"L..Lord Pyro Archon…"
"You are not… planning to make us fight you, are you?"
After being hurled onto the competition platform by Caelus, Tepepan and Tamuin felt their hearts sink completely.
Moments ago, they had been shouting loudly enough for the entire Sacred Flame Arena to hear.
Now their voices trembled so violently that even they could barely understand their own words.
Caelus did not respond.
He simply stepped forward.
His pace was unhurried, yet with every step, Tepepan and Tamuin felt as if another invisible weight pressed down on their chests. The fear they tried to suppress surfaced plainly on their faces. Even breathing became difficult.
"Lord Pyro Archon, I am from the People of the Springs, just like you. In our entire Tribe, I am the one who respectfully addresses you as Lord Pyro Archon. Please do not…"
Before Tepepan could finish speaking, a blazing fist smashed into his face.
He was launched backward like a projectile, slamming violently into the wall of the Sacred Flame Arena.
Boom.
A thunderous crash echoed as dust rose into the air, swallowing his figure from view. For a moment, no one could tell whether he was alive.
"D Damn it… he actually attacked us."
"Even if he is the Pyro Archon, I will fight him!"
Seeing his companion crushed so mercilessly, Tamuin forced himself to act.
"I will fight you!"
But in the next instant, the world before him shifted.
The Pyro Archon who had stood before him vanished. In his place, the Sacred Flame Arena rapidly shrank beneath his feet. Several Qucusauruses glided past his vision.
He had been thrown into the sky.
The Arena, once so massive in his eyes, had become nothing more than a tiny black dot below.
He was going to die.
From this height, he would certainly die.
Though Tamuin belonged to the Scions of the Canopy and was accustomed to swinging through the air with grappling hooks, he had never ascended this high.
Even the warriors of the Flower Feather Clan, skilled in riding Qucusauruses, likely had not reached such an altitude.
Time lost meaning.
Every second stretched into agony.
He felt his ascent slow. Once it stopped, the fall would begin.
From this height, he could not even imagine how long it would take to reach the ground.
Then, a red light appeared in his vision.
It expanded rapidly.
A rope woven from flames shot toward him.
In all of Natlan, only one person possessed such mastery over fire.
The current Pyro Archon.
"Lord Pyro Archon is saving me?"
Seeing the flaming rope approach, Tamuin instinctively relaxed.
But the rope did not bind his body.
It coiled tightly around his neck.
His mind went blank.
In the next instant, he was violently dragged downward.
The descent was unimaginably fast.
His neck felt as though it would snap. The world spun. His organs felt twisted and compressed, pain overwhelming every nerve.
He struck the ground before he could even blink.
Boom.
The impact sounded like an explosion.
"Go back up."
Before Tamuin could breathe, he was flung skyward again.
While he served as a human projectile, Tepepan was enduring his own torment.
Caelus seized him by the head and drove it into the ground, cracks spreading across the floor. Then he lifted him and repeated the motion.
"L Lord Pyro Archon… spare me…"
Tepepan's nose was broken. Several teeth were missing. Blood filled his mouth.
"I was wrong… I should not have slandered Kaiulani…"
"Forgiving you is Kaiulani's business," Caelus said lightly. "Sending you to see her is mine."
The smile on his lips was faint and ordinary.
But to Tepepan, it was more terrifying than any Abyssal monster.
Caelus slammed his head down again, then hurled him across the Arena like a bowling ball.
Tepepan streaked forward like a comet of fire, carving a deep fissure across the floor before crashing into the wall.
After discarding him, Caelus extended his hand skyward.
Another flaming rope shot upward, hooked around Tamuin's neck, and dragged him down once more before flinging him back into the air.
The cycle continued.
"This is too brutal…"
Paimon clutched her chest, her voice trembling. "He is treating them like Abyssal monsters."
No.
Even Abyssal monsters were treated better.
When Caelus dealt with them, a single arrow ended their existence instantly.
These two, however, were forced to experience repeated destruction.
"If this continues, they will die for sure."
"No."
Kinich's tone remained calm. "Look carefully. There is a red Elemental Coat covering them. That is the Pyro Archon's protection."
"When we tested the defense turrets, he granted us the same Elemental Coat," Kachina added. "It prevents fatal injury, but the pain remains completely intact."
"So they are not in danger of dying?" Paimon asked.
"Not immediately," Kinich replied. "But the price is that they must endure death repeatedly."
He folded his arms.
"For them, perhaps actual death would be kinder."
"But Tepepan is clearly injured," Lumine observed, her sharp vision catching the details.
"If the Elemental Coat prevents harm, why is his nose broken?"
"Caelus is allowing visible injuries on purpose," Mualani said quietly. She knew him too well. When he chose to be ruthless, he did not hesitate.
[So satisfying!]
[Make them regret being born!]
[This Pyro Archon might not be like the Raiden Shogun who executed Signora instantly, but this is just as cathartic!]
[This is incredible to watch!]
The players' frustration, built up from the slander earlier, was released all at once.
Back in Natlan.
After countless repetitions, Caelus finally dragged Tamuin down one last time and slammed him into the ground.
This time, he did not throw him again.
Instead, he turned slowly.
His golden eyes fell upon the red haired woman nearby.
"Mauvika. Handle them."
"Yes."
She immediately nodded and turned toward the medical staff.
"Chuychu, come examine them."
The Sacred Flame Arena was always staffed with healers. Whether during the Holy Night of the Return of Fire or the Night Warden War, injuries were inevitable.
Those restored by the Ode of Resurrection returned wounded, not fully healed. Without treatment, lingering complications could follow.
That was why Chuychu was present.
"Who told you I wanted them treated?"
Caelus's voice cut through the air.
Mauvika froze.
"What?"
"I told you to punish them."
Silence swept across the Arena.
More punishment?
"Lord Pyro Archon, you have already disciplined them severely," Mauvika said carefully.
"In your view."
"Who told you I was punishing them just now?"
He smiled faintly.
"I was venting."
A collective gasp rose from the crowd.
"The punishment for insulting a hero begins now."
Mauvika understood.
Kaiulani had fallen only moments ago, and yet her name was already being dragged through the mud.
If such behavior went unpunished, the honor of Natlan's warriors would mean nothing.
Though Caelus's actions were not conventional for a Pyro Archon, he had drawn a clear line.
His earlier actions were personal.
Now, the official judgment would follow.
"I understand."
Mauvika did not argue further.
After giving his instructions, Caelus addressed the people of the Sacred Flame Arena.
"Kaiulani cannot be restored through the Ode of Resurrection only because her battle was not recognized as a Night Warden War."
"However, she who gave her life to protect her companions is unquestionably a hero of Natlan."
"If anyone dares to slander her again, their fate will be worse than theirs."
His gaze swept across the Arena.
Under that pressure, any lingering doubts dissolved.
"She died protecting her companions. How could we question her?"
"In competition, you use every method available. When facing Abyssal monsters, do they follow rules?"
"If you lose, train harder. Do not blame others for your weakness."
Voices rose one after another in condemnation of Tepepan and Tamuin.
"It seems everyone is united," Paimon whispered.
"Kaiulani would feel at peace hearing this," Lumine nodded.
After death, Natlan's people journeyed to the Night Kingdom, not heaven. But the sentiment remained.
"Eh?"
Mualani suddenly narrowed her eyes.
"What is it?" Paimon asked.
"When Caelus looked over just now, he gave me a signal," Mualani explained. "He wants us to go to the Affairs Office later. He has something to tell us."
"You understood all that from one glance?" Paimon blinked.
"Hehe. Most of it is intuition," Mualani admitted. "But I grew up with him. I know how he thinks."
"Do you know why he wants to see us?" Kinich asked.
"I am not sure."
She placed a hand over her heart.
"But I hope it is something that can save Aunt Kaiulani."
...
This fanfiction is completed on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.