Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 75: Heat and light

"Huh?" Senk said, almost a question, because suddenly, in front of him, was a fist wrapped in flames, followed closely by Vale’s grinning face.

Bam!

Vale’s fist connected with the hastily constructed black water shield, and the fire in front of it blasted forward. The force turned the immediate water into steam and sent Senk flying backward, his hands crossed in front of him, sloshing water as he was blasted away.

"Works better than I imagined," Vale said in satisfaction. It was a technique within a technique that he had created. Since he could control his Infernal fire and it didn’t hurt him, he used it on his feet, compressing it to blast himself forward, and then on his punch too.

"But I’ll be spending a lot on shoes at this rate." Anything from his ankle downward had been turned to ashes, fire still curling around his legs, glowing hot red, making his flesh look like molten metal.

He compressed the fire on his fist again and then jumped lightly on his toes before punching forward. His fist snapped like a thunderbolt, generating a mixture of fire and wind that spread forward in a shockwave. "Yes, that’s it."

I wonder what will happen if I use all the essence in my core for that kind of punch? I’ll probably end up melting my own hand, Vale thought.

"You bastard!" Senk growled. He was dripping so much water now that he’d created a small pool behind him. The water had turned darker too, like liquid coal, and where it passed, it hissed and spat. "I really will make you regret this."

The water surged around him, gathering above him like an ill cloud, and then it exploded, turning into a fog that covered the area and swept forward like a storm.

It covered the ground and the air, scorching and eating through the stone as if it were butter.

Vale spread his hands wide as if he were welcoming the coming storm, a small smile on his lips. "This is the worst matchup for you, Senk. I know why you’re the team leader now; your powers are indeed terrifying."

The area around him turned red-gold. Fire flared around Vale like the light of the sun, so bright the Knights covered their faces. It was followed by a ripple of dry heat so intense they shied away. The dome shield rippled and trembled.

It was another of his techniques. He’d switched the basic fire control formation into something else, Dominion! It was an attack of pure heat and light, an interwoven area-effect technique.

The brightness vanished as if it had never existed, but the heat remained, held back from the Knights by the barely functioning shield. When they looked up, they sucked in sharp breaths. The ground had been turned into molten stone, and in the middle of it stood a man with wild black hair and green eyes that shone just like the fire.

"Do you surrender?" In Vale’s raised right hand glowed a small ball of red-gold light. It was the Dominion attack he used earlier, now held into something that could be thrown.

The area around Senk wasn’t affected. His black water did its job as he used all his power to hold back the attack. Now his body was dried, covered in black flakes. His mouth worked for a while, but nothing came out. He fell to his knees. "W...wh...what are you? Are you one of those B-ranked potentials?"

Vale groaned. "I thought I learned everything. What in the actual hell is a B-rank potential again?"

Senk managed a shaky smile. "Maybe you can throw that away first?"

Vale blinked and looked at his right hand, which still held Dominion. "Throw it where?" he snapped. "I can’t just snap my fingers and make it disappear, you know."

Then he threw the ball of light and heat behind him. It hit the ground with a dull bang, a shockwave of rippling force, heat, and light blasting out. The ground cracked, and a crater of melting stone formed. The shield around them wobbled and finally snapped.

"Not bad," Vale said as he looked at the melted hole. This will directly kill a Knight that’s not shielding against it.

"Well then. I won the duel." His eyes surveyed Senk and the Knights, and they tensed under his gaze.

Senk stood up and straightened. "This is not an official duel. The highest ranks of each of our flags didn’t agree to this. It’s nothing but a practice fight."

Vale was stunned when he heard this—not the part about official or not, but that Senk was talking casually like that. The man who had been cowering just seconds ago! Then he understood as he looked around.

All the Knights in the room had straightened, their hands going to their weapons. Everyone tensed as they waited for Vale’s reply. They seemed to be saying: count this as a play, and maybe you’ll get to keep your life.

Vale looked toward his team. Tiber’s eyes were closed as if he couldn’t be bothered about what was happening. Slya was idly twirling a throwing knife on her fingers while Xan was slowly crouching, making his way toward the door.

Everything seemed to pause. The tension thickened. Vale’s heartbeat sped up, and his body turned warm. He held a formation in his mind as he said slowly, "Practice fight... Senk, you just fell down at my feet. Do you deserve this team?"

Senk stood stunned, his face rippling with anger. He raised his hand as if he wanted to shoot an attack. Then his face twitched, and he slowly brought it down. "Yo...you bastard! Kill him!"

As if that was what they’d been waiting for, the Knights surged forward, a tide of human waves, each bristling with their own attack.

Vale sent essence to his formation, then took a deep breath as his eyes turned red as if he held a red moon in them.

On the other side, Tiber’s eyes were still closed, and Slya wasn’t making any moves even as the Knights ran at them. Then, immediately as Vale took in a deep breath, Tiber raised his hand and touched Slya on the shoulder. In his mind, a formation glowed.