"Let the match... begin!"
Serafall's voice echoed over the speakers, breaking the heavy silence in the stadium.
Riser didn't waste a single second.
He was arrogant, yes. He was completely full of himself and very annoying.
But he wasn't weak. There was a reason he was a high-class Devil with a long winning streak.
Underneath all that pride, Riser was actually a very skilled fighter.
Two massive wings of pure, bright fire erupted from Riser's back. He shot into the sky like a rocket.
"Take this!"
Riser shouted. He threw his hands forward, unleashing a rain of giant fireballs.
They looked like falling suns, burning hot enough to melt solid steel.
Elias didn't run. He didn't even try to dodge.
He covered his hands in thick, dark Devil magic. With lightning speed, Elias punched the fireballs right out of the air.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The deadly flames exploded into harmless sparks against his fists.
Riser didn't stop.
He dove down from the sky, his hands shaped like burning claws. Elias met him head-on.
CRASH!
Their arms collided. The shockwave cracked the solid stone floor beneath Elias's boots.
To everyone's surprise, Riser was fighting Elias on equal ground. Riser used his speed and his immortal fire to block Elias's heavy punches. He dodged, countered, and attacked with fierce, burning strikes.
For a few minutes, the arena was a blur of orange fire and dark magic.
Up in the stands, the thousands of Devils watching were absolutely shocked. Their mouths hung open in disbelief.
"Impossible..."
One Devil whispered, gripping the rail.
"How is he doing that?"
Another gasped.
"He is fighting Lord Riser head-to-head!"
This was the "nobody" they had just been gossiping about. This was the boy they laughed at. They thought he would be a burnt piece of toast in less than five minutes.
Instead, Elias Thorne was matching a pureblood high-class Devil blow for blow.
But as the fight continued, the audience started to notice something even more shocking.
Elias wasn't just surviving. He was pushing Riser back.
Every time Riser landed a burning punch on Elias's chest, Elias didn't even flinch.
His hidden Dragon strength easily absorbed the impact.
But every time Elias swung his fist, even if Riser blocked it, the heavy, raw power sent Riser sliding backward across the dirt.
Elias was fighting with a calm, relaxed face. He wasn't even breathing hard.
Riser, on the other hand, was sweating. His fancy red suit was torn.
His arrogant smile was completely gone, replaced by a look of deep frustration and panic.
Riser threw another massive wave of fire, but Elias just walked right through it, stepping closer and closer. The massive pressure rolling off Elias's body felt like a falling mountain.
The crowd watched in terrified awe.
"Damn it!"
Riser cursed loudly, spitting a little blood onto the dirt.
He stepped back, gripping his bruised arm. He looked at Elias with wide, panicked eyes.
"How?! How are you not burning?!"
Riser yelled, his voice cracking with fear.
It didn't make any sense. Riser's fire was the ultimate weapon of the Phenex family.
During the first few minutes of the fight, Riser had seen his flames slightly burn Elias's clothes and skin. It worked.
But now? Now, the immortal fire was completely useless.
Elias was standing right in the middle of the roaring flames, totally unharmed. Not even a single hair on his head was singed. His Adaptivity had fully kicked in.
"Your fire was warm at first,"
Elias said calmly, brushing a spark off his shoulder.
"But my body learns fast. It already knows how to ignore your heat."
Riser gritted his teeth.
"Liar! You are just a weak devil! Riser is immortal!"
Elias didn't argue. He just looked at Riser with cold, slightly disappointed eyes.
Elias had been holding back on purpose. He wanted to see if fighting a famous high-class Devil would push him to get stronger.
He wanted to see if Riser had any hidden techniques or ancient magic he could learn from.
But his Adaptivity had already soaked up everything Riser had to offer. Riser really only had one trick: throwing fire.
And now that Elias was completely immune to it, there was nothing left to gain.
Elias felt that he could not improve anymore by fighting him. The training session was over.
"I think we are done here,"
Elias said softly. His voice carried across the silent stadium.
"You don't have anything left to teach me."
"Shut up!"
Riser screamed, his pride completely shattered.
He gathered every last drop of his magic, creating a massive, blinding spear of pure white fire.
"Die!"
He threw the giant fire spear with all his might.
Elias didn't even blink. He decided it was time to use his heavy hit power.
He raised his right arm. He let his thick Dragon blood mix perfectly with his dark Devil magic.
The powerful energy swirled around his hand, growing larger and sharper until it formed the shape of a massive, terrifying dragon claw made of pure darkness.
Elias swung his arm in a simple, downward arc.
He didn't just break the fire spear.
He erased it.
But the dark dragon claw didn't stop there. It sliced right through the air, traveling faster than sound.
Riser didn't even have time to blink, let alone scream.
The heavy, dark claw hit him straight in the chest. It sliced cleanly through his magical defenses, his tough skin, and his bones like a hot knife through butter.
In one single, brutal strike, Elias cut Riser Phenex completely in half.
The two halves of Riser's body fell to the dirt floor with a sickening thud.
Blood pooled on the stones. The immortal bird of fire lay there, lifeless.
The entire stadium stopped breathing.
They couldn't believe their eyes. Elias had just killed the immortal Devil for the first time without breaking a sweat.
For a few seconds, the stadium was dead quiet.
Then, the two pieces of Riser's body suddenly burst into bright orange flames.
The fire pulled the halves back together. In the blink of an eye, Riser stood up. He was completely healed. His body was whole again.
He looked down at his chest, touching where the claw had cut him. His eyes were wide with pure shock and pure rage.
"You... you actually killed Riser?!"
Riser screamed. His voice was shaking.
"A weak nobody devil actually killed Riser?! But it doesn't matter! Riser is a Phenex! Riser is immortal! Riser will never die!"
Riser was furious. He lost all his pride and fighting skills. He fought back like a crazy animal. He threw massive walls of fire and charged blindly at Elias, completely losing his mind.
Elias just sighed. He swung his dark dragon claw again.
Slash.
Riser was cut into pieces.
The fire burned, and Riser revived.
Smash. Elias punched a hole straight through Riser's heart.
The fire burned, and Riser revived again.
For the next ten minutes, Elias killed Riser many times in a row. He crushed him, cut him, and smashed him into the ground.
Every single time, the immortal fire brought the arrogant noble back to life.
Up in the announcer's booth, Serafall still did not call for the winner.
The rules were strict. As long as Riser kept reviving and trying to fight, the match had to continue.
Elias stood calmly in the middle of the arena. He was not tired at all.
His body was perfect. He could easily keep on fighting and killing Riser all night long.
But Elias didn't like wasting his time.
He wanted to go home and eat dinner.
He gently raised his hand and touched his forehead.
Elias closed his eyes for a second.
He reached deep inside and invoked her power. The power of Death…
To the thousands of Devils watching in the crowd, nothing changed.
There was no big explosion. There was no flashy magic. Elias just stood there quietly.
But to Riser, the entire world suddenly shifted.
Riser was still covered in his roaring, immortal fire. But suddenly, he felt freezing cold.
A deep, terrifying chill sank right into his bones. His flames could not warm him anymore.
He looked at the quiet boy standing in front of him.
Riser's deep instincts as a living creature started screaming. He knew it. He felt it with absolute certainty. If he died next time, it would be permanent.
The immortal Phenex fire would not bring him back.
There would be no more resurrection. His life would truly come to an end.
Elias raised his dark dragon claw one last time.
He stepped forward and swung it down, aiming right at Riser to rip him apart.
"Wait!"
Riser shrieked. His voice broke into a pathetic, high pitch.
He dropped to his knees on the hard stone floor. He threw his hands in the air, crying openly.
"I surrender! Riser surrenders! Please don't kill me!"
A warm, wet puddle quickly spread across the floor beneath Riser's knees.
The proud, arrogant, immortal noble had just pissed his pants in front of the entire Underworld.
But Riser didn't even feel embarrassed. He was too busy shaking in absolute terror.
He looked up at Elias with wide, broken eyes. What he had just witnessed wasn't a normal Devil power. It wasn't something even the True Satan could withstand.
He had felt the true end of all things.
He had felt the mighty power of the Death of the Endless.
Read up to chapter 55 at [email protected]/jelopy_jelopy for only $5