Dust and smoke billowed across the clearing. Silence settled over the area for a brief, heavy span.
...
However... the sound of footsteps soon resounded through the obscured surroundings.
Bell emerged from the haze, his upper body bare. His torso was a map of devastation; countless third degree burns etched into his flesh, leaking blood and exposing melted muscle.
Worse still was his left arm. There was nothing left of it below the elbow...it had been completely vaporized by the earlier attack.
Blood cascaded from the ragged stump, dripping onto the earth. The red fluid sizzled as it made contact, dissolving the countless obscure symbols marked into the ground...the very seal binding Antares.
ROOOOOOOAR!
But, the most serious wound was located where his heart used to be.
It had been pierced cleanly through. A fist sized hole had opened in his chest, his perforated heart and spine visible to the naked eye through the gap.
Yet, [Super Regeneration] worked in full force to heal his fatal injuries. His burns crusted over in seconds, revealing new, tender skin underneath.
The cavity in his chest stitching itself back together at unreal pace.
Pain...
Agony enough to make any sane human go mad hammered into his mind.
Clunk
The wheel above him turned.
Endorphin production swelled. Dopamine sensitivity magnified. Pain resistance skyrocketed.
Bell looked at Antares ahead of him. His expression terrifyingly calm.
"Did you think that vaporising my arm would be enough to stop me from moving it?"
Even as he spoke, bones jutted from the bloody stump, lengthening rapidly. Newly formed muscles wove over them instantly, a film of fresh skin enclosing the structure in moments..
He flexed his newly formed left hand, twirling it with casual ease.
Clunk
His muscle fibers elongated. His center of gravity locked into place. His dynamic vision expanded.
[Ittou Shura] clamored to life once again. His strength flooded up. His speed climbed.
Bell raised a single leg high above his head, holding the pose for a heartbeat. He then brought it down a moment later in a devastating stomp, driving into the earth like a jackhammer.
BOOOOM!
He shot forward like a released hurricane.
[Grega] blasted to life. Flames ignited across his hands, coalescing into the vague, lunging shapes of dragons.
By the time Antares focused on the blur, Bell's fist was already buried in its torso.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist." His voice resonated as the impact forced Antares back.
Bell didn't stop. He kicked the ground, launching himself upward from below. Both of his arms swung down, slamming onto Antares's jaw simultaneously.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack." The lunging dragons of fire flattened and expanded, transforming into twin flaming wings a split second before colliding with the scorpion's jaw.
Antares stumbled, dazed by the flurry of blows. Bell scaled its massive body in an instant, reaching its rattled head. He pulled his flaming hands together.
"Fire Dragon's... Brilliant Flame."
A compressed sphere of inferno materialized between his palms. He thrust the sphere toward Antares, and the beast reacted instantly, its six claws snapping up to intercept the attack.
Both forces collided.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The world was illuminated for a blinding moment.
Following the light came the sound of progress.
Clunk
His lungs became filters for heat. His blood thickened into a viscous coolant. His senses expanded, branching out to read heat turbulence in the air.
The explosion repelled him, pushing him away from the center of the inferno. Yet, [Super Regeneration] operated in the background, restoring damage from the recoil without delay.
The flames surrounding one of his hands converged, extending into a long, fiery rope. He lashed it forward, wrapping it tightly around Antares' neck.
Bell used the rope as leverage, hauling himself back towards the scorpion while mid-air.
He initiated a backflip, flames roaring to life over his leg as he slashed down, delivering a crushing kick to Antares' scalp once more.
"Fire Dragon's Claw."
BOOOM!
Bell did not stop.
The flames over his hands condensed into searing points of heat. He punched with abandon, his arms raining down upon Antares in a relentless cascade of flaming fists.
"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist."
The whole area quaked with his movements. The temperature soared, transforming the surroundings into a blinding furnace.
Crimson symbols lit up across the pummeled scorpion's body in response, its form swelling as it gathered power. The seals carved across the ground began to tear apart.
ROOOOOOAR!
[Instinct] bellowed. Bell only had time to cross his arms before six claws struck him at tremendous speed.
BOOOOM!
He was flung away, his body tearing through the air. The claws of Antares pursued him, intent on repaying the earlier humiliation.
Bell flipped himself mid air, but... the claws were already surrounding him.
Ahead. Behind. Above. Below. Left. Right.
Golden strings whirled across his vision.
Time slowed down. His legs faced the sky, his head angled toward the ground.
Flames boomed like jet propulsors from his legs, launching him into a dive straight toward the claw heading towards him from below.
His palm slapped against the chitinous blade. Using it as a pivot point, he twisted his body, slipping out of its trajectory by a mere millimeter.
Bell plummeted further down, crashing face first into the earth.
BOOOM!
He dragged his bloodied face across the dirt, scraping the ground as he quickly rolled away. Three claws collided with the earth where he had been sprawled a heartbeat prior.
BOOM!
The red symbols over Antares's body continued to illuminate as it tore at its seal. The power rolling off it reaching into the territory of a Level 5 monster.
Antares did not grant Bell breathing room. Its scorpion tail lashed out, shattering the sound barrier to reach the domain of hypersonic speeds.
As the tail streaked toward him, Bell felt his mind drift. A question resounding gently in his mind.
Why?
Why does the wheel adapt?
The wheel above him brightened.
His mind cleared. His thoughts became honest. His worries faded away.
The tail had reached him, yet he moved without thought, his body dodging automatically.
Yes... Why adapt?
...
...
... I see.
He moved through another assault.
I fear fire. So, the wheel adapts.
He sidestepped an attack erupting from below the ground.
I fear pain. So, the wheel adapts.
He evaded another strike heading from the left.
I fear death... So, the wheel adapts.
He weaved through the continuous bombardment of claws.
I am afraid... Hence, the wheel adapts.
But what if I'm not afraid?
He asked, and the wheel above him radiated an intense brilliance in response.
A profound calm settled over him, his fear melting away like snow under the midday sun. A slow, confident smile spread across his face.
If I'm not afraid...
Then the wheel would adapt to nothing.
Because...
From the very beginning...
There was never anything to adapt to.
The realization triggered the most violent spin the wheel had ever undergone.
CLUNK
Bell looked at the raging Antares ahead of him. A shit eating grin slowly spreading across his face, as he extended both arms forward at a slight upward angle, fists clenched tight.
"With this treasure, I summon..."
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
Nahhhhhh....
Naaaaahhhhh....
Naaaahhhhhhhhhh....
...
Bell is finally using [Grega] to its full potential by imitating [Fire Dragon Slayer] Magic from *Fairy Tail*.