章 27: Chapter 27: Penetrating Flames

Aurora withdrew the profound energy that was covering her entire body. Since her physical strength wasn't sufficient, she decided not to take a direct hit from the Big Red Horned Rat and instead attack while dodging. She poured her Profound energy into Flamingo even more, and red flames began to dance around her arms.

The Red Horned Rat wasn't unharmed from the clash. Its paw had burn marks, and its fur had turned black. Normal flames couldn't have achieved this; the Red Horned Rat's defenses were high, but these flames originated from Flamingo.

Flamingo, in its sealed state, provided two skills for the wielder. This was the first one: Penetrating Flames. As long as the wielder supplied Profound energy, Flamingo could produce these flames, which had the power to penetrate almost anything. The more Profound energy the wielder infused into Flamingo, the more powerful the flames would become.

The Red Horned Rat was annoyed that it had been hurt by an "ant." It turned towards Aurora and launched itself at her, raising its sharp claw, clearly intending to tear her apart.

"Well, it looks like I riled it up. I guess I'll have to use my movement technique now, 'Friction Steps,'" Aurora mumbled as she dashed toward the aggrieved Red Horned Rat.

*Friction Steps* – A technique that allows the user to control the friction around their body.

In just a moment, the Red Horned Rat and Aurora were face-to-face. The Red Horned Rat slashed its claw at Aurora's chest with full force. Aurora raised Flamingo to meet the incoming claw; she planned to take the hit head-on to test something.

As soon as the attacks collided, the ground behind Aurora shattered from the impact, and her knees bent slightly. But she held her daggers tightly and smiled.

She increased the Profound energy in Flamingo, and the flames erupted from the daggers, burning the Red Horned Rat's entire paw.

The Red Horned Rat felt immense pain and attacked Aurora with its second claw. Aurora saw it coming, ducked, and swiftly moved behind the Red Horned Rat, slashing her daggers at its back. But she immediately jumped away from her position as her instincts kicked in.

Her instincts were right, as always, as the ground where she had been standing was obliterated by the Red Horned Rat's thick tail.

"I completely forgot about its tail," Aurora steadied herself, twirling her daggers before launching herself at the Red Horned Rat again.

This time, the rat was even more aggressive, attacking with both claws in rapid succession. It even used its powerful bite.

The Red Horned Rat continued its relentless assault on Aurora, attempting to slash her chest, but it was stopped by her dagger. A clash of dagger and claws ensued. As Aurora fought, she remained mindful of the rat's second weapon—its deadly tail.

Aurora didn't fight head-on this time and focused on dodging. As a claw came toward her, she jumped mid-air, using the rat's paw as support, and delivered a roundhouse kick to its jaw before retreating.

"Hmm, so let's see my findings. First, with my physical strength, I can go toe-to-toe with Early Grade Earth Profound Stage Beasts. If I use my flames, I can handle Mid-Grade Earth Profound Stage Beasts. And by going all out, I can definitely defeat High-Grade Earth Profound Stage Beasts. As for Heaven Profound Stage..." Aurora was contemplating when she noticed three small Red Horned Rats heading toward her.

All of them were at Mid-Grade Origin Profound Stage, likely having slipped past the others' defenses. Aurora glanced at her comrades and saw that many had suffered serious injuries.

She raised one of her daggers high and slashed vertically, releasing a flaming arc that shot toward the three rats. The slash was incredibly fast, cutting the three rats in half like a knife slicing bread. It continued on, colliding with a boulder and shattering it.

A stunned silence filled the cave as even the other Red Horned Rats paused to look at the fallen bodies. Everyone around her had their jaws nearly on the floor.

Cutting through three Mid-Grade Origin Profound Stage Beasts like that—was she really at the Spirit Profound Stage?

This was a technique Aurora had developed herself, after understanding the effects of Flamingo's Penetrating Flames. It was a long-range attack that could cut through defenses.

Aurora noticed Profound energy gathering in the area and turned to find its source—the Big Red Horned Rat's horn was glowing.

"So, this is how you want it to end, huh? A big move. Honestly, you wasted your potential. You couldn't even use your body to its fullest. Anyway, since you want a big move, I'll give you one." Aurora smiled, storing her daggers and began controlling the lingering flames from Flamingo with both hands.

She condensed the flames into a ball and stretched it with her fingers, shaping it into a red flaming arrow. She infused her Profound energy into it, making it even more dazzling and deadly.

By now, the Red Horned Rat had fully charged its horn with intense Profound energy. It was now glowing bright red and shining.

The Red Horned Rat fired first, launching a thick, dense red beam of Profound energy from its horn.

Aurora unleashed her flaming arrow, which traveled rapidly toward the beam.

A deep, thunderous sound echoed as soon as the arrow and beam collided.

A massive explosion followed. The impact was felt as much as it was seen—a combination of intense heat, bright flames, and a shockwave radiating outward from the epicenter, slamming into everyone.

Surrounding rocks and boulders were reduced to dust by the shockwave.

After the explosion, the area lay in ruins, with charred and shattered rocks scattered everywhere.

Aurora smiled as she watched, thinking, 'This should be enough to lure out the final boss.'