Chapter 138: The Flame Demon

The high‑temperature, high‑pressure air and the roaring crack of the erupting flames around them formed an invisible murmur that kept echoing through the corridor.

Tu Erna felt his movements freeze instantly, even coming to a halt.

Fortunately, the condition did not last long; after only a breath or two, he returned to normal.

Tu Erna lightly slashed his own arm with the beast‑tooth dagger; no blood flowed, only a layer of illusory scales hidden beneath the skin spread rapidly from the wound to his whole body, slightly shielding him from the surrounding flames' heat.

Tu Erna's blood‑veined eyes stared fixedly at the Flame Demon whose form was hidden in the flames, his inner rage continuously turning into his own power.

In the next instant, Tu Erna, moving as if teleporting, crossed the barrier of flames and appeared beside the Flame Demon.

The beast‑tooth dagger in his hand deftly sliced the Flame Demon's neck, cutting it off; a "sizzle~" of vapor evaporating sounded, yet no steam rose, the moisture vanished the instant it appeared.

A massive sense of danger surged, and Tu Erna only managed a single step backward. In the next moment, the decapitated Flame Demon exploded like ignited gunpowder.

Flames swept the entire corridor, hurling Tu Erna's body through the fire; he smashed the already charred fragile wall and fell into a room already surrounded by flames.

"Cough! Cough!"

Tu Erna struggled to roll twice on the ground before halting his body and crawling up. He felt the illusory scales granted by the beast‑tooth dagger were completely shattered, and his skin was burned by the high temperature.

"What kind of monster is this!"

He muttered low, teeth clenched.

In the corridor, a heart wrapped in layers of flame pulsed continuously, drawing the surrounding fire toward it.

Pale‑blue flames burst from the heart, swiftly devouring the surrounding fire and reconstituting into a new flame body.

The pale‑blue flames, as if alive, recoiled into the heart, while the scarlet flames outlined a humanoid form that stepped into the room where Tu Erna stood.

The flames already burning in the room suddenly flared, the tongues of fire darting about as if welcoming their king.

Two water whips, like agile water serpents, danced in the air, repeatedly lashing at the Flame Demon's body.

The Flame Demon extended its flame‑formed arm, swung it a few times in the air, then rapidly elongated it into a crimson long whip sheathed in orange‑red fire.

The flame whip and the water whips generated by the beast‑tooth dagger churned in the air, and the room instantly filled with a haze of vapor and smoke.

Standing on the opposite rooftop, Lei Keton, watching the scene through the Secret‑Gazing Eye, clicked his tongue and exclaimed:

"What a powerful learning ability; its combat intelligence is already on par with that of ordinary extraordinary beings."

Whether it was the Flame Demon's prior self‑destructing body or its current imitation of the opponent's flame‑formed long whip, both demonstrate its exceptional wisdom and learning capacity.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"This is the port dock area; the Storm Church's chapel is nearby. Even if you can beat me, can you also defeat the Punisher who's about to arrive?"

A violet‑crystal‑set ring on Tu Erna's left index finger glimmered with an uncanny luster in the surrounding firelight, exceedingly alluring.

The Flame Demon's movements slowed slightly, its thoughts being affected.

In the next instant, two tangled water whips shattered one of the Flame Demon's arms.

The flames that had spread to the second floor and even the first floor began to roar, the sound of the raging fire turning into illusory murmurs in the minds of those nearby.

Everyone within the fire‑encircled area felt a wave of dizziness, vertigo, and mental stagnation. Some had black, viscous fluid surfacing on their bodies, their hearts feeling as if clenched by a hand, extremely uncomfortable, nearly suffocating.

"Clang!" The primary target, Tu Erna, affected, could no longer even grip the beast‑tooth dagger.

In the next moment, countless flames surged out like solidified chains, enveloping Tu Erna completely.

The flames burned almost to a blazing white, continuing for nearly two minutes. Tu Erna, tightly bound at the very center, had long been too weak to struggle.

Seeing this, Lei Keton, shrouded in deep shadow, stepped forward and entered the room where Tu Erna and the Flame Demon were fighting.

His right palm swiftly generated a slowly rotating cluster of Star Sand, scattering ray after ray of brilliance that enveloped the area around the Flame Demon, forcibly reverting the fire‑setting Flame Demon back to a figurine state.

Picking up the Flame Demon figurine from the ground, Lei Keton felt its heart beat more strongly.

"Whooo~" the wind sounded, mingling with a surge of rain.

Lei Keton glanced outward; a Punisher of the Storm Church rode the raging wind toward them.

"Wind‑bound one? Does this attract the attention of a Senior Deacon?"

Lei Keton murmured a line, then walked to Tu Erna's charred corpse, picked up the violet‑crystal ring and the two beast‑tooth daggers on the ground, and stepped into the Spirit Realm, disappearing from the room.

Less than half a minute after Lei Keton left, a gale laced with seawater surged into the room, extinguishing most of the fire.

A Punisher Senior Deacon dressed in a Storm Church priest's robe stood beside Tu Erna's charred corpse, his sullen face so dark it seemed it could drip ink.

"Arsonist? And a dubious demonic aura!"

"Hmph! The rats of Beckland are getting more and more audacious! Sooner or later I'll toss these guys into the sea to feed the fish!"

The Punisher Senior Deacon, his long hair a deep‑green like seaweed, spoke in a low voice with a fury that seemed ready to erupt, uttering two sentences to the charred corpse before him.

He then manipulated the surrounding wind and water, dousing the flames in the building, and rode the gale away.

Having entered the Spirit Realm and left, Lei Keton did not go far; he found a dark corner, exited the Spirit Realm, and blended into the surrounding onlookers.

Seeing the fire quickly quenched by the gale laden with vapor, Lei Keton turned and left. He headed to a nearby less‑crowded tavern, intending to have a drink and see what repercussions this incident might bring.

Just as he entered the tavern, Lei Keton's spiritual sense was triggered; the tavern seemed shrouded by a discordant influence.

Lei Keton's step forward hesitated briefly, and a faint, barely perceptible violet glint flashed behind his glasses.

The ever‑reliable Secret‑Gazing Eye detected nothing abnormal, yet the subtle feeling in Lei Keton's mind persisted.

Retracting his forward step, Lei Keton prepared to leave the tavern.

An anomaly that can evade even the Secret‑Gazing Eye cannot be a simple matter.

"Since you're here, why not have a drink before you leave?"

A sailor‑clad man who entered the tavern behind Lei Keton casually said that, then passed Lei Keton toward the bar counter.

That sailor's off‑hand remark sparked in Lei Keton a sense that his destiny had been nudged.

Lei Keton felt that if he left without taking a drink, misfortune would befall him.

After a moment's hesitation, Lei Keton walked back to the bar, asked the server for a rum, and settled in a relatively quiet corner.

Nearby, only a seat beside him was occupied by an elderly man in a dark‑gray robe, his beard and hair all white, savoring a freshly roasted lamb chop.

"I thought you'd be scared enough to leave this tavern!"

If that's the case, I'll have to leave a mark on you so I can find you later.

The old man ate the lamb chops on his plate while talking to himself.

Leikdun's drinking motion stalled; he had just randomly found a seat and won? He felt today's luck was a bit odd.

Leikdun politely greeted the clueless old man beside him:

"Old sir, do you want to see me?"

"I don't know who I'm supposed to find, but since you're sitting here, that means the person I'm looking for is you."

The old man spoke without raising his head, uttering meaningless words.

Leikdun staggered slightly; the old man's tone made him suspect the other was an extraordinary being of the Fate Path—only those who constantly obey orders would speak so mysteriously.

After roughly guessing the other's identity, Leikdun curiously asked:

"Old sir, what do you want from me? Or what are you seeking?"

"An opportunity, an opportunity to advance to Sequence Three."

"I've waited for this opportunity seventy years, exactly seventy years; even I thought I could never advance again in this lifetime, but not long ago I finally felt the call of Fate once more."

The old man set down his lamb chops, turned his head to look at Leikdun, his eyes full of hope and longing, like a child seeing a beloved toy.

"Um."

Leikdun staggered—was an extraordinary being of the Fate Path asking him for a Sequence Three opportunity? That meant the white-haired old man before him was a Sequence Four Misfortune Mage.

"I don't know anything about the Fate Path."

Leikdun wanted to refuse politely, but didn't dare speak too absolutely; dealing with a demigod of the Fate Path required caution, and he didn't want to inexplicably become unlucky enough to choke on a sip of water.

(End of chapter)