Devouring Dragon Heir

Michael looked at Klaus with disappointment

"Very well. Don't blame me for what happens now." Michael said.

He took out his gleaming spear and walked towards Klaus as if he had decided Klaus's punishment in his mind.

"Thank god he is initiating this, I would have looked too cringe challenging someone like this," Klaus thought, a flicker of satisfaction in his mind.

His Draconic Pride made it awkward to issue a formal challenge to someone he viewed as fundamentally beneath him, even if that 'someone' was an SSS-rank hunter.

Michael's direct approach simplified matters for him.

Klaus then looked at Arthur and the three ladies and said, "You know, I don't have the patience to wait and play with kids, so it's better I finish everything here and finally do what I came for."

"Arthur, take Julie and others and get at least 15 kilometers away from this point, preferably to the west."

Klaus told them without caring whether anybody was listening.

"Who do you think you are to fight everyone alone, even if you are strong? The numbers are too much," Arthur protested.

Klaus looked at Arthur coldly and said, "Listen!!.., you don't get to tell me what to do."

"Get stronger if you want others to obey you," Klaus said as he looked at the figure of Michael sprinting in his direction.

He lunged forward with a blur with his spear aimed directly at Klaus's chest.

The spear vibrated with raw earth elemental mana, its point hardening and weight increasing.

Michael used one of his most powerful strikes to end Klaus's life in one go.

Klaus's eyes narrowed. He did not dodge. Instead, his body began to glow with a searing red light.

"Let's begin," he said with a smile

[ding!! Flaming God's Fury (SSS) activated]

Klaus's form transformed. His skin rippled, and his body ignited, becoming a being of pure, solidified flame.

The form was called primordial flame incarnation.

The red glow intensified, turning him into a miniature sun in the center of the arena.

His clothes shimmered and vanished, replaced by the living fire that now constituted his form.

With this skill activated, he had gained absolute immunity to all fire damage.

Now every attack Klaus would unleash from this moment forward, regardless of its original type, will be imbued with overwhelming fire damage, designed to pierce through most defenses.

Michael's spear, charged with earth mana, slammed into Klaus's chest. It passed through the fiery form as if hitting empty air. The spear's tip, moments ago sharp and solid, melted instantly, turning molten from the intense heat.

Michael's eyes widened in disbelief. His attack had no effect, and his legendary spear melted like ice.

Although it was known that things could not be broken in real life if their projection got broken inside the VR, the sheer act of melting the family heirloom of the Helios family was no small feat.

Klaus had now become a being of pure flame.

He simply extended a hand. He did not use a sword.

He used the Living Cinder Manifestation effect, creating unstable pillars of condensed flame that erupted from the ground around Michael. The pillars rose with explosive force, trapping Michael within a circle of searing, incandescent fire.

The heat was immense.

Michael screamed, his body enveloped by the sudden flames.

His earth shield, which he had quickly manifested after his attack, began to crack and melt under the direct, overwhelming heat.

The other scions, who had rushed forward to help Michael, halted abruptly. Their faces contorted in shock and fear.

They watched Michael burn, trapped within the circle of fire, his screams echoing.

Klaus now appeared in front of Arthur, making him sweat profusely. Arthur could not believe what had just happened and how Klaus had transformed into such a monster suddenly.

He just felt an overwhelming headache that even his elemental resistances failed to protect him from.

"Have you made your decision?" Klaus asked coldly

Arthur simply nodded nervously before turning around and leaving.

Klaus then nodded at Julie before returning his attention to the now scattered crowd.

James, Henry, and Michael were already caught in the fire, but they were not dying from it since Klaus knew that way they would just respawn.

So he carefully controlled the flames to make them as painless as possible while keeping them alive.

Klaus then unleashed the Infernal Nova effect.

A massive, outward-spreading wave of pure hellfire erupted from his transformed body.

The nova consumed the entire circle of flame, expanding rapidly, dealing catastrophic fire damage to every other participant caught in its enormous radius.

The forest around them ignited instantly, turning into a roaring inferno. Trees incinerated, ground melted, and the very air shimmered with oppressive heat.

Those participants who were not immediately caught by the Infernal Nova tried to flee.

They ran in all directions, their faces pale with terror. They understood the sheer destructive power they had just witnessed.

This was not just a powerful skill; this was something they had never seen and felt.

The lingering zones of superheated ash and molten ground left behind continued to burn and hinder any foes caught within them.

Klaus, still in his fiery form, did not pursue them.

His purpose was to eradicate all who stood against him, to win the tournament with 10,000 points. He needed to be efficient.

He extended his senses, using Omniscient Tracking (SSS). His map immediately showed the scattered green markers of the remaining participants.

He activated Blazing Sky-Dash (S). His body, already a being of flame, burst into a roaring torrent of fire.

He launched into the air, gaining rapid, sustained flight. While airborne, he moved with incredible speed and agility, becoming a streaking comet of fire across the virtual sky.

He pursued the fleeing participants directly while performing blazing dashes, leaving trails of searing flame that damaged enemies caught within them. Each dash delivered a burst of Fire damage upon impact.

Any physical attack Klaus performed while flying was imbued with intense heat, causing them to deal additional fire damage and apply a "Burning" debuff that dealt damage over time.

He struck with his fists.

The participants, even the strongest rankers, were overwhelmed.

They screamed as he passed through them like a living inferno, their virtual bodies dissolving into ash. He swept through the scattered groups, eliminating dozens in mere seconds.

In the observation room, the Paragons watched in stunned silence.

Helios, patriarch, seeing his son Michael's utter defeat, slumped in his chair, his face pale.

Neil Ashford, his pride in Veridian shattered, now watched as Klaus systematically eliminated the remaining participants.

"He can control fire like this?" Lady Crimson whispered, her voice filled with awe. "This is beyond an SSS-rank skill. This is beyond that."

The Crimson family had produced generations of fire element users; thus, she knew the limitations and scopes of the element at each rank.

William simply smiled, a profound satisfaction in his eyes. He watched Klaus effortlessly dominating the entire battlefield. Although he was curious about where he had acquired these skills, William had decided not to delve into Klaus's secrets.

Every strong person had some tricks up their sleeve; it was just that in Klaus's hands, these were not tricks but a genuine skill of annihilation.

The participants who had been eliminated by Klaus's Blazing Sky-Dash (S) and subsequent fire attacks appeared back at their spawn points, shivering out of fear and pain they had experienced.

Many of them vomited, their bodies trembling, the simulated pain of being incinerated too much for them.

They had experienced absolute, burning agony. They looked at their zero points, their spirits utterly broken.

Some of them directly opted to give up on the competition at this point due to the sheer trauma they felt.

Michael Helios was among them. He emerged from his VR pod, his face pale, sweat pouring down his face.

His sophisticated gear was undamaged in reality, but his spirit had been vaporized. He still felt the lingering, searing heat of the Infernal Nova. He saw Henry Chromewell, also disoriented and shaking, next to him.

"This is insane," Michael muttered, his voice hoarse. "He's not just an SSS-rank. He's... a monster."

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