Asty popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth and asked, "Did you tell her everything about runes?"
Aadi shook his head and said, "Of course not. I just taught her some basics. Though I didn't tell her everything, I want to see how her mind works when she's facing something unknown."
Asty then began focusing on the silent battlefield.
On the other hand, Aurora had decided to send everyone into the corridor because of two things: First, the blood absorption she had seen before, and second, she wanted to observe the surroundings before fighting.
After sending everyone back, Aurora began walking toward the throne as she took out her Flamingo. While walking, she asked, "Do you have some stories of yours to tell me?"
The middle-aged man looked at Aurora with a strange expression as he thought, 'We're going to battle, and you want to hear my story? Whatever, I'm going to take her body, so I might as well tell her.'
"My name is Liam, and I am an Early-grade Tier 2 Runemaster. I was nearing the end of my life after I suffered some major injuries from my enemies. it was then I chanced upon an ancient realm where I gained the inheritance of a Tier 3 Runemaster, though I'm not sure. But since I was about to die, the inheritance wasn't of much value to me. However, I discovered two rune formations in the inheritance."
"One of them allowed me to keep my body and spirit stagnant—or, should I say, it stopped the time for my body and spirit. The second one was a formation that allowed me to transfer my spirit to someone else's body if their spirit was weaker than mine. Basically, I would get everything they have."
"So I made this tomb of mine and engraved those two formations here. But almost 100 years went by, and nobody came. The result was worth the wait, though; you're quite talented, and if I take your body, I'm pretty sure this time I can rise even more."
After finishing his monologue, Liam stood up, his face showing pure anticipation and excitement. He was looking forward to taking over Aurora's body and avenging himself.
Aurora, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention to Liam's speech. She was just stalling for time so she could check if there were any offensive formations here. Although she wasn't a Runemaster, she had researched them during her resting time.
'There aren't any big formations here, just some small ones scattered around. I'm pretty sure they wore down after such a long period. As for the two main formations, I guess the blood he took from those who died was used in them. Even so, I have to stay on guard,' Aurora thought as she finished her observation and turned her head toward Liam.
'As I expected, this is the body-swapping cliché. Tch.' Aurora clicked her tongue in annoyance as she didn't really like this trope. Looking at Liam, she said, "You've lived a shitty life, so let me end this pathetic existence of yours."
*You're also saying those shitty dialogues, you know,* a familiar voice echoed in her mind.
Aurora felt like she heard her master, but she ignored it, thinking it was just her imagination.
Liam looked at Aurora with interest. He said, "You're welcome to try."
"Rock Fall," Liam whispered under his breath.
Aurora raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'So a chant is needed to activate a formation. No, maybe there are other ways aside from chanting, but this guy uses chants to activate formations.'
Suddenly, many runes connected with each other by small lines appeared on the ceiling just above where Aurora was standing. A big spherical rock, about ten meters in diameter, came out of the rune formation and began falling toward Aurora.
Aurora didn't even try to avoid it. Instead, she slashed at the incoming rock with her Flamingo. A big flaming slash shot out from the dagger, cutting the rock in half and colliding with the formation, shattering it.
Both halves of the rock dropped on either side of Aurora and shattered into many pieces.
Liam squinted his eyes and thought, 'That flame from the daggers is more troublesome than I expected; it even destroyed that formation.'
At first, Liam had only observed the fight between Aurora and the Red Horned Rat from a distance, so he wasn't sure about the power of Penetrating Flames. That's why he used the formation to test the power of her flames.
There were three ways to destroy a formation: The first was to find the eye of the formation and deactivate it. The second was to find the weakest point of the formation and destroy it, causing the formation to stop functioning. The third, and simplest method, was to destroy the formation with overwhelming power.
The first two methods were very hard, as it was difficult to find the eye of the formation, which was its most critical part. The same was true for the second method, as other parts of the formation often concealed the weakest point. The third method, while simplest, required immense strength—enough to generate a powerful attack capable of overwhelming the formation.
Aurora had opted for the third method, simply using a powerful attack that even the rock formation couldn't withstand.
"Quite a powerful attack, but you're depending too much on those daggers, you know. I would like to see how you fight once I take those daggers from you," Liam said, staring at the Flamingo with interest.
"Oh, so you think all my power comes from these daggers? Hehe, then let me show you something good," Aurora said with a small, crazy smile on her face, amused by Liam's words.
Suddenly, flames began appearing all over Aurora's body. Slowly, they covered her entirely. Aurora didn't stop there; she let the flames loose, and they filled the entire hall in seconds. The whole hall resembled a purgatory of fire.
With Aurora at the center, a sea of flames was formed in the massive hall.