Chapter 638: Spirit kings 2

[Mana Burn]

The first time Stacia ever realized what this ability could actually do, she spent days wondering just how far her flames could go.

As a child of the Luna bloodline, she was always told she carried “the sun” inside her—bright, fierce, unmatched.

They said the Del Luna royals were descendants of the Spirit King of Fire himself.

But Stacia never cared for pretty stories or whatever noble legend people tried to pin on her.

What mattered was reality—results, proof, strength she could actually wield with her own hands.

And right now… she could feel it.

Her mana burned.

With each breath her body heated up, her blood boiled a little hotter, and her skin felt like it was glowing from the inside.

CLASH!!

CLINNNGG!!

She deflected the giant gorilla’s arm upward, sparks and flames scattering around her boots.

The creature’s fist was like a falling mountain, but Stacia held her ground and immediately summoned her magic.

[MID-GRADE MAGIC]

[FLAME ORB]

A sphere of compressed fire shot from her palm, streaking toward Flamme like a flaming comet—

BOOOOM!!

—but Kal, the crystal gorilla, slammed its body into the blast and took the full hit head-on.

Even after eating a direct hit, it barely staggered. Flames rolled off its crystal skin like harmless sparks.

Stacia blinked, surprised for half a second.

That thing didn’t just endure her flames—

it ignored them.

So this was the power of Flamme’s high-ranking spirit…

Stacia tightened her grip on her sword, flames curling around her blade once more.

This is strange…

Stacia narrowed her eyes, confused.

Her flames should’ve burned through almost anything—mana, matter, even spiritual constructs if she pushed hard enough—yet against Flamme’s spirits they felt… dull.

Muted.

Even those low and mid-tier spirits she burned earlier took more effort than they should’ve. It wasn’t normal.

But the strangest thing wasn’t the spirits.

It was her.

She felt restrained. Like something inside her was holding back her real output.

Normally she could let her power spill out, drown the whole stage in light and heat, and not even break a sweat.

Yet now it felt like she was fighting with half the wick lit.

’Need help?’

A familiar voice echoed inside her—calm, cold, and eerily identical to her own.

No.She answered back without hesitation as she raised her sword again.

’Although I can see a path for victory, I doubt you can walk it without using the gift I gave you… are you sure you won’t rely on it?’

The voice was patient, but there was pressure behind it, like it already knew her answer.

There’s no need. I can take her on my own.

’Bold words. Trust me—high ranking spirits aren’t just embodiments of elements. They are the essence behind those elements. Unless you understand that, even your flames won’t burn them.’

That might be true… but I don’t feel like losing.

The voice went silent.

Stacia took a breath, steady and slow, letting the heat gather inside her chest.

Deep within her mana core, she felt it—the bright, rotating point of light she always imagined as a miniature sun.

Her flame. Her identity. Her drive.

If she tapped into it fully, even for a moment, she knew she could break past whatever was restraining her.

She could overwhelm the arena, crush any spirit Flamme summoned, and end the match instantly.

But she also knew Flamme wasn’t showing everything yet.

With a determined look, Stacia finally let her flames run wild.

Crimson fire burst around her body like an explosion of heat.

[MANA BURN — ACTIVATED]

The moment it awakened, its effects were instantly obvious.

The air warped.

The ground beneath her feet sizzled and softened into glowing orange.

The stone tiles began melting into something that looked more like bubbling magma than stadium flooring.

Even the mana in the air trembled and burned away, unable to stay stable around her.

Flamme, standing at the far end of the stage, stared at her with wide eyes as she quietly licked her dry, cracked lips.

This bitch is really going all out!!

She panicked inside but forced herself to keep a straight face.

“Kal!”

Just that one word was enough.

The massive crystal gorilla understood its role and immediately began gathering mana in its arms, thickening its crystal armor to buy Flamme more time.

’Master… at most, I can hold back her flames for three minutes. Any longer and it’ll exceed your spiritual limit.’

Neru’s voice echoed calmly.

Flamme nodded, even though her heart was pounding.

Three minutes.

That was both a promise and a death sentence.

Stacia’s eyes locked onto her. For an instant, everything went quiet.

Then Stacia disappeared.

A blazing streak—brighter and faster than before—shot straight toward Kal like a falling comet.

She swung her crimson blade, flames roaring violently as they wrapped around the sword like wriggling tongues of fire ready to devour anything.

Kal roared and swung his huge crystal arm forward, coating his entire limb with reinforced mana as he met her head-on.

VOOOOOSH!!

The moment sword met crystal, a shockwave exploded outward. Heat blasted across the entire colosseum.

Even the barrier protecting the spectators visibly wavered—then began to melt at the edges as if it was made of wax under the sun.

Gasps echoed through the audience.

But the two girls didn’t even have time to process the destruction they were causing.

Stacia’s attacks came one after another—relentless, almost mechanical in her precision, but filled with heat and pure force.

Each swing of her blade left burning streaks in the air.

GROAOAAGGHH!!!

Kal roared, the sound shaking the arena.

He barely slipped past a downward slash aimed straight at his head.

His thick legs bent, and with a powerful leap he twisted mid-air, trying to slam his giant fist into Stacia while she was still caught in her momentum.

VOOOOSHH!!!

But Stacia didn’t let herself be crushed. In an instant, she twisted her body, flames bursting from her feet as she redirected herself like a comet changing its path.

Her sword flipped in her grip, and she swung—

SWIISSHH!!!

A huge crescent of burning crimson light flew straight at Kal.

GROOAGH!!!

The impact made the crystal gorilla stagger, his body glowing unnaturally bright as the heat melted parts of his crystalline skin.

The golden glow spreading through his body was a clear sign—Stacia’s flames were starting to outmatch even a high-ranking spirit.

Not giving him a moment to breathe, Stacia dashed forward again. Her movements were sharper, faster—almost frantic with intent.

[MID-GRADE MAGIC]

[FLAME VORTEX]

Flames burst from the ground, swirling into a tight vortex that wrapped around Kal’s massive frame.

The heat twisted the air itself, and the spirit’s sight got swallowed in the spinning fire.

Caught off guard, Kal slammed his fist into the ground, trying to break the vortex and clear his vision—

PIIISHH!!!

His eyes widened.

“Finally pierced you…” Stacia muttered, almost calmly.

Her sword had slipped through the cracks of his crystal armor, stabbing into him directly.

Kal gripped the blade with both massive hands, trying to stop it from going deeper, but Stacia simply refused to budge.

Her strength, her flames, her will—everything pushed against him with absurd pressure.

Even Flamme, watching from afar, was stunned at how Stacia was overpowering a high-ranking spirit with sheer force.

Kal snarled and tried to throw her off, but—

FOOOOSHHH!!!

Her flames exploded again, this time inside his body.

The fire expanded in an instant—

BOOOOM!!!!!

A massive blast erupted from within Kal, spreading hot shockwaves across the whole arena.

Shattered crystal fragments flew everywhere, raining across the field as what used to be the towering gorilla spirit finally collapsed into pieces.

“WOaaahh!!!”

The crowd roared, the stadium shaking with wild excitement at the sudden shift in momentum.

But Stacia paid them no mind—her focus sharpened to a needlepoint.

Where is she?

She had noticed it mid-clash: Flamme’s presence had simply vanished.

One moment that irritatingly familiar heat signature was there, the next it had evaporated like steam.

Suspicious.

As the smoke from her collision with Kal still lingered in thick, sooty waves, Stacia expanded her mana sense outward, threads of perception stretching in all directions to pinpoint even the slightest fluctuation.

But then—

“Caught you~”

The whisper curled right behind her ear.

What—?!

Stacia’s instincts screamed, and she tried to whirl around—only for Flamme’s arms to wrap tightly around her torso, pulling her into a sudden, almost affectionate hug from behind.

“Tch—!”

Stacia’s first reaction was to erupt, to unleash a pillar of crimson fire straight through Flamme’s face—but the moment her flames surged, the girl’s expression behind her began to melt.

Skin sagging… features warping… sliding off like wax under a furnace.

“What…?”

“Hehe, this is punishment for hurting Kal!”

The half-melted Flamme shrieked, voice twisting with glee before her entire body ballooned outwards grotesquely—

—and exploded.

BOOOOM!!!

The blast sent Stacia hurling through the air, but she twisted mid-flight, using the explosion’s momentum to stabilize herself.

Mana rushed through her limbs; flames burst from her feet to brake her descent.

Her [Flame Coat] flared brilliantly, hardening the heat around her body like molten armor and absorbing most of the explosive force.

When she landed, she slammed a heel down—sending a fiery shockwave across the arena floor.

FOOOSHH!!

The blast peeled away the smoke, dust, and lingering magical residue, clearing her line of sight instantly.

But—

There was no Flamme.

Not even a trace.

No heat signature.

No footsteps.

No mana trail.

Nothing.

Stacia’s brows furrowed.

An illusion? A decoy? Is she hiding her presence—how?

Before she could piece it together—

“Damn, you really are dangerous.”

The voice came from behind her again—steady this time, confident, and very real.

Stacia slowly turned.

“Flamme…?”

It was undeniably her. Same posture. Same flame-touched hair. Same bored yet amused eyes.

And yet—

The mana radiating from her was different.

Far denser.

Heavier.

Darker.

The Flamme before her took a single step, and the air warped.

In her hand, a blade of pure shadow bled into existence, its edges dripping darkness like ink falling upward instead of down.

Without warning—she moved.

A streak of black.

A sonic snap.

And Flamme shot forward as if launched by a railgun.

Stacia reacted on instinct, flames roaring as she met her head-on—

But something was wrong.

SWOOOOSHH!!!

“—ugh?!”

A sharp, sickening pain stabbed up her legs. Stacia’s eyes dropped.

From the darkness beneath her—her own shadow—long, tar-like tendrils whipped up and speared through her feet, twisting and tearing flesh as if trying to root her to the spot.

“Tch—!”

Above her, Flamme laughed. Not the usual smug laugh—this one was warped, jagged, too delighted.

“Hehehe! Your face looks great right now!” she cackled, raising her shadow-forged sword high. “Consider this punishment for hurting Kal!”

Stacia tried to form a counterspell. “CRIMSON—”

“Too late!”

VOOOOSSH!!!

The slash carved through the air and slammed into Stacia’s chest.

A crescent of roiling dark energy erupted outward, shredding stone and sky alike as it carried Stacia with it, detonating in the distance.

BOOOOM—!!!

She gasped—coughing, vision swimming—as she felt herself freefalling.

Her limbs refused to respond.

Her mana flickered weakly, slipping through her fingers like water.

Focus…

Ignite…

Move—!

But her thoughts froze when she sensed something in front of her.

“Oh, you caught me~”

Stacia’s dimming eyes widened.

Flamme.

Hovering mid-air like carefree.

Both her arms were extended forward, as though she held an invisible bow.

Coiled between her hands was a white, serpentine gust of wind, hissing and curling like a living creature.

At Flamme’s smirk, the serpent tensed.

Then—

She released it.

KRA-KOOOM!!!

A sonic boom split the sky as the wind-serpent shot forth, expanding mid-flight into a gigantic, coiling beast of compressed air and slicing pressure.

It twisted as it flew, spiraling like a living vortex—

Its fanged maw opened wide, aiming directly for Stacia’s head.

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