Dray screamed as Elias easily bribe his waist and he stumbled from Elias' hit.
But even though Dray was in a lot of pain, he could only grin because his plan had worked! His other hand shot out and he immediately activated his other type of fire
[Sea of Black Flames] has been activated!
This was Dray's plan from the beginning! He was ready to sacrifice his wrist if it means that he could hurt Elias in any way! Dray has experienced far worse pain than this before so it doesn't matter! Immediately after he activated the skill, a sea of fire shot out of Dray's arm and consumed Elias in the black fire! The heat was strong enough to melt that ground under their feet and the air started boiling! Dray's grin widened as he saw Elias getting engulfed!
A hand shot out from the fire and grabbed Dray by the head! Dray's eyes widened and he held onto the hand in shock as he was raised off the ground! What the hell!? The fire isn't even affecting him!?
Elias was standing right in the middle of the flames and even though the fire was surrounding him, it wasn't touching him at all. Dray could see a layer of air surrounding Elias and he became even more shocked! Elias was able to form an air shield around his entire body and he blocked out my fire!? Just how strong is this bastard!?
"I think we need to have you checked. Not only did you ignore my advice about the [Flame Jet], but you also ignored my advice about your black flames. Did I not already tell you how inefficient it is? Right now, you don't even have enough mana to bring up the yellow flame because you wasted all of it on your black flame. That stupid excuse for flame magic is only going to hold you back,"
Eljas threw Dray away and Dray grunted as his back slammed into the ground and he slid backward. He hit the wall on the other side of the room and he groaned while touching the back of his head. He brought his hand back to look at it and he saw blood there. Dray released a sigh as he forced himself to his feet.
Elias was right, Dray didn't even have enough Manan left to cast a small flame spell. That [Sea of Black Flames] took everything that Dray had and Dray was empty. But even though it didn't work, Dray was still happy. The first time that Dray used the black flames, he fainted because of Mana exhaustion. At least he didn't faint this time. That means he has grown!
"Wipe that stupid look off your face. Is this the level of achievement you are happy about? Do you think that you achieved something because you didn't faint? Maybe I should come there and knock you into unconsiousness,"
Dray's smile immediately died and he stood at attention. His right hand was throbbing because of the injury he had there, but a healer from the church could easily help him heal it so he wasn't worried about the broken wrist. Right now, Elias was pissed and Dray swallowed nervously as Elias looked down at him.
"When you came to me and told me you wanted to end all demons, I thought you would be better than this, but you are disappointing me over and over again. Do you think your little firework show will be enough to defeat even one of the demon lord's households? Do you think that you can kill all the demons with luck?"
"No, I don't,"
"Then why the fuck did you perform so foolishly!?"
"I just... Wanted to win. I wanted to beat you and I thought that I needed to do this much to win,"
"There is no point in winning if you're too injured to survive afterward. What if I was a real enemy and I had a partner? How would you have won against my partner with a broken wrist and a concussion,"
Dray was silent because he didn't have any response to that. He understands what Elias was saying. It would be bad if this was a real fight since there won't be any way for me to survive against a second enemy after barely beating one. But what can I do against an opponent like you? I can't win without being willing to sacrifice something.
Dray said that last part out loud and Elias scowled in anger as he answered.
"When you know you can't win, there is no shame in running. In the real world, the only way to lose a fight is by dying. If you are alive you can always come back to win again. There is no shame in running away, boy. Run and plan your revenge. Come back stronger and destroy your opponent with overwhelming ingenuity. That is the only way to win against an opponent stronger than you,"
Dray swallowed the response he wanted to give. From the way Elias was speaking, Dray knew that Elias was talking from experience. Did something like this happen to Elias before?
Elias turned away from Dray and snapped his finger. He wasn't going to speak about this anymore and Dray knew better than to ask any questions. This was how Elias taught Dray. He would give him bits of knowledge and if Dray could learn from it, then Dray would grow stronger. Elias is not the sort of teacher who holds his pupil's hands and guides them everywhere. He is the sort of person that breaks his pupil's hands.
When Elias snapped his finger, the door to the room opened and Dray saw two people walk into the room. One was the man that Dray saw standing in front of the room before. The big man that wore a priest robe. But the other woman was a stranger. She had a scared look on her face and her hands were tied behind her back. The man threw the woman to the ground at Elias' feet before he turned and left. Once the man was gone, Dray looked at Elias questioningly. What's going on here?
Elias only brought out a knife from his back and threw it at Dray's feet. Drays brows squeezed in confusion.
"Hilda Rily. Twenty-five years old and a mother of three children. She's under trial for suspicions of being a succubus who infiltrated the human town. She was found trying to escape back to Aradite and she was apprehended by the church. Kill her,"
Dray looked from Ellias toward the woman sitting on the ground. She was a young blonde woman and she was looking at him with obvious fear in her eyes. Dray noticed she was trying to drag herself back to get away from him. Dray spoke.
"Under suspicion... They aren't sure?"
Elias looked irritated by that statement. Like he expected to hear it but he still hated the fact that he heard it.
"Does it matter?"
"Well... What if -?"
Slam!
Elias suddenly kicked the woman across the face and she screamed as her head slammed into the ground. Elias grabbed her head and brought it up and made her face Dray. Dray could see the tears running down her face and blood was leaking from the side of her head. Elias spoke with a sneer.
"You're trying to tell me... That this is the limit of your conviction? You won't kill her because she 'might' be a human!? Are you fucking stupid? Do you think you will last long with that humanitarian outlook? Maybe you're the one who should've died instead of that Willow girl. Maybe she would have the balls to avenge you instead!"
Elias spoke in a condescending tone that made Dray's body shake in anger. W-What is this? Why should I just kill her without being sure? What's wrong with trying to make sure!?
The woman spoke up in a teary voice.
"Please. Please, I'm not a demon. I'm not a demon! They're lying! I'm a cook! I'm only a cook!"
She was looking right at Dray and Dray could feel himself becoming even more confused. Would a demon look like this? Would a demon cry and beg? Does she even have children? That means she has a family! She has to be a human!
"Elias, let her go! She says she isn't a demon! What will you do if she is really human and we're just killing her because of some suspicion? That is wrong!"
Slam!
Elias slammed the woman's face into the ground and he brought her head up again to make her look at Dray. This time, there was a large bruise on her forehead and Dray could see blood running down her face. Dray grimaced.
"That weakness of yours; we're going to break it whether you like it or not. Now tell me which one you prefer. Should I keep slamming her head into the ground until she dies from bludgeoning or you take that knife and give her a quick death? Choose,"
"Please... Please, don't kill me. My children... They need me,"
The woman's voice was now slurry and she was disoriented from the amount of blood she already lost. Dray's hands were shaking and he didn't know what to do. He looked down at the knife on the ground and he let his mind wander. How can I kill someone that might be a human? What if I'm wrong?
But what if I'm right?
Dray's breath hitched once he thought that and he grit his teeth! Is that what Elias is trying to teach me? I could be right! This woman could be a demon and I'm just killing another evil scum! It's not like the demons care about us when they kill us. If I'm going to kill all the demons, I can't second guess myself. I need to be thorough and I need to get rid of anything that might be a demon.
Dray bent down and confidently picked up the knife and the woman cried even harder as Dray took a step forward.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel