Chapter Fifty-Eight
Edward gazed at the flames surrounding his body before he quickly sighed in relief. He was glad for the new strength, but he recognized that it was mostly psychological. In truth, his body had barely been strengthened, but his confidence had grown to unreal levels.
Edward turned his attention away from his arms as he looked at the boss. Then, after only a short glance, he turned to gaze at the other side of the boss room. Markus and the others were fighting hard against their four enemies, two of which had been killed. At some point, Bran lost an arm, but the young man didn't seem to care. Soon enough, they would be able to join Edward.
However, as he looked back at the boss monster standing before him, a scowl appeared on his face.
"I will kill you before they even have a chance to help me," Edward growled. The boss's smile faded, replaced with a frown. Then, the boss charged forward, its maw open wide. Edward's body moved before he even realized it. A set of boosters appeared underneath his feet, carrying him far away from the boss's attack. However, Edward wasn't going to evade for long. As soon as the boss chomped down onto nothing but thin air, Edward quickly changed his trajectory before the boss could recover.
As Edward's body moved through the air, he let his instincts drive his actions. Previously, Edward only had a rough idea about how to move while he used his pyrokinesis. When he would turn in the air, he would have to go still for a moment before he manually turned his legs to face a new direction. The process was slow and inefficient. Now, however, his body was alert. Visions fueled by a sudden wave of inspiration dawned within his mind, providing him with clues on how to best use his abilities. He followed these visions and found himself capable of moving his body exactly how he wanted to. His body moved with the same grace and prowess Leila had shown.
In a sense, he had discovered the essence of flames. Edward swung through the air, almost as if the limitations of his physical body didn't exist, until he found himself back onto the ground only a few feet from the boss. He didn't even bother looking up but instead immediately began to move.
He skipped forward, his arms moving with the grace and flexibility of a pack of snakes. His fists were strong, yes, yet he chose not to attack like a brawler. Instead, he let his fingers stick together as he attacked with his open palms instead of his knuckles. The result of such a change was extraordinary.
He shot his left hand forward. Usually, when he summoned flames through his knuckles, he would only manage to summon a fireball. As soon as the fireball left his knuckles, no more flames would escape from his hands. The fireball was swift and carried a trail similar to a comet, but it was also small and weak.
When the flames escaped from his palm, however, the flames didn't extinguish. As if he were summoning a waterfall of flames, Edward immediately covered the boss in fire. The flames lasted a full three seconds before Edward noticed a drop in his flame's heat. He immediately turned his body as his feet dragged against the stone floor, then pushed his right palm forward. Another continuous eruption of fire flowed out of his palm, covering the boss once more.
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123 Damage Dealt!
123 Damage Dealt!
123 Damage Dealt!
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123 Damage Dealt!
123 Damage Dealt!
123 Damage Dealt!
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With every second the boss was covered in flames, it took an additional 123 damage. By the time Edward doused the boss in his second round of flames, it was already on the verge of death. Halfway through his second attack, Edward heard the boss's rage-filled screams become silent.
The boss fell to the ground, dead. After the boss was killed, the flames surrounding Edward's body disappeared, which returned his appearance to normal. Edward turned to gaze at the battle on the room's other end. The last two enemies hadn't been killed yet. Brandon had become injured again, somehow, though everybody else was still in good condition. Markus's Provoke skill was no longer working, which allowed the wargs to attack anybody they wanted. Leila was holding well against the enemies, unlike Markus who appeared to be close to running out of stamina.
'Time to end this battle,' Edward thought to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He lowered his waist until he was barely crouching. Then, he stayed like that for a moment. When he was ready, Edward quickly summoned two thrusters underneath his legs, forcing him into the air. As he moved, flames gathered around his fingers.
Once he was three meters high, he cut off the thrusters from underneath him. The thrusters disappeared, causing his body to fall to the ground. As he fell, the flames surrounding his fingers grew stronger and hotter. When he finally landed on the ground, Edward immediately pushed his hands to his sides and lowered himself to his knee.
Two geysers of continuous flames erupted from his fingers and quickly expanded before they grew to the edges of the room. Within moments, the flames reached the battle and washed over it like a great tidal wave. His party members were left unharmed as Edward forced the flames to curve around them, yet the wargs were attacked with as much power as Edward could muster.
Each of them was pushed away and thrown onto the ground. Then, before either of them could get up, the flames surrounding the wargs attacked them from all angles. Neither of the wargs could resist the attack for even three seconds. Soon enough, both of them were turned to ash. Once the enemies were killed, Edward stood up and slowly moved his hands to his chest. The flames surrounding the room suddenly flew back to Edward before they disappeared entirely.