A massive pillar of fire shot into the sky, its diameter spanning tens of meters. But its height was even more astonishing.
Higher. Higher. Higher.
It soared at a terrifying speed, quickly reaching Kaizen and Wendy's position. Faced with the raging flames, the two had no choice but to use their aura for defense, rapidly draining their energy reserves.
Kaizen was holding up better—his aura reserves were among the highest in his tier. But Wendy wasn't as fortunate. While she could recover energy by absorbing air, maintaining both her own flight and Kaizen's was already exhausting. Allie's relentless assault only worsened her condition, her aura visibly dwindling.
Their figures wavered in midair.
Allie smirked.
"Against overwhelming strength, skill is meaningless," she declared. "Now do you understand?"
"Fall! Let me burn your corpses to ash!"
As their stamina gave out, Kaizen and Wendy began to descend. Allie retracted her soaring flames, watching them plummet.
The sight reminded Kaizen of the world of Soul Reapers—of Yamamoto Genryūsai's Zanpakutō, which could unleash towering infernos. But Allie was nowhere near that level. Their strengths weren't even in the same dimension.
Raiken and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke lunged at Allie. She dodged, but her gaze remained locked on Kaizen and Wendy, waiting for them to crash.
Then—
Mist.
A thick, murky fog rolled in, swallowing the battlefield.
Allie's eyes narrowed.
Kaizen turned to Wendy. Her face was pale, her breathing labored.
"Wendy, you need to retreat. I'll handle the rest. Use this time to recover."
She hesitated before nodding. "Alright, Kaizen. Be careful."
"Don't worry."
Kaizen signaled the Lantern Ghost to manipulate the fog, creating a safe passage for Wendy to escape. Once she was clear, he advanced toward Allie.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The sound of fierce combat rang through the fog. The clashing aura of Allie's and Kaizen's Nen Beasts forced the mist apart, revealing a dimly lit clearing in the center.
Allie spotted Kaizen.
"Just you?" she sneered. "What happened to the other one? Ran away?"
Her grin widened. "For a mere C-Rank Nen user, you've done well to last this long. I take it you're not nobodies back in the Kingdom of Fiora? A prodigy, perhaps?"
She crossed her arms. "Go on. Tell me your names. When you're dead, I'll carve them onto my list. More people will remember you that way."
Kaizen met her gaze with calm indifference.
"You think you've already won?"
Allie raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "Hah! You're delusional. You and that girl together couldn't match me. Now it's just you. What makes you think your odds have improved?"
Kaizen shook his head. "I never said you'd won."
Allie scoffed. "You really don't know when to give up, huh? You acknowledge my superiority—my experience, my aura reserves, my unique ability—and yet, you still resist?"
"Yes," Kaizen admitted, "you have advantages. You're older and more experienced. Your Nen is more refined. Your aura pool is larger. Your ability is impressive."
Allie interrupted him. "Then what's the point of all this talk?"
Kaizen smirked. "Because you also have weaknesses."
Allie's expression darkened.
"Your energy consumption during the last exchange was immense," Kaizen continued. "How much do you have left? You haven't even transformed into flames again. I'd say your reserves are running low."
Allie narrowed her eyes.
"Also, I've seen your ability in action. But you? You know almost nothing about mine."
Allie clicked her tongue. "You're bluffing. Even with a tenth of my aura left, I can still crush you. And as for your abilities—"
He smirked. "You're a C-Rank Nen user. You've already shown more than you should be capable of. What else could you possibly have?"
Then realization dawned on her.
"Oh… I get it." Allie chuckled. "You're stalling. You sent a distress signal as soon as you left the range of Keek City, didn't you? You're just trying to buy time for reinforcements."
She snorted. "Pathetic. Even if someone's coming, they won't get here fast enough. I'll kill you long before then."
Allie's aura surged.
"You want time? Too bad. I'm ending this now. I was hoping to enjoy myself a little longer, but you leave me no choice."
Flames erupted around her once more.
"I am the flame!"
Allie lunged at Kaizen, throwing a fiery punch.
Just as the flames surged toward him—
The Lantern Ghost stepped forward.
"Fire!"
Allie's attack struck the Lantern Ghost head-on, but the Nen Beast remained unscathed. Its passive ability activated, completely nullifying the flames. Not only that—it absorbed them.
Allie's eyes widened in shock.
Kaizen felt his aura replenish.
As the fire dissipated, Allie stared at Kaizen, dumbfounded.
"Why… why aren't you hurt?"
Then his gaze shifted to the Lantern Ghost.
"Is it because of that Nen Beast?"
Her mind raced. "If you had this ability, why didn't you use it earlier? There must be conditions… limitations… or was it just to catch me off guard?"
Allie frowned and suddenly vanished from sight.
In the blink of an eye, she reappeared behind Kaizen.
"No matter how powerful your Nen Beast is, if I hit your real body, it's over."
Kaizen turned to face her.
But this time, the Lantern Ghost didn't step in.
Allie hesitated.
Something felt… off.
Kaizen's expression wasn't one of panic.
It was one of amusement.
"Four conditions," he murmured. "And you just fulfilled the last one."
Allie's blood ran cold.
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