In his previous life, Cassiel was greatly feared. Not only because of his great strength, but because, although it was common knowledge that a single person regardless of how strong he was, had little influence in a war where hundreds of thousands or even millions were fighting, Cassiel was one of the few exceptions, and the most dangerous one.
It wasn't just his power. his mere presence was persuasive, to the point of making those of her own race reconsider and regret many things.
Why?
Because to Cassiel, numbers had no meaning.
"....."
As he said himself, everything he didn't like was devoured by crimson and black flames endlessly devouring and consuming their targets, while the golden ones protected all beasts.
Ignis Vitae et Mortis (Fire of life and death).
That was the power Cassiel had used. To activate it, he had to burn his own mana in a suicidal act that would leave anyone on the verge of death and crippled for life. An act that could only be performed once.
He poured in more mana than his body could handle to unleash an explosion of fire that consumed everything around him.
But it didn't matter. For, in the next instant, he began to recover at a terrifying speed.
Every time a knight or an investigator was incinerated, his mana and vitality flowed into Cassiel, restoring it faster than he spent it by further fueling the intensity of the flames.
The mana not only accumulated in his heart; following the art he had created, it permeated every fiber of his body.
Cassiel had made a mistake.
He had become trapped in the limitations of this world, unconsciously adapting to its rules.
Perhaps, due to the helplessness of his early days, he thought he had to start from scratch, learn and climb progressively to the top.
But, as that hateful hallucination said....
Fuck it all.
He did what he wanted, how he wanted.
Ranks? Species? Jobs? It could all go to hell.
He was Cassiel, the Mad Fire Mage, the one who had reached the pinnacle of his element.
The only limits were the ones he had set for himself.
It was ridiculous to think that just because he could only use it when he was strong in his previous life, he couldn't do it now. The only barrier was his own mentality.
"HAHAHAHAhaha, it's time for round two."
Without missing a beat, he looked at Ivan, who, due to the intensity of the crimson and dark fire, could not approach quickly.
Even so, Ivan was advancing, step by step, cutting through the flames that reduced the rest of the humans to ashes.
Cassiel ran toward him.
It was not recklessness. It was not overconfidence.
he was running straight towards Ivan because the situation had changed.
Now this place was his territory, his little world, where he had the advantage.
When Ivan saw Cassiel lunging, he stopped advancing and activated his skill.
"Igneous Explosion!"
But Cassiel didn't stop.
"Anthropomorphosis!"
In an instant, while still in motion, his body began to change.
his mana, now overflowing, activated the skill he had been unable to use before.
He felt his body transform.
His legs lengthened and thickened, and with each step, his momentum and savagery grew. His black fur burned with a crimson and golden fire more intense than his surroundings.
His bones creaked as his torso widened. his forelegs became powerful arms, and his figure straightened, gaining height and strength.
In an instant, Cassiel was no longer a wolf.
He had taken a lycanthropic hybrid form, an ideal and more familiar form to him.
Now as a brutal manifestation of power and with fire that seemed to come from his entire being he ran forward.
Although his form had changed, he continued to run on all fours, accelerating at a faster pace until he reached the decisive point.
"Burning Charge! "
"It won't be the same this time, you bastard. Ha~ Primordial Fire Arts: Ignis Ferve!"
BANG!!!
Cassiel didn't let him finish the combo with which he had previously incapacitated him, and They both impacted.
Cassiel, with all his momentum, used his claws against Ivan's blue flame bathed sword.
At this instant, he felt his art flow more naturally through his body. He had been created to use it as a human to begin with, now, in this form, his control and timing were perfect.
Ivan counterattacked with blue flames as Cassiel expelled his tricolor fire.
Sword and claws clashed.
Both were close, staring at each other, Cassiel now taller, looked Ivan in the eyes, his face still mostly wolf with red eyes burning with flames that even made Ivan feel intimidated for a moment.
But he did his best to stand his ground, neither giving in to the other's momentum.
But that balance was short-lived.
Cassiel intensified the flames around him.
"Flamma Convergence!"
The surrounding fire answered his call.
As if following his command, the fire gathered in his claws, turning them more fiery.
It consumed Ivan's blue fire,.
With a swift movement, he pushed Ivan's sword away with his claws.
And, without wasting a second...
With a spinning kick, he struck Ivan's unprotected abdomen, sending him flying.
But Ivan did not stand idly by.
Despite the blow, which made him feel the air escaping from his lungs, which was bad since with the fire burning there was little or no oxygen left from the surroundings, but it was strong enough that it wouldn't bother him anytime soon.
At the same instant he was thrown, he readjusted his center of gravity and tried to slow his momentum and readjust his stance.
"Impulse!"
Bang!!!
But Cassiel, like an evil spirit, followed close behind and, before Ivan could settle himself, he received another impact that stopped his momentum, but instead sent him crashing violently to the ground.
Cassiel was not losing at all, neither in strength nor in speed, nor in any other aspect despite the difference in initial strength and range.
This was the first technique of his art, created using all his knowledge and experience as a mage.
He implemented it to ensure that he could enhance and improve his body without hindrance.
The first technique was the foundation: this stance gave him an overall physical boost, while fire mana circulated dangerously through his body.
As they said, only a madman like him would create something like this with an element as destructive as fire.
To circulate not only natural mana, but fire mana, was a madness that would burn him from the inside.
But, perhaps because he was Cassiel, he was the only one to try and succeed.
Boom!
Cassiel, without giving Ivan a second's respite, tried to crush him with a stomp as he lay on the ground.
However, Ivan, in desperation, rolled to the side, barely dodging the blow.
He scrambled to his feet, trying to steady himself and gain a solid foothold. He barely had time, but managed to raise his sword to defend himself from Cassiel's follow-up attack.
Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!
Cassiel was persistent and continued to attack with punches and kicks relentlessly. Although tricky, Ivan was an experienced knight and stood his ground in the face of the onslaught.
The pain in his stomach burned, he felt like he was burning inside, but he did not give up. Masterfully, he deflected Cassiel's relentlessly incoming claws.
The two engaged in a fierce combat, moving around the room, exchanging blows with their respective fires flashing, destroying the premises as they went from one place to another.
The surrounding flames were beginning to dwindle, for the fuel-the humans-had already been consumed. Still, they continued to burn, waiting for Cassiel to give them an order.
It was just then that the experienced Cassiel found an opportunity.
"Flame Convergence!"
BANG!
Again With his claws, he launched a powerful blow, accumulating a large amount of flames around him.
Ivan, with no choice, received it in a defensive position, blocking it. However, his back was too close to a wall, and the impact was so great that it smashed him against it.
Perhaps, being unaware of his surroundings, Ivan did not foresee it, and the crash took him by surprise.
"!ArggtH!!!"
The blow made him groan and lose his breath even more. By this point, there was no longer even oxygen in the surroundings; everything had been consumed by the black and crimson flames. Ivan was being suppressed by Cassiel.
But, as a trained knight, he tried to get up immediately.
"Exuro Orbis!"
At that moment, a ring of fire appeared around Cassiel. The shockwave held him in place, preventing him from moving.
What made Cassiel terrifying was that he wasn't limited to being just a mage or just a warrior.
He could do both at the same time, using the mana accumulated in his heart as a mage and exerting the physical strength of a warrior with the mana imbued in his body, maximizing his power to a level far beyond his skills.
"Flamma Convergence!"
Reciting the spell again and using the surrounding fire, he imbued his claws with flames and launched himself directly at Ivan, sending a powerful blow. Ivan, barely in a defensible position, met it with his sword.
"Hahahahaha, things changed, didn't they, you fucker?"
Bang!
"You liked playing with fire, didn't you?"
Boom!
"Well here's some fire for you."
BOOM!
"Urgh!"
Cassiel, again and again, drew the flames from around his , building them up in his fist as he threw punches that exploded on impact.
Ivan could barely stand it. Unfortunately for him, he could take no more. By the third blow, his hands were at their limit and he was barely holding his sword.
His head was bleeding from the impacts against the wall, and his vision was turning red. But the will in his eyes would not go out.
"Judgment of the Phoenix!"