Hellbound: Rebirth Of The Strongest Slayer.-Chapter 36: UNCONTROLLABLE FLAME (2)

Chapter 36

Since water couldn’t fight it, then I suppose I’ll fight fire with some lightning then...

The moment those words left his mouth, the sky that had just begun to clear twisted again. Black clouds gathered as if dragged together by invisible hands.

The heavens darkened once more. How many times had this happened already. Six times maybe. No one was counting anymore.

The clouds turned jet black, folding in on themselves, and then lightning began to gather.

Rumbling. Shaking the world with its unbridled might. Thunder roared through the air, deep and violent, and the experts felt their bodies tingle as their instincts screamed.

They didn’t hesitate. They immediately distanced themselves from the prince. They weren’t naive enough to think they would be safe just because they weren’t his targets.

Ragnar’s hand came down in a violent arc. His eyes burned, filled completely with lightning. Bolts struck down one after another, compressed, violent, carrying terrifying voltage.

They crashed into every corner of the spreading flames, striking where the fire was thickest, strongest.

They were supposed to halt it.

Ragnar’s eyes narrowed.

Without even testing further, he could tell. The flames were absorbing energy. Growing stronger. Feeding.

As long as he could destabilize the energy around them, both qi and mana that made up the world’s flow, the flames should collapse. And after that, he would use lightning to decompose the flames themselves.

More lightning fell.

Again.

And again.

Then he frowned.

The flames were no longer spreading, but they weren’t deteriorating either. They had stopped. Waiting.

His instincts screamed.

Another series of bolts came crashing down, and then something changed.

From the dormant flames, several blazing spears shot forward.

They tore through the lightning, shredding it apart, and nearly struck the prince. Ragnar reacted instantly, dodging just in time, but the attack still forced him to pause midair.

It was extremely versatile.

His expression darkened as he reassessed.

Something was wrong. Completely wrong.

Lightning was supposed to destroy the energy composing the attack.

That was absolute. If it wasn’t qi, then mana. If not mana, then some hybrid. But lightning failing meant only one thing.

That wasn’t the case here.

Something was missing.

He exhaled slowly.

"These flames..." he muttered. "They’re becoming a pain in the ass."

He struck down again just in case he was wrong. Multiple times. But nothing changed. The first few bolts did nothing. The rest only seemed to irritate the flames.

And they responded.

This time the prince felt real danger.

He escaped using several rapid movement lightning spells, vanishing and reappearing in flashes of light.

The others weren’t so lucky. A few were caught by the backlash and thrown away, injured and bleeding.

Ragnar hovered in the air, eyes sharp.

"Well then," he said quietly. "It seems the flames have a will. Not fully sentient. But conscious. To some extent."

His jaw tightened.

"There’s only one more thing I can do."

He descended rapidly, landing near the ground.

He closed his eyes and calmed himself, drawing in the world’s energy. It was still vast, though far thinner than before. His thoughts flickered to the massive energy flow from hours earlier.

Did it have something to do with these flames.

No.

Now wasn’t the time.

If there was one thing Ragnar was known for, it was control. Control over two major affinities.

Lightning.

And earth.

His hands moved, forming seals with practiced precision.

"Earth Manifestation," he muttered. "Terra Lock."

The world responded instantly. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Energy rippled outward.

The ground trembled.

Then it split.

Massive walls of solid earth ruptured upward, rising violently from the ground, enclosing the flames. Layer after layer sealed in, forming a colossal earthen coffin, trapping the fire within the territory it had already consumed.

It had only spread a several distance away from the Kingdom of Rugraiy.

The flames stopped dead cold as they slammed into the earthen barrier. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, but the wall held.

"The second prince’s greatest control lies in lightning," one of the experts muttered, voice low.

"But most forget he’s among the most talented earth affinity users alive."

The flames were trapped. No longer spreading.

But only for the short term.

Almost instantly, something shifted. Something subtle. The other experts couldn’t see it. Their eyes weren’t sharp enough.

Ragnar’s were.

Several fractured lines had appeared along the newly erected barrier.

At its current level, the wall would hold for few days.

At least, that was what logic said.

Ragnar’s expression changed, just slightly. He remained composed, but inside, something stirred. This was an eye opener. He had grown arrogant after stepping into his new realm.

This thing couldn’t be neglected. Couldn’t be abandoned.

If there was anyone who could truly stop it, then it would be his father.

The Emperor himself.

"Let’s leave," Ragnar said. "We report this to the Emperor."

The other experts nodded. They had been of little use anyway. Together, they vanished from view.

Far above them, a figure observed the entire scene with a serene expression.

Golden blond hair hung still despite the rushing air. His gaze rested on the barrier as it cracked further under the pressure of the flames.

Then he vanished as well.

What the blonde hair guy below didn’t know was that even he was being watched.

Hidden close to the scene, impossible to sense or see, stood two figures.

One was a woman dressed in elegant blue robes. Her long red hair flowed softly, as if the air itself soothed it.

Her eyes were azure, calm and calculating as she watched the earth barrier crumble.

"The prince believes the barrier will last days," she said quietly. "He’s wrong. The pressure is increasing rapidly. It will only last a few more hours."

Her gaze swept across the flame filled Kingdom of Rugraiy.

"I wonder if the cause of this anomaly truly lies within such a small kingdom."

She probed deeper, searching for a forming treasure, a spatial rift, anything that could explain the Crimson Night Phenomenon.

She found nothing.

After a while, she sighed.

"Whatever created these flames is extremely strong. Even I struggle to fathom its origin."

She straightened.

"I’m not here to linger. I’m here to help extinguish it."

She turned slightly.

"Rao, so do you."

She froze mid sentence.

Her eyes twitched violently as she looked at her partner.

He was sleeping.

Midair.

"Why is he always sleeping," she muttered.

The other figure resembled a guardian, dressed in austere robes, hands clasped as if praying. Energy spiraled around him despite his unconscious state.

Lana’s eye twitched again.

She struck him with her hand.

Rao jolted awake, blinking as he looked around before remembering why he was here.

"Have the humans left," he asked.

Lana nodded.

"I’ll reduce the flames’ pressure," she said. "You contain it."

Rao nodded and immediately entered a meditative state. His mouth began chanting as the energy around the region thickened, solidifying unnaturally.

A cocoon of condensed energy formed around him.

Meanwhile, Lana slided down till she was just a few inches off the ground. She lifted a finger and pointed directly at the flames, muttering one word under her breath.

"Subdue."

Instantly, the pressure of the flames dropped drastically. Hairline fractures still spidered across the earth barrier, but she had done something unprecedented in the realm.

Her expression shifted slightly.

The fire resisted. It twisted, writhing against her influence, trying to escape. Lana pressed again, subduing it, only for it to push back.

The struggle continued for minutes, back and forth, and Lana felt irritation more than exhaustion building in her chest.

Wait. Isn’t Rao supposed to be done? She glanced up... and found him asleep again.

Her eyes twitched with fury. She felt the urge to grab him, throw him straight into the flames.... but she restrained herself.

Instead, she launched a gentle attack, not enough to devastate the region, but sharp enough to snap his attention.

The small blue ball of energy slammed into Rao, nearly forcing his eyes shut. His brain processed the situation instantly.

"Oh," he muttered, seeing Lana’s killing glare. "Sorry, I’ll be fast." His tone was cool, almost casual, as he resumed chanting. Seconds later, he raised his hand high into the air.

"Golden Grasp," he muttered.

The world bent to his will. Around the flames that Lana suppressed, golden hands appeared.... large, tall, imposing.

They gathered the fire, compressing it bit by bit. Rao felt it push back slightly, but with two guardians working in tandem, it became manageable.

The fire shrank, condensed into a ball. Smaller, smaller, until it was no bigger than a small egg, humming with restrained destructive force. It floated into Rao’s hand.

He examined the contained energy,

measuring the terrifying power within.

Lana flew to his side. "How long can you keep it suppressed?"

"Few days should suffice," Rao said confidently.

But then, almost imperceptibly, a crack appeared. Because the ball was tied to his lifeforce, Rao felt it immediately. He gave Lana a quick glance and corrected himself, shamelessly.

"Actually... a few minutes at most. Come on. Let’s get this to the old man on time."

He vanished.

Lana nodded, taking one last glance at the now dark, burnt kingdom before disappearing herself.

Unbeknownst to the two guardians above, another figure had been watching.... right amidst the chaos, unseen, unfelt by anyone there.

A veil covered their face, hiding any hint of identity or gender. The figure hovered above the ruined city, surveying the destruction.

A voice, calm and amused, broke the silence.

"Well... seems I’m late for the party."

TO BE CONTINUED........