Immortal Flame was not surprised that the traitor had sent somebody to his prison. It was just that they had arrived at the worst possible moment.
Immortal Flame observed the Ranji standing in the air as though it were solid ground.The Ranji race were one of the inhabitants of Astaroth who had exceptional prowess with water based techniques.
The man infront of him had their traits from pale white skin covered in light scales to the slits on the side of their necks however this man was also different.
His hands were dark with straight fingers and thin nails instead of the usual blue with webbed fingers. And his hair was reddish instead of blue as well.
This was the first time he was seeing something like this. Did that mean the Ranji had deviated from their usual path?
He did not know. Nor did he care. The Ranji was associated with the betrayer. He had also seen Liam's state of Essence infusion. The Ranji might not know what was going on but the same wouldn't be said about Sin.
If the Ranji left this place and told him about what had transpired then he would piece together what was happening here.
'The Ranji must not leave this place'
The Ranji barely released a flicker of killing intent towards Liam when the great beast moved.
Immortal Flame appeared in the air and swung out with his claw. The Ranji's entire body shot up as though flung from a slingshot. The air exploding in concentric circles in his wake. Immortal Flame flapped his wings and leapt after him.
The Ranji was still flying through the air when he emerged from the top of the mountain. The chains that surrounded his limbs strained in an attempt to hold him back. The pulse with familiar runes however Immortal Flame's aura still lingered, suppressing them and diminishing their power.
Immortal Flame's eyes blazed with intent and in a single movement the chains shattered, the pieces falling to the ground below.
By now the Ranji managed to stabilize himself. He stood high in the sky, his robes torn to reveal his torso lined with ink black tattoos to the world. But other than that, he didn't look like someone who had taken a blow from a dragon especially not one like Immortal Flame.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" The Ranji laughed. "Master Sin warned me to be wary for your strength but that was just unnecessary. Get ready for I, Yamaru the Third Seat disciple will bring your head and present it before my master!"
Immortal Flame did not mind Yamaru, his thoughts somewhere else entirely. Yamaru had survived a strike from him, weakened state or not.
'He is at the least a Lord' Immortal Flame thought.
This was not going to be an easy fight.
"You seem distracted are you that shocked?"
Immortal Flame's gaze shot downward, his eyes trembling.
How did Yamaru close the distance and without him noticing?!
Yamaru struck out with a palm.
Bang!
This time it was Immortal Flame sent flying. The scales on his chest where he had been hit were slightly cracked. His body travelled several kilometers before his eyes blazed and his wings snapped out to catch the wind. He grinded to a halt.
Gusts of volatile winds spread out in waves. He looked in the direction Yamaru should have been. He received a blow instead. Right at the dome of his skull between his horns. Immortal Flame felt his brain rattle as he plummeted head first towards the ground.
He recovered however just before he hit the ground. He landed on his legs, the ground sinking beneath his weight as cracks spread out.
'I am missing something' the instant he landed, he released an explosion of flames that engulfed the entire area. It looked as though a bomb had gone off. The blast radius covered over 100 meters. Rock and land red with heat. At that point a small figure blinked into existence some distance away.
Yamaru's hair was half blackened and his skin was riddled with burns. He looked at the cloud of black smoke with narrow eyes before he caught a flash of orange.
A torrent of flames barrelled towards him threatening to turn him to ash. However just before reaching him they stopped. No…they didn't. the flames were still pushing forward but they never seemed to reach him at all. Almost as though the distance between it and Yamaru was constantly expanding.
After a while the flames dissipated.
A single drop of sweat fell between Yamaru's eyes.
The smoke cleared to reveal Immortal Flame standing at his fully height. His eyes glowing with an intense red glow.