Meanwhile, as Enigma fell back to a safe distance and just managed to gather his thoughts, he was suddenly struck by an intense wave of heat.
“?!” Enigma shifted his gaze towards his left foot and noticed that the ground underneath was scorched.
“This annoying thing again…!” Enigma growled under his breath as he quickly moved away from the scorched earth.
It was not the only area affected by the intense heat. There were numerous spots of scorched earth scattered all throughout the battlefield with a footprint at their centers.
This was caused by the passive weapon effect attached to Izroth’s Scorched Inferno Fang, Earthly Inferno.
At first glance, the Inferno Prints Izroth left around the battlefield appeared to be placed at random. However, if one examined the prints closely, they would discover that a specific pattern had been formed. This pattern limited Enigma’s movements and made it so that he had no choice but to move exactly where Izroth was guiding him.
In other words, Enigma had no idea that he was being driven right into a corner with no room for retreat!
But, just when Enigma thought his luck could not get any worse, he felt the temperature of his body start to rise uncontrollably—as if his insides were suddenly set ablaze.
〈Battle Alert: Right Song of Siren, Enigma has been affected by the «Burn» status effect!〉
〈Battle Alert: For the next 30 seconds, all healing sources for Right Song of Siren, Enigma will be reduced by 50%!〉
〈Battle Alert: For the next 30 seconds, Right Song of Siren, Enigma will receive 0.5% of their maximum HP as fire damage every 1 second!〉
〈Battle Alert: For the next 30 seconds, all fire-type damage dealt to Right Song of Siren, Enigma will be increased by 100%!〉
Enigma had been affected by the Burn status effect from Izroth’s Scorched Inferno Fang!
With his Energy Vision Sense active, Izroth immediately picked up on the changes from the moment Enigma came into contact with the Inferno Print to his retreat.
‘Interesting… Not only does it reduce healing and deal damage, but it also makes one more susceptible to fire-based attacks. In a close battle, it’s enough to turn the tides.’
Although the total damage over time from the Burn effect came out to 15% of one’s maximum health, due to the 100% fire-type damage buff, in actuality, it was double that amount.
For someone like Enigma who had been driven into a corner, it turned a dire situation into a deadly one!
But, despite his growing advantage, Izroth could not help but inwardly sigh in disappointment.
‘I thought I could use this battle as an opportunity to break through into the next stage of my Heavenly Golden Body physique; however, it’s still not enough.’
Ever since his battle against the Lady of Everlasting Rain Tal’Nis, Izroth had approached a bottleneck for his Heavenly Golden Body. He felt that with one more push, he could step into the next stage.
Initially, he believed that someone like Enigma who held a high-ranking position in Siren would suffice. But, by figuring out how to deal with Enigma’s False Phenomenon, Izroth had eliminated the greatest threat. As a result, the progress on his Heavenly Golden Body had stalled once again.
If he knew it would end up like this, Izroth would have never used Zakra’s Harmonic Spear of Causality to counter Enigma’s False Phenomenon so soon! However, how could Izroth have known that Enigma’s entire fighting style heavily relied on a single ability?
‘It’s disappointing, but there is no point in lingering on what is already done. I may not have broken through into the next stage of my Heavenly Golden Body, but I was able to increase my mastery with Zakra’s Harmonic Spear of Causality and learn a new S-rank spear skill in the process. For now, I suppose I will have to make do with just this much.’
If other players could hear Izroth’s current thoughts, they would cough up blood from anger! He managed to raise the mastery on a unique skill and learn an S-rank skill in just one battle, yet he considered it as “making do”? The vast majority of players in RML did not have a single A-rank skill, let alone S-rank—something most players would stab their own friends in the back to get their hands on!
Suddenly, Izroth kicked off his back foot and shot forward at incredible speeds. He used the active from his Light Feather Footwork to gain a massive 250% movement speed buff to rapidly shrink the distance between himself and Enigma.
‘Thanks to my natural health regeneration and lifesteal, I’ve been able to offset the health drain from the Reign of Oblivion. But, at this rate, I can only sustain it for another few seconds or so. Once that happens, I will have no choice but to deactivate it and lose a good portion of damage output. Nevertheless, I cannot afford to waste too many skills here. After all, I still have to take care of that guy.’
Izroth glanced towards the distant sky where Empyrean and the Head Master of the Siren, Smiling Demon clashed.
At the moment, Izroth knew that Empyrean was not in any true danger yet due to the Soul Link between them. However, there were slight fluctuations occurring within Soul Link that was starting to become more frequent as time went on.
This led Izroth to believe that despite his rapid growth, while Empyrean was more than capable of stalling them and trading a few blows, he was still not a match one on one against someone in the legendary realm. This was even more so when it came to someone like Smiling Demon, who appeared to have long since solidified his power as a legendary being.
Of course, Izroth was not too concerned. In the end, Empyrean’s combination of defensive capabilities and high mobility made him a difficult target to catch, let alone kill. In addition, Empyrean’s race was naturally gifted with the ability of Flight. Therefore, Izroth was confident that as long as it was a battle in the skies, Empyrean could retreat at any time. After all, there were probably only a handful of individuals in the entire Mortal Realm who could catch up to Empyrean in the skies!
As Izroth sped forward, out of nowhere, a dark purple aura exploded from Enigma’s location.
“To think I would be pushed this far by some nameless guy—just what exactly is his background? No, that’s not important. Since we have already passed the point of no return, there is only one outcome.” Enigma internalized as he lifted his hand up to his mask and removed it from his face before dropping it to the ground.
‘Hm? That’s…’
For the first time, Izroth met directly with Enigma’s gaze that had been hidden behind his mask.
Enigma’s eyes were pitch-black. It was as if one were staring into an endless abyss of total darkness. In addition, Izroth sensed strange energy pouring out from those eyes that differed from the dark purple energy Enigma had displayed thus far.
“There are less than ten people who have seen these eyes. You should feel honored to be among them. Unfortunately for you—those people have all passed from this world by my hands.” Enigma stated coldly.
He then continued, “False Phenomenon: Rewrite of Fates!”
An incredible wave of energy rushed towards Izroth at blinding speeds!
False Phenomenon: Rewrite of Fates—this was Enigma’s true trump card. It allowed him to temporarily seal away one’s power and bind them to their own basic mortality. However, using it consumed a massive amount of divine power that would take him nearly an entire year to recover!
Just as Enigma made his move, the surrounding earth trembled violently.
Rmmmmble! BOOOOOOM!
Out of nowhere, a huge explosion occurred as multiple pillars of flames shot into the sky from the ground!
These pillars of flames engulfed Enigma and managed to cover virtually every corner of the battlefield.
“Where…?!” Enigma was trapped within the center of flame pillars and struggling to break free from the onslaught of eruptions. However, he was stunned in place and unable to move!
“I have no other choice!” Enigma scowled as he used the remaining bit of divine power in his reserves to activate the effects of False Phenomenon, restoring his movement and opening a path within the towering pillar of flames that encompassed him.
But, upon opening this path, Enigma was greeted by Izroth’s spear less than five centimeters away from his face!
Phhhtk!
Izroth’s spear pierced through Enigma’s head as an expression of disbelief emerged on his face.
“…I-Impossible… His powers should have been… se…” Enigma was dumbfounded as his final thoughts drifted away and his life faded from the Mortal Realm.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Right Song of Siren, Enigma.〉
〈System Alert: You have eliminated a servant of the God of Disharmony.〉
〈System Alert: Your fame with the Circle of the Six Gods has decreased by 500 points!〉
〈System Alert: Your fame with the Order of A Thousand Blossoms has increased by 500 points!〉
