Chapter 50: Double Sphere
Just as Ninefold Sunbreaker began circling around Kalon’s body, he realised a sudden problem with the situation.
Sifa was too close... far too close for him to use the SSS-rank skill.
If he threw one of the spheres, although the impact of his own attack wouldn’t hurt him, it would most certainly hurt her. He assumed it would make her entire body melt.
It seemed there were more downsides to a large area-of-effect attack than he thought.
"You have to get away, or my attacks will hurt you!" he shouted to Sifa.
The woman snapped back to her senses after she heard his words. She remembered what had happened last time he used flames in front of her.
Then she began crawling away, getting as far as she could.
Meanwhile, Kalon was left to fight against the skinny gorilla.
It came in swinging its right arm like a club. There was no form to the strike, but it came with speed.
Kalon dashed backwards, but since the creature’s limbs were so long, the strike was still going to hit him.
He braced for impact, and then...
"Raghhhh!!!!"
The creature let out a roar of debilitating pain as its hand collided with one of the Ninefold Sunbreaker spheres.
Its entire hand suddenly set alight, causing it to shake it viciously in an attempt to put the flames out.
That was when Kalon figured out another effect of his skill. One that should have been obvious.
An ice creature coming into contact with the spheres would be dangerous in itself. That way, he could do damage without having to set the whole place on fire.
With this in mind, Kalon advanced.
He ran towards the creature, and this time, it was the one trying to get away.
Kalon circled around it, directing the creature further and further away from Sifa.
Eventually, they were back in the harshest parts of the blizzard, except since his flames were present, the icicles melted away.
This further showed the malnourished gorilla just how dangerous fire was, which was a concept it had never seen before.
In fact, it became so frightened of the flames that it suddenly turned and began running away. It wanted nothing to do with that burning pain that had seared off most of the fur on its arm in only seconds.
"Not so fast," Kalon said quietly.
The gorilla was now a good distance away from Sifa.
He willed one of the Ninefold Sunbreaker spheres to stop orbiting him. He was about to launch it.
Then he decided that perhaps he could take it a step further this time.
He willed two of the spheres together, merging the two fist-sized flames into a greater one.
Just having the flame under his control made him feel more powerful than he ever had before. The blizzard itself was afraid to even go near him.
Then, he launched it.
As always, it travelled slowly at first, then sped up until it resembled a cannonball being fired.
The double Ninefold Sunbreaker sphere chased after the gorilla, eventually crashing into its back.
Then, it exploded.
The impact was so brilliant that Kalon thought he had burned the entire world.
Everything in front of him was set aflame as though he had just doused a forest in oil and thrown a lighter into it.
The golden flame devoured everything within its radius. It was so great that Kalon wasn’t even able to see what was happening.
He stood amidst the flames, which were unable to burn him since they came from him.
He assumed that he was a far enough distance away from the flames, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He had underestimated what merging two spheres together could do.
Luckily, Sifa was far away.
...
Once certain that the gorilla was dead, Kalon willed the skill away.
The seven remaining spheres disappeared from around his body, and so did the great golden flame in front of him.
What was left was nothing but a charred field where no ice seemed to exist.
The blizzard around the location had stopped, revealing that they stood in the same field where the academy was located.
Moonlight shone onto the field, revealing a giant patch of dirt where the grass had been burned away.
There were no remains of the gorilla at all. It was as though it had never existed.
In the distance, the ice blizzard continued, but in that area, it had simply stopped.
Kalon heard footsteps approaching behind him from somewhere far in the distance.
When he turned, he saw Sifa approaching. She was safe, as she had been so far away.
He waited for the woman to arrive where he was, and when she did, the first thing she did was fall to her knees in front of him.
She started to sob loudly as tears continued flowing from her eyes.
"I’m sorry!" she said, the same words he had heard her say last time. "I’m sorry for disrespecting you!"
The woman was being eaten up by the guilt of how she had treated him before.
It was a sad sight to see a woman so broken, but it pleased Kalon.
Not the fact that she was distressed, but rather because it was a sign that she was a good woman who could see her wrongs and learn from her mistakes.
As Sifa continued to sob, Kalon made his way over to where she knelt.
Crystal water continued to drip from her wound onto the dirt.
He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair gently. It was cold to the touch.
Sifa looked up at him, tears still in her wide eyes.
The man was flashing a warm smile down at her. One that she wasn’t expecting, and didn’t think she deserved.
"Go to the academy medic and get your wounds checked out. I wouldn’t like my summoner dying on me."
Sifa remained kneeling there for a few moments, stunned by what to say.
But then a smile spread across her face.
"Y-yes... of course."