Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 27: Chapter 27 — Black Phoenix Part 2

Chapter 27 — Black Phoenix Part 2

Victor stood across from Leo, black flames still wrapping around his body. The strange fire moved constantly, curling around his arms and shoulders before disappearing into the darkness of his clothes. His eyes remained completely black, and the wounds that should have left him helpless were already closing. Yet despite the overwhelming power surging through his body, Victor could feel something was wrong. The strength was fading. Slowly at first, then faster. Every breath seemed to drain more energy from his Core, and the Black Phoenix Flame was consuming his reserves piece by piece.

His mind was clearer now. The rage that had taken control of his body earlier had finally begun to subside, leaving him capable of thinking again. Victor could finally understand what was happening around him, and that realization made the situation even more dangerous. He didn’t know how long the Black Phoenix Form would last, but he could feel its power slipping away with every passing second.

I can’t keep this up.

Victor stared at Leo.

I need to finish him quickly.

Or find another way.

Before he could decide what that other way might be, Leo suddenly laughed. It was loud and almost manic, echoing through the enormous cavern. He raised his sword and pointed it toward Victor, his eyes shining with something far different from the amusement he had shown earlier.

”Who would have thought?”

His smile widened.

”The small, pitiful slave was actually a monster hiding beneath the skin.”

Leo covered his face with one hand and shook his head, almost as if he were struggling to contain his excitement. When he lowered his hand again, his grin had become even wider.

”Honestly, Victor...”

He slowly lowered his hand.

”The savagery you just showed was beautiful.”

His smile faded.

”But alas...”

Leo tightened his grip around his sword.

”You still have to die.”

His spiritual energy erupted.

The pressure rolling off his body immediately intensified. His white hair lifted into the air, and his robes began fluttering wildly despite the stillness of the cavern. Loose stones around his feet began trembling as the spiritual pressure continued climbing, and cracks slowly spread through the stone beneath him.

Victor’s expression tightened.

Leo reached inside his robe and pulled out a small pill before swallowing it without hesitation.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then Leo’s body violently changed.

Red veins began appearing beneath his skin, spreading across his arms, neck, and face. His muscles expanded rapidly, becoming thicker and more defined as his body was forced beyond its natural limits. The veins bulged against his skin, and the pressure surrounding him became almost suffocating. His entire appearance had changed within seconds. The friendly, almost elegant man Victor had first met was gone.

Leo slowly clenched his fists before throwing his sword aside.

The weapon clattered against the stone.

Leo looked at Victor.

”Now it’s time we have a little fun.”

He disappeared.

Victor’s pupils contracted.

Leo appeared directly above him, his leg coming down like an axe. Victor raised both arms just in time.

BOOM!

The impact shook the ground beneath them. Victor’s knees bent slightly as he absorbed the force, but he refused to give ground. Before he could counter, Leo twisted his body in midair and sent his other leg whipping toward the side of Victor’s head.

Victor shifted his arm.

BANG!

The kick slammed into his guard.

Victor immediately grabbed Leo’s leg and twisted, attempting to slam him into the ground. Leo reacted instantly. His hands struck the stone, and he used them to redirect his momentum, twisting his body through the air before landing back on his feet.

He didn’t even pause.

Leo stepped forward and drove his palm directly into Victor’s chest.

BOOM!

Victor coughed blood as his body slid backward several feet before his feet finally dug into the ground. The black flames around his chest surged, and the damage began healing almost immediately.

But Victor felt it.

Another chunk of his energy disappeared.

I’m getting weaker.

He couldn’t afford to keep trading blows.

Victor’s flames suddenly intensified. He stomped his foot against the ground, cracking the stone beneath him, and his body vanished.

Leo’s eyes followed the movement.

Victor appeared behind him, his fist already driving toward his back.

Leo jumped.

Victor’s fist passed beneath him.

Leo twisted his body in midair and delivered a spinning kick. The heel struck Victor directly in the face.

BAM!

Victor was thrown across the cavern. He rolled several times before catching himself against the ground, his palm scraping across the stone. For a moment, his vision blurred.

Leo landed gracefully several meters away.

”Ah, Victor.”

Leo smiled.

”I really hoped this wouldn’t have to end.”

His expression hardened.

”But you do have to die.”

Lightning began gathering around his palm.

The energy condensed into a bright sphere, crackling violently as blue-white arcs crawled across his arm. The light reflected against the cavern walls, briefly overpowering the glow of the crystals around them.

Victor stared at it.

His body felt heavy.

The Black Phoenix Flame was weakening.

I don’t have much left.

Leo disappeared.

Victor barely had time to react.

Leo appeared directly in front of him, and the lightning-covered palm slammed into Victor’s stomach.

BOOM!

A violent burst of energy erupted through his body. Victor’s eyes widened as a massive hole was blasted through his abdomen, the force tearing through his stomach and emerging from his back. Blood sprayed across the stone as Victor staggered backward.

The Black Phoenix Flame immediately reacted.

The wound began closing, flesh slowly regenerating around the edges of the hole. But it was too much. The flames consumed an enormous amount of energy trying to repair it, and the wound closed only partially. A large opening remained in Victor’s abdomen.

His breathing became shallow.

His vision blurred.

His knees almost gave out.

Victor looked toward Jacob.

The older man was still lying unconscious on the ground.

Jacob...

Victor tried to move.

His legs barely responded.

Then—

ROOOOOAR!

A roar shook the cavern.

The sound was so powerful that the ground trembled beneath Victor’s feet. The river rippled violently, and loose stones fell from the cavern walls.

Victor slowly raised his head, his blurred vision turning toward the entrance.

A second roar followed.

This one was even louder.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Finally.

He had been hoping for this.

Not expecting it.

Hoping.

Ever since the Ravagers had attacked them, Victor had remembered what Leo had said.

The mother is going to be a nasty beast.

While they traveled toward Region G, Victor had secretly taken small pieces of the Ravager corpses and dropped them behind the group whenever nobody was watching. He hadn’t known whether it would work. He hadn’t even known if the mother would still be close enough to follow the scent.

But he needed something.

Anything.

And now—

The cavern entrance darkened.

Something enormous stepped through.

Victor’s breath caught.

The Ravager mother was unlike anything he had ever seen. Its body was enormous, easily several times larger than the pups they had killed. Thick, blackened fur covered its muscular frame, with patches of old scars cutting through its hide. Its shoulders were massive, its legs thick enough to resemble tree trunks, and two enormous tusks curved upward from its jaw.

Its head looked like a monstrous fusion of a wolf and a wild boar. Its eyes were blood-red, and when its mouth opened, rows of jagged teeth filled its enormous jaws. Hot breath escaped between them as it stared into the cavern.

Then Victor felt it.

The pressure.

His weakened body instinctively tensed.

This wasn’t a Body Tempering beast.

This was something else.

A Beast Soldier.

The difference between the major realms was not something that could simply be overcome with determination. Once a beast crossed into the next major realm, its Core underwent a fundamental transformation. Spiritual energy became part of its strength, making its body and abilities completely different from those of a Body Tempering beast.

Victor had no chance against something like this.

Neither did Leo.

Leo turned.

For the first time since Victor had met him, the white-haired man’s expression wasn’t amused.

It was fear.

”What...”

The Ravager lowered its head.

Leo took a step backward.

”No.”

The beast disappeared.

Victor didn’t see it move.

Neither did Leo.

One moment, it was standing near the entrance.

The next—

It was directly in front of Leo.

Leo’s eyes widened.

The Ravager’s jaws opened.

CRUNCH!

The beast bit down.

A portion of Leo’s body disappeared between its jaws. The force of the bite sent blood spraying across the cavern.

Leo didn’t even have time to scream.

The Ravager lifted its head and swallowed.

Victor stared for a fraction of a second.

Then his survival instinct took over.

He moved.

His black flames surged as he forced his weakened body forward. Victor reached Jacob and dropped beside him.

Victor grabbed him and pulled the older man over his shoulder. Jacob’s arms hung loosely against Victor’s back.

Victor turned toward the waterfall.

There was nowhere else to go.

Behind him, another roar shook the cavern.

Victor didn’t look back immediately.

He already knew what was coming.

Each step sent pain through his body. The hole in his stomach was still healing. His vision was fading, and his breathing was becoming more difficult, but he kept moving.

The cliff was ahead.

The waterfall waited beyond it.

Victor reached the edge.

He jumped.

For a brief moment, his body hung in the air.

Then gravity took hold.

Victor and Jacob plunged toward the roaring waterfall.

Victor twisted his head and looked over his shoulder.

The Ravager stood at the edge of the cliff, its enormous jaws stained with blood.

The beast’s red eyes locked onto Victor.

For a moment, they stared at one another across the distance.

Then the Ravager opened its jaws and released a monstrous roar.

ROOOOOOOAR!

Victor turned forward.

The waterfall swallowed him.

His body disappeared into the mist as he and Jacob fell into the darkness below.