Chapter 208 Flame Knight!? (Happy Qixi Festival!)
Finney briefly introduced Shuri to Helen Zhao, but didn't reveal the true situation in Wakanda.
Afterwards, he went to visit Wanda and Pietro, who lived near the laboratory.
The Mind Staff had only just begun research and was far from being tested, so the two didn't need to stay in the laboratory all the time.
"How are you doing here?"
When Finney saw Wanda, she was studying with a book in her arms.
"The language barrier makes communication so difficult!"
Wanda said in broken Korean, which startled Finney slightly. He then replied in Korean, "Then you need to practice more!"
To better learn and translate the magic of Kama-Taj, he had studied not only ancient Sanskrit, but also virtually every language on Earth.
Wanda had only been learning for a short time, so she could only vaguely understand that Finney seemed to be encouraging her. After casually thanking him, she asked, "What brings you here?"
"Nothing, just came to check on things,"
Finney shook his head. He had only come to see what was going on.
"When can we get the abilities you mentioned?"
Although she was quite comfortable here, Wanda still hoped to obtain the superpowers Finney had spoken of as soon as possible and return to her country, Sokovia.
Actually, after they met Tony, he immediately went to check on the situation in Sokovia and then had Pepper send people there to improve things.
Unfortunately, Stark's name was infamous there, especially after Finney's recent misdeeds, which made him a scapegoat again.
So far, nothing had changed.
"Once the lab has produced results, I've already found someone else to help, so it should be soon,"
Finney replied slowly. He believed that with Shuri and Zhao Hailun's research, it wouldn't be long before they could awaken their superpowers.
Wanda looked down at her books. Finney didn't stop them from entering or leaving the lab, but since most of the people there were Korean, she had taught herself Korean to keep track of their progress.
Finney didn't stay long. After checking on the two of them and resting briefly, she went back to the Himalayan training ground.
The eighth extraction was over. Although 'Zeffect' was powerful, it was limited by time, so he didn't dare use it recklessly until he had absorbed a certain amount of time.
Therefore, to improve his strength, he had to continue strengthening his previous skills.
On the snow, Finney sat cross-legged, his silver-white 'Demon Entanglement' glowing softly in the moonlight, looking exceptionally beautiful.
Finney looked down at his armor, his expression serious as he pondered a question.
During his battle with Killian, he had noticed something. Because of the skill he had acquired, he was in a bad mood and had unleashed his full Breathing Technique to teach Killian a lesson.
At that time, he vaguely sensed that 'Demon's Embrace' under the influence of Breathing Technique seemed to undergo some special changes.
If he recalled carefully, a similar situation seemed to have occurred when he fought Loki.
'Demon's Embrace' was the third skill Finney had acquired, and it was also the skill he used most frequently in battle since acquiring it.
To date, 'Demon's Embrace' had undergone several evolutions.
The 'ice resistance' evolved unexpectedly in the pursuit of a breakthrough, the 'physical resistance' evolved from fighting the Hulk, and the 'energy resistance' evolved from sparring with mages.
These evolutions had a significant impact on Finney ; his rapid growth to his current level was at least half due to the power of 'Evil Spirit Possession'.
Therefore, upon realizing that 'Evil Spirit Possession' seemed to be causing problems, he wanted to resolve it immediately.
After exhaling lightly,Finney calmed himself, then used 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique' to gather the surrounding oxygen and fully activated his 'Breathing Technique'.
Inhale!
The poor oxygen, which had just gathered on this cold, snowy mountain, was immediately inhaled by Finney through his nose and mouth, propelled throughout his body by his red blood cells.
The skill 'Breathing Technique' originates from Demon Slayer. The system description states it's a technique for fighting demons using a human body. While this demon isn't the one Finney imagined, it still possesses unique characteristics.
Since it's a technique for combating demons, the Breathing Technique naturally has its own special aspects.
Finney initially thought it was the energy gathered during breathing, but he now discovers it's more than that.
When using the Breathing Technique, Finney feels most intensely a warm yet scorching energy, like sunlight, surrounding him. He usually infuses this energy into 'Explosion Magic' to enhance its power.
But now he suddenly realizes that 'Demon Entanglement' seems to have a better affinity for this energy.
While maintaining his breathing technique, Finney watched in astonishment as the 'Demon Embrace' began to glow red beneath its silver armor after absorbing energy, reminding him of Killian's Extremis Virus.
However, unlike the Extremis Virus, the red light beneath the 'Demon Embrace' resembled a flame, seemingly emerging from the armor.
Finney continued breathing, focusing intently on channeling the energy he named Sun Energy into the 'Demon Embrace'.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a vibrant red flame actually burst forth from the 'Demon Embrace', strikingly visible in the night.
Before Finney could even gasp in surprise, tiny flames, like puppies breaking free of their cages, began to flutter wildly across his body, instantly igniting him and turning him into a human torch.
Finney jumped to his feet in shock, his breathing technique momentarily halting. The flames on his body dimmed briefly, then slowly dissipated into the air. Finney
stared blankly at himself; his armor had returned to its silvery-white hue, and there wasn't a single burn mark on his body. It was as if the flames had been an illusion.
However, the melted snow on the ground beside him clearly told Finney that the flames had been real.
"What happened?!"
Finney was bewildered. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then resumed his breathing technique.
Seemingly having learned from past experience, this time he wasn't prepared for long. The moment Finney infused the sun's energy into 'Evil Spirit's Embrace,' the armor turned red, and flames erupted from it again.
Finney's breathing faltered slightly, but mentally prepared, he steadied himself and continued his breathing technique.
Looking at the crimson flames on his body, Finney felt no harm or burning sensation whatsoever.
After studying it for a while, Finney realized that this was probably due to some characteristic of his breathing technique perfectly complementing 'Evil Spirit's Embrace.'
He had never tried injecting transformed solar energy into the 'Evil Spirit's Embrace' before, which was why he hadn't noticed it. This time, it was only when the leaked energy was absorbed that Finney realized the anomaly.
"Great, my nicknames are probably going to increase again, Flame Knight!? Crimson Lotus Knight!?"
Looking at his own burning body, Finney unconsciously thought to himself. The flames on his body were different from ordinary flames; they were a golden-red color, looking very beautiful.
(End of Chapter)