Death System: I awakened SSS rank System

The smoke had not yet cleared. Justin coughed violently in the corner of the ruined room, his hands shaking as he pressed his back against the scorched wall.

His breath was ragged, his lungs stung from the heat, but his eyes never left the two figures standing in the haze.

"What the fuck is this guy? Is he really a D rank or is he a psycho who just manipulated his true power? He's been keeping up good enough with the S rank guy. How is that possible?"

Zakar stood tall, Tyrann Sword balanced across his shoulder, its steel glimmering faintly through the dancing embers that floated in the air.

Opposite him was the man in yellow cloth and the farmer's cap, his eyes glowing red like burning coals, his body radiating waves of heat strong enough to make the floor tiles crack.

"You really are bold," the man said, his voice low, venomous. "To raise your blade against me as if you're my equal. Do you even understand who you're standing before?!"

Zakar tilted his head, smiling faintly. "Some loudmouth with a flame problem. Honestly, I've killed worse things in alleys back on Earth. You don't impress me."

The man chuckled darkly, flames curling around his fingers. "Typical assassin arrogance. I've burned your kind before rats who scurry in the shadows, thinking themselves kings of the night." them he paused.

"Do you know what happens when rats touch fire?" He snapped his fingers, and a spark leapt into existence, swelling into a roaring orb of flame. "They scream."

Justin whimpered as the heat swelled, the walls creaking under the pressure.

"Fuck!! These two are gonna destroy themselves, I've got to do something...but what?"

Zakar's smirk widened. He slid the Tyrann Sword from his shoulder, letting the massive blade's tip drag a screech along the stone floor.

"Big talk. But do you know what happens when fire meets steel?" His eyes sharpened. "It dies. Fire can't burn steel."

The assassin snarled and launched the first attack. Zakar smirked widely as he approached him.

The flame orb shot forward like a cannonball, ripping through the air with a deafening roar. Zakar twisted his body and swung the Tyrann Sword upward in a brutal arc.

CLANG!

The orb split in half, flames scattering harmlessly around him. The explosion rattled the room, but Zakar stood unfazed, smoke curling from the edges of his blade.

The man narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. Quick reflexes. I'll give you that." He extended his hands and flame chains shot out like serpents, slamming into the ground and walls, coiling toward Zakar's limbs.

"Flame Chains, huh?" Zakar muttered. He spun the Tyrann Sword in a wide circle, slicing through the fiery bindings with raw force. Rays of inferno scattered like dying stars.

Justin's jaw trembled.

"He's cutting fire. He's actually cutting fire… Damn! This is the person who I have always been up against? Really?!" Justin muttered before coughing in pain.

Zakar dashed forward, sword raised high. The assassin blocked with a pillar of flame that erupted from the ground, but Zakar's swing cleaved straight through it and nearly grazed the man's chest.

The assassin staggered back, sparks sizzling across his yellow robes. His smile faltered.

"You bastard," he hissed.

Zakar rested the flat of his sword against his shoulder again, his breathing steady. "You said that I was a rat. Hmph... sorry to say but it does seem like you are the rat. I am terror."

The man laughed mockingly, though his eyes betrayed unease. "Terror? No… you're just a cub, D-rank trash pretending to be a predator. Do you think killing street scum makes you special? This is Purgatory. Here, weakness is a sin."

Zakar's smirk hardened into a glare. "And yet your fire hasn't burned me."

The assassin roared and slammed both hands together. A ring of flame burst outward, expanding into a dome of molten heat. The room shook violently; the ceiling cracked.

"Flame Prison!" he bellowed.

The fire wrapped around Zakar, sealing him inside a blazing inferno. The heat grew unbearable; the floor glowed red beneath his boots.

Justin covered his face, crying out. "Fuck!?"

Through the fire, the assassin sneered. "Burn. Let your flesh melt off your bones."

For a moment, nothing. Only the hiss of fire devouring stone. Then—

SHRRAAANG!

The Tyrann Sword tore through the flames, ripping the prison apart in a single cleave. Zakar stepped forward, smoke curling from his armor, his eyes blazing with defiance.

"Pathetic," he said. "If that's your prison, then I'm the executioner who tears it down."

The assassin's jaw tightened. "Impossible…"

Zakar lunged. The clash that followed shook the room. His blade carved through fireballs, shattered flame spears, and batted away streams of molten flame.

The assassin gritted his teeth as sweat ran down his temples not from heat, but from pressure and fear.

Between swings, Zakar growled, "Back on Earth, they called me the Little Ripper. I slit throats, I carved names off ledgers, and I made corpses vanish in alleys. But here?"

His sword smashed down, cracking the ground beneath the assassin's feet. "Here, I'm free. And your fire won't cage me."

The assassin spat blood, retreating. "You think being a brave crook makes you strong? No! It makes you weak someone who hides in shadows because he cannot stand in the light!"

Zakar grinned savagely. "Light? Then let me drag you into darkness."

The assassin roared, flames engulfing his entire body until he looked like a living inferno. His voice bellowed like thunder: "Flame God's Wrath!!!"

The entire room exploded in fire. Pillars of flame ripped upward, tearing through the ceiling. The heat melted steel beams; rubble fell like rain.

Zakar charged straight into the storm. His body blurred, his movements so fast they left afterimages. The Tyrann Sword cut through one pillar, then another, then another, until he reached the center where the assassin stood, cloaked in fire.

"You can't win!" the assassin shouted, fire surging from his arms like a volcanic eruption.

"I already have!" Zakar bellowed, swinging his sword with bone-breaking force. Sparks and flame rained like meteors.

Their battle raged for minutes that felt like hours. Sweat poured down Zakar's face, his muscles burned, but his eyes never dimmed. Each swing of Tyrann Sword grew sharper, each movement even more refined.

Finally, he broke through. His blade tore through the assassin's flames, cleaving the air so hard the shockwave blew him across the room. The assassin staggered, coughing blood, his flames flickering weakly.

Zakar towered over him, the Tyrann Sword raised high, its edge gleaming with merciless intent. His chest rose and fell heavily, but his eyes were still.

"You mocked me. But this..." His voice cut like his blade. "...is your end."

The assassin fell to one knee, blood dripping from his mouth. His eyes widened in raw terror as Zakar brought the blade down in a brutal arc.

Just as the steel descended, inches away from his skull

"ZAKAR!!!"

A voice thundered through the ruined chamber, echoing like a command from heaven itself.

Zakar froze mid-swing, blade trembling just before the killing blow. His eyes flickered toward the source of the voice.