But Ash—
He vanished into the fire, his figure swallowed by the raging flames.
Eiden narrowed his eyes. "Hah! Idiot." He raised his hand, the fire swirling even stronger. "Let's see how long you last in my vermilion fire."
Yet—
Something was wrong.
Eiden expected to hear screams. Expected to see Ash struggling. Expected to feel his opponent's presence weakening.
Instead—
A sharp, chilling sensation crawled up his spine.
A whisper of movement—too fast to track.
Then—
Swoosh!
A spear came cutting through the flames from within the inferno.
"What—?!"
BOOM!
The attack hit him square in the chest, blasting him backward. His body skidded across the burning arena, flames licking his clothes, but he barely managed to regain his footing.
He coughed, wiping a trail of blood from his lips. His heart pounded.
'Impossible. My flames should've—'
His gaze snapped toward the flames, searching for him. But he was already there.
