701 -691- Repay it in hell

"Boom!"

An explosive sound echoed in the airspace above the territory turned into a sea of flames, causing the heatwaves to ripple.

The large golden sword, resembling a shooting star, was once again blasted away by the fiery waves, just as it had happened countless times before. It spun in mid-air and moved farther away from Rozen until it finally came to a stop at an extreme distance.

This was not the first time such an occurrence had taken place. Every time the sword-shaped automaton, Lucifer, descended from the sky, attempting to pierce Rozen, the surrounding flames would surge like fierce beasts, bringing terrifying high temperatures and colliding with the hot wind released by Lucifer. This collision created violent explosions that sent it flying.

Under these circumstances, Lucifer was not only unable to get close to Rozen but also suffered damage with each collision. Its once bright and dazzling body was now filled with scorch marks, and some of its components were falling off, leaving it with visible damage, far from its previous radiant appearance.

Moreover, the magic power acting on Lucifer was diminishing, and the hot wind it produced was growing weaker. The golden sword was nearly losing its propulsive force and buoyancy, making it look unstable.

In this way, Lucifer had managed to persist up to this point, which could only be described as a miracle.

Or maybe it wasn't accurate to call it a miracle. To anyone with a keen eye, it was evident that with each collision, the golden sword's strength decreased while the power of the crimson flames also diminished. It was clear that this was the result of careful manipulation.

Even on the side of Bronson's resistance, everything had been meticulously adjusted.

Bronson, gasping heavily and with an extremely pale complexion, was now swaying and appearing extremely weak.

Upon closer examination, the magic released from Bronson had become almost imperceptible, and even the "Magic Defence" shield in front of him was riddled with holes and cracks, resembling shattered glass, yet it continued to withstand the assaulting flames.

With such weak magic and fragile defenses, in the face of the Crimson Flames of the Fudou Myouou, they should have been consumed and turned to ashes in a matter of seconds. However, Bronson somehow persisted.

It wasn't due to the strength of Bronson's determination but because the power of the incoming flames, adjusted based on his diminishing magic, had also decreased.

Seeing the weakening power of the flames, Bronson felt a glimmer of hope in his despair. He believed that Rozen's magic had been depleted, given the summoning of the fearsome dragon and unleashing such terrifying flames.

With newfound hope, Bronson thought, "As long as I can hold out longer than he can, that will be my victory."

He clenched his teeth and desperately squeezed out his remaining magic. As a result, the opponent's flames became weaker and weaker, reinforcing Bronson's belief that he could outlast Rozen.

This became a battle of endurance, and Bronson was determined to win.

"Magic power is something that accumulates over time, and the more one practices, the greater it becomes. Even if he's a genius, he's still just a student, and I can't possibly lose to him in terms of magical strength."

Bronson made this judgment based on the world's theory and that's how he managed to persist.

However, as time passed, Bronson began to notice something was amiss. Rozen didn't exhibit any signs of weakness. His magical power didn't diminish at all. He continued to look at Bronson impassively, reciting unknown incantations that caused waves of flames to rise from his surroundings, joining the sea of fire.

Despite the constant burning, in theory, the flames' power should have been increasing, not decreasing. But Bronson realized that each time the flames attacked him, they were conveniently just strong enough to be defended against, allowing Bronson to maintain his maximum magical consumption.

Seeing this, Bronson eventually understood. "Is he doing this intentionally?"

Indeed, Rozen was being deliberate.

He was intentionally not burning him to ashes in one go.

Rozen intended to make him feel despair, then give him hope, only to lead him into despair again. He used the Crimson Flames of the Fudou Myouou to gradually push him into a corner.

This was what Rozen had said, right?

"I want to torture you."

Now, Rozen was putting that into practice.

This made Bronson's heart go from icy cold to burning with rage. "How dare you...!?"

Furious, Bronson manipulated

his puppet, Lucifer, several times, relentlessly attacking Rozen. But, in the end, he was just thrown back by the fiery waves surrounding Rozen. He couldn't get close to him.

And so, Rozen continued to slowly burn him, keeping Bronson on the brink of death, causing him to almost go insane.

"Ahhhhhh...!"

Bronson let out a ferocious roar, as if squandering his own life, squeezing out the deep-seated magic within him, all to escape the current dire situation and break free from the impending despair.

Unfortunately, it was just a desperate struggle.

"Bang!"

In the sky, the battered Lucifen was once again thrown back by the fiery waves, finally rendering it unable to continue the battle. It fell into the sea of flames, consumed by the inferno.

"Boom!"

At the same time, Bronson's magical power was depleted, causing the "Magic Defence" shield in front of him to shatter and disappear.

Pale-faced and powerless, Bronson met the scorching flames.

Just when Bronson thought he couldn't possibly escape this time, the oncoming flames didn't directly engulf him. Instead, they first climbed up his legs.

"Ahhhh...!"

A second cry sounded from Bronson.

This time, it wasn't a roar, but a wail.

Bronson attempted to get rid of the burning flames on his legs, but due to the exhaustion of his magic, he couldn't even summon the strength, so he just fell to the ground in pain.

The flames slithered over his body like a snake, slowly and gradually, burning Bronson's body.

"Ahhhh...!"

Bronson's cries of agony echoed through the entire sea of fire, filled with a sense of desolation.

In no time, Bronson's legs were completely burned.

At this point, the flames moved up to his hands.

And a little later, the flames finally reached his body.

Bronson endured the relentless burning, screaming in agony, pain, and misery, without even being allowed to lose consciousness.

When the flames finally extinguished, Bronson was no longer in human form, barely holding on to life.

"..."

The chanting that had been echoing around stopped.

The flames that had been pervading the surroundings finally subsided.

A heap of flesh that appeared to be Bronson twitched helplessly on the ground. He hadn't died yet.

A pair of feet appeared in Bronson's fading, blurry vision.

"The rest of your debt, repay it in hell."

These words became the last thing Bronson heard in his life.

And then...

"Bang!"

The feet in front of him suddenly kicked, sending him flying into the flames nearby, where he disappeared into the inferno.

Thus, the puppeteer who had once been closest to the Wiseman met his end.

He had repaid all his sins in the cruelest manner.