Chapter 25: Smash, Burn, and Laugh
The ground beneath Silas' feet detonated once more, a sharp blast of heat and pressure launching him skyward. This time, the movement was smoother—more calculated. Less chaos, more control. Each launch honed his timing, each second refining his technique. He was learning mid-fight, instincts syncing with power.
"Freight train coming through!"
Silas bellowed, laughter echoing across the battlefield as he twisted mid-air. His body coiled like a spring, legs cocked for impact. He adopted a dropkick stance, arms folded tight over his head as embers flared violently around him, trailing like comets from his limbs.
Connor and the undead bear both instinctively stepped back from the wolf lord, reacting to the deafening boom Silas left in his wake. Barely a second passed between ignition and arrival.
"Time for ol' reliable!"
Silas shouted again, grinning as ember-laced magic surged around his palms. With a flick of his hand, the air beside him detonated, a sharp concussive blast sending him rocketing once more toward the beast's skull. His boots slammed into the wolf lord's temple with brutal precision, leaving another pair of scorched imprints across its snarling face. The creature reeled, staggering backward from the sheer force of the blow.
Dirt exploded outward in twin trenches as its massive frame carved through the ground, sliding with a sound like grinding stone. The battlefield shook from the friction.
Spells followed—flashes of fire, arcs of lightning, crystalline shards of ice. Students across the clearing seized the opportunity to bombard the wolf lord, their combined power forcing it into a frenzy of reactive movement. The beast parried with claws like swords, twisted away from some strikes, and tanked others head-on.
Silas raised one fist high, then clenched it tightly.