Seed of Titan-Chapter 111: Through the Fire and Flames

Nero paid little mind to Drai’s words; he was used to hearing far worse profanities from the Order’s potential recruits during their initiation, although his subordinates always ensured that those who crossed the line wouldn’t—or couldn’t—do so again.

Letting out a faint smile, Nero said, "Good, you’ve still got some fight in you. Now, why don’t you return to your normal size so we can have a proper chat about your future?"

"Sure," Drai replied. But instead of deactivating his skill, he reached into his dimensional storage and grabbed all of its content with one hand. A second later, he hurled them at Nero.

Seeing the dozens of rocks and miscellaneous items raining toward him, Nero waved his staff. A spherical flame barrier suddenly materialized and shielded him, instantly incinerated the incoming projectiles. The rocks turned molten and splattered past him, while the others were reduced to nothing but ash.

"Petty tricks," Nero remarked as he dispelled the barrier, only to find that Drai had vanished from his spot.

Nero’s gaze swept the area, but he couldn’t spot his target—neither Drai’s giant form nor his normal size.

"Hm. Clever choice, but let’s see how long you can hide."

Nero raised his staff, and within seconds, flames rained down from the sky, quickly turning the surrounding area into a sea of fire.

A small part of him feared that Drai might accidentally perish from the flames. However, without any scouting abilities, Nero had no choice but to rely on this crude method to flush his target out. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Minutes passed, but there was still no sign of Drai. By now, the fire was already spreading outward, burning everything in its wake. The previously dark area was now bathed in a bright orange glow.

Seeing no reaction whatsoever, Nero frowned, thinking, ’Had I miscalculated? Was the boy actually on the verge of dying?’

With a sweep of his staff, Nero immediately subdued the raging flames, reducing them to smoldering embers that flickered across the charred ground.

Following this, he slowly hovered around with a beam of orange light shining from his staff, illuminating a wide area below him. He carefully inspected the ground and searched for his target, hoping not to stumble upon his corpse instead.

At the same time, Drai was actually sprinting frantically beyond the fire’s reach, darting through the empty streets.

After getting hit by the explosion earlier, Drai realized that he was no match for Nero. Not only were the man’s attacks overwhelmingly powerful, his aerial mobility also kept him relatively safe out of Drai’s reach.

Due to this, Drai was convinced that he had to escape. In the split second when Nero was defending against his barrage, Drai had leaped far away and deactivated his skill midair, vanishing into the darkness before Nero could spot him.

’Eighteen minutes...’ Drai thought after checking his skill’s cooldown. It was quite fortunate that the fight hadn’t lasted for too long, otherwise Drai would have been forced to stay in hiding for way longer.

However, Drai didn’t actually know where to go or what to do now. He was running away blindly, merely trying to escape Nero’s grasp.

As Drai was passing by a large tree, he suddenly halted his steps. Right at this moment, he could feel a sharp cold metal pressing against his neck.

"If you so much as move or use your enlarging skill, I’ll cut your throat," a voice warned.

Drai complied and stayed frozen, as he recognized the voice. He knew that he probably had no chance of defeating this person without transforming.

Seeing that Drai wasn’t resisting, the person looked pleased and proceeded to pull out a small device.

"Wilfred here. I’ve captured the Anomaly. Come to the northeast road near the library annex. I’ll be waiting," the person spoke through the unusual communicator.

Drai suddenly asked, "How did you find me, Dean Wilfred?"

Tucking his device away, Wilfred shook his head disapprovingly and replied, "You really should spend more time with my students, Drai. Detection skills aren’t too rare among my faculty members."

"Is that so? I’m actually quite close to one of your students, Christopher Maglan. I wonder if you know him," Drai said, attempting to create an opening to escape or counterattack with this conversation.

"Christopher Maglan? Oh, I know him quite well—probably better than you do. Now that you mentioned him, I’d say the young man must be thrilled with this whole situation," Wilfred remarked.

Drai’s eyebrows knitted together as he asked, "Why would he be thrilled?"

Hearing this, Wilfred smiled even wider. But just as he was about to explain, a rustling sound was suddenly heard from ahead.

Soon, Zar slowly emerged from the darkness, surprising both Wilfred and Drai.

"Stop. Don’t come any closer, Zar, or I’ll slit the boy’s throat," Wilfred warned as his smile faded, his knife pressing closer to Drai’s neck.

Despite knowing that the rector was most likely powerless as long as the spell restriction was active, Wilfred couldn’t shake off his apprehension toward Zar. After all, he knew all too well what the old man had done prior to becoming an academic.

Zar stopped in his tracks. Looking at Wilfred coldly, he asked, "Are you really so desperate for power that you’re letting our students get kidnapped by these wicked people, Wilfred?"

Hearing Zar’s words, Wilfred couldn’t help but snort.

"Can you really blame me for doing this when you’ve been keeping a tight grip on the throne for who knows how long?" How else am I supposed to climb higher, Zar?" he scoffed. "If only you had peacefully retired years ago, I might not have been this desperate. Given my age and the fact that my only viable path to power has been blocked for so long, you should have expected this. Honestly, I’m quite surprised the other deans and vice rectors haven’t done the same."

"That’s because they’re not blinded by greed and power, unlike you," Zar remarked.

"They’re just not old enough!" Wilfred shot back. "When they reach my age, they’ll see how foolish it is to patiently wait in line, working their asses off for nothing."

Zar shook his head in objection. "Not everyone craves the things you value so highly, Wilfred. If I were actually vying for personal power, I wouldn’t have stayed here at all."

"Enough! Save your lecture, old man! My new colleagues are coming here, you should be running away instead of running your mouth!" Wilfred barked.

Zar’s words had hit a nerve, as it reminded Wilfred of his insignificance compared to the mighty Zar Augra. For Wilfred, becoming Soluna Academy’s Rector was a lifelong achievement that came with immense benefits, but to Zar, it was merely a means to an end.

"Looks like you’re set on this path, Wilfred. You know there’s no coming back, right?" Zar asked.

"Hmph! If you and Lua die tonight, no one will know what I’ve done. And if things go south, I can always change my identity and flee to another country with the Order’s help," Wilfred replied, his tone indifferent.

Zar’s icy stare pierced into Wilfred’s eyes, sensing the man’s sincerity. Pressing his palm on his forehead, he muttered, "So be it."

Seeing Zar’s reaction, Wilfred smirked. "Come on now. Don’t start sobbing on me, old man."

"Who’s sobbing, you snake bastard?" Zar snapped back, lowering his hand to reveal a circular white gem embedded in the center of his forehead, glowing brightly.

A tremendous power suddenly surged from the small rector, leaving Drai astounded and Wilfred visibly shocked.

"What are you doing!?" Wilfred yelled fearfully. But the moment these words left his mouth, he felt an excruciating pain. Lowering his eyes, Wilfred saw a blurry blade protruding from his chest.

"You..." Wilfred muttered weakly, staring at the old man in front of him.

Zar flicked his wrist, and another ethereal blade instantly pierced Wilfred’s head, shredding his brain and internal organs.

Drai felt the cold metal sliding away from his neck, followed by a heavy thud. He waited a couple seconds before jumping away from his spot.

Turning around cautiously, Drai gaze landed on Wilfred’s lifeless body sprawled on the ground, blood pouring from the gaping wounds on the dean’s head and chest.

"Relax, you’re safe now," Zar said, patting Drai’s shoulder reassuringly.

Drai turned to face his rector. His eyes were drawn at the conspicuous white gem on the old man’s forehead.

Noticing the boy’s curious stare, Zar explained, "It’s an artifact that lets me wield more power than I’m supposed to. Conveniently, it also allows me to bypass this annoying spell restriction. The downside is, I can’t deactivate it until the power runs out, and then I’ll need to recharge it before I can use it again."

Drai nodded in understanding. He hadn’t considered the importance of such tools before, but now he realized that they weren’t just enhancements, they could also be essential for survival.

Zar’s expression turned serious. "Drai, we need to talk," he said.

Drai was slightly stunned, but he quickly replied, "Okay."

Zar paused for a few seconds before saying, "I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but you’re the Prophesied Child, Drai."