Arc | Chapter. 113: Herald of Crimson (Patreon)

Chapter. 113: Herald of Crimson

The Hero of Spirits spat blood as the world burned around him.

He couldn’t believe it.

Crackling echoed in his ears, the wooden foundations of the grand house turned to cinder; the red wool and furniture; even the marble was melted by the ravaging flames. They were hot. Extremely so. Sweat trailed down his forehead as he felt a heat rising within his chest. It was as if he wanted to cough, but more so curse⁠— shout in anger.

He couldn’t believe that the puny submissive Dragon of Flames had dared to do this…

And he was livid.

He had to save all of his servants and other less important people under his control died right then and there⁠— he hated it, those that didn’t need to be protected weren’t and even then it wasn’t enough. He had to take the brunt of the attack too. It was so anger inducing⁠— so utterly annoying that he felt as if his teeth were about to crack.

“Youu…” His deep voice resounded. “Lowly S Tier… you dare try to fight me?!”

The temperature raised and the braising flames increased in intensity, cooking and burning the surroundings. The Hero of Spirits gnashed his teeth.

“Show yourself!”

And at that moment a burst of fire came his way, the voice of the dragon’s human form echoing through the air.

“Less talking and more fighting!”

Then a flaming whip struck him as he was launched into the rubble. The Hero of Spirits gritted his teeth and at that moment he heard the voice of the dragon echoing.

“[Let My Soul Be The Fuel, Let My Mana Be The Wind, And Let My Being Be The⁠…]”

Such a long incantation…

The Hero of Spirit’s eyes widened for a moment as he realized what he was hearing. The fires around him clearing and the Hero of Spirits saw Regis’karr pointing a shining finger at him.

He had to defend⁠—

“[Shield of Spirits].”

The air distorted and a white translucent barrier and a moment later the voice of the Dragon of Flames echoed in the air.

“[Flames Of Destruction]!”

The surroundings exploded. Everything became a fiery hell as the land was shaken once more.

* * * * *

I raised my brow as I saw the surroundings enter a panic.

The entirety of the Orow residence had gone up in flames. It had happened in a single moment, and it didn’t even take me more than a second to realize that Regis’karr was the one that had caused everything.

And now he was fighting someone. I couldn’t get a proper good look at his opponent, but I did hear and feel Regis’karr’s skill right before another explosion of flames engulfed the property.

How he emphasized each part of it⁠— building up towards something greater.

It was… reminiscent of my SS Tier skill.

“[Flames Of Destruction]!”

And I blinked as everything exploded into a fiery hell. Ceylon stumbled back, holding onto my jacket as I just stared. My thoughts immediately got to work as a simple realization clicked in my mind.

I could learn from this…

So, I continued to observe as the fires refused to spread and people kept shouting and screaming. A mass panic was forming and I didn’t really know what to do about it. I didn’t exactly want for Regis’karr to be the center of attention, but I also wanted to let things play out.

I frowned for a moment before turning to Malz.

“Can you make the battle less… prevent people from prying on it?”

She paused. “Well, maybe? But it won’t be any less attention grabbing than the wall of flames we are seeing. They just won’t be able to see inside.”

“You should do that.” I nodded.

Ceylon pulled on my jacket. “Are you sure we should be doing that? I can’t help but feel that doing this in the middle of Vaelith is…” She paused. “Has a lot of ways of going badly.”

I nodded but smiled. “I know that, but… I really want to see how it plays out.”

“I’ll do it then.” Malz nodded and with a very elegant flick of her fingers she called. “[Dome of Shadows].”

At that moment, a line of darkness spread all around the property and Malz pulled me forward. We approached the line of darkness as people kept pointing at the fire, but oddly enough as we walked through the shadows no one looked at us.

And finally, upon entering it⁠— darkness burst forth. Like tentacles they intertwined amongst themselves; tendrils of darkness that built upon each other as the surroundings were encapsulated in darkness. The noise from the outside was completely muted as the only thing I heard was the crackling of the fire.

“Looks like outside forces are intervening!” the man called.

“Who cares, now burn⁠— [Fire Maelstrom].”

And a tornado of flames erupted. The surroundings began to burn as the fire spread and reached a new form of incandescent orange. But I didn’t pay it too much mind, instead I stepped forward to get a better look at the area and there, I saw him.

A rather aged man, but more than anything he was the⁠—

[Hero of Spirits. Tier: SS]

The person I had been looking for.

I didn’t quite know everything yet, but I felt like it was better that I got rid of him when I had the chance. So, I made an ice spear and began to mutter skills under my breath; however I really wasn’t in any rush. After all, I wanted to see what Regis’karr had to show first.

* * * * *

Fighting a hero…

Regis’karr hadn’t done it in forever. He had almost forgotten how thrilling it was. And how⁠— dangerous it was.

Regis’karr narrowly dodged as a formless wave of energy missed him. The wood next to him erupted as a crater formed⁠— disintegrating everything that was present. Though, now he was a lot more relaxed.

After all, they were encased and away from the public. Regis’karr didn’t understand where the dark dome had come from, but one thing was for certain ⁠— it was a neutral element that wasn’t going to interfere with his fight ⁠— so with a smile he transformed into a dragon.

His magnificent form swept through the surroundings, breaking through rubble as his flaming tail collided with the Hero of Spirits. The man grunted and was thrown against a the ruins of a wall⁠— breaking through them with a grunt. Regis’karr really didn’t care. The people that had once been in the mansion were nowhere to be seen; and so he fought with all he had. This time intending to kill the hero.

“[Consumption of the Crimson Flame]...”

Strength exploded within his body as the flames in the surroundings immediately ignited with furor. An unstoppable heat that threatened to kill anything in its immediate surroundings.

Now he just had to⁠—

And the Hero of Spirits crashed against him. Regis’karr threw up blood as he was sent tumbling backwards, hitting the black walls of the dome as they trembled and threatened to break. His vision blurred as he felt nothing but confusion. He raised his head only to see the Hero of Spirits walking towards him, a giant hammer in tow.

“Runei, the greatest master hammer user of all time,” he spoke simply. “I have now taken his strength and I shall use it to kill you,” the Hero of Spirits said coldly.

“So you are… possessed?” Regis’karr asked, rising once more.

“You could say that, but it is none of your business.”

With those words, the Hero of Spirits charged once more, swinging the great hammer as he called.

“[Grand Slam]!”

* * * * *

His summoned spiritual hammer hit the ground⁠— the dragon had transformed into a human but even then the hit roared through the air⁠, breaking through the ground and sending a blast of air. The Dragon of Flames got thrown multiple meters away, as the Hero of Spirits smiled.

Normally, he wouldn’t use the strength of the spirits due to certain limitations. But right now it didn’t matter. He knew that he just had to kill this pest and everything would be over.

Well there was the issue of the other hero that had shown up…

Perhaps it was the Heroine of Frost?

The Hero of Spirits shook his head. Deciding that it wasn’t something worth thinking about for now. Perhaps he’d talk about it with the Hero of Flames to determine the next step, but for now he had to dispose of the pesky dragon.

With a smile, he turned only to be hit by a torrent of fire. But he brushed it off with a swing of his hammer. The Hero of Spirits was truly unstoppable now, for he had the skills of the same Master Hammer user and his strength. A titanic being who stood deep into the SS Tier and had been felled during the age of oblivion.

Now, he was him.

With a grin, the Hero of Spirits stepped forward and raising his other foot, he stomped.

“[Titanic Pull]!”

The ground shattered and the poor Dragon of Flames was brought forward, the body of the boy was pulled towards him and with a smile the Hero of Spirits tensed his muscles.

“[All-mighty Swing]!”

“[Cradle of Flames⁠—]!”

The barrier of fire was immediately shattered by the hit as the dragon got hit. The Dragon of Flames’ arm twisted the wrong way as he was thrown through the air once more as he began to chant something in the air. The Hero of Spirits smiled and at that moment he used a very standard skill.

“[Flash Step].” In a single moment he appeared behind Regis’karr. “Into [Demolitioner of⁠—]”

“[And So Your Soul Shall Burn to Eternity]!”

And Regis’karr swung his other arm, hitting the Hero of Spirits square in the chest as he fell his innards⁠— burn.

At that moment, the consumption of his being started.

* * * * *

Regis’karr hit the ground hard.

He rolled with pain all over, as the Hero of Spirits screamed. White flames enveloped him. Ones that incinerated the ground into ash without even igniting⁠ as if decaying the environment. It was his masterpiece.

It was a skill he had the idea for centuries now, but it wasn’t until recently that he decided to actually try to make something out of it, and this was the result. The result of many days of countless thinking. Sure he only thought about it now and then, but now in battle he had perfected it.

Just like Arc.

His name was Regis’karr, the Dragon of Flames, the Creator of the First True Flame, the Herald of Crimson, and one of the Grand Dragon Elders. And he had triumphed over the Hero of Spirits.

Regis’karr breathed as he slowly stood up.

He could feel his arm slowly mending but it would be unusable for at least two days. It hurt. He never expected for the Hero of Spirits to redirect damage taken or some other gimmick like that⁠— but it had happened.

Perhaps he had been overconfident thinking he could easily take an SS Tier hero?

Well, it didn’t exactly matter now, for the fight was truly over.

There was nothing that could stop his skill. Not unless the Hero of Spirits had the ability to stop mana itself, which wasn’t going to happen.

So he watched as the man screamed and toppled over. Rolling on the ground trying to extinguish the flames that would only end once his soul was burnt. Of course, the skill was far from infallible but…

Regis’karr’s eyes narrowed.

This was enough.

He watched until he stopped and the flames extinguished.

It was over…

Then, a small gust of wind passed and the man slowly stood up.

What…?

Regis’karr blinked as the Hero of Spirits chuckled⁠— a spectral spear appearing within his grip. The man slowly walked towards him as all he could do was stare in confusion.

He still had mana remaining but… he didn’t know if he could win against that…

The man appeared wholly uninjured, which just made Regis’karr gulped.

The Hero of Spirits chuckled. “What, surprised?”

There was no response as the man continued.

“Unfortunately the spirit of Runei the greatest master hammer is no longer. But it doesn’t matter.”

The Hero of Spirit’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll just kill you using Murnel’s spirit instead; the Frenzied Spear⁠—”

And at that moment a shining ice spear hit the Hero of Spirits, impaling him in an instant.