Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 17 [The Flame Beast] Makes a Grand Debut!

Seeing Ming miraculously resurrected before her, Mio's expression first showed slight surprise, then she smiled as if noticing something, and took a step forward, saying:

"Is that so? Then you're really pathetic now, turning your original body into a vessel of power, becoming a real 'monster' just to seek revenge on me. How pathetic."

Mio walked slowly forward, her words filled with sarcasm towards Ming, and the barrier beneath her feet trembled under the immense spiritual power emanating from her.

"Alright, if you were even worse than a normal person than a magician, I might feel pity, but since you are an [elf] just like me now, I won't feel too guilty."

'Ugh... my head hurts so much. Wasn't I... dead? Then what's with Mio in front of me? Why am I still standing? Damn it, my thoughts are all jumbled up now...'

Ming, having regained consciousness, rubbed his head and pondered, seemingly unable to recall why he, who had been cleaved in two by Mio not long ago, was able to stand up again.

Moreover, at this moment, his originally tattered body stood here intact, and an indescribable, intense energy filled every inch of his skin, as if it were naturally formed and familiar to him.

Ming suppressed his doubts and looked up again at Chonggong Mio who was approaching step by step. His body began to move instinctively, and he also moved closer to Mio.

As they walked towards each other, the purple barrier trembled more with each step. As Ming stepped off the rooftop, scorched pits appeared beneath his feet, and Mio's spiritual power caused the space to become unstable.

As Mio stepped out of the safe distance between Risa and the body, Ming's eyes sharpened, and he stretched out his hands, gathering powerful spiritual energy in them.

"【Black Flame Demon - Spell】!"

As Ming finished speaking, jet-black flames burst forth from his side, transforming into two fireballs the size of heads. These then gathered in his palm and became a cane topped with a skull and ram's head.

Ming stopped and placed the black cane in front of him. Although it was the first time he had ever used it, his body seemed to be used to it, and he performed the action without any sense of incongruity.

Seeing this, Mio stopped in surprise. Behind Ming, one after another, black magic circles appeared out of thin air, and from the magic circles, spears formed of flame shot towards her.

Seeing so many spears made of black flames attacking her, Mio simply raised her hand, and a huge mirror appeared on the spot, easily absorbing the black flame spears one by one.

"Very powerful. Is this an angel...? No, it should be called a demon king. It's quite impressive that it can so easily and meticulously construct spiritual energy into such a weapon with powerful penetrating capabilities..."

Mio smiled, but her expression sent a chill down one's spine. She slowly removed the mirror, then raised her index finger and thumb, forming the shape of a pistol. Her face instantly turned icy, and her smile vanished. Then, in a low voice, she said:

"Although you, [Flame Spirit Crystal], have absorbed a large amount of negative emotions in one go and become easy to absorb, I still cannot ignore the variable that may make it longer for me to see 'Shi'."

"So, please disappear. *Bang*"

Mio made a faint onomatopoeic sound like a gunshot, and Ming, hearing the sound, looked warily in Mio's direction, but waited a long time without her launching an attack.

"Ok?"

Just as Ming was wondering about this, he suddenly felt a powerful force strike his abdomen. Ming looked down and found that his abdomen had been pierced by something invisible.

Ming stared wide-eyed at Mio, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Huh? What happened...?"

"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~" Before Ming could react, Mio raised her hand again, explaining with a cold face:

"I'm sorry, I won't give you a chance, because no matter how powerful you are, if you haven't grown, you can only stop here."

With each gunshot, Ming's body was pierced by an invisible force. His knees, left chest, and head were all penetrated by the invisible force, and his expression froze on his shocked face.

"Alright, is it settled now? No matter how difficult the opponent is to kill, as long as they are still within the category of 'human,' destroying their head and heart at the same time will end the fight."

As Mio's body collapsed again, she spoke to herself in a cold tone in the direction where Mio had fallen.

The next instant, Ming stood up again.

Mio looked at Ming, who had stood up again, in surprise. She secretly marveled at his tenacious vitality and prepared to use her three strongest powers to end this battle that had already exhausted her.

Black flames raged, enveloping Ming's pierced head and everything else, then regenerating it. However, unlike before, the goat's single pupil became two, and the monocle in its right eye ignited, transforming into a black goat mask.

"You...can't...collapse here...give me control of your body...change me..."

Ming muttered to himself in a low voice. His demeanor completely changed. The coat he used to store heat on his back fell off, and flames enveloped the boy's entire body, making the surrounding air distort like a pitch-black garment.

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

Ming roared to the sky again, but Mio remained calm. Blue spiritual power began to gather in her hands. At this moment, Mio was about to use one of her three strongest angels, the Angel of Death, [Sanctuary of All Things].

But Ming reacted even faster. He simply took a step forward, and the flames, which were almost at their peak, filled the entire purple barrier. Unable to withstand the heat, the barrier began to melt, but Wei Sha and the remains were not affected.

After a while, Mio regained her vision. The purple barrier had been completely dissolved, and the deserted rooftop where she had been standing had been completely vaporized by the ridiculously high heat energy. The surrounding deserted houses also vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, Mio was about to give chase, but a voice from the air stopped her.

"Hey, you sprite causing the spacequake below, stop right there! I finally got this job, and you're giving me work on my very first day, huh?!"

An AST person, who looked like an ordinary passerby and was wearing an early bodysuit-style "manifestation device," shouted, followed closely by a large number of armored girls who raised their weapons and surrounded her.

"Is that so? It's not the right time yet. We can't attract 'their' attention now. It's really inconvenient for me to take action in this city. You've escaped with your life, but things can change."

Mio muttered to herself in the direction Zhengming had probably left, just as a missile came flying through the air.

"Strange? This is a bit different from the information we had about the non-speaking [elves], but if we can bring this back, we'll definitely get top honors!"

According to the AST member who launched the missile, Mio ignored it and moved away just before the missile hit.

"Damn it, he got away!" a passerby member of AST shouted angrily.

Then we shift our focus to Ming, who has transformed into a sheep-headed monster and is rapidly running through the city.

At this moment, Ming's consciousness was being replaced, and his level of awareness was not high; he was still some distance from truly going berserk. He held in his arms the gauze and the body he had taken during the chaos, and said, as if talking to himself:

"You have one chance, but two more. Cherish them."