Nathaniel roared, "Blaze!"

He could not keep up with Miasma. She slipped away again and again, using her blue birds to dodge every strike.

The chase grew bothersome, but Nathaniel refused to let her escape. He cast his spell right away. As the words left his mouth, heat surged from deep inside his body.

The fire path runes on his skin glowed bright orange. The temperature around him climbed higher and hotter.

His skin turned deep red, and white steam rose from it in thick waves. Strangely, his tight black clothes stayed untouched by the flames and clung to his body like a second skin.

"Enough running!" Nathaniel said, his face cold and sharp. The steam pouring off him grew thicker with every second. "It’s time you pay!"

Before his voice could finish echoing, Nathaniel vanished. It was far faster than a blink.

In the space between one heartbeat and the next, he stood right in front of Miasma.

The path he had taken burned black behind him.

The air cracked and creaked like someone had sliced straight through a thick carpet with a hot knife.

Miasma did not even feel him coming. The kick landed square on her stomach. For a brief moment everything seemed to slow.

Her face still looked the same, empty of surprise. Then pain hit. Her expression twisted slowly.

All the air rushed out of her lungs in a harsh gasp. When the full force of the blow finally registered, time snapped back to normal.

Boom!

She smashed into the wall with crushing force. Stone and space shattered around her. She broke straight through the eleventh floor and crashed down to the tenth.

The two floors were joined by a thin layer of folded space, but Nathaniel’s kick tore right through it.

Dust and broken pieces flew everywhere as Miasma tumbled across the lower floor, her body leaving a long, jagged trail of destruction.

Miasma groaned on the ground. "What... kind of fucking monster is he?!"

She coughed hard, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood. The blood came out steaming hot, rising in thin white curls from her lips.

The spot where Nathaniel had kicked her was scorched black, the skin burned deep and raw. Such strength. She could not believe her eyes.

In her long life she had seen many powerful beings. Her own father was someone no one could make sense of, so comparing others to him felt pointless. But this man...

A thought formed in her chaotic mind. ’Even if I was at my peak condition, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.’ Fear crept in, mixing with awe.

Nathaniel landed in front of her. Heat still rolled off his body in waves. His black hair slowly shifted at the tips, turning a bright, fiery red.

He gripped his blood-red sword tightly. His knuckles grew even redder as he poured more heat into his hand.

He pointed the sword straight at Miasma. Her face was pale, fresh blood still covering her mouth and chin.

"Whatever you are thinking is of no use," Nathaniel said. His voice was barely above a whisper, yet every word carried the cold weight of his killing intent. "You have done something you should never have done."

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Miasma’s violent coughing cut him off. "I admit... you are stron..." she forced out. Her voice was heavy with exhaustion.

The strain showed clearly on her face and in the way she struggled to speak. "Very much so..."

Her eyes slowly lifted, meeting Nathaniel’s cold blue gaze. "It’s evident that I will die if I fight you... and if I don’t, you will kill me anyway. Either way... it’s certain that I will die."

Cough! Cough! Cough!

More black, dead blood spilled from her lips. A sharp pain stabbed into her core. She licked the corner of her mouth, and a slow, defiant grin spread across her face.

"However," she said, lifting her head.

The moment she moved, Nathaniel’s red sword flashed forward in a deadly arc toward her neck. It moved so fast it looked like a thin red string cutting through the air.

But it was too late.

"Flow of time!"

Miasma spoke the words so fast they blurred beyond recognition. They did not sound like real speech at all, just a strange, stretched noise like "fleolrlfltme."

The moment she finished, Nathaniel’s red sword stopped dead, its sharp edge hovering just a hair’s width from her neck.

Everything inside the five-meter space around her froze solid. The air itself grew thick and still. Even the white steam rising from Nathaniel’s burning body hung motionless in the air like pale statues.

"Hehehe..."

Miasma wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. A wild, ecstatic expression lit up her face. "It would have put serious pressure on me... Still, not bad."

She tilted her head and hummed softly, her eyes locking onto Nathaniel’s frozen face. "So what should I do with you? Hmm?"

A playful grin spread across her lips as she stepped closer. "Now that I look at you... you are completely my type!"

But then her expression changed in an instant, twisting with rage. "But your son... that fucker really messed up my plans!!!"

"Fuck that basterd!!" she cursed.

She bit down hard on her lower lip. ’If only this spell had longer range,’ she thought bitterly.

’I could have stopped time and grabbed him!’

Anger and regret still burned inside her chest, but she let out a slow sigh. What’s the use of regretting now? There was nothing she could do.

She turned her gaze back to Nathaniel. ’This guy would kill me the second I try anything.’

Even with time frozen, she could not attack him. The spell had strict rules, if she tried to kill him now, it would break instantly and he would cut her down.

’It’s better if I just get the fuck out of here.’

She made her decision.

Miasma knew it was better to get out of here. There was no reason to stay, not after everything had fallen apart. Her 1,200-year-long plan had failed completely.

The bitterness sat heavy in her chest. It was an understatement to say she felt no anger or desire to kill these people to soothe that rage.

But she could not do it. Not with this monster standing right in front of her.

She groaned again, even staring at his face shot fresh pain through her stomach.

’That’s why I will make sure you pay,’ she thought. A wicked idea formed in her mind.

She slowly bit the tip of her tongue. Blood welled up, warm and metallic. She rubbed it across her lips like dark lipstick, painting them a fresh, glossy red.

"Hehehehe..."

A creepy laugh slipped from her throat. Earlier she had noticed the woman who came with him.

That yandere type. She had recognized her right away and knew without doubt that she was his wife.

"You fucking monster," she spat, her voice thick with venom. "You kicked the shit out of me and I nearly died!"

She stepped closer. Her cheeks flushed with heat. The rush of excitement made her heart pound harder against her ribs.

"It’s only fair that you pay."

She grinned softly and reached out, holding his frozen jaw.

The intense heat from his skin burned her fingers, but she did not pull away. Revenge came first. She would do anything for it, even kiss a stranger.

’But... why the fuck am I getting flushed?!’ she complained inside, yet she did not stop.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek deeply, pressing her blood-red lips hard against his skin. The mark she left stayed dark and clear, untouched by his heat.

Then she moved to his neck, and finally his forehead. A few quick kisses followed before she finally pulled back.

Her cheeks burned bright red. Even her pointed ears had turned the same shade.

"Damn... He looks really hot," she said with real regret.

She slowly snapped her fingers. A scroll appeared in her hand.

"But it’s a pity... I don’t have time for romance." She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Miasma channeled some of her compressed mana into the scroll. It lifted from her hand and floated into the air, shining with a deep, eerie black light that pulsed like living darkness.

Creak!

A low, groaning sound filled the frozen space as a jagged door-like rift tore open in the air. The edges of the portal shimmered and crackled with unstable energy.

She quickly tied up her loosened strands of hair, pushing them back from her face. Then she stepped toward the opening.

"My plans have been ruined..." she said, her voice low and sharp. "But it’s not the end!"

The wicked expression returned to her face, twisting her lips into a cruel smile.

"Just you wait! I will kill...."

She turned toward Nathaniel to finish her threat, but the moment her eyes landed on his handsome, frozen features, a fresh blush rushed across her cheeks.

"Ahem!"

She coughed awkwardly and tried to push the flustered look off her face. "I will kill your so... n..."

Her face burned even redder, the heat spreading all the way to her pointed ears.

"Okay, goodbye!!"

She ducked through the portal in a hurry. The space door snapped shut behind her with a final, sharp creak, vanishing completely and leaving only empty air where it had been.