"Why are you still alive?"
Matthew's voice was tinged with bitterness, seeping through his gritted, disgusted teeth.
He couldn't understand the situation, silently hoping that everything before him was just an illusion – but the truth is always cruel. What should have been in his sight was Liam's soulless, charred body, not his whole form, which had even reached F+ level.
Sensing Matthew's shock upon seeing him still intact, Liam immediately took advantage of the moment without hesitation.
"Right Now!"
The shout rang through the air as Liam's Force energy exploded, forming familiar rough red gauntlets.
With a swift motion, Liam struck a nearby jagged stone pillar with all his strength.
"Bang... bang..."
The brittle cracking sound echoed, exactly as Liam had planned. This was the result of the rocks being heated at high temperatures for a long time, making them fragile like weak porcelain.
The stone pillars shattered, tilted, and finally collapsed, crashing into other pillars as Matthew looked on in disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing!"
Matthew yelled, rushing toward Liam at full speed, aiming to kill him. But before Matthew could take a few more steps, the weakness of his large body became apparent: the pillars were toppling toward him, along with several others.
"You bastard!"
That was Matthew's last word before the nearest pillars pinned him down. Through the small gaps quickly closing up, he helplessly watched as Liam stood unharmed.
Everything had gone according to Liam's plan. He had chosen the perfect spot to avoid being crushed by the collapsing pillars when the domino effect triggered.
"I can't hesitate any longer!"
As he spoke, a long black-silver sword appeared in his hand – the sword Liam had retrieved from the treasure he had worked so hard to find.
His hesitation, his failure to end the fight decisively, had worsened the situation. He couldn't afford to hesitate, especially against those willing to kill him.
Gripping the sword tightly, Liam carefully observed every detail ahead. The sound of the collapsing pillars had drowned out Matthew's screams, but the most important thing was the sign – Matthew would undoubtedly survive. The falling stones couldn't completely defeat him. However, they would create an opportunity – the only one Liam might have.
After one to two minutes, the crashing sounds subsided. Before Liam now lay a desolate area filled with jagged, rugged fragments. The stone pillars most affected were clustered together, scorched by fire.
Suddenly, amidst the stillness, a large boulder shifted, revealing the wounded body of a mutated monster.
"Now or never!"
Liam immediately dashed toward Matthew, like a falcon ready to strike its prey in one fatal blow. This was perhaps Liam's last chance to redeem the mistakes he had made.
"Phut!"
A thick spurt of blood flew from Matthew's mouth, splattering onto the ground. Feeling the pain from the injuries caused by the boulders pressing down on him, he gritted his teeth, using all his strength to push the massive stone off his body.
Immediately after, the fur on his body stood on end, the intense instincts of a beast awakening within him, directing his gaze to a vague spot – where Liam was speeding toward him at an alarming rate.
"Don't think that you can beat me so easily!"
Matthew instantly activated the remaining mana in his body, and a large red flame quickly engulfed him, preparing to block Liam's attack.
Suddenly, he felt another large flame headed toward him – none other than James's attack.
"Tsk. Why are you still so stubborn? I should've killed you first – a fool like you would've been much easier to take out."
Matthew ignored the massive fireball that James was launching, paying no attention to it like he had done before. But this was his mistake. As James's attack drew closer, Matthew felt an overwhelming sense of danger. Clearly, what James had done wasn't in vain.
"Fuck Shit!"
Torn between dodging James's attack or taking it head-on, Matthew realized he had underestimated James. If he dodged now, it would create the perfect opportunity for Liam. And Matthew definitely couldn't allow that to happen, especially not with someone like Liam – a person he hated with every fiber of his being.
So, Matthew decided to take James's attack, hoping his instincts were wrong. However, that didn't mean he would foolishly allow the blow to hit vital areas. He planned to dodge just enough to avoid serious injury.
With a quick glance and a disregard for the consequences, Matthew clenched his fingers into a makeshift weapon.
"Clang!"
The clash between Matthew's claws and Liam's sword echoed. Amidst the screeching of their weapons, a bright yellow flame rose behind Matthew, ready to engulf the strange red fire emanating from him.
But it wasn't over yet. Something suddenly protruded from Matthew's stomach, glowing red within the flickering flames.
"Aah!"
Grinding his teeth in fury, Matthew's jagged teeth produced a strange noise. Slowly, he glanced down at the tip of the spear that had emerged from his stomach. His eyes filled with madness as he roared.
"Aaaaaah!"
Flames erupted from his body, consuming everything around him.
Liam, being closest to the searing heat of Matthew's flames, didn't wait for them to reach him. He immediately moved away, trying to avoid being caught in the explosion of fire.
"How much mana does this guy even have?"
Liam, alarmed, moved quickly yet cautiously as the path ahead was littered with rubble from the large stones. Feeling the scorching heat at his back, he aimed for the highest boulder ahead, using it as leverage to leap into the air. Spinning in midair like a professional athlete, he managed to escape the flames still trailing behind him.
With a perfect landing far from the boulder he had used as a launch point, Liam no longer felt the intense heat. It seemed that Matthew's mana had begun to run out, limiting the range of the fire. Liam turned around, looking back at the flames that were slowly retreating to their source. At that moment, he heard a sharp shout.
"Liam!"
With a simple glance, as expected, it was James. He rushed over to Liam's position, anxiously asking.
"That fire was insane. Are you okay?"James asked with concern.
Liam sighed, not wanting to recount the horrifying experiences he had just been through. He agonizedly replied.
"I'm fine."
Then he continued to watch as the fire withdrew, his eyes holding a hint of admiration for James.
"You did well. I see you hid your spear within the flames, didn't you?"
"Hmm… of course! I knew that guy was overly confident in his fire, so I tried to deceive him with my initial attacks, making him drop his guard for my follow-up strike...."
James went on rambling about his achievements like a child bragging about his accomplishments, but that wasn't what Liam was focused on. His mind was fixed on the one target – the enemy he wasn't sure he had defeated yet.
The sight before him caused Liam to frown as the flames continued to retreat.