Flames of The Fallen City

The first thing they saw upon entering the city was burning skyscrapers.

It looked like hell on Earth.

Civilians were running in all directions, trying to save their lives, carrying their children and anything valuable they could hold on to.

The flames raged, devouring everything in the city.

"This is chaos!" Ramesh gasped, eyes wide as he took in the destruction.

"We need to evacuate the civilians as soon as possible," Veer said, already anticipating the urgency of the situation.

"Lieutenant! We awaits your orders!" Alisa turned to Aray, her eyes filled with expectation.

Aray couldn't help but admire their sincerity.

"Get the civilians out of here immediately. If there are any casualties, report back to me at once."

"Then what about you, Lieutenant?"

Devika, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke, catching Aray off guard. Her presence had been so faint, he had almost forgotten she was there.

"I'm going after the infiltrators."

"Alone?" they asked in unison.

"Of course. I'm more than enough to handle them."

They reacted in different ways, a mix of concern and disbelief.

"We'll split up here," Aray said, cutting to the point.

"Understood!" they replied in unison.

At the intersection in the burning city, they parted ways.

Aray had a lingering worry that they might encounter the infiltrators along the way, so he placed a tracker on each of them. If something went wrong, he could teleport to their location instantly.

Now, it was time to find those infiltrators. They hadn't shown themselves yet, but Aray knew it wouldn't be hard to track them down.

Just as he thought he'd need more time to search, a massive explosion erupted at the edge of the city.

These guys sure love destruction, Aray thought.

In an instant, Aray teleported again and again, moving closer to the source of the explosion.

He couldn't teleport to places he hadn't been before, so he leaped from spot to spot, eyes locking onto a destination before each jump.

With every teleport, the heat from the city's flames grew more intense. He could feel he was getting closer.

Boom.

Another explosion. This one bigger than the last, and it targeted a skyscraper.

The flames spread rapidly through the building, their light casting an eerie red glow across the sky.

It was a terrifying sight.

But the infiltrators were still nowhere to be found.

Where were they hiding?

Walking through the fiery streets, Aray made his way through narrow alleys, hoping to find the intruders there.

As he reached the end of one alley, he saw a shadowy figure, obscured by flames.

Aray waved his hand, pushing the flames aside with a gust of wind.

Once the fire cleared, a man stood before him, one hand raised towards Aray, the other casually resting in his pocket.

"Devil's breath."

A torrent of fire shot toward Aray without hesitation.

Quickly, Aray teleported out of harm's way, reappearing in the air, floating against gravity.

The flames hit the building behind him, burning it to ashes.

Aray stood in the middle of the air, his eyes locking onto the man emerging from the flames who looked up at him, flashing a cocky grin.

Ryan Alvarado.

His smile was as twisted as the fire that danced around him, but something about his presence felt different—heavier, more menacing. The easygoing facade he wore back in school was gone, replaced by an unnerving coldness.

"Yo, Aray! Long time no see!" Alvarado's voice carried a hint of mockery. "Haven't seen you at school lately. Were you sick or something?"

Aray's fists clenched as he noticed the shift in Alvarado's demeanor. The lighthearted tone was forced, hiding something darker beneath.

There was a pause before Aray answered, his voice low and steady. "What are you doing here, Alvarado?"

Alvarado tilted his head slightly, as if the question was unnecessary. "Are your eyes that bad? Can't you see what I'm doing?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I didn't ask for a play-by-play," Aray shot back, a sharp edge in his tone. "Answer me."

The smirk on Alvarado's face faded, replaced by a chilling expression. "Hm. You really don't get it, do you?" He spread his arms wide, as if to present the destruction around them like a masterpiece. "Can't you admire the beauty of my work?"

Aray's eyes narrowed, his patience wearing thin. "Enough with the games, Alvarado. Who are you really?"

The question hung in the air like a loaded gun. Alvarado's smile twisted into something cruel.

"Heh… you really are clueless, aren't you?"

Slowly, he lowered his arms and took a step forward, his movements deliberate, predatory. "I enjoyed our little charades at school, but I think it's time you learned the truth."

His voice dropped, becoming almost a whisper, though the words cut like glass. "I'm a soldier of the Northern Empire."

Aray felt a chill run down his spine, but he kept his expression unreadable. The Northern Empire—his worst suspicions confirmed. The enemy had been right under his nose the entire time, and he had never seen it.

"Is that so?" Aray's voice was calm, but the fury simmering underneath was undeniable.

Alvarado's grin widened as if he could feel the anger radiating from Aray. "Yes, dumbass! I was sent to infiltrate your little school. It was all part of the plan. I must say, you made it almost too easy."

Aray's gaze remained indifferent, cold. He didn't care about explanations or reasons. Alvarado was the enemy now, and that was all that mattered.

"Then from this moment on," Aray said coldly, "we're enemies."

Alvarado let out a mocking laugh, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Shame. I liked you though."

The air between them thickened with tension, and in that instant, the fight began. Alvarado didn't hesitate. He raised a hand, the flames bending to his will.

"Interdimensional Flame."

Alvarado declared, and from the sky, four enormous portals opened around Aray. From each portal, torrents of crimson fire poured forth, moving with unnatural speed, the heat suffocating.

Aray teleported just in time, narrowly avoiding the deadly flames, but not without consequence. His uniform had already started to burn, the fabric singeing from the intensity of the heat. He slapped at the flames instinctively, but Alvarado's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

"Those flames aren't ordinary," Alvarado taunted, his eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement. "They'll burn through anything—and they don't go out easily."

Aray quickly tore off the section of his uniform that was still burning. He couldn't afford to be careless. Alvarado's power was far stronger than he'd anticipated.

Alvarado didn't relent. He hurled more fireballs, each shot with pinpoint accuracy. The heat was unbearable, the air itself seemed to crackle as the fire singed everything it touched. Yet Aray remained focused, dodging and teleporting with practiced precision.

"You can't dodge forever, Aray!" Alvarado's voice rose with fury, his frustration evident as his attacks grew more erratic, more desperate. The ground beneath them scorched black, the very air vibrating with the clash of their powers.

Aray, however, was no longer smiling. He could feel the shift in the battle—Alvarado's desperation was starting to show. Without warning, Aray teleported directly in front of him, just a hair's breadth away. Alvarado's eyes widened in shock.

A wicked grin spread across Aray's face. "What's the matter, Alvarado? Getting tired?"

Before Alvarado could react, Aray vanished again, leaving Alvarado swinging wildly at empty air. For the first time, a sliver of fear crept into Alvarado's expression. He knew Aray was toying with him now.

Then, Alvarado raised his arm high above his head, the flames around him intensifying. "Enough! I'll finish this now," he snarled.

Above him, a massive ball of fire formed, glowing with a deadly radiance. "Solar!"

The ground trembled beneath the weight of the power Alvarado was summoning. The massive sphere of fire began to grow, pulsating with deadly energy, threatening to consume everything in its path. Alvarado's eyes gleamed with madness.

Aray glanced at the growing fireball with mild interest. He raised a hand of his own, summoning a small, flickering blue flame. It was tiny in comparison, almost insignificant, but Aray's confidence didn't waver.

"Hellfire," Aray said softly.

Alvarado let out a bitter laugh. "That tiny thing? What are you going to do with that? You're insane if you think that'll—"

"Let's see who's insane," Aray cut him off, his tone ice cold. He flicked his hand forward, sending the small blue flame soaring toward the massive fireball.

Alvarado watched, a smug smirk on his face—until the moment the two flames collided.

In an instant, the blue flame swallowed the solar fire, devouring it whole. The enormous ball of fire that Alvarado had poured his energy into vanished without a trace, consumed by the far smaller, far more dangerous flame.

Alvarado's smirk disappeared, replaced by horror as he stared at the empty space where his attack had once been.

"Impossible…"

"Size isn't everything," Aray said coldly. "Hellfire can consume anything—even the sun's flames."

Sweat dripped down Alvarado's face. He was shaken now, his confidence crumbling.

"Who… who are you?" he gasped.

Aray didn't answer. He simply vanished, reappearing behind Alvarado in the blink of an eye. His hand reached out, resting on Alvarado's back. The whisper of death brushed Alvarado's ear.

"Death."

Alvarado's body froze, his muscles locking up. His breath hitched in his throat as his heart slowed to a stop. His eyes widened in shock and terror.

His body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Aray stood over him, his expression unreadable. "You never stood a chance."

But as he turned to leave, a sharp beeping sound pierced his mind. The signal—the others were in danger.

"Damn it," he muttered. He needed to move, fast.

But when he looked back at Alvarado's body, it was gone.