Chapter 19: Call of the Void(8)
[What is that?!]
Hawke cried inwardly, the heat radiating from Nicolai stinging his skin, his Mana Enhancement did very little to protect him from the heat.
No, rather...
It did the best it could, it wouldn't take a genius to imagine what would have happened to him had it not been for his mana.
But his mana reserves were low, it won't take long before the mere presence of Nicolai reduces him to nothing but ash.
"How dare you make me take this form?!"
"You?! A mere insect eater?! You are not worthy of seeing it!"
Nicolai spat, literal flames spewing out of his mouth with every word he spoke.
Nicolai took a deep breath to calm himself, realizing that he had lost his composure because of a mere "woodpecker", his pride simply would not allow it.
"Rejoice, Hawke Featherblade, you have pushed me, a member of the Umbral Congress to my limits! This is a feat worthy of praise!"
Nicolai spread his arms wide and revealed his fangs.
He continued:
"I will have your people sing your praises for years to come!"
"But... I unfortunately need to kill you right now."
Nicolai declared, the bright red flames on his eyes burning more intensely.
[Shit... How does he still have so much mana?!]
Hawke screamed inwardly, overwhelmed by the surge of power radiating from Nicolai.
In the blink of an eye Nicolai appeared in front of Hawke, with his bright hot fist clenched.
*POW!*,*Tsss!*
Nicolai punched Hawke's solar plexis, breaking through his Mana Enhancement and sizzling his abdomen.
"Gah!"
Hawke coughed out blood and the blow knocked the wind out of his lungs.
*Fwosh!*
Hawke's body was sent flying through the air.
*PUFF!*
Nicolai wasted no time and released compressed heat from his feet to increase the velocity of his flight.
*FWOSH!*
In a fraction of a second, Nicolai's bright orange being appeared on top of Hawke who was still being propelled by the force of Nicolai's earlier punch.
Nicolai unleashed his bright hot heel on Hawke's nape.
*POW!*
"Argh!"
Hawke cried out in pain, struggling to maintain consciousness and his body being propelled downwards at tremendous speeds as he seeped into the clouds.
Nicolai hovered above the clouds, his fiery red eyes ironically cold as he glared down at Hawke's figure drowning into the clouds.
He extended both his palms and bright red flames swirled into them.
■■ Fire Storm! ■■
He rapidly and indiscriminately threw hundreds upon hundreds of fireballs in a matter of seconds.
Glancing up, Hawke beheld the skies become illuminated by hundreds of fireballs, each one the size of a small boulder.
He forced himself out of his daze and flapped his wings, effectively destroying the speed of his plummet.
*bzzzzt!*, *FLAP!*, *FLAP!*
He imbued his wings with lightning and swiftly dodged the rain of fire.
"Urk!"
Some fireballs he couldn't fully dodge and they grazed his skin, leaving first degree burns even though he had protected himself with a layer of mana.
[They're endless!]
Hawke realized the futility of continuing to dodge the fireballs.
He heard Nicolai's sinister laughter from above the clouds, as he continued spamming the fireballs.
"That piece of shit!"
Hawke grit his teeth and allowed his rage to consume him.
*Crackle!*, *Zap!*
He imbued more lightning to his body and wings.
[I'll go up!]
Hawke gave up on evading and instead opted to fly through the rain of fire and attack Nicolai.
He grit his teeth and...
*BZZZZZTTT!*
■■Thunder Bird!■■
He cast his spell and rode a pillar of lightning, tearing through the fireballs as if they were nothing and piercing through the dissipating clouds.
[!!]
In less than a fraction of a second he appeared before Nicolai and unleashed an electrocuting uppercut.
*ZZZAP!*
"ARGH!"
The force of Hawke's uppercut almost made Nicolai bite off his tounge and propelled him high into the heavens, as if gravity was pulling him in the opposite direction.
*bbzz — bzzt! —zzt!*
Hawke's lighting slowly faded and he fluttered his wings to maintain his flight, his piercing blue eyes focused on Nicolai's being which was disappearing into the stars above.
The bright light emitted by Nicolai's body slowly dimmed in Hawke's vision, a testament to how high he was propelling.
Nicolai surrendered himself to the force propelling him high into the Mesosphere, temperatures rapidly declined with each passing moment.
[Hmm... To think there was such a powerful person so far north...]
He mused, stroking his aching chin.
No — it was broken.
Blood rapidly filled up in his mouth, dieing his once pearly white teeth in red.
*Spit!*
[I am the 6th strongest member of the Umbral Congress... if word got out that I have taken this much damage from a mere Harpy, my reputation would be tarnished.]
[My liege... I wonder if you would rebuke me for this...]
He grit his teeth as the Demon King's disappointed visage crossed his mind.
[...]
"Fucking bird... How dare you put me to so much shame!"
"How dare you cause me to disappoint my lord?!"
He began spouting in a fit of rage, his body that was being cooled by the chilling temperatures slowly regained its Infernal heat.
*Crackle!*,*Crackle...*, *FLARE!*
Nicolai's body burned brightly, disregarding the cold temperatures.
A Mana dome made of Hellfire enveloped his being, with a diameter of 60 meters.
[I now know that there are strong people even at a shitty part of the continent like this. ]
[Before you grow stronger and become a threat to my liege I will kill you right here.]
The force that once propelled him upwards ceased and gravity slowly and gradually claimed his being.
His mana dome burned more brightly, yet maintaining its diameter.
"I acknowledge your strength..."
"But now you must die!"
■■ Meteora!!■■
He fell from the heavens like a meteor!
Hawke's eyes slightly trembled as he beheld the large ball of fire descending upon him, its intense heat reaching him even at that distance.
"..."
Hawke sucked his teeth in annoyance.
"I really didn't want to use this..."
He muttered under his breath.
The repercussions of the technique, or rather, the magic that he had in mind were something he didn't have the luxury to deal with, but he simply had no choice.
"I haven't mastered it yet but... it should be enough..."
He took in a deep breath.
"I WILL SHOW YOU DEMON! WHAT THIS MERE BIRD IS CAPABLE OF!"
He shouted at the top his lungs, drawing tremendous amounts of his already low mana reserves.
■■■ Divine Stigma: Featherblade! ■■■
"Aargh!"
Hawke screamed in pain immediately after casting his spell, he glance down at his forearms and beheld his skin peel open at three specific points on both his forearms.
Elongated feathers made of pure lightning that curved down to his fists tore through his skin.
The three Feathers on each forearm pumped immense electrical power into his mana veins, making them visible to the naked eye.
His mana veins shone brightly in a dim blue color all over his body.
His mana veins were shaped like electrical circuits, adorning his body with circuit like patterns that all led to his abdomen.
"Ugh!"
His body radiated unbearable pain due to the surge of power but he clenched his teeth and bore through it.
He raised his arms in the air and joined them together, the featherblades made of pure lightning on his forearms formed a spear-tip shape.
■■ Rise of the Fallen! ■■
He generated a large pillar of lightning that both struck the earth beneath and ascended toward Nicolai who was rapidly descending.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
The two clashed and caused a catastrophic explosion that scattered all the clouds in the entire area, the shockwaves generated shook the earth beneath, giving the impression of an earthquake.
The light produced by the explosion brightly illuminated the surroundings for hundreds of kilometers, giving the impression of daylight.
In the aftermath of the explosion, two figures adorned by blue and orange lights were helplessly claimed by gravity.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone