Chapter 53: Coldblood

"Over? It's over?...what is?...the match? No, no, no, no...haha — It's not over till I say it is!!"

Lyra's body exploded into a torrent of violent violet flames that burned at the pestilent air and reached the sky.

—BOOM!

The waves of flames rolled forward like and all consuming tide, spreading froth like a violet sea of incandescent fury. The heat boiled the air and felt like a thousand boiling needles against Tyla's skin.

The combustion was so sudden, the platinum blonde young lady was barely late to shield her face reflexively. The sudden explosion caused an expansion of shockwave that rocked the building structure and spread immolating heat into the surrounding.

Tyla's figure was like thin paper as she rode the air from the rooftops edge. She held on to the very ledge tightly and gritted her teeth. The burning heat from the torrent of flames that continued to swell forward but at her skin like fire ants, she could almost hear it sizzle.

And just as how it suddenly happened, the vast sea of boiling flames suddenly receded and vanished into thin air before it could encompassing the entire rooftop.

-VWOOM!

It was like blowing out a candlestick, in a second it was extinguished.

But the burning heat still lingered in the air. Every breath Tyla drew burnt her throat and prickled her lungs as she climbed back up.

"Cough...cough cough..!" The Native coughed violently for a couple of seconds.

The ground underneath her feet now laid scared, scorched and melted like molted magma. The fumes were intoxicating and made her eyes water.

Tyla covered her mouth and nose, and feverishly raised her head forward. Right there, across from her on the other side, Lyra's unscathed figure stood tall with her head lowered.

'No... '

Not entirely.

There were tongues of flames burning off separate parts of her body. Those violate flames smeared the air and licked her skin. Except the young lady didn't seem to be writhing in pain, or burn.

With wide eyes, Tyla watched as the various surface wounds, bruises and cuts Lyra sustained during their match slowly heal and close up until it were nothing.

Rather than burn her flesh, the flames healed healed her wounds and filled her with renewed vitality.

Lyra raised her head and stared at the wisps of violet flames in her hands, and on her shoulders. Subconsciously, the flames spread, and she felt her body rise with newfound power.

She clenched her fist and it burst bright living flames, and the rest spiralled from and around her body like a beacon. The flames ignited around her, embracing her figure and filling her with augmented power.

Lyra's lips were curled into a twisted smile, as savagery filled her eyes.

"More. More! More! Ahahaha!!" She leaned forward and the flames ignited underneath her feet as she dashed forward.

Tyla's expression was pained and pale, but as soon as Lyra moved, she took a step backwards with the edge just behind her.

'Very well then. Come! ' resolutely, she took a stance and the rooft trembled slightly. The azure chains boasted a bright radiance round her arms as she threw a fist at the last second with Lyra only a couple inches away from her.

It was point black, Lyra couldn't escape.

...She wasn't supposed to .

Somehow, Tyla missed.

'What? ' her eyes widened. All that was before her, along the path of her fist, were only violet flames that parted.

The very next second something...Lyra grabbed her outstretched arm. Her muscles bulged and she performed a seemingly casual shoulder throw.

Tyla was unable to react in time and was still in shock to follow up. Her figure was easily lifted up the ground, streaked through the air, and came crashing against the ground with her back.

'It's just a shoulder throw...once it's done I'll —!! ' as soon as she collided with the floor, the rooftop shattered and the building collapsed.

-BOOM!

___ ___

"I see...blood then." Barack calmly said. And the next moment he lifted the man off the ground with one hand and snapped his neck just as easily.

The unsettling sound of shattering bone filled the silent environment as many of those present held their breaths. The cohorts watched as the body of one of their own turned limp and fall lifelessly to the ground. His neck was twisted at an awkward angle.

It was so quick and sudden, even the victim still had a blank look on his dead face.

He couldn't react. There was zero resistance.

James next to Sonia adjusted his frames slightly and lamented in a low voice.

"It seems negotiation has broken down..." Yet there was a faint smile on the edge of his lips.

The next moment, all hell broke loose.

The groups from the two sides who had been restraining themselves since the beginning, gave into their maddened fury and collided against each other. Barak's action had signaled, or rather, rekindled the spark of discord between the humans of the walls against the Outsiders, and sowed discord on that ground once more.

From an objective point of view, perhaps Barak's action may have seemed sudden, unnecessary and uncalled for, but this was a world which valued strength over the weak.

And the Ntuli Tribe were earnest believers over that mantra.

They were never one to talk too much. Action spoke louder than words, and Barak already made his stance since thee beginning.

Leave or blood.

...they chose blood by bringing the unfortunate fool.

The two parties colided in a torrent of fury, blades, blood and flesh. Cries of anguish and screams of pain tore through the environment, as the smell of blood slowly became predominant in the air.

Surrounded by the unraveling chaos, Barak stood unperturbed before the leaders of the other party.

There was the cold and motionless Sonia, who's countenance was as before, but her bright otherworldly azure eyes were darker. While James seemed to have been covered in even more thicker layers of gloom and his bloodlust was evident.

Yet he wore an imperceptible smile.

Next to Barak was Isha and the captain of the last expedition who maintained peerless vigilance against the two.

And like that, all five of them remained and lingered in the confrontation, uncaring of the battle that was happening around them.

The cries and screams of their men flew over their head, and their gazes never once shifted or moved from each other.

Sonia was like an unmoving statue. She was the hardest to read and almost nothing could be felt from her.

Barak held the most vigilance for James however. He innately despised him, but James was the kind of 'weakling' who would stab an opponent in the back without them knowing.

But Sonia was to be feared as well...

People like her, unreadable and detached... someone who didn't even move a single eyelash as her people died...were the most terrifying.

It meant they didn't care.

Why?

Because they were confident in their personal ability.

Sonia was strong.

But Barak would win, he was certain.

The first person to move was the Mistress of Cold-blood. Her pristine white face was splattered with the red blood of another from the ongoing battle, as her hand slowly moved to rest on the pummel of her sword hanging by her waist.

Then slowly her lips parted as she monotonously began to say,

"It appears there's not other —"

"You talk too much. " Barak's voice cut through her sentence all of a sudden.

"Is it a trait of you wall devils? He wasn't like that, so I guess he certainly is different from you people, huh." His massive body moved at a speed that was unbefitting his humongous side.

He loomed before Sonia like a giant wall, casting a deep and heavy shadow over her.

Even James that was next to her couldn't react. His frames jumped and his deep black eyes slowly widened as he watched Barak's massive fist strike the young lady with long golden hair that reached her waist.

Sonia's figure was blown away from her position.

Her armored figure streaked through the distance, and cut through the battlefield. She was like a streaking bullet, many failed to follow with their eyes.

A couple of distance, a loud crash resounded as Sonia destructively colided with a an abandoned structure that fell and buried her in rubbles.

-BOOM!

Everyone froze, and stared with wide eyes towards the same direction. The expressions of the cohort from Allan Fort especially was feverish.

"...In one hit..."

Barak retracted his hand and peered into the distance Sonia flew towards and his brows furrowed before easing up.

He raised his arm and observed it. There was nothing from his wrist up, except a stump frozen in blueish white ice.

Barak had lost his arm.