"Falmon!" Terragor bellowed, voice reverberating through the battlefield. An earthquake roiled beneath his feet. The ground buckled, and jagged pillars of stone erupted, lashing out in anger at Fenix.
Enraged by the loss of his comrade, Terragor stomped forward, the earth trembling in response. "You'll definitely pay for this."
Terragor swore that he would take revenge for Falmon because Falmon was his sworn brother and he was the one who invited him into this mess as he thought that this was an easy mission.
"Come, then." Fenix grinned as he was ready for another clash. Though blood oozed from his wounded back, he was still standing firmly on his feet.
"Let's finish this." Fenix rasped.
Terragor inhaled deeply before letting out a guttural roar that rumbled like an ancient beast. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, releasing trickles of world energy.
His eyes' lit up as veins on his arms bulged unnaturally. A stronger aura pulsed around him, growing more intense with each heartbeat and step he took.
Fenix naturally recognized the sudden surge of power. 'He's burning his blood essence.'
It was a last resort technique as it sacrificed part of one's life force for a burst of raw strength. Terragor's determined expression deepened as he thought about his sworn brother's death. He thought that if he hadn't invited him, Falmon wouldn't be dead here.
Bellowing again, Terragor flung his head back as earth wrapped around his arms, hardening into stone gauntlets streaked with that ominous red glow.
Shards of rock quivered at the edges of the clearing, magnetized by his fury. Terragor shifted his gaze at Fenix as his eyes were filled with vengeance.
"This is where it ends!" He declared as he wanted to kill Fenix even with the cost of his own life.
…
Noticing how exhausted Fenix appeared, Draven turned to Lucan's protector. "Sir, should we send additional help?"
Lucan's protector shook his head. "No need. Our current priority isn't to kill him. If Terragor hadn't burned his blood essence and had actually asked for reinforcements, I would have sent one or two more people. But since he chose that desperate route and doesn't seem interested in outside help, let him continue as he sees fit."
Meanwhile, Ayla tugged at Cain's sleeve, her voice trembling with worry. "Big Brother Cain, Uncle Fenix looks like he's reached his limit. If he can't fight anymore, who's going to protect us?"
She bit her thumb anxiously, realizing even Fenix's formidable strength might not hold up against so many adversaries.
Cain gave her a reassuring smile, gently flicking her forehead. "Don't worry. He'll be fine—trust me."
…
Terragor then approached Fenix, each footstep blasting a crater into the ground. Fenix stood firm, crossing his swords in an X. Terragor's stone-covered fist crashed down like a meteor, sparks and molten debris spraying in every direction.
Despite blocking, Fenix was thrown backward, skidding over broken earth before he came to a halt.
Gritting his teeth and ignoring the throbbing in his arms, Fenix prepared to unleash one of his strongest abilities.
He then focused on the blazing heat coiled at his core, forcing his breathing to steady and pushing aside the pain in his back. Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire
"Infernal Ascendance," Fenix muttered, feeling nostalgia since it's been a while he had used this talent as he only unleashed this talent when he wanted to fight using all of his strength.
Suddenly, heat spiraled around him, igniting the air with glowing embers. Flames shot through his body, and bright streaks of molten light zigzagged beneath his feet.
In one explosive moment, two colossal wings of fire erupted from his back, each feather shimmering with intense flame.
The ground beneath Fenix fractured under the sheer intensity of his heat, and waves of scorching air fanned out around him. At the same time, his wounds began stitching themselves closed as hot trails of healing flame knitting flesh back together.
"You're right, let's settle this," Fenix said with a grin.
His swords glowed white-hot, flames curling along their lengths with renewed aggression. The temperature in the clearing spiked, and the shattered stones at his feet sizzled under the heat. Empowered by his ascension, Fenix felt ecstatic since someone had finally forced him to use his talent.
Terragor's heart slammed in his chest. Even with the boost from burning his blood essence, he realized just how formidable Fenix had become.
However, he had come too far to turn back. Letting out another roar, Terragor threw himself at Fenix with the desperation of a man who had nothing left to lose.
In a fiery blur, Fenix swept across the battlefield, his blazing wings propelling him forward. He clashed with Terragor in a thunderous impact as twin swords against stone gauntlets.
A shockwave of sparks and flying debris burst outward from their collision. Locked in a brutal struggle, they strained to overpower one another.
For a brief moment, Terragor's earth-charged strength appeared to match the power of Fenix's inferno. But slowly, the advantage of Infernal Ascendance began to show.
With every passing second, Fenix's aura grew brighter, and shallow cuts across his arms closed just as quickly as they formed, keeping him at full strength.
Snarling, Terragor switched tactics. He slammed one foot to the ground, summoning a towering spire of rock beneath Fenix. The pillar nearly toppled Fenix, but his blazing wings propelled him upward at the last second.
Suspended in midair, he retaliated by hurling fireballs charged with ascended energy. Each sphere exploded against Terragor's gauntlets, scorching off layers of stone.
Feeling outraged, Terragor slammed both fists into the ground, ripping the earth apart. Jagged fissures shot outward, revealing veins of molten magma that spewed upward like fountains.
He hoped the unleashed lava might extinguish Fenix's flames. Instead, it seemed to intensify them. With little effort, Fenix soared over the rising columns of magma, eyes glinting in the infernal glow.
High above, he crossed his blades, forging a pulsating orb of flame. Each pulse made it grow in size and radiance, bathing the ruined field in hot light.