Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Kozran had satisfied himself with his gloating, cutting down decisively. Then the unexpected happened, violent plumes of flames rushed at him, searing the skin of his face and singeing his hair.

With a yell of pain and anger, he forced down the axe even deeper, not backing away from the heat that threatened to melt his features off his face.

Caedos could almost taste the metal of Kozran’s axe in his throat, the light fading from his eyes.

At the point where his claws sank into the burning earth, cracks formed, deepening. If he wasn’t already at death’s door he might have felt the heat rushing up out of the cracks, fire rising up like molten gold.

It distracted Kozran for a moment, at the moment that he was about to completely sever the Hellhound’s head. Despite the wave of fire being spat out at his face, he still felt the difference in strength from the fire bubbling underneath the thin cracks.

Pupils shrinking, Kozran made to take a step back. While the hound’s fire was a nuisance, the strength of the heat underneath him posed a danger.

Caedos closed his lips, smoke seeping out. Attacking with fire for so long had put even more strain on his exhausted body, it felt like his veins had been scorched, his throat branded, blood dripping down.

He caught the halberd still embedded in his throat, using it to keep the Fiend from escaping. He had also noticed the abnormality underneath the ground they stood on, and Kozran trying to avoid it had given him an idea.

The burning earth didn’t explode much like he expected, instead, it was drawn right to him, the molten heat seeping into his claws. It burned, the strength of the fire felt like it was mangling his very nerves.

Kozran had been about to ditch his halberd and move back when the vicious heat moved towards the Hellhound. The anguish on the hound’s face made him clench his jaw, while they fought, despite being beaten back over and over, the dog hadn’t had a change in expression, but right now, he looked like he was being flayed alive.

Golden flames rushed out of the cracks, wrapping up his arm that had been supporting his weight on the ground, threatening to consume him.

Kozran only hesitated for a moment, he had seen for himself the traps that had been set for his men. He looked around at the giant, unsettling trees in the distance, they seemed to be closing in but it could just be a trick of the light.

He made a split decision, he wasn’t going to let whatever was happening continue, without the threat of the ground exploding underneath him in a wave of white heat, his grip on his halberd tightened.

However, before he could go through with it, the golden flames had already covered even more of the hound, encircling his neck. It made it difficult to hold onto his golden halberd, the heated metal searing.

Kozran hastily let go of his beloved weapon when he saw steam rising from it. The flames tormenting the Hellhound were hot enough to melt his weapon, and not just melt it into a pool of liquid gold but directly vaporize it.

It made him jump back, his consternation growing as the hound dropped to both hands and knees, not making a single sound despite experiencing intense torment.

He had never heard of this happening before, had the Hellhound used too much of his inherent ability to produce fire and was now self-immolating? But it didn’t explain the strange fire that had come from the ground.

Kozran glanced down, save for the cracks, there was nothing strange about the ground anymore, the same mild fire still burned.

All of the strange golden fire had congregated on the hound, encircling his body in spirals. Kozran was at a loss, attacking the royal dog now would just bring him close to that dangerous flame, but he couldn’t exactly leave either.

Something had to give, the hound couldn’t burn for an eternity. He would either die from the flames or Kozran would kill him. Despite his determination, he couldn’t completely erase the unease that had begun to grow.

He was still waiting for the outcome when it happened; bowed to the floor from the strength of the flames, the royal dog lifted his upper body without warning. Mouth open like the maw of death, golden fire rushed at Kozran, engulfing him in an instant.

Kozran had put some distance between them already, yet the sheer size and volume of the flames had subdued him even from a distance. The dead and the trees for miles behind him were completely incinerated, his last sight a vision of white-gold heat.

Long after Kozran was reduced to nothing, flames still billowed out, threatening to consume the forest. The spiraling flames sank into the bloody skin of his arms, creating vivid, gold flame markings that spiraled up his arms.

When the last of the flames dissipated, the fire he had been spitting out ceased. Kneeling upright, Caedos looked out of unseeing eyes.

If he could see, he would see the sheer destruction he had left behind. A wide swath of the forest had been carved out, nothing remained where his fire passed, nothing but ceaselessly burning fire.

Caedos knelt upright for a period of time, unseeing and unhearing, so he didn’t notice the company his display of strength had brought. Blood trickled down his neck, with the halberd destroyed, the gash at his neck was even more unsightly.

With a choked breath, he pitched forward, falling face-first onto the burning ground. It seemed to welcome him, the fire licked at his skin but caused no damage, if anything, they seemed to be alleviating some of his injuries.

"Your Highness!" Ardan’s hoarse voice rang out as he ran forward, wishful thinking when he was missing one of his legs from the knee down.

General Urien was the one to run ahead when Ardan crumbled to the ground. The old general wasn’t much better off, but he still had his legs, with a dreadful panic he hadn’t felt in centuries, he reached for the Crown Prince.

"He’s still alive." Urien choked out, on his knees next to the battered body of their future King.