Chapter 193: A Hard Lesson

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: A Hard Lesson

Damon looked around.

Several trees had already been blown apart.

The ground was covered in burning cracks, while chunks of frozen earth had been thrown across the area.

The battle had only just started, yet Tempest Hollow was already suffering from it.

Damon clenched his fist.

The world was bigger than he had thought.

There were always stronger people somewhere.

That wasn’t discouraging.

It made him want to grow.

He couldn’t investigate these people properly if he wasn’t strong enough to survive when things went wrong.

And this man was already an enemy.

Damon had interfered with their plans without even knowing the full story.

If he wanted to keep digging, he needed more strength.

"Alright."

Lightning gathered around his hand.

"Let’s see what you’re really capable of."

Damon moved.

Silver lightning wasn’t his only option.

He combined it with wind and sent himself forward.

The man swung.

Damon slipped past the attack, and Lightning struck from his palm.

"Thunder Break."

The attack slammed into the man’s side making the man stagger.

Sylphie attacked immediately.

"Sky Sever!"

A huge blade of wind dropped from above.

The man raised his arms and fire exploded outward.

The two attacks collided.

Boom!

The shockwave tore through the surrounding trees.

The man was pushed back.

But he didn’t stop.

He charged again.

His movements were wild.

Fast and powerful.

But wild.

Damon noticed it immediately.

He wasn’t thinking like he had before.

The man had relied on tactics during their earlier exchange.

Now his attacks were mostly driven by instinct.

That was dangerous.

But it was also something Damon could exploit.

"He’s losing control."

Sylphie understood.

Then we can control the fight.

"Exactly."

The man rushed forward.

Damon stepped back.

A flame-covered fist passed beside his face.

Damon ducked.

Another fist followed.

He blocked with an ice barrier.

The barrier shattered.

Damon used the force to move backward while Sylphie attacked from above.

"Wind Prison!"

The air around the man tightened.

He roared and released a wave of fire.

The prison broke.

But Damon was already moving. As he appeared at the man’s side.

Lightning gathered around his arm.

"Thunder Fang."

The strike slammed into the man’s ribs.

The man was thrown sideways as he crashed into a stone pillar shattering it.

Before he could recover, Sylphie sent another attack.

"Wind Blade!"

Dozens of compressed blades flew toward him.

The man raised both arms.

"Flame Wall!"

A wall of fire appeared.

The wind blades cut through it one after another.

Several reached him as blood appeared across his arm.

He didn’t react, instead he charged again.

Damon frowned.

"He’s not even feeling it."

The man swung wildly.

Damon moved around him.

He didn’t try to overpower him directly.

Instead, he kept changing angles.

Wind for movement.

Ice for defense.

Lightning for offense.

Each element had a purpose.

And Sylphie was doing the same.

She attacked whenever Damon forced the man into a predictable position.

Sometimes she struck from above.

Sometimes from the side.

Sometimes she used Wind Prison simply to force him to move where Damon wanted.

The man began to struggle.

He was still incredibly strong.

But he couldn’t keep up with both of them.

Damon created another Art on the spot.

Wind compressed around his arm.

Lightning entered the center.

Ice formed around the outer edge.

He swung.

"Storm Edge."

The attack cut across the man’s shoulder.

Blood sprayed.

The man staggered.

Then he roared and released another Flame Burst.

Damon immediately raised an Ice Wall.

The explosion shattered it, and he was pushed back again.

But Sylphie caught him with a current of wind before he could fall.

Damon steadied himself.

"Thanks."

Sylphie flew beside him, passing the same thought. He’s getting harder to contain.

"I know."

Damon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"But he’s getting slower too."

So they attacked again as the fight dragged on.

The battlefield changed with every exchange.

Trees were destroyed.

Stone was torn apart.

Fire spread across the ground before being frozen over.

Lightning struck through the smoke.

Wind swept away the flames only for another explosion to replace them.

Damon kept creating new combinations.

Sometimes he used ice to redirect a flame attack.

Sometimes he used wind to accelerate lightning.

Other times he deliberately created an ice barrier knowing it would break, then used the impact to change his position.

He wasn’t simply fighting.

He was learning.

The man was doing the same in his own way.

Even with his reasoning fading, his body still remembered how to fight.

He adapted to some of Damon’s attacks.

He started anticipating Sylphie’s Wind Prison.

He even managed to catch Damon once.

His fist struck Damon’s side, as the pain shot through him.

Damon flew backward and rolled across the ground.

But he quickly stood. His breathing was heavier now.

"So you can still adapt."

The man didn’t answer, as he charged.

Damon moved too. And their attacks collided again.

Boom!

The force pushed both of them away.

Sylphie immediately followed.

"Sky Sever!"

The wind blade struck.

The man tried to dodge. But he was too slow.

The attack cut across his leg making him stumble.

Damon appeared in front of him.

Lightning gathered around his hand.

The man also raised his arm, making Damon chang his aim.

The lightning struck his shoulder instead, as the man’s arm dropped.

He still attacked with the remaining one. But Damon blocked it.

Then Sylphie struck from behind. The man’s knee buckled.

Damon followed with another lightning attack.

The man fell, and tried to stand almost immediately.

But Damon froze the ground beneath him. The man’s leg was caught, yet he tore himself free.

Blood covered his body now.

Yet he continued.

There was almost nothing human left in his movements.

Only the instinct to kill.

Damon and Sylphie were breathing heavily too.

The fight had lasted far longer than either expected.

Damon looked at the man.

He was beaten. But he was still dangerous.

His strength was strange. It was powerful, but unstable.

There was no proper foundation behind it. As the corruption was forcing his body beyond its limits.