Chapter 34

"What did you say, you peon?" Riser asked between gritted teeth, the air around him visibly heating up and flames flickering around him. Compared to six months ago, his control hadn't improved in the slightest.

"I said I'm going to beat the shit out of you." Damian repeated cruelly. He was beyond angry, the man in front of him was treating his dear fiancee like nothing more than a means to an end, a tool to pleasure himself with before discarding.

"I'm going to kill you." Riser declared ruthlessly, not a single trait of deceit in his eyes. This duel wasn't supposed to end in death but he had no intentions of following the rules. If an accident happened then an accident happened.

"Do it if you aren't a bitch." Damian taunted uncaringly, slightly loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button. He felt like his body was overheating, not from Riser but from his overwhelming anger. He hated people like Riser.

[Begin.] Grayfia declared stoically, her voice transmitted all throughout the space. Reacting to her words Damian dashed forward even as a large plume of fire raced toward him, his only defense being a cone shaped thin wall of pink energy.

The energy was simple, it redirected the flow of thermal energy around it. It was a thing that would only work because of Riser's lacking control. If he had even the slightest ability to control his firepower beyond just increasing Damian would be destined to lose from the first attack.

Appearing at the other end of the fire Damian had small burn marks on his clothes and skin but pink energy was quickly dealing with them, his appearance shocking Riser who had arrogantly believed the fire blast to be enough.

Grabbing Riser by the face, Damian's five fingers dug into the Phenex's skull and drew blood, before slamming the former's head into the ground repeatedly, large cracks appearing in the ground from the repeated collisions.

With blood leaking from his damaged skull and fire dancing around the wounds Riser endured the pain and raised his palm at Damian, flames forming and dancing around his palm that was red from the extreme heat.

Utilizing his other hand Damian struck Riser's elbow, forcing it to face away from the both of them and breaking his elbow in the process. Lifting Riser's head for yet another impact Damian had to jump back, his clothing darkening slightly even with his quick movements.

"How dare you!" Riser shouted angrily as his body became one with the flames. His entire figure was surrounded by incredibly hot flames that melted the magically enhanced ground they stood on. For the first time, Riser could be called a phoenix.

'Plan Holy Water is a no-go.' Damian blandly thought to himself, one of his dozens of plans thrown out the window without hesitation. However, that wasn't all. Damian didn't have time to grow stronger in a lot of ways so he picked one and brought it as far as he could.

Despite his energy control since he had lower reserves, Damian threw that away, using it as a purely defensive and supportive measure. Instead, he put all his effort into his body. If his energy wasn't enough he'd beat the shit out of Riser with his fists.

'I'll have to get burned.' Damian thought to himself uncaringly, dashing forward without hesitation. The flames were so hot that if he didn't defend his eyes they would be severely damaged just by being next to him.

Yet he only moved a few steps before another wall of flames was sent toward him, this time much hotter than the last, and unlike the first, it didn't stop quickly. The barrier Damian hastily created cracked and shimmered from the strain of the fire before breaking altogether.

Damian was burned quite badly, his skin rapidly darkening and the tips of his hair quickly turned to ash but he ignored it. Reaching Riser within a few seconds, Damian had no hesitation in grabbing the mass of flames by the neck and squeezing hard enough that bones broke.

'As I thought, I'm physically stronger.' Damian noted, not even glancing at his badly burned hand as he rained a flurry of blows that shattered his opponent's bones without fail. Yet without fail, those bones would heal within seconds.

Riser's broken neck quickly healed and an expression of rage took over his face as the flames surrounded him once more surged, their heat increasing dramatically. Leaping a short distance back, Damian barely avoided the pillar of fire that abruptly appeared where Riser lay.

"Are you sure you're a Phenex? You look more like a beggar to me." Damian taunted his opponent coldly. His opponent stood with ripped and wrinkled clothing soaked in his own blood even if the wounds had already healed.

But Damian was in no better shape, rather he was in worse shape. The skin and flesh around his cheeks were beginning to peel off and his hands were mostly devoid of skin altogether, resembling a lump of charcoal more than a hand.

Without so much as a word, Riser took the initiative to explode in a mass of flames that focused on area rather than destructive power and resulted in the entire arena lighting ablaze even if most of it wasn't supposed to be burnable.

'What a piece of shit. Why couldn't you just be helpful you piece of shit?' Damian thought to himself, annoyed that such a strong and talented person was delegated to the role of a minor villain when he could be incredibly helpful against future threats.

Regrettably, Damian didn't have long to complain in his head as Riser charged at himself, his body burning brighter than ever before in a mix of rage and indignation. Throwing a flaming fist intending to strike Damian's head his attack was swiftly dodged and a fist struck his face instead.

Moving swiftly Damian struck various points of Riser's body as quickly as he possibly could resulting in multiple bones and joints being broken beyond repair. For most people that is. For Riser, it only took a second for his injuries to heal and a flaming fist to finally hit Damian firmly in the chest, sending him flying back and into the purgatory of fire that Riser had created.

For a moment, nothing happened. Against his pride Riser had prepared himself for another confrontation, unconsciously aware that Damian was a madman of the highest order that didn't hesitate to burn his limbs to a crisp to give him some momentary pain.

But… as the seconds passed by, nothing happened. Damian didn't stand up from the casket of flames he rested in despite the fact that Riser was only getting healed more and more as time passed.

"Ah, I'm pissed." A familiar voice with an oddly crazed tone sounded out over the dancing flames, a figure rising above the flames. Once more, Damian stood tall however his cold expression filled with contained rage was no longer presence.

Now, Damian's expression was corrupted by pure, unadulterated wrath. Despite his weak and broken body, he showed no signs of pain. He was on his last legs, it was obvious, and yet all of a sudden he had a strange atmosphere around him.

"I hate chickens." Damian suddenly declared crazily, his eyes filled to the brim with madness.

*****

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