Chapter 17: Clash Between Darkness and Fire
Disclosing such information in such a blatant way made Elio's blood boil, and his face contorted in pure outrage.
"Quite smug now, aren't we? That's quite the talk for someone who isn't in the best position. I'm not sure if I should label you a fool or commend you for willingly volunteering such information," Elio replied, smirking.
"It makes me wonder why you don't seem to have a single ounce of fear or care about your actions. But I shouldn't let that bother me since this conversation won't be going on for much longer. I'll wipe that arrogant smirk off your face!" Elio shouted at the top of his lungs.
Not long after Elio declared those words, his entire frame slowly became engulfed in flames. His legs ignited with fire first, then his chest and arms. Only one thing burned through Elio's mind, and that was torching Silas to a burnt crisp while still having a hold of his neck.
"You still don't seem to get it, do you? You should be the one who should fear me, not the other way around. Your flames are no match for the darkness coursing through my veins," Silas chuckled darkly while a sly glint formed in his eyes.
Silas grinned as shadows swirled and coiled around his body, consuming his figure until he vanished into thin air, free of Elio's grasp.
"Do you really think a trick like that could work against a god? Oh, and what's this, two against one? You don't like to play fair now, do you?" Elio said furiously as soon as he realized that even though Silas was now standing in front of him, he wasn't operating alone.
Elio angrily punched his right fist to the right of himself. It sent a burst of fire hurtling several feet, directed at what appeared to be nothing at first. However, Elio had detected the presence of Klive, who had been standing at a distance with his bow pulled back. Klive had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Klive's eyes widened when he saw the flames hurtling toward him. He hadn't anticipated that Elio would have seen through his invisibility spell. Klive gasped and dropped his disguise, making himself visible. Klive quickly leaped to the left, just barely escaping the flames sent his way.
"This is between you and me, Silas!" Elio declared before swiftly extending his right arm in front of him and sliding his hand to the right.
As soon as Elio did this, a ring of fire sprung from the ground several feet high, enclosing himself and Silas within it. The fire made it impossible to see what was happening inside its fiery walls or jump over without getting one's body scorched.
"It looks like you have nowhere to run now, Silas. You have no other choice but to fight me in a battle to the death. Now, it's only just you against me," Elio declared.
"We can't have any unwanted outside interferences getting in our way now, can we? Only one of us can leave here alive. I strongly feel I will emerge as the victor," Elio said confidently.
To Elio's surprise, Silas was unphased by everything Elio had just said and scoffed while dismissively waving his hand.
"Hah, you're kidding, right? How naive can you be? Are you finished talking yet? You're only wasting your breath. I wasn't honestly paying attention to all the nonsense you were blabbering about. The arrogance that you possess will be the very thing that leads to your demise," Silas sarcastically replied while looking Elio directly in the eyes.
"You're right that only one of us can be left standing. My darkness is starving for nothing more than the taste of victory," Silas taunted while smirking.
"Don't make me laugh. Do you honestly believe that your darkness can snuff out my flames? I think not. Before you know it, I'll have you begging on your knees for me to spare your miserable life," Elio spat.
As the battle between darkness and fire was about to ensue, citizens either ran rampant in panic or gazed onward from a safe distance with fear and uncertainty eating away at them. All they could do was stand and watch.
The citizens had no idea what was happening since the flames surrounding the battlefield were so high that no one could peer over them. The fate of all those who resided within the kingdom's walls rested solely on their king's shoulders.
Pressing questions began circulating in the minds of Silas's citizens. How could one of the divine beings they had worshipped and revered turn on them? What would happen to them if their king did not emerge victorious?
Elio began to conjure up a roaring inferno, commanding the dancing and crackling flames to take the shape of a ferocious tiger that snarled at Silas.
"Any last words?" Elio stated smugly.
Silas laughed off what Elio said and conceitedly replied, "I have to say that's quite a powerful display of what you're capable of with the flames that you weld. But anything that you can do, I can do much better."
With a simple flick of Silas's wrist, the shadows lingering around Silas began to materialize into a dragon that let out a blood-curdling cry that ripped through the air.
Once the dragon formed out of thin air, it tilted its head downward as its eyes became fixated on the flame tiger in front of it. The shadow dragon's eyes burned with intensity as it awaited Silas's command to strike its foe.
"Now, my bloodthirsty beast, rip and tear him to shreds," Elio maliciously commanded the tiger made of flames to lunge full force toward Silas with its claws drawn, aiming to tear Silas to shreds.
Silas then calmly replied, "Devour his flames, leaving nothing more but embers fading in the wind." Silas instructed his shadow creation to rush toward the flame tiger.
The air began to sizzle from the heat as the shadow dragon and flame tiger clashed head-on while the ground rumbled beneath their feet, with both beasts' jaws gaping wide.
With a swiftness in both creatures' movements, they leaped backward to provide distance between each other. The tiger's eyes locked intently on the dragon's movements as it lowered its body and began to circle the other creature as if looking for a weak point to attack.
Without wasting a second, the tiger lunged toward the dragon with its right paw raised, ready to slice the dragon's neck in half.
At that moment, Silas swiftly moved his hand to the right. Following Silas's command, the dragon coiled its body upward to avoid the tiger's claws.
Without warning, the dragon swirled its body around to change direction. It hooked its claws into the back of the tiger. With all of the dragon's body weight, it slammed the tiger into the ground below them, causing a crater to form in the soil.
Silas grinned before he clenched his fist. With that command, the dragon bit the flame tiger in half and then proceeded to swallow it whole. The dragon extinguishing the flames of Elio's creation.
Elio ground his teeth in annoyance as he watched the shadow dragon devour his creation, leaving nothing behind except for smoke and ash.
"I have to say, Elio, I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting you to be more of a challenge for me, but I guess I was wrong," Silas replied with a look of triumph on his face.
"What are you talking about? This battle is far from over; it has just begun," Elio cried out.
Elio emitted a powerful blast from his hand once the shadow dragon came close, causing it to explode and the darkness to disperse.
"Seems like you've failed to put out my flames, Silas. You're no match for me," Elio shouted. Flames and shadows danced and collided as Elio fired several bursts of fire directly at Silas from his hands while Silas countered every last one using surges of dark energy.
"Such a foolish god. You don't realize that I've already won. The whole point of my shadow beast wasn't to inflict a fatal blow on you but rather to serve as a mere distraction," Silas replied with a mischievous grin.
Silas then aimed a surge of darkness toward one of the firewalls they were enclosed in. Doing so temporarily left an opening large enough for someone to walk through. At that moment, Silas shouted, "Now, Klive!"
Klive emerged with a crazed smile plastered onto his face as he shot an arrow infused with a stream of a water spell whizzing through the air, piercing Elio's heart. Once the arrow struck Elio, it instantly caused him to disintegrate into ash.
Once Elio was defeated, the ring of fire surrounding them began to die down, eventually becoming nothing more than cinders and ash.
Relief washed over Ralayna's citizens, who were standing on the sidelines. They saw that their king and his right-hand man were unscathed. They were thrilled when they realized that the divine being that had begun to wreak havoc on their kingdom had been defeated.
The citizens started to point and cheer while chanting, "Look, our king is safe! He saved us all; he's a hero!"
Silas stood firmly before his people with a sense of triumph. "As you all have just witnessed, the gods and goddesses have turned their backs on us! And it's all because there's a traitor among us who has decided to kill Kalias! So now they're holding all of humanity to blame for the actions of a single individual!" Silas roared.
"But fear not, I shall protect you from being torn to shreds by the very beings you once adored as long as you pledge your undying loyalty to me. I intend to create a new era free of divine beings so that you never have to worry about them again," Silas said in a confident and inspirational tone.
"All hail, King Silas!" his citizens cheered and shouted since they were delighted and appreciative that he had proven that he was worthy of the crown and the throne. The citizens believed their king was more than capable of protecting them from imminent threats.
Silas was thrilled since everything was going according to plan. His people were more than willing to follow him. With determination in his heart, he was finally ready to bring his vision of riding the world of every divine being to fruition.
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