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Chapter 16: A Spark That Ignites the Forest
Scene 1 — Middle of the City, Near the Fountain
Dust slowly rose in the area as Kyura got up from the ground, still feeling the heat of the explosion that had completely erased the fountain and left houses split apart, a line of fire cutting them cleanly in half.
Kyura lifted his gaze toward the strange man… a wide smile, and red eyes glowing with madness.
Kyura said angrily, his breathing accelerating:
"What is wrong with you?! Why did you do this? Don't you care about people's lives?!"
The man laughed in a low voice, trembling with a strange euphoria:
"People's lives?! Their blood… their pain… their screams… they are beautiful things."
Kyura clenched his fist in the air, anger nearly bursting from his chest.
"What is people's lives to you?"
The man stepped closer, step by step, his footsteps cutting through the air as heat rose from his body, and said with a wide smile:
"Just a game."
Then he tilted his head slightly and raised his arm as if pointing at prey:
"Come on… fight me."
Kyura stepped back, but his eyes quickly caught scenes of chaos around them:
A screaming mother, a man dropping his goods and fleeing, a small child crying and screaming for his mother amid the crowd, people trampling over one another in terror.
Kyura clenched his teeth and thought:
(If I fight here… many will get hurt. I must lead him away.)
He looked at Renion and lightly nodded. She understood immediately.
They turned together… and ran at full speed toward the city gate.
As for the man, his laughter sliced through the air like knives:
"Wait! Are you running from your deaths?"
And he chased after them with light steps, as if the ground itself carried him.
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Scene 2 — Outside the City
The two rushed past the guards and burst out into the wide plains where the wind swayed freely.
The sounds of people behind them were still loud with screams and noise.
But the man's voice drew closer… then he said boredly:
"I'm tired of this chase."
His hands ignited like embers, and light smoke rose around them.
He fired several small fireballs, but despite their size, they were extremely powerful… they flew past Kyura and Renion at high speed, some grazing the ground while others tore at the edges of their clothes.
Kyura shouted:
"Hold on! We'll fight him at the forest… I don't want anyone to get hurt in the city!"
Renion:
"It's fine, keep running!"
The clouds in the sky began to gather, as if the atmosphere itself sensed the threat that followed the man's steps.
His mocking laughter continued to echo in the air behind them.
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Scene 3 — Inside the Forest
The two entered deep into the forest and stopped in a wide clearing devoid of trees, surrounded by the dark shadows of the forest.
The man arrived slowly…
He stood before them with his hands in his pockets, his back slightly hunched, as if walking with no concern for the world at all.
The man:
"You finally stopped… come on, fight me."
Kyura stared at that smile and thought:
(Why does he want to fight me like this? What does he know about me?)
Kyura grabbed the cloak and threw it to the ground, his mana slowly being released like a faint light emerging from deep within him.
Then he drew the sword from his back and took a fighting stance.
The man said with an arrogant smile:
"So… the cloak was hiding your power? But that doesn't matter… you'll become ashes in the fire."
Kyura replied firmly:
"We'll see."
The man raised his hand, and in an instant fired three fireballs:
The first headed straight toward Kyura, who barely blocked it with his sword. Sparks scattered around him before he deflected it toward the sky.
The second struck toward Renion, who gathered the air between her palms and created a small wind vortex that pushed the fireball away, though it nearly slipped from her control.
The third hit the ground and exploded in thick smoke.
Kyura thought:
(His power is immense… it's good the sword endured the strike.)
The man smiled:
"You seem worthy of burning in my flames… my name is Enzo Kazan. And you?"
Kyura:
"You have no right to know."
Enzo laughed:
"We'll find out sooner or later… let's have a little fun."
He fired three more fireballs. The two were busy deflecting them… but they didn't notice that Enzo had disappeared.
Kyura looked around anxiously:
"Where did he go…?"
A voice came from behind him, very close:
"I'm here."
Kyura quickly turned and swung his sword, but Enzo raised his bare hand…
The moment the sword touched his hand, half of it instantly melted away, a portion falling to the ground while Kyura remained holding the other half in shock.
Then Enzo punched Kyura hard in his left side.
Kyura staggered backward several steps, dust rising around his feet as the air was violently knocked out of his lungs.
Kyura thought as his pain intensified:
(The difference in power… it's obvious. Like an ant trying to lift a mountain.)
Enzo stood still, smiling…
Small red sparks emitted from his shoulders, as if fire itself were breathing from his body.
To be continued…
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