NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Assassin Within(2)
"Really? Going out to spit out the truth isn't such a good idea, is it?"
The voice slid through the chamber like a blade across glass, sharp, mocking, and filled with heat.
Justin froze where he stood. His heart skipped, then raced uncontrollably, thudding in his ears. Cold sweat poured down his back, yet the air around him was anything but cold. The temperature in the room climbed instantly, suffocating, thick, and stifling.
Both he and Zakar turned.
There, at the doorway, stood a man. He wasn't tall enough to seem imposing, yet his very presence crushed the atmosphere into submission.
His yellow robe clung loosely to his scarred body, its edges charred as if fire lived in his veins. A battered farmer's cap cast a shadow over most of his face, but his eyes betrayed him.
They burned. Literally burned. Two flames crackled where his eyes should have been, twisting and flaring with every slight movement of his head. The glow painted the chamber in shades of molten orange.
Justin fell to his knees instantly. His words tumbled out in panic.
"M-my lord, I wasn't going to tell him anything! I swear on my life! Please...I didn't mean to offend you! Don't...don't kill me!"
The man ignored him at first, his gaze sweeping the room. When his flaming eyes finally landed on Zakar, the corner of his mouth curled. He took two slow, deliberate steps forward, and the ground sizzled beneath his boots.
Then he finally acknowledged Justin.
"You're sorry?" His voice was a low rumble, like coals breaking under pressure. "No, boy. You'll be sorry in your grave."
Before Justin could reply, the man's hand shot upward. Flames erupted instantly, condensing into a perfect circular orb of red fire in his palm. The sheer heat of it singed the walls before it even left his hand.
"Flame Lock Spell!"
The fireball shot forward.
Justin screamed.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The chamber shook violently. Fire splashed across the walls, smoke clouded everything, and the ground quaked beneath the explosion. Bits of broken wood and stone flew in every direction.
The man exhaled lightly, brushing ash from his robe. His grin widened, cruel and arrogant.
"Pathetic worm," he muttered. "Loose tongues never last long."
He turned his head, the flames in his eyes flaring brighter as he scanned through the haze. His voice dropped into a growl.
"Now, where is the other brat? The one Zermon ordered me to kill? Not many get the honor of being hunted by him. You should feel proud, boy, wherever you're hiding."
The chamber fell silent save for the crackle of dying flames. The smoke thickened...
...and then it split.
FWOOOSH!
A massive shadow lunged from the haze.
The man's eyes widened a fraction before a colossal blade came crashing down.
SHRRAAANG!!!
The Tyrann Sword slammed into the ground where he had stood, shattering the floor into a crater. The shockwave hurled debris across the room and sent the man skidding back into the far wall.
From within the dust, a figure emerged—Zakar.
His grip was tight on the massive sword resting against his shoulder. His eyes, cold and unreadable, cut through the haze. A smirk tugged faintly at his lips.
"Hmph," he muttered, tilting the Tyrann Sword casually. "So you're the one who paid Justin to kill me? Cheap move. Not even brave enough to do it yourself?"
The man pulled himself out of the wall, chuckling lowly, though his smile twitched. Ash fell from his robe as he straightened.
"Paid him?" he said, his voice mocking. "No. That insect couldn't kill a mouse. He was a distraction. Nothing more." His flames flared higher, licking up his arms until both hands glowed like burning steel.
"You misunderstand, boy. I didn't come here to play assassin. I came to burn you alive. Because Zermon wants you erased."
He spread his arms wide, flames roaring from his body until the room glowed red like the inside of a forge.
"I am an S-rank Flame System wielder. You can't begin to imagine the difference between us. You are nothing but a D rank."
Zakar planted his feet, the Tyrann Sword gleaming even in the oppressive light. His smirk remained, faint but stubborn.
"Then why," Zakar asked coldly, his eyes steady, "do you look so?" But he wasn't replied nicely.
The man's flames writhed around him like serpents, their heat suffocating the entire room. Every flicker cast shadows across the scorched walls, twisting and crawling like living things.
He tilted his head, the brim of his farmer's cap glowing faintly from the heat, and sneered at Zakar as if he were some pitiful insect standing before a wildfire.
"You've got guts, brat. I'll give you that much. Not many stand after seeing my flames. But guts won't save you."
Zakar lowered the Tyrann Sword from his shoulder. The weapon's enormous blade dug into the scorched floor with a hiss. His eyes narrowed not afraid, not shaken, but locked with precision.
"You talk too much." His voice was flat, heavy, a quiet defiance that slashed through the man's arrogance like a blade.
The flame wielder laughed, a sound both amused and furious. "Arrogant little shit! Let's see if you can still talk when your lungs are ashes."
He thrust his hand forward.
"Blazing Inferno Burst!"
A colossal torrent of fire erupted from his palm, a river of molten flame surging across the chamber like a tidal wave. The very air was it ignited, the walls blistered and cracked, and the ground itself glowed red-hot as the attack swept forward.
But Zakar didn't flinch. His grip tightened on the Tyrann Sword. In a blur, he leapt into the wave, his body vanishing in a streak of motion. The massive sword swung in a wide arc.
SHRRRAAANG!!!
The flame attack split apart, cleaved cleanly down the middle. Sparks and cinders rained as Zakar tore through, his blade dispersing the deadly flames into harmless rays of heat. He landed with a heavy slam, sword extended, his eyes blazing not with fire, but with defiance.
The man's mocking grin faltered.
"Tch… impressive reflexes. But let's see how long you last!"
He stomped his foot, and the entire room quaked. Flame pillars erupted from the floor, one after another, encircling Zakar in a blazing cage. Each pillar twisted into whips of fire, lashing inward with sizzling shrieks.
Zakar darted forward, spinning the Tyrann Sword with both hands. The blade howled as it carved through the flaming whips, each strike shattering the attacks into bursts of sparks.
His speed was inhuman, his movements precise with every swing of the blade countered another deadly strike.
CLANG!!!! BOOOOM!!!!
Every collision of sword and flame thundered like a cannon. The room became a warzone of fire and steel, heat and shockwaves blasting outward.
Zakar burst through the last whip and lunged. His massive blade arced downward toward the man's head.
The man crossed his arms and flames condensed into a molten shield.
CRAAASHHH!!!
The Tyrann Sword slammed into the shield, the impact exploding into a shockwave that rocked the chamber.
Sparks and fire scattered, stone cracked and walls splintered, yet neither yielded. For a breathless moment, they were locked sword against flame, strength against strength.
Then the man grinned savagely and roared.
"Flame Surge Explosion!!"
His shield detonated, bursting into a blast of concentrated fire that hurled Zakar backward.
The ground tore apart under the force, and Zakar's body smashed into a wall, imprinting his body shape deeply on it. Dust and debris poured down around him.
The man's laughter echoed through the smoke.
"See that? You're nothing but a child playing with toys. You can't match me! I am flame incarnate! An S-rank system wielder! What are you? A pitiful D-rank swinging a sword that's twice your size?"
Zakar's voice cut through the smoke, low and sharp.
"I told you already…"
His silhouette emerged, steady and unbroken. The Tyrann Sword gleamed as he lifted it once more, its edge glinting with cold promise.
"…you talk too much."
The man's grin twitched, but before he could speak, Zakar blurred again. His body became a streak of motion, faster than before.
"What? He's faster than before. Is he truly a D rank? Was that why Zermon wanted me to kill him? Not sending a low rank assassin?"
The Tyrann Sword whistled through the air.
The man barely twisted aside, but even then, the blade grazed his arm searing flesh despite his flames. Blood spattered across the scorched floor.
For the first time, the flame wielder's grin disappeared entirely. His flaming eyes narrowed, and his aura surged violent.
"You… little bastard!!! You will pay!!!" His roar shook the room. His flames erupted, towering higher, devouring the air until it felt like the chamber was collapsing under the weight of heat.
"Oh. We will see about that." Zakar muttered almost feeling playful.