Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle heated up as the two warriors clashed once more. Ingrid faced Zhe Ha head-on, her fury burning as fiercely as his rage.
"You killed my master, and you speak of justice?!" Zhe Ha snarled, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "Some justice you've shown!"
In a blink, he vanished, teleporting across the skies. With a snap of his hand, blazing fire beams erupted in all directions, scorching the heavens and raining destruction upon Ingrid.
The beams closed in fast, but Ingrid tightened her grip on her blade. With a sharp swing, she unleashed a torrent of black-purple flames that cleaved upward, consuming the fiery barrage. Explosions burst through the clouds, scattering the night with flashes of violet and crimson light.
Her chest heaved, breath ragged as sweat dripped down her brow. "Damn it… I'm not fully recovered after my risen sacrifice," she thought to herself, her muscles trembling beneath the weight of exhaustion.
Just as the clash seemed to settle, a sudden pain ripped through her.
"GAHH!"
A spear pierced her right shoulder from behind. The impact jolted her body forward, blood spraying into the air. Ingrid spun her head, eyes widening in shock and fury.
"Coward!" she roared, her voice echoing with hatred. "To stab me from behind—you're nothing but a coward, demi-god!"
"So what?!" Zhe Ha spat, eyes glowing with burning malice. "Even gods must act in shame if it means achieving greatness—or the greater good!"
His hands flared, and chains of molten fire erupted from the ground, hissing as they slithered through the air. They wrapped tightly around Ingrid's body, binding her wings, her arms, her legs. The chains burned into her flesh, glowing hot as Zhe Ha snapped his fingers.
"GAH!!!" Ingrid screamed as the fiery bonds seared her skin, her body writhing against the unrelenting grip.
Zhe Ha's rage deepened. He called forth more chains, drawing them from the rubble of the pavilion sect he had crashed into earlier. The blazing links whipped around Ingrid, snapping her tight, forcing her to the earth with a thunderous crash.
The ground split beneath the impact, dust and flame rising into the air as Ingrid struggled, pinned by fire and fury.
Hovering above, Zhe Ha raised his arms, summoning the full force of his mana. The heavens trembled as infinite blazing spears materialized high above the sky, glowing like falling stars of destruction.
"Die, you filthy demon…" he hissed, his fingers lowering like a judge delivering the final sentence.
The endless storm of spears descended, their blazing tips screaming through the air.
Ingrid's eyes widened, her breath sharp and uneven. Her mind raced as her body burned in agony.
"Think, Ingrid—think!!!" she screamed inwardly, straining against the fiery chains as the heavens themselves threatened to bury her alive.
The storm of blazing spears tore through the sky, screaming like an army of dragons. Each one carried enough power to shatter mountains, and together they threatened to erase her entire existence.
Ingrid gritted her teeth, her bloodied hands straining against the molten chains. The fiery links burned her skin raw, smoke rising from her flesh, but her crimson eyes gleamed with defiance.
"No… not yet…" she hissed, her voice trembling but unbroken.
The first wave of spears fell, colliding with the ground around her. Explosions ripped the earth apart, shockwaves throwing up pillars of fire and debris.
Ingrid shielded her face with what little movement she had, her body shaking under the storm's wrath.
Her mind blazed. Think… damn it, think!!!
Then—an idea struck. Her lips curled into a savage grin.
Summoning the last reserves of her strength, Ingrid called upon the black-purple flames etched into her very soul. The aura pulsed violently, surging like a living beast. The chains trembled under its fury.
"Break!" she roared.
Her body erupted in a violent blaze, the dark fire scorching through the bindings. The fiery chains cracked, then shattered with a deafening snap.
A surge of energy blasted outward, forming a protective dome of shadowed flames just as the next wave of spears rained down.
Clang! Clash! Boom!
The blazing spears struck her barrier, exploding into fragments that lit the battlefield like a second sun.
Each impact shook the ground, but Ingrid's shield held firm, flickering with violent determination.
From above, Zhe Ha's expression twisted in shock and rage.
"Impossible… you should have been crushed!"
Ingrid's figure rose from the crater, flames dancing around her like a demon-goddess reborn.
Her shoulder still bled from the spear wound, her body burned and battered, but her presence was overwhelming.
Her blade ignited with a vortex of black-purple fire, pulsing with killing intent.
"You want me dead?"
she snarled, pointing the sword toward the heavens.
"Then come take me yourself!"
With a single flap of her wings, Ingrid launched skyward, tearing through the falling spears.
Each swing of her blade cleaved the blazing projectiles in two, detonating them in midair with flashes of violet fire.
The battlefield roared with destruction, night turning to chaos under their clash.
Zhe Ha bared his teeth, summoning more chains and hurling them like whips toward her.
But this time, Ingrid was ready. She spun midair, her flames twisting around her sword as she slashed downward, severing the chains before they reached her.
Sparks showered the night, their battle resuming with even greater ferocity.
The heavens burned as Ingrid and Zhe Ha collided once again, fury against fury, dragon against demi-god.
The battlefield raged, the sky trembling under their fury. Ingrid's blade sang through the air, cutting down flaming chains and spears, while Zhe Ha's relentless power forced her on the defensive.
Clash! Boom! Crack!
Every strike shook the heavens, their mana clashing in violent explosions. The ground below had long since turned into a wasteland of fire and shadow, craters littering the once-proud pavilion sect.
But Ingrid's strength was waning. Each flap of her wings grew slower, her breaths heavier. Blood dripped from her wounds, staining the black flames that flickered around her blade.
Zhe Ha, though battered, still burned with terrifying vigor. His skin cracked with molten light, his body glowing like a furnace. The demi-god roared, thrusting his spear with overwhelming force.
Ingrid parried, sparks flying as the impact rattled her arms. She staggered back, her knees threatening to buckle.
"Damn it… my body… it won't hold much longer," she thought, her vision blurring.
Zhe Ha gave her no respite. His hands weaved, summoning a storm of chains that shot upward and then crashed down like flaming vipers.
"Fall, Ingrid Von Balmung!" he roared.
The chains wrapped around her wings, snapping them tight. She cried out, slashing wildly, breaking free of a few—but the rest bound her limbs.
Before she could burn them away, Zhe Ha surged forward, spear blazing, and drove it straight into her stomach.
"GAHHH!"
Her scream echoed through the smoke-filled sky as blood sprayed across the battlefield. The force of the blow hurled her downward.
She smashed into the rubble below, the earth splitting under her impact, flames rising with the dust.
Coughing blood, Ingrid struggled to push herself up, her blade trembling in her grip. Her body quivered, every muscle screaming in agony. Yet her crimson eyes still glared defiantly at the figure descending above her.
Zhe Ha landed heavily, his own chest rising and falling with exhaustion. His skin was charred, his arms shaking, yet his will burned as fiercely as ever. He leveled his spear at her, his voice low and venomous.
"It ends here…"
Ingrid tried to rise again, forcing her battered body to obey. She raised her sword, but her strength faltered. The blade slipped from her hand, clattering against the broken stones.
She fell to one knee, panting, blood dripping from her lips.
Zhe Ha towered over her, his spear poised for the final strike.
"This is justice," he said coldly, lifting the weapon high. "For my master… for everything you destroyed."
He lunged forward, ready to end her life.
But then—
Shunk!
A sudden metallic sound pierced the chaos. Zhe Ha froze, eyes widening in shock. Blood spurted from his chest as a chain dagger erupted through his body from behind.
The smoky mist that cloaked the battlefield swirled, hiding the figure who had struck. Zhe Ha's spear trembled in his hands, the killing blow halted inches from Ingrid's throat.
His breath caught, rage and disbelief mixing in his eyes.
"You…?!" he gasped, blood spilling from his mouth.
Ingrid, broken on the ground, could only stare, her heart pounding as the impossible turn unfolded before her.
"Why…?!" Zhe Ha gasped, his voice trembling with shock at the figure hidden within the mist. But before he could gather an answer, the chain dagger twisted in his body.
Shhk—BOOM!
Countless needles burst outward from the weapon, piercing Zhe Ha's flesh in every direction. His body convulsed violently as the barbs embedded themselves deep.
He tried to move. He couldn't. His limbs shook uselessly, his body frozen.
His senses spread inward—and realization struck him like thunder. The needles weren't just piercing his flesh. They had stabbed into his very nervous system, shutting it down piece by piece.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" he roared in fury, his voice cracking the air as his blood spilled freely.
Through the rolling smoke, the figure began to walk forward, boots echoing against the broken ground. At last, he revealed himself—his presence heavy, unshaken by the chaos.
Ingrid's eyes widened, recognition flashing immediately. Her battered body quivered as memory returned.
It's him…!
The one whose name had echoed across the world a year ago. The one who had shaken the Demon Empire itself, leaving it half-destroyed in his wake. Malric, the current Demon King, though young and untested, had once spoken his name to her with fear.
The one who had made the world tremble at his feet during the infamous Invasion of the Academy at Valkoris.
The one whom some whispered to be the last descendant of a line that should not have survived.
Dante Ruthwilfer.
Zhe Ha's eyes blazed with both disbelief and hatred. His spear trembled in his hand, unable to move. "HOW COULD YOU!!!" he shouted, coughing blood as crimson poured from his mouth. The needles pulsed deeper with every word, making him scream in agony.
Ingrid stared in shock, her bloodied lips parting. Why? she thought. Why would Dante target Zhe Ha, the demi-god of flames? What connection does he have to him? How does he even know him?
"ANSWER ME, YOU PATHETIC LOWLIFE OF A HUMAN!!! ANSWER ME!!!" Zhe Ha roared, his voice thick with rage and pain. Blood poured from his wounds, staining the shattered stones below, his body trembling with every futile attempt to resist.
"ANSWER ME! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!"
The figure at last stopped before him. His voice cut the air, sharp and unflinching.
"DANTE RUTHWILFER!!!!." Yell Zhe Ha.
He pulled off his cloak in one smooth motion, the mist curling away as his identity was revealed.
It was no longer a rumor, no longer a shadow. It was him. Dante Ruthwilfer—standing alive, his chain blades still embedded in Zhe Ha's body, locking the demi-god in place.
And with that, the tides shifted.
Thus, the real battle begins.
A human versus a demi-god.
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Chapter 33 — End