence, its every movent a harbinger of destruction.
I could feel Kiel pouring every last drop of his cursed energy into this one final assault. He had gambled everything on this strike, betting his life that it would be enough to break . The battle had reached its end. This was the endga.
Kiel's voice was a whisper of finality, cold as the grave. "I'm going to destroy you."
But I wasn't shaken. Instead, I t his gaze with an unwavering calm, my lips curling into a thin smile.
"You haven't even realized it, Kiel," I said, my voice low and filled with certainty. "You're already dead."
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