Rael’s brows furrowed as he glanced back toward his team.
To his surprise, one of the Chosen Heroes from the Green team had made their way to Rael’s team.
A head flew through the air, gradually lighting up in flames, and the moment it made contact with the ground, it turned to ash.
That head belonged to none other than Alisa, the ninja.
"Hahahaha!" The man responsible for the kill burst out laughing. "That troublesome bitch could stretch, but she couldn’t dodge my flames... pfft..."
Rael’s gaze turned cold as he sprinted back to his team and stopped in front of the Chosen Hero.
He was a man who had burn marks riddling his entire face, arms, and most likely the rest of his body.
Yet, it was his cheeky grin and golden teeth that were the most unsettling.
Rael noticed that Jane was exhausted, and so was Julian.
Rain seemed relatively fine, and Maria was completely unscathed.
"My... do you want to be my toy?" Maria offered, stepping behind Rael and glancing at the burned man. "You seem ferocious enough, and you could warm my feet at night. What do you say?"
"Hmm? Who does this stupid bitch think she is, huh?" the man commented. "It’s almost like she’s unaware of who she’s standing up against."
Does this guy not know he’s talking out loud? Rael raised a brow.
"That’s a filthy mouth. But don’t worry, I don’t hold grudges," Maria reassured him and extended her arms outward. "What do you say to a hug?"
"Haha... crazy woman."
The moment the man uttered those words, a black flame shot out from his hands.
Before it could reach Maria, Rael grabbed her by the collar and hurled her as far away as he could.
Then, he met the man’s sadistic gaze.
"I’m seeing a pattern here. All of you people have somethin’ wrong in the head," Rael muttered.
"Ain’t that right?" the man chuckled, his gaze turning dramatic. "But alas, there was always someone stronger. Turns out, the great Zahard had only reached the summit when the true peak was right before him."
Their chat was cut short when Rain approached.
"Don’t let the flames touch you. They barely grazed Alisa, and her blood melted instantly," Rain explained with a wary look.
"Aha, a being whose path has been predetermined has spoken up," the man muttered. "Fear not, for I see the future. The fates of those ahead of the great Zahard have already been sealed, and they all result in the same outcome: death."
Alright, I can’t keep listening to this guy.
With those words, Rael decided to activate one skill that would piss off even a god.
And of course, for the cherry on top...
That very same ugly gremlin appeared and burrowed toward the scarred man who called himself Zahard.
Yet just as it was about to resurface, the man suddenly stomped the ground, causing flames to erupt.
In fear of being engulfed, Rael stepped backward with Rain right beside him.
That stomp was enough to cancel his skill.
Even so, this man was valuable simply because he was the only one here.
The other Chosen Heroes from his team, as well as all the people they had brought along, didn’t want to approach because of the flames.
Yet the same applied to Rael, who couldn’t directly approach either.
Sure, his physique was a bit different, but that was also something that worried him.
What if he just ignited like Alisa?
In short, fuck that. I’ll let the others deal with him—
Before he could even finish that thought, Zahard reappeared in front of Rael, scratching his neck violently while holding out his flaming black hand.
Yet just as that flaming hand was about to reach Rael, he unsheathed his sword and severed it.
The hand came off cleanly, yet what replaced it was a burst of flame that enveloped Rael from head to toe.
However, instead of being incinerated, all he felt was his body heating up rapidly as his skin charred slightly.
As for the damage? It was minimal.
[HP -1455! 3,475 / 4,930]
Noticing Zahard’s surprise, Rael took a step forward and slashed vertically, cleaving Zahard in two.
But again, that wasn’t enough to kill him.
Black flames replaced the injuries, yet no matter how much Zahard tried to reconstruct his body, it wasn’t working.
And that was all thanks to Rael’s convenient sword effect.
[HP -1375! 2,100 / 4,930]
With that final burn, Rael’s condition turned back to normal; even the charred skin vanished.
"W-What have you done?" Zahard screamed. "Why can’t I... Why can’t the great Zahard become one again!"
"This fucking cornball..." Rael mumbled, turning to the exhausted Jane. "Got any mana left? Think you can freeze him?"
She nodded weakly. "I can... but he easily melted my ice earlier."
"That’s fine. Freeze his neck," Rael instructed, and in the next moment, a frostbolt flew past him, hitting Zahard square on the neck.
For just a single moment, his neck was frozen.
Before it melted, Rael kicked off the ground and reappeared before Zahard in the blink of an eye.
His sword strike was unbelievably fast, so with swift precision, Rael cleanly cut through Zahard’s neck.
Zahard’s eyes widened as everything below his neck vanished into smoke.
A few seconds went by as he opened and closed his mouth until eventually, his head turned to smoke as well.
<+113 Free Stat Points>
That one was strong. If I didn’t have the resilience of a Reaper, I would’ve been instantly killed.
"Two left," Rael muttered innocently, then subtly turned his head toward Rain and Maria.