Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 130: Death

With unified power, the two humans dashed forward and slammed their fists into the Soul Eater’s side.

CRACK

A wet groan escaped the creature’s throat. The impact sent the creature skidding back, its claws scraping the ground, yet it didn’t collapse.

"BAO XIONG!" Liu Yan screamed the name when she saw the face of one of the two men. Her jaw tightened, fingers curled around the black sword’s hilt as she took three sharp steps forward.

Leon stretched his arms forward as he moved beside her. "Don’t interfere. If you do, the Soul Eater will come after you instead."

"Let it come!" Liu Yan shook off Leon’s hands and burst forward, her boots pounding hard against the debris-filled ground.

Liu Yan closed the distance within seconds, raised the black sword. Swinging it downward, a purple ring of light shimmered alongside the blade as it hummed through the air.

The tip of the sword struck the ground with a sharp CLANG, sending sparks as it missed.

Bao Xiong’s eyes widened for a second when he saw Liu Yan, then diverted his attention from the Soul Eater and dashed toward her.

"Leave! Else I will kill you." Bao Xiong threw a clenched fist forward, but it slammed into the flat surface of the blade with a crack that vibrated the blade.

"You’re stubborn." He threw another punch, which ended up hitting the lady on the left shoulder.

The impact lifted Liu Yan off her feet and sent her skidding back, her boots scraping against the ground.

She slammed the sword into the ground to a stop, then bent over, panting. Sweat dripped from her face, spotting the ground.

"Are you tired already, Liu Yan?" Bao Xiong lunged forward, the black energy spiraling around his clenched fist like a fiery ring.

Leon’s legs tensed, ready to move, but before he could, the sky cracked open with a tearing metal sound.

Smoke and fog erupted from everywhere and whirled around Bao Xiong.

A loud giggling sound erupted from all around him. "I know it’s you, Leon." He whirled around, swinging his arms like a madman. "Come out!"

In a blink, a rushing wind swept through, clearing the fog.

Bao Xiong’s and Liu Yan’s expressions changed to shocked ones.

At the front of Liu Yan’s kneeling form, Wu Ze stood there, a wide eerie smile streaking across her face.

"Wu Ze –" Liu Yan tried to speak, but her words died in her throat when Wu Ze tilted her head toward her.

"I know what will happen to me afterward." Wu Ze stated in a calm tone. "But I can’t stay there, following rules."

She pressed the green buttons on both pencils in her hands and lunged forward, the katana swords taking form. She crossed the blades in an X, pushing Bao Xiong back.

A short laugh escaped Bao Xiong. "Come on, babe. Come on." He dodged as the first blade swept past his face.

He ducked right as the second sliced through the air where his neck had been. "Is that all you’ve got?"

Dust spiraled upward wherever the blades struck the ground. Wu Ze pressed forward, her strikes growing faster and more desperate.

But Bao Xiong weaved through them like smoke.

For ten straight minutes, none of Wu Ze’s strikes touched him, and Bao Xiong also never threw a punch back; he simply kept on dodging and smiling.

"How did you feel," he said, dodging, "when you planned on killing me yesterday and ended up getting fucked?" He rolled, laughing heavily.

Wu Ze paused, her chest heaving while ragged gasps escaped her, sweat streaking along the blade of the sword.

"Wu Ze!" Liu Yan called out while pushing herself up.

While the fight continued, Bao Xiong danced around her like they were caught up in some twisted rehearsal.

Leon forced his gaze toward the Soul Eater that had become a bridge between him and the son of the Blue-Flamed Dragon.

Gasps of bent air escaped the creature’s mouth as it turned and locked eyes with Leon.

A new hum filled the sky as the extraction craft appeared, its shadow stretching across the entire ground.

Below, Tiger dashed forward, slammed his fist hard into the creature’s left side with a sharp shamp.

The impact sent the creature skidding a few meters toward Leon’s direction. Debris sprayed from its claws as it fought for balance.

Leon didn’t move; he stood there, watching the creature fly at him. Rushing wind carrying the scent of death flew past his face.

At the last inch, Leon’s body swung to the left. The creature moved past him, its claws grazing the air where Leon’s chest had been.

Tiger appeared, his fingers stretched toward Leon’s eyes. "I will make sure you don’t see the light after this." His blue eyes blazed like wildfire, his fingers like daggers.

Just as the tip of Tiger’s finger reached Leon’s skin, Leon’s left arm shot up and slammed at the center of Tiger’s chest.

Tiger gagged, skidding back, his boots scraping across the ground and igniting sparks.

’How?!’ he screamed in his head as soon as he forced himself to a stop. He gritted his teeth, blood streaking from the corner of his mouth, locked his gaze on Leon, and dashed forward.

The Soul Eater also lunged from behind Leon at the same time, turning Leon into a bridge between the two.

With the pressurized air screaming at him from both directions, his eyes closed as his heart rate began decreasing.

In the darkness behind his eyelids, the face of the lizard-lady, the old woman, the sentinels, the faceless form of himself, and Lieutenant Prince resurfaced in his mind, shouting one command: FIGHT THEM ALL.

Gold light seeped from his chest and snaked around his skin like living flame. It traced a thin line across his arms, his neck, and his face, causing evaporated air to float around him.

The moment he cracked his eyes open, the sky rumbled. A thunderous sound lanced through the dark sky, followed by a heavy pour of rain.

Cracking his eyes open, Leon saw Tiger and the creature moving slowly, almost as if time had stopped just for him to survive.

Tiger suspended mid-dash, his face twisted in fury, his blue eyes like frozen frames. When he turned, he saw the Soul Eater’s claws extended, its maw open in a silent scream. The rain also hung in the air like frozen tears.

He tilted his head to the left, followed by his entire body.

In a blink, time resumed. Tiger and the creature crashed together. The impact sent the creature flying sideways, its teeth grinding as it tumbled across the ground.

Tiger stood there, blood streaking from his torn right arm. The blue glow in his eyes intensified as he stared at the torn wrist lying on the ground.

Then, like a lizard regrowing its tail, his arms began to reform. Skin knitted over new bone. Veins threaded through fresh muscle. And in seconds, a new hand grew, stronger than before.

A hatch-opening sound cut through the rain. From within the hovering craft, Hei Yung exited like a bolt of lightning.

He hovered in the sky, blue lightning rings spiraling at his back. Multiple bolts of lightning slammed into the ground between Leon and Tiger the moment Hei Yung’s index finger rose.

At that same time, another set of lightning lanced through the center of Wu Ze and Bao Xiong, sending shockwaves through the earth and through their bones.

"Enough!" Hei Yung said low, but his tone echoed like thunder. The building closer to him crumbled to ash, their structures dissolving as his blue eyes blazed like a nuclear fire.

The craft descended with a whip of wind, then its ramp tore open. Liu Yan moved, half-dragging herself up on the ramp.

Wu Ze followed, her swords still held tightly, her eyes locked on Bao Xiong. Bao Xiong climbed in after them, anger filling his face.

Tiger and Leon stood there, staring at each other through the rain.

Hei Yung dashed toward the Soul Eater, and with one lightning strike, the creature burned, as did the ground beneath it.

He sighed heavily, then turned a sharp gaze on Leon and Tiger. The stare alone made their bones scream for help as they neared the craft.

The moment they entered, Tiger shoved Leon on the shoulder. Leon stumbled but caught himself on the metal wall, and before he could turn, a sharp object punched him in the back.

Leon gasped, a white-hot pain lancing through his spine. His vision hazed, yet he made his way into one of the seats and sat down quietly, fixing his gaze on Tiger’s smiling face.

In Tiger’s grip, a green liquid streaked across the tip of a sharp arrow-like metal, but Tiger hid it the moment Hei Yung climbed the ramp.

Leon pressed his hand to his back, then moved it forward. His eyes widened when he saw a mixture of blood and a green liquid dressing his palms.

As the craft rose into the bruised sky, Leon’s vision phased out completely, turning everything black.