The Conquerors Path

The atmosphere within the arena started to heat up, quite literally...

A punch moved toward Austin's head, but he dodged it. As he did, a mirroring punch of pure fire emerged, and another move followed the original punch. Seeing this, the flame within Austin emerged from within him, taking the attack. Just as it finished, Zon was beside him, waving down a punch that threw a fire wave at him.

With expert movement, Austin dodged it, only to be met with a fist heading for his stomach. Using his flame, Austin took the brunt of the attack by covering it over his stomach, creating a layer that provided him protection. But it blasted him away a little as hundreds of star-like flames surrounded Austin in another attack.

Austin waved his hand as his flame grew to create a barrier. The flaming stars hit the barrier as he was pushed away, the searing heat hitting his body. Meanwhile, Zon continued his relentless attack, each one deadlier than the last.

With a quick movement, Zon was in front of Austin. His feet brightened up with flaming wings, boosting his speed to another level. Two flames, red and grey, burned in his gauntlet and surrounded him. They attacked with their own focus. To Austin, it was as if he was fighting three different people at the same time.

Zon's punch aimed at his head, one of the flames forming a drill as it aimed at his heart. The other grey flame took to the ground, trying to restrain his movement as much as possible. Zon's amazing passive control over the element of flame, and his ability to increase the heat output of all flames, created massive pressure on Austin.

But just as it seemed that the attack was about to land, Austin's figure fluctuated before he disappeared from where he stood, appearing at a different location. The joint attack of Zon missed Austin by an inch. It had been three minutes since the battle began, and Zon was dominating. Yet, he had yet to land a significant damage on Austin.

'Um... better than I thought, Austin pondered as he looked at Zon. Zon was now taking him more seriously than ever. If Austin wanted, he could have easily taken down Zon, but for once, he wanted to enjoy the battle and get an understanding of the level of such people. Austin wasn't at all disappointed by the result.

Once again, his body dodged as a fire pillar rose from where he was standing. Austin's movements stayed erratic and hard to decipher, causing Zon to pay more focus to his attacks.

"I will end this..." Zon suddenly spoke. Just as he did, a great power burst from within him. The two flames within him entertwined around him to form a sort of blazing body. The current Zon formed into a fuming man of red and grey within less than a second, causing the heat in the place to triple.

This time, Austin didn't dodge. He formed a concrete shield around himself, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the fire now burning all around him. Every direction around him was now on fire.

In the mix of red and grey, standing at the center of it all was Zon.

'So, he's finally going all out, Austin thought. He felt the heat around him. The flames themselves seemed to be eating at his shield, even affecting his ability to feel and control the mana around him.

Crack!

A huge crack was created from a fist hitting the barrier. Austin could see someone standing in front of him, hitting the wall with their hand. Their speed had reached the level of an Origin level 8, giving them an overall boost, and their body was currently untouchable.

"This is over," the now flaming Zon spoke. Yet, as always, Austin stayed calm, his eyes looking into Zon's burning ones as he spoke. "Yes, it's over."

That was all he spoke as Austin let go of one of the seals within his flames, its true power coming into the display. Austin saw primal fear bloom within Zon, his special constitution letting him know about the flame that was about to be released. Sadly for him, all he could do was suffer.

The flame of revenge burned redder than blood, marking itself with all the blood it had shed in the name of revenge. A reddish flame grew from Austin's body, bursting out and covering the entire field, taking control of all that was within Zon's control.

"Argh!....no!..." a gut-wrenching scream left Zon's mouth as his body flailed around on the ground. He who had built a body impervious to flames was now getting burned, his scream of despair filling the entire place. Austin looked at all this with a calm gaze; the very ability that Zon boasted of was now becoming his hell.

Anyone else would have gone under by now, yet his immunity was keeping him awake while his body slowly started to burn away. As this was a sacred duel, it wouldn't stop until he was either unconscious or dead.

This was the main reason that Austin wasn't being too kind to these guys, as they wouldn't hesitate to take him down if they got the chance. But even then, his goal wasn't to make the War Council his enemy. While they might stick to the rule of never getting revenge for a sacred duel, the same couldn't be said for Zon's teacher.

Austin knew better than anyone how a single feeling of desire could win over any sort of promise.

'Guess this is enough,' deciding so, Austin waved his hand, and the flame went away, leaving a heavily cooked Zon. Walking towards him, who was still laying awake, Austin unhesitatingly kicked his neck, rendering him unconscious, thus ending the match, which once again left a heavy silence in the arena.

This time, Austin didn't just defeat anybody; he defeated one of the 12 apostles, a face and pride of the War Council. He didn't defeat Zon in a hard-earned battle, but quite easily, which was another blow to the War Council's name. The battle for honor was over.

The War Council has lost its entire face and pride, and it has been trampled under the eyes of every major power in the world. In normal circumstances, this would be a good thing as it would lead to the birth of a powerful person to protect the world, which is the main duty of the War Council. But nothing in life is ever that simple.

The passage of time creates many differences, breeding in power and ego, sometimes causing the fall of powers to a much darker path. Of course, the War Council hasn't reached that level, but it has developed its own ego, which Austin has now thoroughly trampled to the ground.

"Send her," one of the elders of the War Council spoke in a heavy tone. Their idea of pushing down their pride on DarkNight affected them back. First, they lost value, and now they've lost all face. If they were to lose a third time, it would be disastrous.

The concept of losing three matches in a row in the holy duel has another deeper meaning. If they were to lose three matches in a row against a single person, it would be the first ever since its creation. It also comes with a certain condition that the War Council can never allow to come to pass.

A simple challenge of fun has now turned into a deadly match for them.

"She's already there," another elder spoke, causing the entire atmosphere to turn brighter. By now, they have acknowledged the fact that Austin is a monster, one that's rarely seen in the world. Monstrous geniuses that break all common sense appear from time to time, and the way to deal with it?

Send another monster....

Austin watched with calm eyes as a girl materialized in front of him, a girl that looked to be in her teens. She had shining brown and golden hair that looked like a mane, lion ears, and a tail on her head, and a brown tanned skin. Her body was the very definition of athletic perfect built, along with a beautiful face.

Her two brown feline eyes focused entirely on him as she appeared, and her body proportions were perfect. She wore more of an ancient-based warrior dress, crafted from rich materials and embellished with intricate designs. The dress hugged her curves and flowed elegantly as she moved, revealing her toned arms and legs. The fabric of the dress was dyed in a deep shade of red, which contrasted beautifully with her tanned skin.

The intricate patterns on the dress were embroidered with gold and silver threads, depicting scenes of ancient battles and myths. The hem of the dress was adorned with golden tassels that swayed as she walked, emitting a faint jingle with each step. Around her waist was a belt made of golden links, which held a spear.

As she stood before Austin, the woman's aura exuded an air of confidence and strength. Her posture was erect, and her gaze was unwavering. Her lion ears twitched slightly as if listening to some distant sound, while her tail on her head remained still. Her beauty was exotic and captivating, with her angular jawline and full lips, which were set in a determined expression. Her eyebrows were arched perfectly, and her cheekbones were high, giving her face an aristocratic look and the moment Austin's eyes landed on her, a system prompt ran.