Chapter 57: The Pyrrhic Exchange
The field outside Lyranth’s walls had been hastily cleared, creating a circle of dead grass a hundred meters wide.
Arthur stood at one edge, the noon sun casting short shadows, while Emperor Lyralei waited at the other. Between them, the air shimmered with heat that had nothing to do with natural weather.
"Standard dueling rules?" Lyralei called out. "First blood, submission, or death?"
"Whatever ends this fastest," Arthur replied, rolling his shoulders. He’d left his armor behind, wearing only simple clothes that wouldn’t restrict movement.
His System hummed with readiness, displaying tactical options he ignored. This wouldn’t be won by statistics.
Through his bonds, he felt his women watching from the walls. Beatrice’s magical theory burned in his mind—her System Disruptor concept she’d explained in hurried whispers. Theoretical, untested, probably suicidal. Perfect.
Lyralei’s transformation was instant. One moment a man, the next a living inferno. The phoenix form was smaller than his arrival display—compact, lethal, built for combat rather than intimidation. Flames that burned white-hot at the core spread wings fifteen feet wide.
Arthur moved.
His supernatural speed turned him into a blur, circling the phoenix faster than fire could track. Lyralei responded by detonating—a sphere of flame expanding outward. Arthur phased through it with Lustborn Intangibility, emerging behind the phoenix with his fist already swinging.
The impact sent Lyralei tumbling, more from surprise than damage. Phoenix fire couldn’t be hurt by normal means, but Arthur’s fist had carried something else—a pulse of his System’s energy, formatted according to Beatrice’s theories.
Disrupt the connection between host and System.