97 Hell Ranked Soothing Flame (2/2)

A horrified expression appeared on Sword Hero's face. He quickly released the sword and jumped back, distancing himself from the flames, however the Flames of Neutrality didn't stop.

Ignoring the vanishing sword, the flames continued to chase after the fleeing Sword Hero. Realizing that escaping would be useless, the terrified Sword Hero calmed his nerves slightly. He unsheathed his last sword from his back. This sword was a little different from his last as it released a bit of elemental energy.

With a low roar, he charged towards Arnin, dodging the flames with a sidestep, however little did he know that the flames could split themselves. The fire had no definite form, allowing it to bend and twist in different manners.

Seeing the flame aim for his head, he gritted his teeth as he ducked down. With a swing of his arm, the large elemental blade slashed against the flame that approached from below, parrying it with some difficulty.

A bit of the flame caught on his blade, trying to erase its existence as well, however he waved his sword in the air, extinguishing the small flame. Unlike normal swords, the elemental blade was able to defend against many different types of attacks.

”Oh, that blade is pretty good.” Arnin smiled as he thought about how the battle might be a bit more interesting than he originally thought. 'If only I could use my saber as a physical weapon, then maybe I could directly add the flames into it, amplifying them greatly.' He shook his head as he stopped releasing flames.

He lifted one of his hands and slit his wrist, allowing his blood to pour out. ”Lets see if you can fight against my blood blade.” He was able to change the form ofblood in the past, and now he was able to magnify that property due to the Seed of Blood.

When the blood sword formed, it didn't release any aura, making it seem nonexistent. However, this feeling startled the Sword Hero. Not only did the sword not release an ounce of essence, even Arnin's aura became harder to detect.

”You are making a mistake, Demonic Joker. There is a reason I am called Sword Hero, I am second to none when it comes to the use of swords.” His eyes sharpened when he noticed Arnin's new tactic, but he felt more relief than worry. In a battle of blades, he was confident he would come out on top.

”We will see whether you're second to none or second to me.” With a faint laugh, Arnin dashed towards him. His blood blade was on his right and when he approached the Sword Hero, he gracefully cleaved towards the latter's neck. The swordsman quickly parried the blow with a thrust, successfully protecting himself.

He didn't stop there though. After deflecting Arnin's blood sword, his leg rose in the air towards Arnin's stomach.

Seeing this move, a wicked grin appeared on Arnin's face. His blood sword, which wasn't blocked by the other sword anymore aimed towards the young man's neck. ”You're crazy!” Normally, a person would either jump back to dodge the kick or attack the leg itself to prevent oneself from being hurt, however Arnin didn't do any of that. The blood sword aimed directly for his neck and with no time to avoid the hit, the young man cursed Arnin for his ruthlessness.

*BLEURG*

Being kicked so hard, even Arnin couldn't help but spew out a mouthful of blood. His body may have been tough, but it wasn't invincible.

*SKSHH*

As Arnin got kicked, the Sword Hero also lost his head. Arnin only fought the way he did was to show others that he wasn't just strong with essence, but instead his abilities were well rounded. He could kill anyone with anything.

This effect worked as planned and others couldn't help but take in a breath of cold air. The Sword Hero wasn't exaggerating in his claim that he was second to none with the sword. In a normal duel, not even the top ten could match him in swordsmanship.

”Now then, since none of you have any complai--” Another person suddenly walked out from the group.

”I would like to fight you as well.” The person who walked out was someone ranked in the top twenty. He had scarlet hair resembling fire, and his bronze skin looked extremely beautiful, however his arms were completely burnt. This person was none other then rank fourteen, Soothing Ash.

His specialty was fire, and his signature trait was burning someone to ashes, letting them become one with the earth and wind. However, his flames were very special as they were a part of the Hell flame rankings. These flames were exceedingly rare. When Arnin first heard that a person had Hell flames, even he was greatly shocked. There were only a hundred Hell flames in Afloria so someone having one either meant that they were extremely fortunate, or they had a major backing.

'He probably had great fortune to get those flames. Why would he come to Thorn Academy if his backing was much more magnificent.' Arnin had learned some things from Canae and also made his own guesses on how big Lepidoptera and Thorn Academy were when compared to the whole Human continent. They were almost ant-like powers.

These schools were barely able to get Sky level flames so it was close to impossible to get Hell level ones. This allowed Arnin to further understand that only major powers could have top notch flames.

The particular flame that Soothing Ash had was known as the Soothing Flame. It was able to burn someone without causing them any sort of pain. It was a very peaceful death, however that made it even more scary. It could be used for sneak attacks and one wouldn't even know that they were burning.

”I would like to test my flames against yours. Let's see whose flames are stronger.” Just like his flames, Soothing Ash had a very calm and quiet personality.

Arnin nodded his head. ”Alright, allow me to decimate your flames.” He smiled slightly as the grey Flames of Neutrality appeared once again.

Soothing Ash didn't mind Arnin's words and released his own blue fire. With a thrust of his palm, it shot towards Arnin. The latter also quickly threw out his flames to counter the other.

*BOOM*

There was a loud explosion as the two flames collided, causing a smoke screen to form. A smile appeared on Soothing Ash's face. ”Seems our flames are similar in strength, and mine might be slightly stronger.”

When Arnin heard his words, he shook his head, but then his face scrunched into a frown. From the smoke screen, a large blue flame continued to fly towards him. 'Seems like my flames are not actually as strong as I thought they were.' A bitter look appeared on his face as he sent multiple bursts of grey flames towards the incoming blue flame. After a few dozen of his attacks landed on it, the blue flame was finally gone.

”I wonder whose flames decimated the other's?” Soothing Ash spoke with a calm voice, his voice as ethereal as his flames.