CHAPTER 63: A VERY ORIGINAL TECHNIQUE

The air above Inferna Hollow split apart with a chorus of explosions.

BOOOM!

"So where the hell is that upgrade?!"

Vulkris’s eyes widened. His instincts screamed. The flare of power wasn’t just overwhelming—it was unnatural.

CRACK!

Auren darted to avoid the strike—but one flaming paw caught his side.

"You’re slipping, golden brat," Vulkris mocked, talons glowing as he lunged forward. "You’ve got no kill shot! All sparks but no power!"

"If that’s true... Then maybe he’s forcing me to complete the prophecy on my own," Auren muttered bitterly, frustration bubbling in his chest. "If that’s the case, then screw him. He can fight this beast himself!"

Energy surged between his hands like lightning trapped in a bottle.

Slow and deliberately, Auren raised his hands, cupping them together as if cradling something unseen.

"What?" Auren blinked, ducking a stream of molten breath. "Who are you talking about?"

"Aren’t you just repeating my question, stupid master?"

Then an idea sparked.

A slow, radiant swirl of yellow light began to form between his palms, crackling and twisting like a newborn star.

And at the rate things were going, he’d end up less like a hero and more like a well-charred piece of charcoal.

"Save your dumb jokes for after we survive!"

"Yes. In short—you’re practically unlimited in resources, although within a very limited time."

"Master, we only have a minute left!" Bigbird warned, his voice laced with urgency. "Your transformation is unstable—we’re burning through our remaining time at an alarming rate!"

"MEEEEEE..."

"I almost forgot... this is a fantasy world."

BABABABAM!~

The air itself trembled.

"Master?" Bigbird asked, his voice laced with nervous energy. "What do you mean?"

A golden glow engulfed Auren’s entire body. His wings flared wide. The lava below began to rise, drawn to the overwhelming mana in the air.

"Then let’s go out with a bang, shall we?"

)

"HAAAAAA..."

"Thanks for your service, Bigbird. Want a cracker?"

Bigbird’s voice spiked with panic. "What are you doing?! We’ve got thirty seconds left, and you’re pulling a stunt?!"

"Remember earlier when you said you vanished for a bit because of an ’upgrade’?"

"You mean that pint-sized weirdo who vanished after showing off for five seconds?" Auren frowned, flipping backward and slashing through a burst of fireballs. "Wait... Are you saying Bonbon is a Primordial Beast?"

Auren clenched his fists. No matter how hard he hit, nothing stuck. No ultimate move, no grand finisher. Just brawling and brawling... and slowly losing time.

KABOOOM!

Each golden beam he fired, each fist that struck, each roundhouse kick that met the Vulkris’s hide-none of it slowed him down.

"Then what’s stopping me from creating my own?"

"Master, I have a question," Bigbird’s voice echoed calmly in Auren’s mind, even as his body twisted mid-air, leaving a trail of golden flame behind.

He took a deep breath, golden embers flaring around him.

He dropped onto a jagged platform of blackened stone, landing hard but steady. His eyes never wavered from Vulkris, who hovered above, snarling and radiating heat like a living furnace.

Within a couple of minutes, half the floating islands that once scattered in the molten abyss had already crumbled into ash and rubble. Above the shattered terrain, in a blazing ballet of fury and flame, Auren and the colossal beast Vulkris clashed again and again.

But none of it was enough either.

"You joke, but I will die if you do! I’m your armor, remember? Every hit you take is a hit to my core!"

"I know because he’s the one who upgraded me," Bigbird replied. "He revealed his true form to me. His true form was... terrifying"

"Your mama is running out!" he yelled back, spinning into a fiery slash that carved through the nearest projectile.

His mind honed in, laser-focused. He began gathering his inner mana, channeling every flicker of energy into his palms. It swirled and surged, condensing tighter and tighter—like spinning cotton candy, then compressing it into something dense, volatile, and pure.

"Forty-five seconds left!" Bigbird shouted.

He was just a young boy, wide-eyed and breathless, focus glued to the screen as a warrior with spiked golden hair and a blazing aura cupped his hands, summoning a glowing sphere of power. The screen flickered. The crowd held its breath. And the energy swelled before blasting out in a raging beam of energy.

"KAAAAAA..."

"Uh-huh."

A moment from his old world, from Earth.

"Instead of us, why didn’t the Primordial Beast just finish off Vulkris himself?"

Human against King Beast. Fire against Fire

"I’m not planning to die roasted on a lava grill," Auren shot back, leaping across a fragment of floating stone. He knew pretty well the cost of this power. The moment he failed to end this on his favor, he would surely die a fiery death.

But even submerged in molten rock, Auren rose. His body hissed and steamed, but he wasn’t burned. His Phoenix-enhanced body had maxed out fire resistance. To him, lava was just extremely hot bathwater.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"The little green punto," Bigbird clarified.

A wild grin stretched across his face.

Auren’s eyes widened with excitement."You’re saying... I’ve had avatar mode this whole time?"

"Damn it! It keeps healing!" Auren snarled as his fiery crescent slash struck Vulkris across the chest-only for the flesh to bubble, then seal back together.

But even with near-limitless energy surging through him like wildfire, there was still one critical thing he lacked: a finisher move.

"Make it quick," Auren grunted, his blade slicing across Vulkris’s shoulder as they passed in a streak of light.

He spiraled like a meteor, crashing into the lava below with a thunderous splash.

"Yeah?"

"More like god mode, actually," Bigbird replied dryly.

"After all, I am the frameless freak."

"You’ll see."

Until—something clicked.

"MEEEEEE..."

Bigbird snorted. "Why do you think you’re still alive fighting Vulkris at this level? Did you forget you are just a human boy?"

He didn’t stop. Fueled by adrenaline and a near-limitless well of energy, Auren pressed his assault. He moved like lightning- slicing, diving, punching, and kicking with the intensity of a blazing comet. His attacks weren’t elegant. They were raw, feral and relentless.

All this time, he had been learning to fight and play with what he got. But without a true ultimate, something overwhelming, something final, this battle would drag on until he collapsed from exhaustion.

Vulkris had already figured them out. Fire against fire was like trying to drown a fish. No matter how hard Auren fought, his elemental advantage meant nothing. And Vulkris, made to endure, wasn’t tiring. Not any moments from now.

Auren’s grin widened more.

Auren didn’t answer.

"Hey, Bigbird."

The truth was grim.

Auren’s mouth instinctively gaped after hearing that, "You mean..."

Each impact between them distorted the air itself. Lava surged like tidal waves beneath their feet, and the sky pulsed with blinding heat. Fire was no longer just an element—it was the battlefield.

"Give up, golden insect! Your time is running out!"

Auren’s jaw tightened. Even through the insanity of battle, he felt the weight of Bigbird’s sincerity.

Vulkris hesitated, mid-air, unsure what to make of this bizarre posture.

It wasn’t just energy—it was everything. A torrent forged from mana, rage, memory, and raw will. It tore through the air in an instant, parting clouds of ash, disintegrating incoming fireballs, and blasting forward like the wrath of a dying star.

A memory surged to the surface, warm and vivid.

Auren dodged sideways, golden wings flaring behind him.

Almost as if sensing his irritation, Vulkris bared its fangs and let out a cruel laugh.

"I don’t have a Divine Frame like the others, but I’ve never needed one at the first place."

Auren’s eyes locked onto Vulkris.

"Bullcrap," Auren said reflexively, not even bothering to mask his disbelief. "That moss-ball? If he was that powerful, why didn’t he just roast Vulkris and spare us the trauma?!"

Auren’s voice was calm—almost too calm.

"Time to try something... legendary."

Auren groaned and facepalmed midair. "Unbelievable. That’s game-changing..."

"I thought you had it figured out already."

Then he smirked. "As the frameless freak, I’ve always made my own skills."

And then—he began.

"So what, do you mean it’s just a stat buff?"

Bigbird’s tone turned frantic. "Master, what are you planning?!"

"Well, how would I know?! Are you sure he’s a Primordial? He looked like a rejected Pokémon."

’This can’t be how it ends...’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ’There has to be something else. Anything.’

"More than that. You’re so used to conserving resources, you didn’t notice, huh?" Bigbird’s tone was filled with ridicule. "In your current form, your mana, stamina, and health regen are atleast at a thousand percent. You are basically gaining them back more than you can spend."

A storm of fireballs erupted from the flaming wings of the infernal beast.

From the space between his cupped palms, a golden beam of absolute fury erupted, forming into a brilliant line of pure flame mana towards the King Beast.

"This... this isn’t possible—!"