The Burning Fiend

Reynolds took a deep breath and emptied his mind trying to achieve the best condition for battle, he held his spear with one hand and took a moment to use his new power to nurture it as it was the first time that he had used his spear since the fusion of the 5 mysteries was achieved, the spear started to vibrate in response to the new power coursing through it and Reynolds thought that the sound it produced seemed calming and welcoming.

Leylin looked at him with curiosity, he noticed that the spear, that the old monster had made for the kid, had improved in power and was not far from a real Sovereign artifact. He smiled when Reynolds disappeared from his sight and started to avoid the simple attacks the kid was performing with his spear, those attacks held no danger for him since they appeared much slower in his perception in comparison to how fast they were in reality... the difference in power was still too great.

Suddenly, a sense of danger, that Leylin had not felt in thousands of years, seemed to scream at him from the deepest part of his soul forcing him to jump back as he saw the head of the spear passing a couple of inches away from his face but the impossible happened, and he felt pain burning just below his left eye. He growled at his own idiocy realizing that the kid had used runes to change his perception of the weapon and that it was slightly longer from what he had believed it to be... his overconfidence had caused a simple wound, but that was because the kid was not trying to kill him.

Leylin admonished himself as he continued evading and parring the barrage of attacks that Reynolds was producing with his spear. The longer the battle continued, the faster and stronger Reynolds became, and he seemed to have entered a trance as he was getting used to his new strength. Every single attack contained the fusion of the five Elemental Laws that he had mastered, but his attacks were still biased toward the soul while having only a few material components.

Reynolds was surprised when he found that his speed had increased tremendously due to his mastery over the mystery of 'Explosion' and the small blessing his body and soul received after he successfully fused the five Elemental Laws. He suspected that he was slightly faster than a 7-star Fiend that favored either the Wind Elemental Laws or the Lightning Elemental Laws, but he would not be able to compare in speed against an Asura level combatant that pursued either of these two sets of Elemental Laws. Still, he was not worried... he knew that the result of fighting them would be the same as what he had experienced when he was a 7-star Fiend, he would be reduced to a defensive position but his mutated flames would mercilessly erode the soul and body or artifacts of the assailant.

The battle continued in this fashion for half an hour and Reynolds was already stabilizing his power, he had not paid attention to realize the moment when Mosi had arrived to witness the battle, but he knew that he was at some safe distance watching the battle, Leylin also noticed his arrival and shuddered when he saw that the old monster Mosi was carrying a black kitten in his arms as he watched from the distance. He was extremely curious as to what could have happened to the old monster, but he thought it was better not to ask... sometimes ignorance could be a blessing.

The attacks suddenly stopped as Reynolds retreated and closed his eyes for a moment, purple flames suddenly erupted from his body and covered the spear that once again started to vibrate as if welcoming the new power released by its master. Leylin smiled as he observed that the flames contained the kid's understanding over the 5-way fusion of the Fire Elemental Laws, but now they carried a powerful soul eroding effect, and somehow the flames seemed to feed from the environment itself... perhaps using the Edict of Life. This time when Reynolds disappeared, the smile of the once ruler of the Gebados Planar Prison stiffened.

He no longer used his b.a.r.e hands to parry the attacks as red dagger had appeared on his hand, and he was moving with clear concern trying to avoid touching that cursed spear that always seemed to be directed at the most inner part of his soul. Leylin smiled as he realized that the kid's power was close to the Paragon level... that is as long as a Paragon did not use the power of 'will'. Leylin was in no danger at all, he was no using the power of 'will' that he gained from becoming a Paragon... neither was he using the power of 'will' he gained from fusing with the fire type Sovereign spark nor the 'Sovereign's Might' that was the divine power that Sovereigns used to fight and nurture their bodies, souls and artifacts.

Still, the once king of Bluefire City was more than satisfied with the progress his 'disciple' was showing. He noticed though, that his attacks were even more heavily sided toward the soul component barely focusing on the material effects. This improved his power and reach, as he thought that soul defensive artifacts were much rarer than material artifacts for either defense or attack. While the kid's artifacts were enough to hold his side against Sovereign artifacts for a short time while his soul attacks would surely create great damage to his enemies ending the battle in an instant or forcing them to flee.

Bluefire decided that he would give the kid a few drops of 'Sovereign Might' before leaving to ensure that he did not come to unnecessary danger while facing other Asuras that surely would have Sovereign level artifacts and 'Sovereign Might' with them. However, at this moment, Leylin decided to start fighting back, and he started responding to Reynolds barrage of attacks with his own dagger mastery slowly matching his rhythm and then pushing back slightly.

Reynolds was smiling at the sudden pressure he felt as Lord Leylin started to fight back, he had guessed that he was a Paragon from the way he had evaded his attacks as if they were slow and harmless, but now he was sure of it. The pressure he was facing was not due to his opponent mastery over weapons, but the fusion of laws... 'This is how fire should be'. This thought kept repeating itself on his mind as he tried to engrave the feeling that was produced by every clash of their weapons, but he could not identify the high level Elemental Law he was missing from the complete fusion that Lord Leylin was showing... still, he tried to engrave this fight to his mind as it would surely prove to be extremely important for his entry into the Paragon realm.

---

Mosi was watching the battle from the distance, when he saw that Reynolds had managed to fuse five Elemental Laws he was completely speechless, but he started trembling when he saw him using his mutated flames and that the man he was facing could still evade the attacks and even fight back forcing Reynolds to fall into a defensive stand. He knew that he was witnessing the battle of a Paragon and someone who could be considered a half-step Paragon, he was feeling jealousy but determination was the main trait burning in his soul at the moment. 'I, Mosi, will become a Paragon myself!'

---

Reynolds suddenly felt that the space surrounding him seemed to press against himself slowing him down as his mutated flames barely allowed him to move and was thrown into a purely defensive situation suffering to parry the most dangerous attacks, his mind trembled when he realized that he was facing the so called 'will' that the Elemental Laws granted to those who have become Paragons, it was different from the divine field but it had many similarities with it.

The effect over an opponent seemed to be the same as if a Highgod were focusing his divine field over a God completely suppressing him, but Reynolds had the feeling that this 'will' could also amplify the application of the Elemental Laws, the strength of the body, the speed of movement and thought... it was as a whole encompassing blessing that elevated the power of the user to a new level. Reynolds frowned when he started to receive more damage and while his half Sovereign armor was holding without trouble, he knew that this could not last much longer.

Without hesitating any longer, Reynolds unleashed a sea of purple flames to surround him forcing Lord Leylin to retreat for a few meters with confusion written on his face as he wondered about the power of the mutated flames that had managed to force him back, but he was awakened from his short stupor as a feeling of danger suddenly seemed to scream at him much louder than the moment before when he was wounded by Reynolds's spear. Leylin smiled knowing what was coming and moved back at high speed as a giant tail suddenly smashed the place where he was floating a moment ago, space seemed to break where the giant tail passed showing how powerful the attack was.

The sea of flames dissipated showing the giant body of a Ba-Serpent covered in a layer of purple flames that made his soul tremble, he was not scared... but it was as if his soul were under the glare of a predator... something that was born to consume souls. For a moment, Leylin was so surprised that he failed to notice that a flame spear, made of purple flames, had appeared over the head of the Ba-Serpent and was moving at amazing speed toward him.

He only managed to block the attack with his dagger covered with his control over the Elemental Laws and the 'will', but he still found himself propelled a few meters back while his soul defensive artifact worked at full capacity to prevent the powerful mental attack component from damaging his sea of consciousness. At this moment Leylin understood that Reynolds's attack formation was no longer of the caliber he had witnessed before, he could use the Elemental Laws through it and it had the blessing of his mutated flames.

At this moment Leylin was grateful to be a Sovereign, otherwise he would find himself in the same situation that Mosi had experience and end up being toyed by the Ba-Serpent. Reynolds was not a Paragon, but while using his attack formation he might be slightly stronger than a Paragon. This realization brought shivers to Leylin's spine as he was unsure if he should receive the pommeling using his Paragon level strength or if he should show that he had the power of a Sovereign that might garner unnecessary attention to himself... 'Damn you Beirut!' The once king of Bluefire City cursed silently with all the poison he could muster.