Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 370: Lucifer vs Ignis III
"It’s still too early for him," Nymeria muttered inwardly. "He is not ready yet."
Assuming it was pointless to continue watching the match, she rose from her seat. Just as she was about to leave, a terrifying pressure descended upon the stage, halting her in place.
Her head snapped toward the source of the pressure, and the moment her eyes fell upon the scene before her, a chill ran down her spine. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Not just her, even the mighty Sect Masters present in the high tower could not help but rise to their feet as they witnessed the absurdity unfolding before them.
"I-is this some kind of joke?" Barbatos muttered, the usual playful expression vanishing from his face as absolute shock overtook his features.
"Im-impossible, this must be some kind of trickery," Aethon added, unable to accept the scene before him.
Even Aurelion, who remained unfazed by most events, could not help but stare at the stage with widened eyes.
---
Thirty seconds earlier...
Ignis drove his knee into Lucifer’s abdomen, slamming him into the floor with a heavy thud. Blood gushed from Lucifer’s face, and he appeared in no condition to continue fighting.
Still, Ignis had no intention of letting him go, fueled by the humiliation of having used the Pure Yang Body against someone who was clearly far weaker than him.
Bringing both hands together, burning with scorching blue flames, he brought them down toward Lucifer’s face while straddling him.
Just as the attack was about to reach Lucifer’s face, his arm moved at blinding speed, catching Ignis’ joined fists with one hand.
Clutching the fists tightly, Lucifer jerked him upward and slammed him headfirst into the floor.
Ignis instantly rose to his feet, yet he could not hide the shock on his face.
’How could he block heavenly class blue flames with just his bare hand? It should have burned his arm.’
His eyes demanded the answer.
At the very next moment, he received it as he saw blue lightning dancing around Lucifer’s hand.
Lucifer had already risen to his feet, standing calmly as if the earlier attacks had not affected him in the slightest.
The shock did not end there.
With both hands, Lucifer grabbed the hilt of his sword, its tip pointing toward the sky. A river of energy flowed into the blade, taking the shape of a sharp and menacing blue extension. The length of the sword doubled, and small bolts of blue lightning danced along its edge.
A heavy suppressive pressure descended upon the arena as thunder roared from Lucifer’s blade.
"It-it can’t be true," Ignis murmured, his body instinctively retreating.
"This must be an illusion," he said louder, as if shouting could deny its existence.
Paying no heed to the flabbergasted audience or the piercing gazes from the high tower, Lucifer murmured in a low voice,
"Sword of the Thunderbane: Chapter One
Fang of the Thunder Wolf!"
The air around Lucifer trembled, and the stage beneath him cracked as he thrust his sword forward.
From the arc of his blade, a gigantic wolf’s gaping maw materialized, towering as high as a two story building. Pulsating with blue lightning, the wolf roared with a thunderous echo and surged toward Ignis, leaving shattered flooring in its wake.
All the doubts Ignis had about whether what Lucifer had summoned was real vanished instantly as the truth took form in the destructive lightning wolf charging toward him.
As the wolf drew closer, his survival instincts screamed, snapping him out of his daze.
The wolf was too fast. There was no time to dodge or hesitate.
In desperation, Ignis weaved several hand signs at blinding speed, forming two magical circles on either side of him.
A thick beam of scorching blue energy surged from the circles and struck the lightning wolf.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted, turning the entire arena blinding white. Dust and debris flew everywhere, and the stage trembled to its core.
From within the dust, a figure emerged. It was Ignis.
But something was wrong.
His feet were being dragged backward as if he were being pushed.
Then another figure revealed itself. It was the head of the Thunder Wolf, its fangs digging into Ignis’ body.
Ignis held the wolf’s jaws with both hands, using all his strength to pry them apart, yet he failed to muster the power needed to free himself as lightning intent pierced into his body through the fangs embedded in his flesh.
Just as Ignis was forced to the edge of the platform, the Thunder Wolf suddenly vanished, breaking apart into fragments of lightning.
Ignis knew. It was not mere coincidence that the attack disappeared at the final moment. It was as if...
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
He shook his head, refusing to believe it, and narrowed his eyes toward Lucifer.
Once the dust settled, Lucifer stood at the center of the arena, barehanded.
"He has sheathed his sword—"
Before Ignis could analyze the situation, Lucifer suddenly vanished in a blur. The next thing Ignis saw was a fist inches away from his face.
Boom!
The punch landed squarely, shattering the mask he wore into pieces.
The force behind the blow was so immense that shockwaves rippled through the air.
Ignis would have collapsed below the platform had Lucifer not held him by the robe with his other hand.
"C-crazy bastard," Ignis muttered, blood spilling from his mouth with each word. "You are deliberately keeping me from being eliminated."
The fragments of the mask fell to the floor, revealing the grotesque face beneath. A deep diagonal gash ran from his forehead, across his nose and cheeks, all the way to his chin. At irregular intervals, blue lightning pulsed from the wound, preventing it from healing.
Lucifer’s punch had also broken his nose, making his appearance even more hideous.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, Lucifer hurled him toward the center of the arena.
Ignis’ body hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a halt.
The brilliance of the Pure Yang Body had already faded from him. The glow in his hair had dimmed significantly as well.
Yet Lucifer had no intention of stopping.
With slow, cold steps, Lucifer advanced toward Ignis.
