"Burn for me!" Valkor declared as violet fire swirled wildly around his arms like living serpents. His smile was vicious—proud. He was enjoying himself.
Just a few steps away stood Zul Gor, the orc shaman, firm despite the pool of blood beneath his fist.
The orc's robe was now tattered and burned. Steam hissed from fresh burns that marred his green skin, and his breathing was ragged. Despite this, a fierce gleam shone in the shaman's eyes as he wielded his staff against the Inferno Prince.
After fighting off a horde of monsters when his stamina was dangerously low, Valkor had struck—launching a fire blast at the shaman, catching him off guard and injuring him severely.
If it were normal flames, Zul Gor wouldn't be this weakened, but there was something about the purple fire that he couldn't quite understand. He could tell—it was very dangerous.
Now, even though he tried to project an unyielding façade, the truth was that he was greatly weakened, and the Inferno Prince clearly saw through this.
"You're not bad, old orc. It's been a while since I got to burn something strong," the prince said, his voice laced with cruelty and his eyes gleaming wickedly. "Don't be upset, your monster core will greatly help me in the near future!"
He raised a hand, gathering flames so hot they turned the air white, forming a spear of purple energy that twisted with runes. He hurled it.
Zul Gor raised his staff, summoning a massive green energy blast that shot toward the violet spear hurtling in his direction. However, Zul Gor cursed—the green energy was easily shattered on impact. The explosion sent him crashing into a tree.
The prince chuckled and walked forward. "A pity. You fought well, but at the end of the day, you're nothing but a lowly creature far below us—the dragons!"
Zul Gor felt a surge of anger rise in his chest as he tried to rise, stubbornly dragging himself to his feet even as his vision blurred. There was one last skill he hadn't used—his trump card. Zul Gor had hoped he would never need to use it anytime soon, but if he didn't, he might find himself in a very dire situation.
'If only I was at full power...' Gritting his teeth, the orc shaman proceeded to activate his skill.
Suddenly, before he could complete the chant to activate the skill, the forest shifted, followed by a powerful gust of wind that blew out of nowhere, dousing the prince's flames for a split second.
"Huh?" Both Zul Gor and Valkor glanced around, confusion shining in their eyes.
Was that a beast? Valkor thought as he summoned a ball of purple starlight flame in his hands.
Then it happened—a flash of golden light, followed by a blur and a strike so fast it couldn't be seen.
The Inferno Prince was sent flying backward, crashing through three thick trees before skidding across the ground.
Zul Gor blinked, bloodied and dazed, as a figure appeared beside him donning a demonic mask. A look of relief crossed the orc's eyes when he recognized this person through their connection.
To avoid any misunderstanding or suspicion, instead of appearing as his usual self, Nox had decided to put on the Marks of the Hound.
With the mask on, he wasn't limited to only ice skills. Nox calmly walked toward the orc shaman and placed him inside the taming space—just as the Inferno Prince rose, fury painting his face.
The masked figure didn't answer. He simply reached out, and a spear made of the light element appeared in his grasp. Though Nox appeared calm on the surface, he was actually boiling with anger that Valkor had tried to harm one of his pets.
The radiant spear glinted under the moonlight, thirsting for blood. A pulse of killing intent exploded from his body, shaking the trees and even causing beasts in the far distance to flee in panic.
"You're not worthy to know," the masked Nox said, voice low, altered by mana. "But you dared to touch what's mine."
"A light dragon, huh?" Valkor chuckled when he saw what Nox had done. Then his eyes glinted in confusion. Nox's presence felt cold—an attribute of frost dragons, which left him perplexed.
Then his eyes widened at a certain prospect. "A hybrid!"
Nox didn't understand what Valkor meant, nor did he care. He moved from his spot—with Divine Velocity activated, he was faster than before.
The light spear shot from Nox's grasp, bolting toward the prince.
Valkor quickly summoned a wall of purple flames in front of him, greatly weakening the light spear's momentum—just enough for him to dodge to the side.
But before he could regain his footing, the Inferno Prince's eyes shone with shock. At that moment, the masked figure burst through the wall of flames, tendrils of fire swirling around his fist.
Valkor's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe that this hybrid possessed not only light and ice—but also flame abilities.
Damn it, I need to escape and report to the Supreme Dragon Court! Valkor thought, his hair standing on end. He was confident in his purple starlight flames, but even someone like him wouldn't want to fight against a hybrid—especially one with more than two elements.
Usually, a hybrid with two elements was already very troublesome. It was pure foolishness to engage one with three—or worse, even more!
There was a reason why the Dragon Court labeled hybrids as the biggest threat just below the Corrupted Scourge Dragons—and Valkor wasn't ready to test that out.
Without wasting a moment, he desperately summoned a small crystal-like object—a one-time magical item given to him by the Inferno Monarch himself. It was his last trump card to escape life-or-death situations.
Crushing the crystal, a flaming rift tore through space.
However, before he could fully retreat, Nox appeared before him and struck forward with Oblivion Edge, which was coated in thick flames.
A crimson arc sliced across the prince's chest as he vanished through the rift with a painful scream.
"This isn't over yet, you vile hybrid! The Supreme Dragon Court won't rest until they annihilate you!"
Those were the last words Nox heard before silence returned to the ancient forest.
"Tsk, he got lucky," Nox muttered as he put his weapons away. "Supreme Dragon Court, huh… I wonder who they are. Anyway, I better return before daybreak—if not, I'll miss the finals."
I made a few mistakes with the Celestial Starlight Inferno [Ultimate] while writing fast, trying to meet a deadline… which I still missed, by the way (sad emoji).
[The skill costs 300 MP/sec when activated. Cooldown: 1 hour.]