novelraw Chapter 537: That Looked Too Easy
Chapter 537: That Looked Too Easy
Pelion glanced at Floren, irritation flickering across his face before it twisted into a grin.
"Floren, do you know what I like about arenas like this?"
His fingers twitched as he pointed at him. "It’s because someone like you..."
He covered his face, laughing. "Everyone walks in thinking they’re special, unique and talented, but suddenly..."
He snapped his fingers.
The arena shuddered violently as his demonic mana erupted outward.
His body began to warp and distort, bones cracking and reshaping as he transformed into something monstrous, a perfect chimera.
Even as the transformation continued, he managed to let out a breathless laugh. "They realize... they’re just part of my joke."
Wings burst from his back in a violent spray, his limbs twisting into talons.
His head shifted grotesquely, reforming into that of a bird.
Then, as if that weren’t enough, black-violet flames engulfed his entire body, writhing and suffocating the air around him.
Floren blinked once, calmly lifting his fan to cover half his face. "Oh my..."
He peeked over the edge of it. "That’s... incredibly hot. But still..."
He stepped forward, snapping the fan shut with a soft click, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"If you think you can burn me with that... you might want to think twice, little bird."
Pelion laughed harder. "Good. Then I’ll let you see how this really ends."
He vanished.
In the next instant, only his voice lingered, echoing across the arena, until it, too, was drowned out by motion.
Waves of black flame surged forward from all directions.
[Black Flame Rend]
Floren’s eyes sharpened. He snapped his fan open and activated his skill.
[Mind Attraction]
But as the ability took hold... the black flames did not stop.
They tore across his chest in a single, brutal motion, ripping through cloth and flesh alike.
The impact drove him backward, his feet grinding against the arena floor before he barely managed to catch himself.
Floren glanced down at the wound, his expression almost curious. "Ah... stronger and more painful than I expected."
Pelion frowned at his reaction. "Damn... what a masochistic bastard."
He didn’t pause.
With a sharp sweep of his claws, Pelion sent another barrage of black flames crashing forward.
Floren responded the same way as before, opening his fan and bracing himself.
This time, the strike hit harder.
It slammed into his side, knocking the breath from his lungs and hurling him across the arena.
He struck the ground with a heavy thud, rolled once, and forced himself up onto one knee, coughing blood.
His grip tightened around the fan as he lifted his gaze toward Pelion. "You’re... stronger than I expected."
Pelion’s expression darkened. "Damn you. Just die already."
[Black Flame Descent]
Pelion’s wings folded inward, wrapping around his body like a burning shroud.
His talons drew close as his entire form compressed into a single, lethal point.
Then he spun and plummeted from above like a falling star.
Floren looked up, but Pelion was already upon him.
There was no time to react.
Pelion’s talon drove straight through his body.
Pelion smirked, lifting Floren’s body effortlessly with his clawed foot. "So this is the strength of a grand faction leader?"
With a scoff, he flung him aside like discarded trash. "How weak."
He turned, scanning the arena with a cold, expectant gaze. "Now... who dares to fight me next?"
---
Heinkel’s eyes narrowed.
From the moment Pelion transformed, the fight had been one-sided.
Black flames had flooded the arena in relentless, suffocating waves, each surge more overwhelming than the last.
But just as Pelion unleashed the first wave... he stopped.
The flames around him continued to flicker, writhing with residual power, yet Pelion himself did not move.
A second later, his body gave out and fell down.
His body struck the ground with a dull, lifeless thud, his wings crumpling beneath him.
Silence spread across the arena, heavy and absolute.
Heinkel frowned, his fingers tightening at his side.
His gaze sharpened, not on Pelion, but on Floren. "So this is it... the power of illusions."
On the opposite side, Sianor’s lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
Clark’s posture eased, if only slightly, while Floren’s harem exchanged quick, knowing glances.
At the center of it all, Floren stood exactly where he had been from the very beginning, untouched.
Not a single stain marked his robe.
He exhaled softly, rolling his shoulder as though loosening stiffness rather than recovering from any real damage.
Then he began to move.
Step by step, unhurried, he approached Pelion’s fallen form.
When he reached him, he stopped and looked down, a slow grin spreading across his face.
With a soft snap, he opened his fan, the motion crisp and deliberate.
He lifted it lightly to his chin, tilting his head as his gaze lingered on Pelion. "Little bird... didn’t I tell you already?"
His smile deepened, though his eyes remained calm, almost gentle. "That you couldn’t defeat me."
The fan shifted in his hand. From its tip, something slid free.
A thin, gleaming blade extended soundlessly, catching the light for a brief moment before settling into place.
Floren crouched, lowering himself closer to Pelion’s level, his voice dropping to a quieter, more intimate tone.
"You really are my type, you know... but you made one mistake."
He raised the fan slightly, angling the hidden blade downward. "You thought everything you saw... was real."
In the next instant, Floren struck.
The blade darted toward Pelion’s neck, precise and effortless.
But just before it could pierce flesh, Pelion’s fingers twitched.
It was barely noticeable. Yet it was enough.
Floren’s eyes shifted. The strike halted mid-motion, the blade hovering a hair’s breadth from Pelion’s throat. "...Interesting."
His grin returned, slower this time, touched with curiosity. "To think you could still move your fingers."
He drew the fan back with deliberate ease, the blade retracting slightly as he straightened.
"Let’s see, then..." he murmured, his voice soft and amused. "If you can wake up from your dream, my dear little bird."