Apocalypse Baby-Chapter 282: The Fault in Fire

Malik didn't move.

His flames gathered again, coiling and whispering through the air like serpents eager to strike.

He didn't look like a man in a fight.

He looked like a predator enjoying the slow collapse of his prey.

He hadn't taken a single step since the battle began.

Not one.

He just stood there, composed, flawless, surrounded by rings of fire spinning around him like planets around a star.

A god on a battlefield.

Looking down at the last, hopeless defiance of a warrior who refused to stay down.

At the dwarf, whose eyes still held hope of victory.

And that...that was starting to piss Malik off.

The crowd had gone quiet.

Why? Because the dwarf was still moving.

Bruised. Burned. Bloodied.

But not broken.

They watched in disbelief as Grugrim pushed a hand against the cracked arena floor, fingers digging into the scorched stone for balance.

His arms shook violently—a mix of exhaustion and raw pain.

His axe slipped once, scraped the ground…But he caught it. Held on.

Blood streamed down his forearm, painting the metal red.

His muscles screamed, but he ignored them.

His legs were barely steady. His beard was burned at the edges.

One eye was swollen shut, the other locked forward with fire.

And still… he rose.

Bit by bit.

First to one knee. Then upright.

A low, rumbling growl built in his throat, rising like thunder beneath his breath.

His fists tightened around his axes—white-knuckled, iron-gripped.

He clenched his jaw.

Ground his teeth.

Drew in a deep, pained breath through his nose.

Then—

From the stands above came voices of protest.

"Just stay down, dwarf!"

Another joined.

"There's no point in fighting!"

"You're already dead!"

Grugrim's head snapped up, blood-smeared and furious.

And then he roared in raw frustration.

He had made his choice.

If he was going to fall, He'd fall swinging.

He was going to give it everything.

All of it.

And somehow, deep inside that battered, broken frame, he still had more to give.

A second form.A final ace.Maybe… just maybe… it could tip the scales.

Grugrim closed his eyes for a heartbeat.

Just one breath.

His voice came low. Steady."One minute."

And then—

BOOOOOOOM!!

Lightning didn't just strike—it erupted.

A blinding burst of white-blue energy exploded outward, shattering the silence.Thunder cracked through the sky like a god's war cry.The very air split apart.

Electricity surged over Grugrim's body, tracing jagged, glowing veins across his skin like living scars of light.

His cloak?His scorched shirt?

Gone.

Torn to ash by the sheer force ripping through him.

Bolts of raw lightning arced off him, bouncing from his shoulders, crawling up his arms, snapping in all directions.

The platform beneath his boots crumbled, stone splitting from the pressure.

The wind howled as if trying to escape the power rising off him.

And then—

The lightning took shape.

A form. A presence.

A dragon.

Not one of flesh and blood—But of pure, crackling storm.

Arcs of lightning coiled around him, twisting through the air, forming the shape of a massive draconic head behind his back.Its glowing eyes lit up like twin stars, locked forward in rage and pride—a perfect mirror of his own.

Wings made of lightning spread out wide behind him, spanning half the arena.

And above?

The sky darkened.

Clouds began to swirl and gather, pulled by the energy like wolves to a wounded beast.

Grugrim's eyes snapped open—

Glowing blue.Alive with voltage.Crackling. Pulsing.

And then, he moved.

Faster than ever before.

A blur of thunder and fury.He shot forward like a lightning bolt, boots tearing up chunks of the platform with every explosive step.

Malik's fire couldn't touch him.

Flames reached for him—and missed.

Malik's eyes narrowed.

He didn't hesitate.

With a sharp wave of his hand, he launched a barrage of burning death:

Lances of fire.Molten spheres.Whips of twisting flame.

Each one blazed with enough heat to melt stone.

They crashed into Grugrim—

SZZZZZZZTT!!

But they didn't burn him.

They bounced off.

The lightning dragon surrounding him surged, coiling tighter, shielding him like armor made of living electricity. It moved with him, protecting every step.

Sparks exploded off his chestplate, his gauntlets, his shoulders—

But he didn't even flinch.

He just kept coming.Unstoppable.Focused.Furious.

For the first time, Malik's calm broke.

His lips tightened.His eyes narrowed.

He moved.

Hands lifted.

He barked a sharp, ancient command—his voice echoing through the arena.

FWOOM!

A dome of shimmering golden fire burst into existence around him, a glowing barrier of sacred flame.

It shimmered.It roared.It was dense, powerful—a shield of pure magic.

Most attacks would shatter trying to break through it.

But Grugrim?

He didn't even slow down.

He saw the wall.

And he kept charging anyway.

Because now?

He didn't care.

He was already there.

BOOOOM!

Grugrim slammed into the barrier like a falling meteor from the heavens.

KRA-KOOM!

The entire arena quaked.The stone cracked beneath the force.A massive shockwave rippled outward, kicking up dust and static as it surged across the battlefield.

Flames twisted and recoiled, knocked back by the raw energy of the impact, like even they feared the storm that had just struck.

And then—

Lightning exploded again.

It burst out in wild arcs, hissing and flashing, lighting up the dome like a cage of sparks. The barrier shuddered, its golden glow flickering under the force of the strike.

But it didn't break.

Grugrim, still suspended mid-air, pushed harder.

His muscles tensed, veins glowing, lightning raging through his body like a storm trying to punch through the sky.

He gave it everything—

And still, Malik's shield held. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Not even a crack.

Malik's smirk returned.

He lifted his chin slightly, voice rising over the chaos with cool arrogance.

"That's it?" he said."All that display, and still you can't break my defense."

Grugrim didn't flinch.Didn't respond with words at first.He just let out a grunt and placed one palm against the golden shield.

The lightning dragon coiled tighter behind him, its energy crackling louder, fiercer. It wasn't done yet.

The barrier hissed at the touch, the sound sharp and tense, like metal pressed against a forge.

Zzzzzzt—ZRAKK!

Electric arcs spiderwebbed from his palm across the surface, dancing wildly, alive with intent.

Grugrim's eyes locked onto Malik's.

There was no rage in his expression now—just focus.

And then, he spoke in a low measured tone.

"I see the meaning behind any defense," he said, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "That's my strength."

Malik frowned.

"Every wall… every armor… every defense has a flaw.It might be hidden.It might be buried.But it's there."

A pulse of lightning surged from Grugrim's arm, traveling through his palm and slamming into the barrier.

The golden shield shimmered, trying to hold…

CRRKK—

A small crack appeared, thin as a hairline at first.

Malik's eyes widened. That wasn't supposed to happen. Not to his barrier.

Grugrim's voice was steady, sure—grinning through the static.

"And if I can find it," he said, eyes glowing bright as the storm around him, "I can break it."

Malik narrowed his eyes at Grugrim's statement, refusing to believe the dwarf would be able to crack his barrier.

But then—

It happened.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

The fracture spread like a spiderweb, splitting outward from where his hand touched the shield. Jagged lines tore through the golden surface.

The lightning dragon roared, its body arcing with power, and funneled everything it had into that single point.

KRA-SHINK!

The sound was sharp, like glass shattering under pressure.

And then....

The barrier exploded, breaking into burning shards and glowing embers. Flames scattered. Sparks vanished in the wind. The shield that was supposed to be unbreakable… was gone.

Malik's face froze—shock written in every line. This barrier had withstood armies. And yet… a single dwarf had cracked it wide open.

He stumbled back a step.Stunned.Not just because the defense failed, but because Grugrim was now inside.

Face to face.

No tendrils.

No barrier.

This was an opportunity.

And Grugrim didn't hesitate to take it

He lunged forward, a streak of motion wrapped in lightning.His axes crossed in front of him, glowing from the storm.

And then, he swung.

A brutal downward arc aimed straight for Malik's neck.

Malik, whose mind was still catching up with what he'd just witnessed, reacted, his instincts kicking in.

But they were too slow.