Soren eyed the flaming colossus before him with casual amusement. His gaze flickered, golden symbols dancing in his irises as the system displayed the intruder's level.
"S-Class... A Flame Titan, huh? That's interesting."
He smirked. "So let me get this straight."
"I killed your punk of a little brother, and now you've crawled out of whatever volcano spawned you. Tell me, if I kill you too, will Big Daddy Titan show up next?"
The red giant's flames surged in response, licking at the air with such intensity that the very space began to melt and warp again.
A pulse of killing intent rolled across the square like a shockwave, setting the air ablaze and making bystanders scream and scatter.
"You're brave... or stupid. Either way, I'll give you one chance. Hand over the artifact. Kneel before me, beg for mercy~"
He raised his massive arm, flames spiraling around his fist.
"And I might leave your corpse intact."
The aura he released was suffocating. The ground beneath Soren fractured like shattered glass, cobweb cracks spreading in every direction as if reality itself was straining under the pressure.
The wave of murderous aura slammed into Soren and vanished on contact. It was like throwing a rock into the ocean: gone without a ripple.
Soren looked up, still smiling.
"Your brother was trash. Came at me swinging like a drunk in an alley."
"I did him a favor by ending it fast."
He lifted the Blade of Fury, resting it lazily on his shoulder.
"Now here you are, barking louder than he did. Don't make me bury you next."
The Titan's eyes burned with rage, glowing hotter as he clenched his fists. His muscles flexed, and the air around him warped.
"Arrogant wretch! You dare mock me?"
His voice thundered like an avalanche. "Then die in agony and learn regret!"
In the blink of an eye, the titan vanished.
Soren's eyes narrowed.
"Fast for someone that big."
Suddenly, a lava-wrapped fist the size of a boulder filled Soren's vision, hurtling straight for his face, trailing fire and molten rock.
The street behind Soren exploded in anticipation.
Soren whispered, "Shadow Slip."
At the last second, his body melted into darkness. His skin and flesh dissolved into wisps of black mist, becoming one with the shadows beneath his feet.
The Titan's fist punched straight through where Soren had stood and smashed into the plaza behind him with apocalyptic force.
BOOM!
The ground shattered. Lava burst forth in jets, incinerating the pavement and splashing into the fleeing crowd.
Screams erupted as molten rock struck down the unlucky, some turned to ash before they even hit the ground.
The moment the explosion settled, the titan's grin faded.
His eyes locked on the aftermath, charred corpses and burning rubble scattered, and for a fleeting second, unease flickered across his face.
He hadn't meant to kill the bystanders.
But then again, this was Knowhere.
"Hmph." He scoffed, without sparing them a second glance.
"If your fists are big enough, you decide who lives. That's the only law that matters here."
A ripple of shadow slid across the scorched ground. In a blink, Soren materialized before the titan again, his body reforming from wisp to flesh with eerie ease.
His blade rested lazily at his side, and his eyes gleamed with mocking amusement.
"You swing like a thug with daddy issues."
He smiled. "Couldn't even kill a shadow. And this is the brother you're avenging?"
"You must be the family disappointment." He clicked his tongue.
The insult hit home like a spike. The titan's face twisted in fury, and a wave of fire exploded from his body.
"You dare mock me?!" He roared.
As the titan surged forward again, street-goers screamed and scattered, memories of the last blast driving them to flee in terror.
No one wanted to become collateral again.
Watching from above, civilians aboard sleek escape shuttles from the Realm of Knowhere began to lift off.
Dozens more rushed to board the vessels, panicked, packed shoulder to shoulder, an exodus in motion. The clash was a disaster waiting to happen.
But on the ground, Soren stayed still until the red titan closed the distance.
And then they clashed.
Blow for blow. Flame against fury. Their strikes created shockwaves that cracked stone and bent steel.
Soren didn't rely on magic this time, only raw speed and honed battle instinct.
For a moment, he gritted his teeth as one of the titan's fists collided with his blade arm.
"Tch, he's fast even when frenzied." Soren muttered, his arm aching from the impact.
This guy's not just brawn. There's a fighter's mind buried under that rage.
He twisted away, slashing with a fluid spin.
Then, with a whisper, "Burn."
The blade now pulsed with power, the sacred artifact responding far more strongly to Soren than it ever had to its former master.
Crimson and black lines danced along its edge like coiled serpents, leaking pressure that shimmered the air around it.
"Let's see how your healing holds up to this."
With a blur, Soren struck.
SLASH!
The blade traced a clean arc across the titan's thick arm, slicing through burning muscle with surgical precision. Red-hot blood burst from the wound, sizzling on contact with the air.
Both combatants recoiled, landing several meters apart in mirrored stances.
The titan looked down at the gash. His expression didn't flinch.
Instead, he grinned.
Flames surged from the wound. Skin and sinew knit themselves together at terrifying speed, as if time itself reversed the damage.
Within two seconds, the arm looked untouched.
"You're not bad." He growled.
"But you'll have to do better than that. I don't die easy."
"I admit." Soren added with a faint smirk, "You're tougher than I expected. Healing like that... it's not far off from mine."
The red giant's eyes flared. "You? You think your tricks compare to my bloodline?"
Soren just smiled.
"I don't need to compare." He said calmly. "You'll know exactly how I measure up... once I'm done dismantling you."
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream