IM wasted no time. He pressed his advantage, launching a relentless series of attacks. Each blow landed with a thunderous crack, each kick sending shockwaves through the air.
Thud! Thud!
Elang, dazed and disoriented, could barely defend himself. His flames sputtered and faltered, their intensity diminishing with every hit.
"Get out!" Elang yelled, a surge of fire erupting from his body.
IM quickly backed away, landing on the ground again to avoid the blast.
The fiery blast scorched the stage, but IM remained unharmed. "You call that fire?" he mocked, his voice laced with a chilling confidence. "I've bathed in the flames of hell itself."
With a swift motion, he raised his hand, and the very air around him seemed to warp and twist. The temperature plummeted, the intense heat giving way to a bone-chilling cold. The flames surrounding Elang flickered and sputtered, their intensity waning as frost began to creep across the stage.
Elang's eyes widened in alarm. "What... what are you doing?" he stammered, his voice laced with fear.
"Turning the tables," IM replied, his voice echoing with a sinister chill. "Now it's my turn!"
Thud! Thud! IM's fists connected with Elang's face in rapid succession.
Meanwhile, outside the stadium, Lili and I stood facing each other.
"So, you're not going to attack me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not going to attack someone who can see me... it would be pointless," she replied, a hint of resignation in her voice.
"Even though it's useless, I'm still going to try and stop you," I declared, taking a step towards her. "You and your partner attacked innocent people. That's not something I can just ignore."
Lili sighed. "Look, I know what we did wasn't right. But we're just following orders. We don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice," I countered. "You could choose to leave the Commission, to use your powers for good."
Lili remained silent for a moment, her eyes downcast. "It's not that easy. I'm stuck with my leader... he always forces us to do his bidding."
"Is your leader the fire guy?" I tilted my head, curious.
She shook her head. "Our leader isn't even an Unveiled, he's a Seer."
My eyes widened. "Why are you working with the Seers? Didn't they try to kill our ancestors back in the day?"
Lili's expression turned somber. "They raised us... and we can't do anything about it."
"That doesn't mean you have to stay with them," I argued. "You can break free, choose your own path."
"I know," Lili said softly, her eyes filled with a flicker of defiance. "But it's not that easy. They have their claws sunk deep into us, controlling our every move."
"And what about your friend in there? Is he being forced to do this too?" IM asked, gesturing towards the stadium where the battle still raged.
"Elang? No, he's different," Lili replied. "He's not like us. He enjoys the chaos, the destruction. He revels in his power."
A sudden explosion rocked the stadium, sending a tremor through the ground. I winced, my concern for IM growing with each passing second.
"Get out of here," I told Lili, my voice urgent.
"...I don't want to look like I'm giving up. Hurt me..." she insisted, bracing herself.
When I blink my eyes... a gust of wind will blast out, destroying the door and blowing everyone in front of me away, I imagined, focusing my energy.
Then, with a single blink...
Wink!
A powerful gust of wind exploded from the doorway, ripping the door from its hinges and sending it flying down the hall. The force of the wind knocked everyone in the hallway off their feet, including Lili, who was thrown back several meters.
I blinked again, and the wind died down, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. I stepped through the gaping hole where the door used to be, the hallway eerily quiet.
"Are you alright?" I asked Lili, extending a hand to help her up.
She looked at me with a mixture of awe and confusion. "What... what was that?"
"My power," I replied simply. "Now, stay here. You need to look defeated."
Lili nodded slowly, still processing what had just happened.
I ran towards IM, the scene before me a chaotic mess. The ground was littered with burned chairs and scorched grass, the stage a smoldering ruin.
Amidst the chaos, IM and Elang were locked in a fierce battle. Elang, his body wreathed in flames, moved with a frenzied energy, his attacks wild and unpredictable. But IM, with his unearthly agility and ability to phase through solid objects, was a formidable opponent.
Elang unleashed a barrage of fireballs, each one sizzling through the air like miniature suns.
Swoosh! IM dodged and weaved, his movements fluid and graceful as he evaded the scorching projectiles. He retaliated with his own spectral energy blasts, which crackled and popped as they collided with Elang's flames.
The two combatants circled each other, their powers clashing in a dazzling display of light and heat.
IM darted in and out of Elang's fiery defenses, delivering swift strikes that left scorch marks on the stage floor.
Elang countered with blasts of fire, his rage growing with each failed attack.
The stage itself became a battlefield, the once-pristine surface now blackened and scarred by the intense heat.
The sound of their struggle echoed through the empty stadium, a symphony of destruction and defiance.
IM landed a solid punch to Elang's jaw, sending the fire-wielder reeling backwards. He staggered, his flames momentarily flickering out. But Elang quickly regained his composure, his eyes burning with renewed fury.
He lunged at IM, his fists ablaze with fire. IM met the attack head-on, his own hands glowing with a spectral blue light.
Crack! Their fists collided with a, sending shockwaves through the air.
The impact sent both figures flying backwards, landing on opposite sides of the stage. They slowly rose to their feet, their chests heaving as they glared at each other across the ravaged battlefield.
"You're stronger than I thought," Elang admitted, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. "But you won't win. I am fire incarnate!"
"We'll see about that," IM retorted, his voice dripping with a chilling confidence. "You've met your match."
Should I just watch...? I thought, unsure of how to intervene in the escalating battle.
Elang lunged forward, his body now engulfed in a blazing blue fire.
Meanwhile, IM lunged as well, his form flickering as he activated his noclip ability.
Whoosh! The blue flames surged towards IM, but instead of engulfing him, they passed harmlessly through his spectral form.
Elang's eyes widened in disbelief. He had never encountered an opponent who could defy his fire like this.
IM, taking advantage of Elang's momentary distraction, unleashed a swift combination of attacks.
Thud! Thwack! He landed a powerful punch to Elang's jaw, followed by a lightning-fast kick to his chin.
"Ackkk!" Elang cried out as he crashed to the stage floor, blood trickling from his mouth. "Hahh... hahh..." he gasped, struggling to catch his breath.
IM stood over Elang, his shadowy figure looming large in the flickering firelight. "Give up, Elang," he said, his voice low and menacing. "You can't win."
Elang coughed, blood splattering on the stage. "I won't... I won't be defeated by a... a ghost!" he rasped, his voice raspy and weak.
"Once again, let me clarify, I'm not a ghost. I'm an evolved Harbinger, and my name is IM."
Before this goes any further, I should stop it, I thought, looking at the defeated Elang on the ground.
"Tie him up!" I yelled.
Elang looked at me in surprise, about to say something, but his words were cut short as a rope suddenly materialized and bound him tightly. "What!?" he exclaimed, struggling against the invisible restraints.
"I'll burn this rope!" Elang roared, summoning a surge of fire around his bound body.
Luckily, I had anticipated this. The rope I had imagined was fireproof.
"It won't burn, trust me," I said calmly, watching as the flames licked harmlessly at the invisible restraints.
Wsoooshh! Elang's fire raged, scorching the ground and even his own clothes, but the rope remained intact, unyielding to the inferno.
"Impossible!" Elang roared, his voice a mix of frustration and disbelief. "My flames cannot be contained!"
Yet, the ropes held firm, the intangible bonds refusing to yield to the inferno. Elang thrashed and writhed, his struggles only tightening the restraints further.
"This is ridiculous!" he shouted, his voice hoarse with anger. "What kind of magic is this?"
IM stepped closer, his shadowy form looming over the defeated fire-wielder. "It's not magic, Elang," he said, his voice calm and steady. "It's the power of imagination, and it's far stronger than your flames, isn't it, Xian?"
I nodded in agreement.
Elang looked at me, his eyes wide with surprise. "Xian...? Oh, it's you, the half-Blue Blood and... cultivator!"
I tilted my head, cultivator? Did he mean like a cultivator in those Chinese novels?
"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Heh, you're just like me, the difference is I'm both Unveiled and Seer!" he spat, his voice filled with bitterness.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then I heard the sirens of police cars and fire trucks approaching.
Wee-Woo
I placed my hand on IM's shoulder, and with a poof, we teleported away, leaving Elang alone.
Elang looked around frantically, "Lili! Help me!" he yelled, but Lili didn't come.
Meanwhile, IM and I teleported outside the stadium, into the midst of the crowd.
"That was close..." IM said, wiping sweat from his brow.
I looked at IM, a question burning in my mind. "Is it possible that my mother is a cultivator too?" I asked, remembering Elang's words.
IM chuckled. "Yes, she is."
< Chapter 115 > Fin.