Fire Tyrant bore a malicious expression at the wailing.
He felt satisfied setting her alight, yet he did not hesitate to ready another attack.
'Writhe in the flames, you wretched wench-!'
With that thought, the hazy air condensed around his right hand; he planned to raise his palm but was met with a sudden smack to his face.
Countless red strings were set alight, yet they did not burn as quickly as intended. Heart Tethering Maiden was also still alive.
Touching his reddened cheek, he felt that the sting was insulting and grew enraged.
"Watch what you are doing, woman!"
Roaring, he stepped into the air with a powerful explosion beneath his feet.
Heart Tethering Maiden, despite being wreathed in flames, retained her high vitality.
She waved her hands and sent forth countless strings.
They burned, like the Maiden's skin and hair, yet did not disperse.
Reaching towards the sky, they were met with fiery retaliation; Fire Tyrant hurled fireballs of a myriad of sizes.
'What is she using to resist Fleeting Embers?!'
'It only takes ten seconds to disintegrate a man entirely, much less for a woman! Even a defensive Dao Art would have a difficult time repelling the effects...'
'I can't... I will not let the fight draw out for too long!'
Furrowing his brows, the haze around his body thickened and collected in his palms. Throwing down his hands, a large lump of flame fell towards the ground.
The speed of its descent was terribly fast.
Heart Tethering Maiden subconsciously lifted her chin towards the mass, despite her eyeballs having melted; she used Immersion to see the world around her.
Heat. Dreadful heat. Scalding heat upon her skin.
It was a terrible feeling; it took all of her willpower to stifle her painful grunts.
Heart Tethering Maiden wanted to conjure an endless supply of red strings to smash against this mass of fire, but it would not work.
It was taking most of her Qi, and the constant exercising of her Dao Art to continuously replenish and keep her strings intact.
If she were to sacrifice a bunch of strings to collide with this fire, it would take too long to create more, leaving her battle strength weakened.
Of course, she couldn't survive facing this fire with her frail body. There was only one thing preventing her body from being reduced to ashes:
Dao Art -- Retain Beauty!
It was a simple Daoist art that allowed her body to retain its beauty, blending healing and defensive capabilities.
Her skin, albeit dry, was not wholly charred. Her hair was reduced to a terrible state, like dry grass. Her organs and muscles were the most damaged.
Retain Beauty granted ample healing, but it could not counteract the searing effects of Fleeting Embers.
The organs and muscles were not the intended targets of Retain Beauty's healing effect; it was less effective on them.
Along with the Maiden's organs and muscles, her nervous system was also irreparable.
She should not be able to move, and yet...
Responding to the falling mass of fire, Heart Tethering Maiden was pulled back, the strings on her body allowed her for fast bursts of movement.
Waving her arm, she sent forth more strings to assault the man in the air.
Underneath the dry skin was a bundling mass of strings. They replaced her muscular system, mended and protected her organs, and disregarded the damage to her nervous system.
She was something akin to a puppet, whose strings were within her own body, and the strings were also in her own hands.
In other words, a puppet and a master.
Lighting her face with the radiant red hue of a combusting flame, the explosion annihilated the building it smashed into.
There were no other flames, no smoke, no ashes; the entire building and everything within burned in an instant.
Just like that, there was an empty plot of land in the neighbourhood.
"It's gone...! The whole building is gone!"
"People are fighting on the rooftops, Cultivators are fighting!"
"Run, you fools! Don't get caught up in their battle!"
Among the myriad cries and screams of common people, there were few voices of reason.
Their voices were wholly ignored by the two Cultivators fighting.
Fire Tyrant sneered.
"Do you have no shame. You call yourself 'Heart Tethering', and 'Maiden', yet you bear nothing of those qualities!"
"I care not for your comments, fiend. I just need you dead!"
Crossing her hands together, Heart Tethering Maiden sent forth a small storm of strings, plotting a web on the rooftops.
Piercing and binding to the myriad tiles and debris, the Maiden flung these projectiles towards the man in the air.
While attacking, Heart Tethering Maiden thought to herself.
'Dawn... Why couldn't you just stay with me...?! I would not be in this situation otherwise.'
'I'll slaughter this man and hang his slack body! Then... I will see to Silver Extreme and rid my contract to aid this Settlement, I have helped enough!'
Thinking so, the Maiden decided to activate her strongest weapon.
Strings bulged under her skin like worms, bursting from her fingertips were countless bloody strings.
Red strings. Bloody strings. Crimson strings.
It was a gruesome sight, watching the 'Maiden's' skin undulate and writhe, a sight that caused the Fire Tyrant to feel his stomach sink in disgust.
Spreading far, strings flooded into the sky, as well as outwards, like a huge web or net.
Crazily, the Maiden roared to the sky with a taunt.
"This is a Dao Art I have personally created! Witness its power if you dare, or run away should you be scared!"
Fire Tyrant looked down on the display from a height many times above the Maidens.
Should he describe this sight, the web spread outwards with a terrifying reach, almost covering the entire street and still growing further beyond.
"You want to taunt me... Fine! I'll entertain you, Maiden! I'll burn you and this entire district apart!"
Roaring, the haze in the air rapidly receded into his chest.
A burning orange glow shone through the fabric of his robes, travelling from his chest to his shoulder, through his arm, then into his palm.
Crushing the air, a white hot sphere was conjured in his arm. Fire Tyrant's face seemed to go pale and slightly grey.
Dao Art -- Tyrant's Cruel Hand!
Dao Art -- Heart Struck Violence!
...