A month later.
In the outskirts of the southern region, above the highest peak of the stony mountain with green grasses standing tall like a pillar, the sky was shrouded in clouds and heavy fog.
A dark-skinned child, no older than fifteen, sat with his legs crossed, hands resting at his sides, eyes closed as he chanted a mantra in a foreign tongue at the very tip of the mountain. His voice echoed through the mist.
"Goki suha magi fu, goki suha magi fu, goki suha magi fu."
The boy was deep in peace, lost within his inner thoughts, until—
Shing!
A sharp metallic sound split the silence, a sword-like chain slicing through the air, its edge rushing straight for him.
"Oh, now what?!"
The boy's brow furrowed in irritation. Without rising from his seated pose, he lifted both hands and caught the deadly strike with his palms, halting the weapon inches from his chest.
The chain quivered under the pressure of his grip, sparks flashing as raw power clashed.
"Funny how it's been a hundred years, Ingrid Von Balmung."
The boy smirked as his eyes slowly opened, revealing a glint of mischief. His gaze locked on the intruder—leader of the Ten Commandments of the Demon Clan.
Ingrid landed gracefully on the stone before him, the long chain-sword curling back into her grasp.
Her revealing black uniform clung to her figure, dark energy seeping from her presence as her crimson eyes narrowed.
"Heh. To see you in this lousy child form, as a demi-god… really disappointing."
She scoffed, tilting her chin with contempt.
"So I've heard. The rumors of the Demon Clan's seal being broken."
The boy's grin widened, mocking.
"Though why come to me? Don't tell me you came all this way just to play with little old me in a se—"
"Cut the shit talk, demi-god!"
Ingrid's voice thundered across the peak, her rage boiling. She snapped her wrist, the chain rattling like a serpent eager to strike.
"I came to take back what was stolen from me years ago!"
The boy laughed, tilting his head back in amusement.
"Hahaha, oh Ingrid. You're so gullible. But let's face it—killing your king was like stealing candy from a ba—"
Clang!
Before he could finish, Ingrid lunged forward in a blur, her chain-sword whipping down with devastating force.
The boy reacted instantly, summoning a polearm spear in his hands, the weapon materializing with a flash of flame. Steel clashed against steel, the impact shaking the mountaintop.
The boy's body twisted with ease, his spear sweeping outward in a defensive arc, sparks dancing as their weapons ground against each other.
Heat erupted from the contact, fire oozing along the length of the boy's polearm, the flames licking the air hungrily.
Ingrid pressed forward, her strikes relentless, her body moving with fluid precision. The boy countered each blow, his spear spinning like a burning cyclone, scattering embers into the fog.
"Is that all you've got?" the boy taunted, his grin unshaken as the fire around him grew hotter, brighter.
The two fought each other, the boy summon his scroching scarf and whip up Ingrid by the neck and tossed her to a mountain pillar.
As Ingrid was slammed against the mountainside, the impact cracked stone and sent dust spiraling into the air.
She managed to slip free just in time, rolling aside as a second strike came down, aimed to crush her torso.
The blow carved a deep scar into the rocky surface where she had been moments before.
The boy lunged forward, leaping into the air with inhuman speed. Using his scarf as a foothold, he launched himself higher and swung his flaming polearm in a devastating arc toward Ingrid.
She snarled, baring her teeth. In a flash of desperation and fury, she clamped her jaws onto the shaft of the weapon.
"Pfft, really? Your teeth—!"
Clarrsh!
The boy's words cut short, his eyes widening in shock as Ingrid's demonic fangs sank deep, shattering the polearm with a burst of sparks. Splinters of fire and steel scattered across the battlefield, the weapon snapping in two.
The boy flipped backward, landing lightly on the edge of the cliff, his cloak trailing like a shadow in the wind.
He narrowed his eyes, watching as the broken weapon in his hands shimmered, molten fire crawling along its surface until the polearm slowly regenerated, reforming into its complete shape once more.
"Surprised, demi-god?"
Ingrid licked the blood from her lips, smirking as she mocked him, her crimson eyes gleaming with challenge.
"Tch, lucky old hag… Bet your luck I didn't kill you a hundred years back for those huge booba of yours. But if it were my master, she would have torn you apart."
"Your master…?" Ingrid smirked, her lips curling in amusement.
"Didn't you hear the rumors? Oh wait, perhaps you've been disconnected from the mortal realm, secluded all these years."
Her words slithered like venom, each syllable mocking the young demi-god. Then Ingrid straightened her posture, her eyes glinting as she raised her voice proudly.
"The God Clan… has been extinct."
BOOM!
The very mountains trembled. Pillars of stone shattered into fragments as the demi-god boy's presence exploded outward.
The ground cracked beneath his feet, dust rising in a choking storm. His aura burned like wildfire, yet his voice trembled with denial.
"I don't believe you, demon…"
"Aww, so pitiful." Ingrid cooed, crossing her arms beneath her heavy chest, pressing them together deliberately in mockery. She tilted her head, her tone dripping with condescension.
"Demi-god, you and all gods and demi-gods alike know one thing about us Demon Clan."
Her steps echoed with power as she closed the distance. Slowly, she raised her hand, hovering it just before the boy's face, her fingers twitching with killing intent. The desire to crush his skull—slowly, painfully—gleamed in her eyes as she whispered:
"We demons… don't lie."
"INGRID VON BALMUNG!!!"
CRASH! BOOM! BOOM!
The skies above convulsed. Storms turned to thunder, clouds ripped apart as flames ignited the heavens.
Winds howled into raging whirlwinds, blazing fire devouring the horizon. Tornadoes of chaos erupted, each one fueled by divine wrath.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Ingrid's laughter rang out, dark and intoxicating. Her abyssal black hair whipped wildly in the violent storm.
"Yes! Embrace your rage, demi-god! Show me your true form! Fight me in your truest nature!"
Her voice thundered as she called out his hidden name with delicious anticipation:
"Demi-god of fire—ZHE HA!"
"RRAAAAGGHHH!!!"
Zhe Ha roared, his voice like molten steel tearing through the sky. He raised his polearm spear high, then slammed its base down into the earth.
The blazing tornadoes collapsed inward, spiraling around his body. His skin cracked like molten rock, fissures glowing with lava-bright heat.
From his back, two more arms erupted violently, dripping streams of fiery blood, their form forged in living magma.
His youthful frame expanded, muscles hardening, his body maturing into a towering, godlike stature. His aura burned red-hot, flames bending around him as if bowing in reverence.
"YOU HAVE ANGERED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, INGRID!!!"
With a deafening blast, the fiery whirlwind shattered outward, vaporizing the very air. The world itself seemed to kneel before his power.
Out of the inferno emerged the true form of the demi-god—Zhe Ha, Demi-god of Flames.
His eyes burned like suns, his four arms gripped his spear with unyielding fury, and every breath radiated destruction.
The battlefield quaked in awe and terror.
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Chapter 31 — End.