Then he landed.
The presence was close now.
"Enough hiding," Rowan said coldly. "I know you’re nearby. Show yourself."
His eyes sharpened.
"If you don’t... I’ll end you instantly. No explanations. No rcy."
The air rippled.
Sothing shifted.
Then it vanished.
Invisible.
Rowan frowned.
A high ranking demon.
He could tell instantly.
The pressure was wrong thick, malicious, tainted.
Suddenly, the air behind him warped.
A figure appeared pure black, its form tall and twisted, claws extending from its hand like curved blades. Its eyes glowed crimson.
"Hey, human," the demon sneered. "Watch how you speak. You threaten before I even introduce myself?"
Its grin widened.
"And what’s a little kid like you doing out here alone?"
The demon licked its lips.
"Don’t worry. I’ll make good use of you... by eating you."
Rowan stared at it blankly.
"Oh really?" he said calmly. "I’m trembling. Truly."
He stepped forward instead.
"But before I end this answer one thing."
His voice dropped.
"Why are you here?"
"Oh? You really want to know?"
The demon chuckled, heat rolling off his body.
"Hm. I am Kosan the Fla King of Ruin."
His burning eyes narrowed.
"I was sent by His Majesty."
Rowan’s gaze hardened.
"So that’s it..." he muttered.
Kosan laughed again, low and mocking.
"Well, now I’ve answered your question. Co to yourself."
His claws flexed.
"Let kill you. If you surrender now, I’ll make it quick so you won’t have to die a painful death."
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"Oh, really?" he replied calmly.
"I’m not sure about that."
He lifted his eyes, utterly unimpressed.
"There’s no way a weakling like you stands a chance against ."
The temperature spiked.
"You bastard!" Kosan roared. "How dare you!"
In a burst of fla, Kosan lunged forward, claws slashing toward Rowan’s throat.
Rowan moved.
The attack missed by a hair.
Rowan slipped inside Kosan’s guard, his body flowing effortlessly. Fire erupted around Kosan’s left arm as he swung again, hurling a compressed blast of flas.
Rowan twisted away.
The fire scread past him
BOOOOM!
It slamd into a massive tree at the edge of the forest near the academy. The trunk detonated, splintering into ash and burning debris.
The explosion echoed through the woods.
Rowan landed lightly, eyes narrowing.
"...That was loud," he muttered.
"If teachers heard that, they could be here any mont."
He looked back at Kosan.
"This is getting annoying."
Rowan raised his hand, and a spear of fire ford in the air.
Kosan’s eyes widened. "What the hell? He’s using fire too? That consus a lot of mana for a human... especially a kid."
Without hesitation, Kosan clenched his hands and unleashed a circular fla blast toward Rowan.
Rowan thrust his fire spear forward. The two attacks collided mid air with a deafening BOOM!, sending sparks and smoke in all directions.
Closing the distance, Rowan raised his fists and punched Kosan directly in the stomach. Kosan was sent flying, slamming into a tree with a loud crack.
Kosan recovered instantly, generating multiple fire blasts, each shaped like arrows, streaking toward Rowan with blazing speed.
Rowan remained calm. Raising his hand, he controlled the trajectory of the fire blasts, redirecting them mid air.
"Impossible..." Kosan hissed.
"I can control it," Rowan replied with steady confidence.
Kosan narrowed his eyes. "How...?"
Rowan ignored the question and hurled his fire spear straight at Kosan. Kosan vanished at the last second. The redirected fire blasts collided with his position, igniting trees and sending flas leaping across the forest as explosions shook the ground.
"Hey, why are you running away? I thought you said you were going to kill . Show how," Rowan shouted.
"What the hell are you? Just tell . How are you capable of that?" Kosan growled.
"You’re just too weak to understand," Rowan replied coldly. "Now, I’ll ask one more ti who sent you?"
Kosan hesitated, eyes narrowing.
Rowan raised his hand, and fifty flaming arrows suddenly erupted from the ground around the small forest near the school. They streaked forward like fiery cots.
"What the hell? Not only is he capable of using fire, he" Kosan muttered, shocked.
Rowan extended his hand, controlling the fire arrows’ trajectory. They slamd into Kosan’s body at incredible speed. Black blood sprayed across the scorched ground as the arrows tore through him. Injury after injury appeared, but slowly, Kosan’s body began to regenerate, each wound closing as if it had never existed.
Rowan observed silently. "As I thought... his regeneration is impressive," he murmured.
Kosan rose, glaring. "You... you managed to amaze . Now I won’t hold back."
Rowan’s eyes glinted. "Oh? And what are you going to do?"
"I’m not going to hold back either," Kosan said, his voice calm but firm. "I didn’t expect to unleash this on a lowly human like you. Flas from hell, co to life."
The ground around him erupted with fire, towering columns of hellish fla shooting upward, twisting and writhing like living serpents, stretching toward Kosan as the forest around them burned in a radiant blaze.
Rowan stood silently, watching the inferno rise. Twenty... no, about twenty distinct pillars of fire swirled around him, writhing like living entities.
His body tensed at the sheer pressure radiating from them. What is this? he thought. It’s not just heat... it’s sothing else entirely...
The flas weren’t ordinary they were intolerable, oppressive, almost sentient in their wrath. Rowan’s eyes widened as realization dawned.
Could this... be the Fla from Hell?
No. That wasn’t entirely accurate. These weren’t re flas. These are souls... humans whose essence has been trapped in hell, their screams begging for rcy, bound into this infernal fire...
Rowan’s voice was barely a whisper, trembling with awe and a tinge of fear. "This... this is not just fire... it’s souls... tortured souls..."
Rowan lifted his gaze and looked directly at Kosan. His eyes were calm, but cold.
"So," Rowan said evenly, "are you finally going to tell your motive?"
Kosan laughed. "I was going to anyway since you’re about to die."
"Then speak," Rowan replied.
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