Chapter 164: Dark Fire in the Long Night – Eleven
Boom—
Frost, flames, dust, and light shattered, white ice fragments scattering everywhere. The tremendous sound echoed as if the entire forest was shaking.
The petite girl darted between ice and fire, her steps swift, her dress torn into strips, burning holes all over. Her left shoulder was almost completely exposed, her slender collarbone faintly visible under the flickering light. Yet, she paid no mind to it. Holding two large and ornate ice spears, her face stern, her eyes gleaming with intensity, she dodged several incoming fireballs. She gave a soft cry and threw one of the spears at a monster swooping low in the air nearby!
Whoosh—
The whistling wind seemed to tear through eardrums, the long ice spear trailing splendid ice crystals and frost, its unstoppable force slicing through the night sky toward the monster. In an instant, it reached its target. The massive creature twisted its body, lunging towards the ground like a dragon.
The ice spear grazed the long red fur and vanished into the darkness behind. Frost spread across the monster’s body but was quickly melted by the flames. The next moment, the monster roared, flying towards the girl at an almost ground-level trajectory. Its enormous arm swung suddenly, unleashing countless blazing fireballs that converged in mid-air, forming a massive meteor of hellfire, illuminating the sky as it streaked towards the girl, crashing into ice and earth!
Rumble—
The crimson explosion erupted, sending shockwaves in all directions. The raging hellfire melted the frost on the ground, rising into the night, forming a fiery mushroom cloud, black smoke billowing. Sparks of fire scattered in the blast, carving a cracked pit in the ground.
Immediately after, the girl burst out from the rising flames, leaping high into the air. Flames still clung to her body as she exhaled a plume of white mist. Her eyes were blood-red, though hard to discern in the dark. Black mist swirled around her, barely visible. Perhaps even she hadn’t noticed it herself.
She hurled the other spear at the monster, while her small body arced through the night sky. Palm bursting with frost mist, she adjusted her landing spot. When the monster dodged the ice spear, she landed heavily on its back, like a human pile driver, driving the flying monster into the ground with a bang. Dust exploded, stones and debris flew!
“Roar—”
The monster let out a thunderous roar. As its body embedded into the ground, its arm twisted and reversed, grabbing the girl in its palm. Crimson flames that had been pushed away by the initial impact gathered again, like ocean waves, surging and engulfing the girl’s form.
Heat…
“Aah!”
The intense heat around us made it impossible for me to summon any frost weapons. The frost encircling my body disintegrated. The monster’s grip was powerful; even after breaking its wrist with two punches, its fingers didn’t loosen. Instead, they tightened further, threatening to crush my ribs. Pain and suffocation fueled my strength as I punched its arm and head repeatedly, the force of each blow spreading outward.
From the moment the fight began, only a short time had passed. But the unprecedented energy expenditure, each strike nearly at full power, had left me exhausted after so long without such intense combat. The temperature of the frost mist was fading, and my punches lacked their former force.
Most importantly, since devouring Nero’s ring, I had not felt the intense, unbearable hunger. It returned now.
I want to eat…
The desire to eat grew stronger.
Captain Gray, Osmylum cake, almond cake, honey fruit pie, roasted lamb leg, roasted deer leg, even a bowl of pea soup… anything, just something to eat… eating would restore my strength…
“Sin… fire… power?”
The monster beneath me spoke suddenly: “This is… the power of the Goddess of Sin… Why… Why are you… You’re not afraid of fire. So that’s why… What did they do to you…”
“First, consider how to get out of this alive…”
Flames crackled in my eyes, the high heat instantly consuming oxygen. Held tightly by the giant hand, I couldn’t breathe. Clenching my teeth, I managed to speak briefly, my eyes glowing brighter than the surrounding hellfire. Black smoke seeped from my mouth.
In the next instant, I broke the monster’s neck, feeling its fingers finally loosen. I pulled free, stepping on the monster’s back, using Moon Step to rapidly retreat from the flames. With a “thud,” I drove the monster deeper into the ground.
“Haha—”
As I stepped out of the flames, I took a deep breath, cold air filling my lungs, clearing my mind. Retreating dozens of meters across the grass, I saw the monster emerge from the crater, hellfire engulfing its entire body. Its crimson eyes flickered like two lanterns in the flames.
Damn monster…
It wasn’t strong, yet it wouldn’t die… Why?!
The dark birds that once filled the sky had quietly disappeared. My eyes darted around, but I saw no sign of the goat cheese.
In the direction of Deer Town, lights still flickered. The red glow in the sky had dissipated, and the threat of the fire meteor was gone. Sounds of chaos could be faintly heard from there, a mix of voices, suggesting many people, whether from the Church or civilians, were involved.
Every moment was spent watching the battle outside the town…
What should I do…
Could it be that I really have no choice but to use the power of the abyss…
“Abyss, sin… Silvijja, what other secrets do you have, what else… damn, my heart is pounding, can you hear that sound, can you hear… ahahaha! It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this excited… Thank you, thank you…”
The monster in front of me stared directly at me, speaking in a strange tone with words that sounded like those of a madman: “This can’t end like this, I can’t… I have thought of a more interesting way… Silvijja, I’ve set my sights on you, I think I love you…”
He opened his mouth.
As terrifying as the blood-red mouth of a prehistoric crocodile, the corners of the monster’s mouth split almost to his neck, and a force like molten lava erupted out, gathering and dispersing within the monster’s mouth to form a massive vortex of flowing fire, instantly surpassing its own body in size. The high temperature ignited the ground, and the overwhelming pressure caused the already cracked earth to collapse again. The surging flow of fire condensed into a huge, bright crimson light ball, then the surge of energy formed a thick beam of light, overturning the earth as if a tidal wave, rushing straight towards me!
Damn…
Rumble rumble rumble—
In an instant, a massive glow surged toward the direction where I stood, scorching winds and heat waves covered the sky, instantly shattering the ice crystals floating in the air. The pressure was unprecedented, making it almost impossible to breathe. My hair was blown to the back of my head, and my eyes were almost closed. Instinctively, I wanted to dodge, but just as I moved my feet—
No, if I dodge, the small town behind me will suffer unimaginable repercussions…
I can’t dodge.
“Arrghhhhh!!”
In the next moment, the small figure froze, assumed a horse stance, and revealed a fierce look. Frost powers bloomed all around, freezing the ground beneath her feet once again. I pushed both palms forward, palm blue light shining brightly, to meet the incoming beam of light head-on!
Boom hum—
The roar of energy and its surging force instantly drowned out the scream. The terrible, scorching power made my palms feel unbearable pain almost upon contact. Steam gushed out in front of my eyes like a fountain, and then even the steam was scorched away by the high temperature. The astonishing impact made my feet sink deep into the ground, plowing through the hardened soil, and I was pushed back over ten meters in an instant.
So heavy…
So painful…
Too heavy!!!
I opened my mouth wide, but the shout I emitted was inaudible to myself. The red light before me was gradually losing shape, collapsing and scattering to a farther place. Light trails and vibrations spread in the air, lingering for a long time. “Bang,” I collided with a large rock behind me, and intense pain started from my spine and spread throughout. The force in front continued to press down, pressing down continuously, bending my arms, and scorching flames almost pouring onto my face.
Damn…
Damn it…
My sleeves were torn apart, and my skirt had already caught fire. With all my might, just as the beam of light was about to touch my body, I used the support of the rock behind me to slide down suddenly, pushing my hands upward forcefully, changing the direction of the beam of light. With a thunderous roar, it shot up into the night sky like a cannonball, disappearing in the darkness in an instant.
Ssssss…
My ears were filled with buzzing sounds, leaving only the residual noise after the clash of forces. Smoke rose, and the ground beneath my feet turned bright red. The scorching dust smoke made me cough uncontrollably. I barely managed to stand upright, took off in a moon step, and dashed to the left, covering over ten meters, and escaping the dust and smoke.
My hand was shaking…
My palm hurt so much… it must have been burned, but it doesn’t matter, it will heal soon… I turned my head to look at the place where the monster was originally, stepped forward again, and prepared to counterattack… huh? He disappeared.
Only a large pit still smoking remained there.
Where…
I heightened my vigilance, scanning left and right, and looked up… No, there was no sign of the monster anywhere. He wasn’t nearby, where did he go… the town!!!
I immediately snapped to attention, turned, and started running toward the town. After a few steps, I suddenly saw a fiery red light streak across the night sky, rushing rapidly toward us!
That…
Boom!
An explosion suddenly rang out in the sky.
The meteor-like light seemed to have hit something, exploding like a missile intercepted in mid-air. Sparks flew everywhere, and the light was blinding. I couldn’t help but stop running and cover my eyes with my hand.
What happened… was that… a person? Coming from the town…
A moment later, a figure seemed to fall from the explosion, crashing onto the bare ground over twenty meters away. “Bang,” I clearly heard the sound… That was definitely a person… red hair…
Moon step suddenly stepped out, the wind whistled, and the scene before my eyes changed. I had already come to a spot six or seven meters away from the figure, and I could see him clearly.
…It was the clown.
He had already returned to human form.
At this moment, he lay naked on the ground, his body blackened by burns, but seemingly unharmed. His eyes were open, even blinked, and then he saw me and smiled.
“Hi.”
“…”
You hi yourself…
Huh—
In the next moment, a flash of light appeared, and another figure appeared in front of me.
Silver-white hair, red dress, azure eyes.
She stood beside the clown, her hair and clothes fluttering in the wind, sparks drifting away from her body. Just a glimpse of her silhouette made one feel as if she had stepped out of a painting—a celestial being. I immediately recognized her.
…That woman.
Miss Messer.
She had arrived.
