Chapter 679: Fan fair
The serpent writhed, its body twisting against the water, but Omina tightened her outstretched fingers, and the torrent expanded, swallowing the construct in a flood of searing steam. Ty backpedaled, the heat licking at his face, and launched another volley of flames, this time spreading them wide in a fan-like arc.
Omina sidestepped gracefully, her aura shifting as the flames splashed harmlessly against a sudden wall of ice she conjured. The wall cracked and groaned under the intense heat but held firm. "You rely too much on brute strength," she said coolly, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Ty clenched his fists, black flames surging anew. "And you talk too much," he retorted, thrusting his hand forward. The flames erupted into jagged shards, streaking toward her like obsidian-tipped arrows. Omina reacted with inhuman precision, her outward skill flaring as a burst of wind swept the shards off course, embedding them into the walls.
The wind didn’t stop there. It coiled around her like a living thing, whipping the mist into a tempest that spun with deadly force. Ty shielded his face, his flames wavering as the storm surged toward him. He slammed his fist into the ground, sending a ripple of fire through the stone floor. The fire expanded outward, cutting through the storm and igniting the space between them.
Omina moved through the flames as if they were nothing, her body blurring with speed. She closed the distance in an instant, her fist crackling with lightning as she struck at Ty’s midsection. He barely managed to twist away, the edge of the blow grazing him and sending an electric jolt through his body.
Ty staggered, coughing as the residual electricity burned through his nerves. "Okay, that one hurt," he muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He rolled his shoulders, his flames reigniting with a fiercer intensity.
Omina pressed her advantage, her aura shifting again as hailstones the size of fists materialized around her. With a flick of her wrist, the hail launched toward Ty, each projectile slicing through the air with deadly precision. Ty responded with a sweeping arc of flames, the fire consuming most of the hail, but one stone clipped his leg, sending him to one knee.
JJ watched from the corner of the room, her breathing shallow as she crouched protectively over Rui. The scene was a blur of fire, ice, and wind, each collision shaking the ground. "Ty!" she called out, her voice trembling. "Get up!"
He heard her, gritting his teeth as he forced himself upright. "I’m not done yet," he growled, his flames spiraling around him like an inferno. He threw his hands forward, and the flames surged outward, morphing into a towering wall that barreled toward Omina.
She raised both hands, her aura flaring with a green light. The wall of fire froze mid-charge, encased in a crystalline sheet of ice. Ty didn’t wait for her to counter; he sprinted through the remnants of his flames, closing the gap between them.
Omina moved to intercept, her hands crackling with electricity. Ty ducked under her first strike, his body twisting as he swept his leg toward hers. She leapt over the attack, landing with a fluid grace, but Ty was already moving. He conjured a whip of fire, lashing it toward her.
The whip struck her aura, sending sparks flying as she skidded back a few steps. Her expression remained calm, but her aura shifted again. The air around her grew dense, heavy, and charged. Ty hesitated, sensing the shift just as the air erupted into a cascade of lightning. The bolts crashed toward him in rapid succession, forcing him to dodge and weave as the ground splintered under their impact.
Ty found his footing amid the chaos, his flames dimming slightly as he caught his breath. His eyes narrowed as he studied Omina, her aura still pulsing with energy. "Enough of this," he muttered, his voice low.
He focused, his hands steady as he conjured a single, concentrated flame. The fire condensed, growing darker and more volatile as he shaped it into an arrow. Memories of Yun-Jin’s precise strikes flooded his mind, guiding his movements. He raised the arrow, aiming it toward Omina as she prepared her next attack.
With a deep breath, he released it.
The black-flamed arrow streaked through the air, cutting through Omina’s swirling aura with uncanny precision. Her eyes widened for the first time, a flicker of surprise breaking her composed mask as the arrow struck her square in the head. The impact sent her reeling, her aura collapsing in a violent burst of green light. She stumbled backward, dropping to one knee, the swirling storm of her projections flickering and fading.
Ty stood motionless, his chest heaving as he watched her. "Stay down," he muttered, his voice raw. The flames surrounding him pulsed weakly, their once ferocious intensity now sputtering. He took a tentative step forward, his boots scraping against the cracked stone floor.
Omina remained still, her head bowed, strands of dark hair obscuring her face. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the sound of Ty’s labored breathing. For a moment, he allowed himself to hope it was over. His shoulders sagged slightly, the strain of the battle weighing on him.
Then, with a sudden and violent motion, Omina’s head snapped upward, her piercing eyes locking onto his. The mark of the arrow glowed faintly against her skin before fading entirely, her aura reigniting in a blinding burst of green energy.
"Impressive," she said, her voice steady despite the raw power now crackling around her. "You’ve done better than I expected. But you’re far from ready to face me."
Ty tensed, his flames sputtering back to life as he dropped into a defensive stance. "You’ve got to be kidding me."
Omina didn’t answer. Instead, she rose to her feet in a single fluid motion, the ground beneath her splintering from the force. Her green aura flared violently, and the air around her grew thick with a suffocating chill. Ty felt his body seize as frost began to creep along the walls and floor, the temperature plummeting so quickly his breath became visible in an instant.
"Let’s see how well you burn," Omina said, raising her hand. A jagged shard of ice materialized in her palm, its surface shimmering with unnatural sharpness. With a flick of her wrist, the shard launched toward Ty, splitting into dozens of smaller projectiles mid-flight.
Ty barely had time to react. He swept his flames upward, creating a fiery barrier that intercepted most of the shards. But a few slipped through, one grazing his arm, another embedding itself in his thigh. He bit back a cry of pain, staggering as he felt the icy tendrils spreading through the wounds, slowing his movements.
"Damn it," he hissed, forcing himself upright. He thrust his hands forward, summoning a spiraling flame to sweep across the room. The fire scorched the frost on the ground, pushing back the creeping cold, but Omina was already moving.
She appeared at his flank, her aura shimmering as a burst of wind swept his flames aside. Her fist struck his ribs with the force of a sledgehammer, sending him sprawling across the floor. Ty rolled to a stop, coughing as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Your flames are slowing," Omina observed, her tone almost clinical. "Is it exhaustion? Or perhaps something more… fundamental?"
Stay tuned to NovelBin.Côm
Ty forced himself to his feet, his flames sputtering weakly around his hands. "You talk too much," he growled, launching a pair of fireballs toward her. She batted them aside effortlessly, her aura absorbing the impact without so much as a flicker.
"You’re reaching your limit," she said, advancing on him. The air around her warped, her aura shifting as a swirling vortex of hail and lightning formed above her. The storm roared to life, sending bolts of electricity crashing to the ground and jagged chunks of ice hurtling toward Ty.
He dodged to the side, his movements sluggish as the frost from her earlier attack continued to creep through his veins. His flames flared as he tried to burn it away, but they flickered and dimmed, slower and weaker with each attempt.
"What’s… happening?" he muttered, his vision blurring slightly. His legs felt heavy, his breathing labored. The frost clinging to his wounds burned cold, but there was something else—a deeper weariness, as if his body were betraying him.
Omina smiled faintly, her head tilting as she watched him falter. "You’re starting to feel it, aren’t you? The weight of your own power. Those flames of yours burn hot, but at a cost. How long did you think you could keep pushing without consequence?"
Ty shook his head, trying to clear the haze that was settling over him. "Shut up," he spat, summoning his remaining strength. The flames around him surged one last time, darker and more volatile than before. He charged forward, his fists wreathed in fire, but his movements were erratic, unsteady.
What do you think?
Total Responses: 0