Chapter 58 - Workshop Battle (4) (1/2)

Death Karambit and Death Bird were surprised seeing Lumen's black and white wings made of fire. They were under the impression that Karaka's impostor had similar abilities to the Slayer. His speed at which he flew towards them was also astounding, and most Rankers would find it hard to keep up with him. Death Bird was faster than him, but she was a Scout that focused on speed.

But what really startled Death Karambit were the flaming wings on Lumen's back. Those flames looked so similar to his and Death Lady's, but they were also different at the same time.

Death Bird flew away from there, but Death Karambit was momentarily dazed from seeing the flaming wings. He woke up from his stupor the moment Lumen reached him and attacked him with his spear of darkness. The lizard head at the tip opened up and was about to chomp on him.

Despite that, Death Karambit was an Advanced Ranker*1 for a reason. Quickly, he brought up his flaming blades and blocked the maw of darkness. Lumen's strength was incredible, but Death Karambit was able to match it.

”Let's see whose flames are stronger, shall we.” Lumen stated, and a massive column of black fire erupted from the lizard head. Death Karambit was engulfed in the black fire, but he managed to counterattack and block with his own dark-blue fire.

Despite that, he was forced to fly away from there since the black flames suppressed his own and were roasting him alive.

Death Karambit was bȧrėly able to extinguish the black flames on his body with his Shinsoo and understanding of the fire element. This was the first time someone had managed to suppress Lumen's black Phoenix fire.

”Tsch.” Lumen clicked his tongue. He was actually hoping to take him by surprise and possibly kill him with his first attack.

”Be careful of his flames! They are even dangerous to someone like me!” Death Karambit warned Death Bird. His grey skin had turned pitch black from being burnt by Lumen's black flames, and the worst part was that he felt weakened after getting touched by them. His prized flaming blades, which were B10-Ranked weapons and were tailor crafted for him, also had scorch marks on them.

Death Karambit was one of the few natural Flame Users that weren't a part of the Yeon Family. His body constantly emitted his dark-blue fire, and he had never feared other Flame Users. The only people that could actually harm him with fire were the High Rankers of the Yeon Family, the unsurpassed masters of fire. However, even they wouldn't be able to damage him and his blades to this extent with just a single attack.

”Got it!” Death Bird called out while numerous large, blue feathers materialized around her. Their tips were extremely sharp, and they resembled arrows.

”Feather Rain!” With extreme speed, all the feather arrows flew towards Lumen. Their flight pattern was very tricky, and one couldn't easily predict where they will hit. They would also split into smaller ones, making her attack even more unpredictable. As the feather arrows were flying after Lumen, Death Bird was already creating more of them around her.

However, she was forced to stop, as she saw a vortex made of black fire surround him and incinerate all the feather arrows. Lumen hadn't even bothered to dodge her attack and stood there in the air while watching her with indifference.

”He is a lot stronger than what the information stated. We have to fight him seriously!” Death Karambit told Death Bird. They were only aware of his darkness abilities and believed that he was only slightly stronger than a normal Ranker.

They also didn't think that he could have possibly made major improvements in just three years. Due to the large lifespan of the inhabitant of the Tower, some could even go on vacations that last for a dozen years or even more. To them, it was simply unimaginable for someone to have a massive increase in strength in just three years.

Nevertheless, they couldn't be careless fighting with Lumen, and the two were about to take this fight seriously now.

”Act as the Fisherman while I support you!” Death Bird said to Death Karambit. Although she is a Battle Oriented Scout*2, she didn't want to go anywhere near the black flames after seeing that they were able to hurt her partner.

Since they were planning on taking him seriously now, Death Bird summoned two Observers in the shape of falcons. One of them was black with razor-sharp wings, while the other was purple with a canon on each wing. Both of them were larger than Death Bird herself. The two were Ancient Observers*3, which were a lot more battle oriented than the Observers that Scouts currently used.

”That's easier said than done.” Death Karambit replied. He also didn't want to deal with Lumen's black flames, but he didn't have a choice. He was better suited for the job than Death Bird. He surrounded himself with dark-blue fire, hoping that would protect him from Lumen's fire, and flew towards him at top speed.

The two were in a deadlock, but the lizard head on Lumen's spear twisted around and turned towards Death Karambit. Black fire gathered in its mouth and was about to shoot him point-blank. However, at that moment, a massive beam of purple Shinsoo shot from the Purple Falcon, blasting Lumen away.

He quickly recovered from the attack and flew towards Death Karambit. The two were exchanging attack after attack, but the Purple Falcon would interrupt Lumen right before he could unleash a massive technique.

During one of their bouts, the Black Falcon appeared behind Lumen and crashed into him. The body of the Ancient Observer changed shape and transformed its body into a liquid state. It surrounded Lumen and held him in place for a moment.

”Get him now!” Death Bird shouted. She had materialized a massive amount of feathers, which took the form of a falcon. Death Karambit engulfed the falcon with his dark-blue fire, and the bird flew towards Lumen with astounding speed. ”Combined Shinsoo Technique: Falcon of Hellfire!”

The Combined Shinsoo Technique crashed into Lumen and caused a massive explosion of dark-blue fire, which covered the entire Sepia Island below them.

”Did we get him?” Death Karambit asked as he wasn't able to see or sense him in the explosion. Even High Rankers wouldn't be scot-free from their Combined Shinsoo Technique.

”No.” Death Bird replied to him. As a Scout, she had incredible eyesight. Before the attack hit him, she saw that Lumen had transformed into a bird made of black fire. She didn't understand what he did, but she was sure that he survived.

Before Death Karambit could say anything else, he saw a massive bird, whose body was composed of black flames, fly out of the explosion. During the past three years, Lumen had learned how to change the flames of his Phoenix form from white to black. His Phoenix form had also grown considerably in size.

Black fire materialized in front of him in the shape of an orb, which quickly grew even larger than him. Lumen flew towards them, and the orb followed after him.

”Let me show you true Hellfire!” The giant orb of black fire suddenly compressed itself to the size of a peanut.

”Damn! Run!” Death Bird shouted as she sensed the massive amount of Shinsoo that Lumen had gathered. She grabbed Death Karambit and quickly flew away at top speed as a massive explosion erupted from the orb of black fire. It covered the entire Sepia Island and removed it from existence.

Unfortunately, Death Bird was a Scout that focused on her speed and was faster than even some High Rankers, so she was able to escape with Death Karambit. Otherwise, the two would have surely died in that explosion.

”Marvelous!” Exclaimed Gustang seeing the explosion. He was truly impressed by Lumen's technique. ”His Shinsoo manipulation reminds me of Blossom. Violent and unpredictable.”

”Didn't you say that the two should be able to take care of him?” Madoraco questioned Poken. The massive explosion that he witnessed could potentially even harm him. That guy was a lot more dangerous than what they imagined.