novelraw Chapter 221: Surrender
Chapter 221: Surrender
"It’s my turn."
The fire blast subsided, with Merlin already backing up, channeling more Divinity into a relentless barrage of [Fireballs].
She was smart, keeping the distance, knowing her Fire Element was lethal long-range artillery and his Magma had turned him into an unpredictable close-quarters threat.
Steam hissed from the ground under Ignotus’s boots as a thin layer of molten rock formed. His [Living Ligature] had come into play, allowing him to propel himself in explosive bursts, a jet-propelled cannon.
Merlin immediately blasted herself away, and Ignotus chased.
"Are we playing tag? I’m ’it.’"
Ignoring his taunt, she threw more fire.
The first few dozen fireballs were easy to dodge with his magma-boosted speed, but they were increasing in speed and number.
Thankfully for the Luck fiend, he had another tool to use.
Raising his left hand, a glove appeared around it.
A Divine Relic, his Hands of Lethe.
He let a few mid-sized fireballs get close and reached out.
Click.
The rune on his index knuckle flared blue before vanishing, the fireballs gone with it.
Merlin’s eyes widened slightly, realizing the sheer headache Ignotus’s ridiculous gear was going to be.
She changed tactics, needing area denial.
A massive, spiraling vortex of crimson flame erupted between them. It was beautiful and absolutely devastating, meant to force Ignotus to back off and cool down.
"Ooh, fancy."
Instead of retreating, Ignotus pulsed his magma, boosting himself fast enough to move sideways along the perimeter of the tornado before it could fully expand.
Merlin had anticipated this and was already casting her next barrage, but even then, Ignotus was faster than she expected. He was almost within striking distance when she stopped retreating and flared up further.
Her entire body became something of a miniature sun with small flames flickering at her ankles and wrists. Her Divinity had spiked violently, amplifying her power tenfold.
It was the ultimate glass-cannon move, maximum power, followed by a guaranteed cooldown.
"That’s it, Ignotus!"
She yelled, her voice vibrating.
"Use your Synaxis too! Stop pretending this is easy!"
The heat was becoming unbearable even for Ignotus.
He quickly skidded to a stop and backed off.
Directly attacking her while she was in this state was suicide.
Merlin’s face was twisted in frustration and desperation. Her eyes were burning not just with power but with a tearful rage.
"Why are you holding back?!"
She didn’t want him to beat her; she wanted him to respect her.
"Do you see me as nothing at all?! Do I look that much weaker than you?!"
Ignotus looked at her glowing form, then down at his magma-veined hands. He could activate his Synaxis right now. It would end the fight in one shot, probably vaporizing half the arena.
But no, thanks to his weakened Soul, recuperating from that activation would take much, much longer. He couldn’t use it here when he was fighting Rosa next. He was sure to need it then.
So because of that, he stayed quiet. He couldn’t tell Merlin that he was reserving his ace for his sister; that would crush Merlin more than any defeat.
And so, he looked her dead in the eye.
"You’re too loud. Focus up, raise your head, and fight."
Of course, Ignotus didn’t explain his circumstances; instead, he turned the complex emotional moment into a dismissive exchange.
"You—!"
The words were a catalyst.
Merlin’s scream was lost in the roar of her own heat as she unleashed a continuous stream of fire. Ignotus, instead of retreating like last time, kept dancing on the edge of her range.
"Is that the best Fire can do?"
His provocative demeanor never ceased.
"You’re burning through your Divinity just to miss a fool."
Way beyond infuriated, Merlin threw multiple volleys at once.
They were much weaker than her concentrated attacks but instantly wider.
Ignotus couldn’t dodge them; he had to—
Click. Click. Click.
The Runes on his knuckles flared and dimmed in rapid succession.
One mustn’t forget his Divine Relic, fully getting him out of her attack.
But of course, Merlin didn’t stop, creating firestorms that came from above, forcing him to sidestep and dodge constantly.
Nevertheless, Ignotus kept up the pressure, not allowing her the chance to prepare a bigger attack like the first one, knowing that he likely wouldn’t survive its fiery wrath.
And so, he continued the cycle, poking at her pride, calling her flames ’lukewarm,’ and questioning if her status was merely a gift she hadn’t earned.
Every insult drew out a more violent, less calculated response.
Ignotus had adapted his earlier teachings and fully applied them here.
Merlin was no longer fighting a duel; she was trying to prove herself.
Click.
The seventh knuckle dimmed.
Click. Click.
The eighth and ninth.
"IGNOOOOOTUS!"
Merlin let out a guttural cry, her form reaching a blinding white peak. Caring not one bit for accuracy, she threw everything she had into a torrential wave of fire meant to incinerate the entire half of the arena he stood on.
Ignotus raised his left hand one last time.
Click.
The final knuckle went dark as he stole a small piece of her attack, piercing through the wave, singed but unharmed.
"Now..."
Turning around to face her, his gloves hummed, vibrating against his skin, heavy with her stolen fury. The very air around the Divine Relic warped under the sheer density of the heat it contained.
"To return what I stole."
Once more, he funneled the discharge through [Wise Fool].
All the fireballs—amplified by Ignotus’s own Divinity—shot forward.
But they didn’t fly in a line. They spiraled, corkscrewing through the air in erratic arcs.
To Merlin, it looked like a botched misfire. Some seemed headed for the stands, others for the floor, twenty feet wide of her.
Ignotus had underestimated her power!
What he’d saved up since the beginning was for naught!
Seeing the opening, Merlin tore through the chaotic attack, her hand wreathed in flame.
"I have you—!"
She never finished.
While she was none the wiser, the erratic fireballs converged. At the exact moment Ignotus flared his magma-veined legs to boost himself skyward, the spheres collided in the center of the arena.
The resulting detonation was incredible.
Directly beneath them, the arena’s stone floor all but vaporized.
A dome of blinding, white-and-crimson light swallowed them both.
Merlin, caught in the heart of the fire, was instantly blinded, her orientation shattered by the sheer concussive force of her own amplified power.
Through the white void, a shadow descended.
Ignotus had dropped from the ceiling of the dust cloud, landing silently behind her. Before the spots could even begin to clear from her vision, she felt the searing heat of a hand pressed firmly against the small of her back.
A focused pulse of magma discharged directly into her spine.
The heat shock sent her nervous system into a tailspin, her legs buckling as she slammed into the molten remains of the floor.
Before she could even gasp for air, the edge of a blade pressed against the side of her neck.
"Surrender."
The blinding light faded, leaving only the smoke and the oppressive heat of the ruined stage.
Merlin looked up, her vision blurry, seeing the silhouette of the man who hadn’t even used his best move to break her.
"I said surrender."
The light in Merlin’s eyes dimmed.
"I..."
She was a glass cannon that the fool had managed to get inside.
"Lost."