Inferno's Embrace

As the distant sight of the Ferris wheel and a wondrous display of lights could be seen, Jaden and Kenzo were in a combat stance facing a HOUM.

Jaden had killed HOUMs before, but it had been purely instinctual. He didn't control his strength; he simply unleashed everything he had instinctively, resulting in low-class HOUMs being shattered.

However, instinct alone could only take you so far. He was fortunate to be a Lavender, as Lavenders possessed an essence within them that was lethal to HOUMs. Without this essence, he likely wouldn't have been able to defeat those HOUMs without the association's training.

During his second visit, Louf had taught Jaden how to harness this essence to get the most out of it. At this moment, it was Jaden's mastery of this deadly element against HOUMs that gave him this intimidating aura.

The HOUM, having noticed this threat, attacked immediately. Just as swiftly as before, he arrived in front of Kenzo, but Kenzo had still seen it coming and struck with his fist, which was grabbed by the HOUM. The HOUM countered by delivering a powerful blow to Kenzo's abdomen.

The impact of the strike produced sparks and a sound like crackling flames initially, followed by an explosion before Kenzo found himself on the other side with a small drop of blood on his lip.

As this action unfolded, Jaden found a blind spot in the back of his opponent where he delivered a punch even faster than Kenzo's.

The punch went past without effort and noise because Jaden had used universal elements to dissipate the air around the punch, so it wouldn't succumb to wind pressure.

Sensing the danger, the HOUM turned around even faster than before and managed to prevent the blow from reaching a vital spot, but he was still propelled far away.

Jaden didn't immediately follow because this HOUM seemed to be very skilled and calculating.

Seeing Jaden's expression, Kenzo said darkly.

"He was holding back his speed." Indeed, during his attack, Kenzo believed he had seen the HOUM's limit, which is why he had struck directly.

He thought he would beat the HOUM in terms of speed, but it turned out that was what the HOUM wanted them to believe.

He had to create an explosion by exploiting the methane in the atmosphere and the air, in such a way that the impact of the blow created an explosion that would prevent or lessen the damage while increasing the wind pressure just in front of him to avoid being hit by the blast.

"Your punch move was pretty good." Kenzo remarked once he was close to Jaden. A punch without any obstacles was a punch with 100% of the force that had been bestowed upon it, so Kenzo was naturally impressed by his teammate's ingenuity.

"That explosion trick was very clever. Did they teach you that at the academy?" Jaden was also taken aback because his teammate's use of universal elements was excellent. It required precision, timing, and coordination. If this guy had come up with the idea just at the right moment, then he was truly skilled in combat.

However, Kenzo's response was somewhat vague. "In a way." He couldn't say no, as without the academy's training, he would have never been able to use elements in this way. However, this precise usage was indeed his own invention.

On the other side, there was a sort of surprise on the HOUM's face, which resembled that of a human, except that the elements composing it seemed to be inside of it, like a plate with eyes, a nose, and everything else.

The blow from Jaden that he had just parried had injured him somewhat, although he had regenerated immediately afterward.

He hadn't expected this turn of events, and suddenly, in the pitch-black night under the beautiful starry sky, the HOUM had disappeared.

Jaden and Kenzo wore increasingly serious expressions. All they felt was a shiver, and the HOUM was nowhere to be seen. However, one thing was certain: it hadn't fled at all.

"I thought speed was his thing." Kenzo complained with a very dark expression because this kind of situation was what he hated the most – facing stealthy HOUMs.

"The only positive point is that they have to appear to strike or to regenerate." Kenzo thought.

Kenzo was strong in brawls, but in a direct manner. On the other hand, stealthy HOUMs acted oddly. One needed very keen senses or a great deal of combat experience to fight this kind of adversary. Kenzo didn't like leaving his brawl to these things.

He immediately positioned himself back-to-back with Jaden because this kind of adversary wasn't unknown to the association, and during training, the best thing to do was to protect each other's backs.

"This guy reacts very quickly to change. Is this the difference with the one who attended the academy?" Jaden pondered.

When the HOUM appeared, Kenzo was the one who told the civilians to leave while Jaden was still thinking about the situation. Now he was the one suggesting a solution that seemed perfect for this kind of situation.

This pushed him to understand even more the importance of educational institutions. One could be very talented, but experience could only come with time and practice.

However, in educational places, you learned to deal with certain situations. Regardless of an individual's talent, they could never know everything. There would always be something to learn.

"Be very careful; this exception is too bizarre. I feel like we're missing something." Kenzo said in a serious and concerned tone. This HOUM seemed not to have given its all yet, and they already felt immense pressure.

As Kenzo warned Jaden of the danger, the latter had a bad feeling.

"Huh? Run, Ken!" After saying that, the two of them ran in the direction they were facing.

Once they thought they were far enough, they turned around to see a sort of black flame at their previous positions, which made the expressions of the two new CREDHOS very grave.

'Thank goodness Jaden sensed the attack.' Kenzo thought, feeling relieved.

The flame extinguished shortly after, and there was nothing left at that spot. The flowers surrounding the area had been decimated, and the place looked like a ruin, but the monster was still not visible.

Both of them were on high alert, and in a sudden movement, Jaden leaned backward, avoiding the claws of the HOUM that likely aimed to catch him by the neck.

Jaden followed up with a flaming punch that, upon reaching the HOUM, exploded, creating an impact that sent both of them to opposite corners.

All Jaden received was the pressure from the predicted explosion, but the HOUM had severely damaged arms.

As the HOUM began to regenerate, Kenzo moved behind it, jumped, and struck in a way that both of his feet landed behind the HOUM's knees, causing it to fall. After Kenzo's strike, Jaden quickly arrived with a point that seemed to be purple to finish off the HOUM.

The HOUM, on the other hand, rose abruptly and spat out its black flames, forcing Jaden to dodge. But he didn't stop his movement, creating a kind of circle.

'I think there couldn't be a better time to finish this monster.' Jaden thought.

He was convinced that the HOUM was momentarily unable to get up, so he had to seize the opportunity and end it.

However, for a moment, he felt something strange, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"Jaden!" Kenzo shouted while trying to get closer, but he, too, had been thrown back.

"What happened?" Jaden wondered as he got up and spat out a substantial amount of blood. He didn't see it coming; he was in his sprint, and then he found himself on the ground, spitting blood.

'Are we really a match for this mid-tier exception?' Jaden pondered before regaining his composure.

Just then, a reflex kicked in as something came at him, throwing a punch towards his face. He evaded by ducking down.

'He's incredibly fast, too fast.' Jaden thought as he remained on high alert, relying on his senses and intuition to keep up.

After dodging the HOUM's punch, he tried to sweep the creature off its feet. The HOUM saw it coming and jumped a bit.

Jaden had anticipated this, so he leaned on his left arm and delivered a powerful kick to the HOUM, who had extended its hand to block. This caused the HOUM to move back a few centimeters, giving Jaden a moment to catch his breath.

However, the same couldn't be said for the HOUM, as everything around it seemed to turn cold. Jaden could see what looked like snow forming, prompting him to step back a bit.

It was a beautiful phenomenon, like something out of a movie. But as Jaden admired the icy cage surrounding the HOUM, Kenzo's voice echoed.

"Infernal Cage." The voice was calm, powerful, and strangely soothing, yet...

Right after, there was an enormous explosion, with the size matching that of the cage encasing the HOUM.

However, Jaden noticed that all around the cage, there was a barrier of wind, preventing the pressure from escaping, creating a true inferno inside that cage.