I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 156: Rite of Firepower

Nevertheless, Zen knew how serious this ceremony was and nodded.

On the side, Adara spoke out loud, "Should I cast the barrier now?"

Numerous scrolls could be seen behind her, each with varying kinds of barrier magic, and there were even artifacts with barrier skills embedded in them.

After all, she and Arthur had already talked about the preparations last night.

However, to her surprise, Arthur, whose eyes did not leave Zen, spoke, "There’s no need for that anymore. I have changed my mind."

"Huh?" Adara could not help but feel surprised.

But before she could ask why he suddenly changed his mind, she felt something that made her hair stand up.

’Don’t tell me that he’s really serious about using his strongest form!?’

Adara screamed in her mind as she felt the dread in her heart continuously intensifying due to the energy that was being emitted by Arthur.

In front of him, Zen also felt it— a power that was far beyond everything he knew of.

"My one and only apprentice."

Amidst the pressure that caused the gravity to multiply tens of times, and made the air in the surroundings heat up to the point that even the mere act of breathing was extremely painful, Arthur’s voice sounded.

"I was thinking of being a little lenient for this Rite of Firepower. However, this might be the last spar we might have for a long time. Since you left, we’ll be leaving this place too."

"!!!"

Not only Zen, but even Adara had a shocked expression on her face as her eyes widened like saucers due to his sudden announcement, ’Wait, I don’t know anything about this at all!’

’Our discussion last night had been crystal clear. So, what made him change his mind at the last second!?’

Despite the countless thoughts running through Adara’s mind, she remained silent as her trust in Arthur was unsurmountable.

’I’d better wait until everything’s over before asking him. After all, not once in our lives did he take an action that hurt me...’

’But the pressure that’s coming from him right now... ’

Adara’s eyes shone with a hint of uncertainty, ’Why does it feel like the Fire God’s power? No, is he really using that!?’

She squinted her eyes once again, not minding the pressure as she observed Arthur’s face.

And just as she expected, ’H-He really plans to use that for the Rite of Firepower!? Isn’t he trying to get his apprentice killed!?’

’As for the reason why he did not bother to let me cast these barriers...’

There were too many things going on at once, making Adara feel a bit dizzy.

...

At this moment, Arthur’s figure seemed to have grown thousands of meters as the pressure around him increased exponentially.

His maroon hair was swaying gently.

His left eye, which was closer to an orange hue, seemed to be glimmering slightly, which was a great contrastto his right eye, which was the same colour as his hair.

However, upon a more careful observation, the burn mark around his left eye looked like it was fresh again, as blood could be seen gradually seeping from it.

But despite everything that was currently causing a subtle change within Arthur, the pressure he emitted only increased.

And no, this pressure was not like the one Zen had caused due to his talent awakening.

The pressure that was currently being emitted by Arthur was calm— without even a hint of commotion.

Instead, Zen felt like he was in the presence of something greater— a being whom he dared not even look at with his own eyes.

In the next moment, Arthur’s voice sounded once again.

"My one and only apprentice."

Gulp—

Zen could not help but swallow the little saliva he had left in his mouth as the crippling pressure felt like it was tightly grasping his heart.

"Let us now commence the Rite of Firepower."

As Arthur’s voice sounded once again, everything returned to normal.

No crushing gravity.

Breathing felt refreshing once again.

Just as Zen was about to ask what he needed to do, he noticed Adara in the corner of his eye.

"Wait—!"

Her face was filled with distress, and her eyes showed fear that he had never once seen before.

Unfortunately, before she could continue, Arthur’s chant drowned her voice—

No.

It was not that it drowned her voice.

It was as if every other sound in the world gave way to His voice.

As if, at this very moment, no other sound may exist in the world aside from His voice.

[Eye of the Fire God]

woov.

Within the calm atmosphere that made it look like the earlier pressure was nothing but an illusion, a kindling slowly appeared.

The small flame looked fragile, yet regal.

It seemed weak, yet eternal.

A young flame that was sacred.

Arthur’s left eye combusted into flames as He opened his lips once again.

It was the same as last time.

No other sound in the world had the right to exist along with His voice.

[Divine Domain]

[Form One]

[Infernal Paradise]

As Arthur finished His words, the world seemed to return to normal once again.

’W-What’s happening—’

Before Zen could even finish his thoughts, his pupil’s constricted.

All he did was blink, yet the ever-so-familiar training grounds before his eyes had been replaced by a vast grassland.

The sky was blue, the air was refreshing, and the grass was filled with vibrance.

The colour of the clouds was milky white, as if the embodiment of purity itself.

The rivers were clear, filled with rock formations that were avoided by fishes that were swimming within.

There were trees, flowers, and other kinds of plants that littered the grassland.

It was like a utopia— a paradise of some sort.

"W-Where am I?"

Zen asked out loud, feeling like he was inside a fever dream.

He looked around continuously, his eyes wandering all over the place just to find a hint of his teacher and Aunt Ada.

However, after looking for over a minute, he did not find even a shadow of them.

This remained to be the case until he blinked once again—

There, in front of him, Arthur’s figure appeared.

His expression was calm, looking around the world with a peaceful gaze.

However, His left eye, which was continuously burning, formed a strange contrast with His current disposition.

The distance between them remained the same, as if they were still standing in the training grounds.

Of course, the only difference was the fact that they seemed to be in a grassland now.

Zen’s eyes flickered with cautiousness.

His eyes wandered around once again, but he was unable to find a trace of Adara.

Then, seeing his expression, Arthur seemed to be able to read his thoughts.

For the first time since they appeared in this grassland, He spoke.

"You don’t have to worry about Adara. She’s here with us, but I made it so that you can focus on the fight. She’s perfectly safe and strong enough to fend for herself."

"O-Okay..."

Hearing Zen Stammer, Arthur chuckled, "What? Are you scared?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"..."

Hearing his sarcastic remark, Zen could not help but feel the nerve on his temple popping.

All the nervousness he felt earlier disappeared as the thought of thrashing his very own teacher ignited the flames of revenge in his heart.

Arthur’s voice once again sounded, "My dear apprentice. The first round of the Rite of Firepower had now started. I have to cast this domain to ensure that there is no power leakage that can be detected by other existences.

In fact, from the outside perspective, it only looks like a black ball had enclosed the three of us!"

"Okay..."

Facing his teacher, who was talking as if everything was fine, Zen did not know how to respond.

Arthur looked him in the eye and smiled, "Use everything you have."

Zen responded with a nod as he calmed himself down.

’First things first—’

[Absolute Apathy]

The colours of the world faded from his eyes— the once beautiful and perfect paradise seemed to become a monochrome world in his perspective.

At the same time, the light of emotion in his eyes disappeared without a trace, replaced by a robotic, emotionless gaze.

’Let’s see.’

Before Arthur’s calm gaze, Zen’s brain went into overdrive as he closed his eyes.

’With Absolute Apathy, I’ll be able to formulate a plan. What skills are usable, which skills would be able to multiply everything once stacked, my titles, and most importantly— my talent.’

Even without the skill that increased his brain activity, Zen knew that he had three main weapons against his teacher.

First, Heart of Evil.

The evil energy was at the same level as divine energy— both of which had enhancement effects when activating skills with them as the source of power.

Moreover, though he had divine energy, his evil energy was way more abundant.

Second, Blaze Attribute.

In terms of destructive capabilities, the piece of divinity remained the best in his arsenal.

Not only could it provide a drastic overall enhancement, but it also strengthened any skills or magic that uses fire.

Third, Profane Transfiguration.

Although he had not been able to thoroughly study his talent, just its grade and tier were a testament to its power and potential.

’Now, I just need to analyze everything I have carefully. I need a singular attack with tremendous power, so combining everything in my arsenal is my best bet...’

This state lasted for a minute before Zen’s eyes slowly opened.