Chapter 189 Flaming Shadow
Karin watched Zayne while he paid no attention to her at all. His gaze was only on the sword, which was close to full absorption of energy but the flames around it could still seriously hurt anyone who risked taking it.
"Wait! Stop! You don\'t have to do this! You\'ve already given me the best result I could have hoped for!" Karin exclaimed with a worried expression. She just wanted to test Zayne\'s strength, but in the end, things got too dangerous.
"Tsk." Karin frowned as she lunged forward. She couldn\'t let her curiosity cause Zayne to get seriously hurt.
\'Damn, the first time we met when he saw the heart in the ice, he worried like I was going to kill him, but now he acts like a beast! Karin inwardly exclaimed, finding herself behind Zayne.
She swung her arm, aiming for Zayne\'s neck, she had to get him to pass out before it went too far.
Whooooooooooooosh.
Zayne turned around abruptly at the last moment, making Karin flinch at his cruel gaze. His eyes were no longer blue; they were the same red as the wolf Karin had seen earlier.
"What the hell...?" Karin\'s eyes went wide, but, she immediately continued her attack, not about to let it distract her.
"Don\'t get in my way!" Zayne exclaimed, clenching his teeth tightly as his hands turned into a blur.
He spent two moves at once, with one he tossed Karin\'s arm aside, leaving a plume of blue energy behind him, then his legs flashed brightly as he turned and kicked Karin with lightning speed.
His foot plunged into her belly, causing her mouth to open wide and provoking a shock wave that knocked Karin aside.
Her eyes darkened for a moment, but she came to her senses quickly, did a somersault in the air, and landed elegantly on the ground with a cold stare. Zayne had already turned around and was walking slowly toward his sword, while his body was gradually reaching its limits.
His wounds were still bleeding, scarlet streams running down his coat, reaching the ground and soaking into it, leaving behind Zayne, unusual bloody footsteps.
\'Fuck... I\'m about to fall... I don\'t know how much HP I have, but I\'m definitely on the edge.\' Zayne pondered.
Perhaps he expected the wolf\'s voice to reappear in his head, but it did not. Zayne had to make his own next decision.
He could just stop and wait for the sword to absorb all the energy, Karin wasn\'t going to hurt him any more anyway, but there was also another option.
\'Well... If I was going to die, my instincts would tell me that, wouldn\'t they?\' Zayne inwardly muttered looking at the sword whose flame was almost touching him.
He felt a strange confidence in his actions, and he didn\'t even know if he could make the next move.
\'Whatever, there\'s no point in being afraid. If it\'s going to help me in any way, then I have to do it. I don\'t know what that voice in my head is, but it\'s right. I have to fight while I can and whether it\'s a real fight or not.\' Zayne made a decision, took a deep breath, and held out his hand.
Crackle.
At the same time, Karin lashed out in his direction as her palms were covered in a thin layer of ice. She hadn\'t originally planned to use skills, but, now the situation had changed.
\'Shit... I have to stop this idiot before he hurts himself. If he grabs that sword, it will take weeks to recover from his wounds! Karin inwardly exclaimed as she sped up, appearing right behind him.
However, Zayne\'s hand was already firmly around the hilt of the sword. The purple flame flashed brightly reflecting in Zayne\'s eyes as it split into chaotic streams.
Whoooooooooosh.
The fire swept across Zayne\'s shoulders as if deliberately trying to avoid hitting him. The flames were only directed at Karin, who was forced to jump back because of it, so her attempt to stop Zayne failed again.
\'What the hell is going on here? Does this sword have a mind or is it just lucky?\' Karin frowned, bit her lip, and took a step back.
She stared intently at Zayne, watching his actions. He had already grabbed the hilt of his sword, so stopping him was already useless.
[Your weapon, Frightened Shadow, has been significantly changed due to certain circumstances!]
The flames didn\'t hurt Zayne, but, it didn\'t help his hand much. His skin began to burn as soon as he touched the hilt, causing him severe pain that he could hardly stand.
[The sword has a new name - Flaming Shadow!]
[Flaming Shadow (Epic)
Physical Damage: 90
Magical Damage (Dark Aspect): 50 + (Fire Aspect): 45
The metal that originally absorbed the fear of the innocent beings who were tortured to create this sword has changed. This weapon absorbed the energy of thousands of creatures its wielder had killed for it.
The massive amount of energy caused a chaotic flow, but its wielder did not wait for the energy to run out and connected with his weapon, unleashing its full power.
-Whispering Shadows.
Let the flames envelop you for a brief period, which can be quite painful even if you - its owner, in return, gain immense power. You\'ll have to give a large amount of mana to ignite the flames]
"Hah, I don\'t have to waste mana this time, do I? Go ahead, I\'m ready!" Zayne smirked, activating his weapon skill.
Whooooooooooooooooosh.
The streams of flame changed direction abruptly, engulfing Zayne. Though the fire touched his skin, it left no burns on his body. However, Zayne felt intense pain as if hundreds of needles pierced his body, staying inside.
"ARGHHHH!!!" Zayne shouted in pain as his scream echoed through the cave.
Karin frowned, "Well, nothing good is going to happen now for sure. I\'m sorry, but I\'ll have to freeze you."
Karin took a deep breath, exhaling frosty air that was like a blizzard headed toward Zayne. It wasn\'t one of Karin\'s attacking skills, but, she could use it for situations like this just to stop him without inflicting additional wounds.
Blizzard faced the purple flame, dispelling it with ease and almost reaching Zayne. The flames now worked as a barrier for him, protecting him from Karin.
Karin shook her head, "I\'ll have to think about not letting that happen again. I\'ve made too many mistakes this time, it\'s unacceptable to me."
However, though Karin thought it was over, her blizzard suddenly disappeared due to the powerful stream of flame that smashed it. Particles of the frosty wind blew off into the walls, leaving a thin layer of ice on their surface, spreading across them like a spider\'s web.
"What the fuck is this..." Karin\'s eyes went wide as her jaw dropped almost to the ground.
The flames that seemed to want to consume Zayne were now unusual armor for him. His shoulders, legs, and arms were covered in a light purple fire as strange runes appeared in his eyes linked to the flames.
His sword was blazing brightly, but it emitted almost no light, as the fire was mostly composed of dark energy.
"Karin... I understand that you wanted to stop me, but as you can see I am ready to continue." Zayne said calmly, as he stared at her with a calm and confident look.
"You want to continue?" Karin was wary and crossed her arms across her chest, "You had a hard time getting to that sword and now you\'re suggesting another round?"
Zayne nodded, "More than that, I want you to use your skills, certainly not to the best of your ability, but it\'s necessary for me to get better."
Karin frowned, "Well, well, we\'ve only known each other one day, but you want to use me for your purposes? You know, I\'m usually the one who manipulates in relationships."
Zayne\'s eyes turned cold, "You\'re not my girlfriend and I know almost nothing about you at all, but you\'re also not the enemy so it doesn\'t matter."
"No. I\'m not going to use skills against you." Karin shook her head, "You overestimate your powers, young man."
Zayne said nothing, he just stepped forward and leaned his sword back as if preparing to attack.
Karin put her hand to the fight, looking at Zayne\'s actions as if he were a child who didn\'t know what he was doing.
"I don\'t know if I can do it, but your skill has two sides, doesn\'t it...?" Zayne whispered, Karin couldn\'t hear him, then he swung his sword.
He took two swings forming a flaming cross of violet fire, however, it was not icy like the last time, instead, it was incredibly hot as if bursting from the center of the sun itself.
Karin\'s eyes went wide when she saw the ground bubbling beneath the cross, then she released her energy outward channeling mana to her palms. Earlier she had played with Zayne in his game, but now she had to get serious.
"Absolute Zero!" Karin exclaimed, clapping her palms together.
The next moment there was a flash, along with which everything turned to ice including Zayne.