Ateo's pupils trembled, and the spikes around him multiplied in numbers, a hundred, two hundred. The number kept increasing with each passing second, and the faces of the people around him turned even paler because they knew that if the attack was launched, a large part of the land around them would be destroyed.
Amidst the pressure, Yon, Jian, and one more guardian jumped forward to stop the man, but they paused when the pressure on their shoulders doubled. Jian let out a curse as he tried his best to maintain his balance mid-air.
Ateo stared at the human with green eyes, his pupils filled with dark particles, and a smile crept across his face. In an instant, the pressure on Kyle tripled, causing him to groan in pain. However, Ateo eyes narrowed dangerously when he noticed there was no trace of fear in the human's eyes as the latter gazed at him.
He was so angry that he wanted to launch all the metallic spikes towards the human, but before he could, cold blue flames surged out of thin air. At first, he wanted to scoff at the human's last-ditch effort, but his eyes dilated because the flames didn't vanish, even under his pressure.
Ateo wanted to disperse the flames, but within a few seconds they gathered around him, enveloping all the spikes and his lower body in an icy embrace.
"What in the world is this? Get rid of it!"
A painful shriek echoed in the air as he vividly felt a strong icy layer forming on his skin. And not just that, a strange foreign sensation that threatened to freeze his very soul appeared in his lower body.
He cried out and watched with horrified eyes as the spikes he created turned into bright particles, even though he had formed them with his divine energy.
"Nooo, how is it possible?!"
Kyle spat out the blood that had gathered in his mouth as the pressure around him and the others vanished.
"This person is seriously strong. The pressure of a true divine being..."
He grabbed his left shoulder and moved his right arm a little, feeling a slight numbness throughout his body.
"I used up all my divine energy just to create these flames. I had a feeling they wouldn't be very effective, but it seems that once the flames reached the transcendent rank, their strength is nothing to scoff at."
Kyle looked at Jian and Yon, both of them watching as the spikes turned into particles with bated breaths.
"Guys, let's finish this."
Jina nodded and let out a sigh.
"I can't help but wonder how the hell you got so many powerful and strangely useful skills..."
From that point on, it was a completely one-sided fight. Jian, Yon, and Kyle mercilessly beat up Ateo. The man desperately tried to escape, but half of his body was frozen in ice. Also, every time he tried to use his divine energy to retaliate, an attack would land on his body and his mind would momentarily turn blank.
In the end, all he could do was cry out as he was tossed between the three of them, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying breaking every bone in his body. After a few minutes, even the people watching from below turned their eyes away, unable to bear witness to the man's almost unrecognizable condition.
Yon grabbed the half-dead body and placed an artifact on the man's wrists before landing on the ground.
"Does anyone here have experience with interrogation? I want this person to spill everything he knows. It's fine if he dies in the process, I just need the information."
Han and another man with pointy ears stepped forward and took on the job. They were confident in their skills.
After the matter was settled, Yon let out a sigh as he looked around the land that had been damaged.
"Now, I have to work on the barrier all over again..."
Kyle landed in front of him with Jian. Almost everyone's eyes were on him, probably because of the deadly flames he used to stop Ateo. But Kyle went straight to Yon and told him about the air pollution he heard from guardian Lie. Yon wasn't surprised at his words, he had already sensed the air pollution and its cause.
The dwarf was more intrigued by the flames Kyle used. While the array that would clean the air was being reconstructed under the dwarf's words, he took Kyle to a corner to ask a lot of questions about the flames the young man used.
Jian followed the duo, also eager to know where Kyle found the flames. He had seen the blue flames many times before, but he remembered they weren't as strong as they are now.
Kyle let out a sigh at the two pairs of curious eyes peering at him. He scratched his chin, unsure if he should tell them. But then Yon's eyes widened slightly, as if the dwarf had sensed something within him.
"Kiddo, are the flames related to the powerful essence in your body?"
Kyle nodded, and that was enough for Yon to stop the conversation because the essence within the kid's body was strong. He couldn't pinpoint the essence rank due to his low strength, but he was sure it was at least transcendent rank. Now he understood why the blue flames stopped Ateo so easily.
However, Jian was still curious. He circled Kyle with a grin after getting nothing from the dwarf. He wanted to know, even if he didn't get anything, he just wanted to annoy the latter a little.
Kyle let out a sigh and grabbed his shoulder. In an instant, a solemn expression appeared on his face as if he was about to reveal the biggest secret of his life.
"Jian... I just remembered I need to feed Bia. So, call me when the array that would clean the air is ready. I'll come and supply it with my divine energy as well."
He gazed at the blinking red haired man and quickly started walking toward the boulder where he could see the little bird dozing off.
Jian gazed at his back and let out a chuckle.
"Wait, let's go together!"
Kyle paused and without looking back, waved his hand.
"Don't follow me. I'll tell you about it when you reached the transcendent rank."
Jian stopped in his tracks after hearing his words. He thought Kyle wouldn't tell him because the flames were probably related to something special the latter wanted to keep hidden. He was just asking him for fun, but little did he expect that Kyle would actually agree to tell him. Jian burst into laughter and raised his fist in the air.
"Alright, just wait for me to reach the transcendent rank! It won't be long!"
