Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

And yet—

In that moment, his crimson eyes blazed—ominous, deep, almost glowing.

They pulsed like twin stars, and to Nero, the world seemed to slow down.

Time bent.

The whistling of arrows became muted hums.

His vision expanded unnaturally, almost 360 degrees, as if he had stepped into a moment outside of time.

His instincts——screamed.

There!

Amid the deadly barrage, a single, narrow corridor of safety, invisible to normal eyes. A sliver of space that could be his salvation.

He didn't hesitate.

Just one step.

He moved—not randomly, but decisively, flawlessly, guided by pure survival instinct.

To reinforce that sliver of hope, he called forth his flame.

Whoosh!

Crimson fire exploded from his back, taking the shape of flame-forged wings, elegant yet wild. They didn't spread outward—but folded inward, wrapping tightly around him like a protective cocoon.

Ta! Ta! Ta!

The arrows hit—like the pounding of war drums.

One after another, they slammed into the fiery cocoon with relentless force. Each impact sounded like a thunderclap, as if a railgun had been unleashed at close range.

Then—

KABOOM!

A devastating explosion followed. The ground beneath Nero vanished, vaporized by the overwhelming pressure and violent convergence of elemental forces. The earth groaned and split apart, erupting in smoke and dirt.

When the dust finally began to clear—

A crater, wide and deep, spanned thirty meters in diameter. Everything within that radius—trees, rocks, even the ground itself—had been obliterated. Charred debris and broken terrain marked the aftermath of the deadly spell.

And at the heart of it all, amid the destruction, Nero stood—

surrounded by ash, smoke, and molten ground—his flame wings slowly unraveling, embers crackling around his body like a cloak of wrathful fire.

He had survived.

And now, it was his turn.

However, how could his enemy give him even a second to catch his breath?

The demonized mage, now taking Nero as a genuine threat, had no intention of showing mercy or allowing him a window to retaliate. He had anticipated Nero surviving that last spell. It was precisely because he now saw Nero as dangerous that he'd already prepared his next move—merciless, precise, and immediate.

Though he was a mage, his transformed body was filled with monstrous strength, far beyond normal human limits. Empowered by the unholy energy of his demonized form, he gripped his now-corrupted wand in the form of Trident, dark and slick with elemental malice, and hurled it forward.

"Shhhhk—!!"

The weapon tore through the air, shrieking like a banshee. It didn't fly—it ripped through space, propelled with such violent speed that it closed the distance in a blink.

"—!"

Nero's eyes snapped wide open.

His pupils constricted. A chill worse than death shot down his spine.

He felt it—not just the weapon, but the intent behind it. Lethal. Inevitable.

This was no longer a test of power. This was an attempt to kill him.

He couldn't dodge. Not in time.

So he chose to meet it head-on—not out of recklessness, but out of resolve. Maybe, just maybe, he could turn this desperate moment into a chance.

"HAAAAH—!"

He roared. Flame howled around his sword, surging to life in a burst of crimson fury, his last defense forged in desperation and instinct. He swung the blade up, intercepting the incoming trident with every ounce of power in his body.

Ka-KANG!!!

The impact was monstrous.

It was like clashing against a mountain. The shockwave blew dirt and fire in all directions, uprooting grass and shaking nearby trees.

The force behind the strike shot up through his arms, and a sickening crack echoed in his bones. His hands tore open, skin splitting, blood gushing across the hilt. He gritted his teeth, but his grimace betrayed the pain.

For a moment—just a breath—they were in stalemate.

Nero's feet dug into the scorched ground, boots skidding back, muscles straining, the very earth beneath him cracking under the pressure. He held on, flames flaring, refusing to yield—

SNAP—!!

His sword… broke.

A clean fracture right above the guard.

The blade shattered like glass under divine pressure.

"GHAA—!!"

The trident pierced through, and with a wet crunch, it sank into his left thigh, driving through flesh and muscle like a knife through paper.

Nero's body lurched backward, skidding, stumbling. He fell to one knee, hands trembling, blood already soaking through his torn pants and running down his leg in thick, dark streaks.

"Guh—!"

He let out a pained gasp, trying—failing—to completely stifle the scream. His entire thigh burned like it was on fire, but he didn't let go of his broken weapon.

His chest heaved. His breath came ragged.

But his eyes…

They still burned.

This wasn't over.

"He'll surely use this opportunity to finish me off!"

The thought flared in Nero's mind, sharp and precise, even through the storm of pain crashing against his senses. Blood poured from the wound in his thigh, his sword was shattered, and his shoulder screamed with agony—but his mind remained clear, razor-focused.

If he was going to die… he'd make damn sure to take a piece of his enemy with him.

As he predicted, the mist around him twisted unnaturally, thickening in tendrils. A sliver of fog slithered silently behind his back, coiling like a predator ready to pounce. Nero's enhanced senses flared, but his injured body moved sluggishly.

And then—

"DIE!"

The demonized human emerged like a ghost, his body rising from the mist with an expression twisted by hatred and malice. In his hands, he held a short spear of condensed water, its tip vibrating with lethal energy. As he lunged forward, a suffocating pressure crushed down around Nero like an invisible hand—paralyzing, locking him in place.

Nero's muscles screamed to move, but it felt like his limbs were trapped in stone. Gritting his teeth, he forced his body to twist, just slightly—enough to avoid the fatal strike.

Shhkk!

The spear still sank into his right shoulder, piercing through flesh and severing tendon.

"!"

White-hot pain exploded in his body as his sword arm went limp, dangling uselessly at his side.

"Guh—!"

But the demonized mage's frown deepened—he had aimed for the heart, and he'd missed.

He reared back to strike again, but—

FWOOSH—!!

Flame erupted from the top of Nero's head, roaring to life in the shape of a volatile halo. With a sudden surge of defiance, Nero snapped his head backward, the motion brutal and raw, his skull colliding directly with the enemy's face.

BANG! CRUNCH!

There was a sickening crack as the mage's nose shattered, his face erupting in fire.

The flame around Nero's head detonated on contact, sending burning heat and searing pain into his opponent's face.

"GAAAH—!"

The mage screamed, staggering backward with smoke trailing from his broken, bloodied face.

But Nero wasn't done.

Using the split-second of chaos, he planted strength into his good leg, twisting his injured frame and launching a vicious spinning kick, flames flickering along the edge of his heel.

The demonized mage, still reeling, barely managed to react. He met Nero's flaming kick with a desperate block, but the impact was undeniable.

BOOM—!

Both of them were blasted apart.

Nero was thrown like a ragdoll, his broken body crashing to the ground and rolling across the charred earth, each impact sending waves of pain through his already shattered frame.

He finally came to a stop, gasping, bleeding, and bruised—his vision spinning, his body trembling.

But…

He was still alive.

And that meant the fight wasn't over.