Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 26: Chapter 26 — Black Phoenix Part 1

Chapter 26 — Black Phoenix Part 1

The black flames continued to spread across Victor’s body. They no longer resembled ordinary fire. They curled around him in strange, almost ancient patterns, twisting across his arms, chest, and legs like something alive. The flames gave off no smoke and seemed to burn without consuming the air around him, clinging to his body as they cast an unnatural darkness across the cavern. Victor stood in the center of it all, barely conscious. Blood covered his clothes, a dagger remained buried in his shoulder, another wound stretched across his stomach, and the blade driven into his back was still lodged inside him. Moments ago, he had been barely standing. Now, something had changed.

His wounds began closing.

The cut across his stomach sealed itself before the blood could even finish running down his body. The wound in his back disappeared beneath the black flames, flesh knitting together as if the injury had never existed. Even the dagger embedded in his shoulder began to loosen as the surrounding flesh healed. Then Victor’s eyes opened.

His irises had completely changed.

They were black.

Completely black.

Leo felt it immediately. The energy radiating from Victor’s body was climbing. It rose past what Leo expected from a Rank Six cultivator, then Rank Seven, then Rank Eight. Higher. Leo’s relaxed posture disappeared, replaced by a defensive stance as the pressure continued rising until it finally reached his own level.

Peak Body Tempering.

Leo’s heart tightened.

What the hell is this?

Victor’s energy had just risen to match his. That shouldn’t have been possible. Leo had seen bloodline awakenings before. He had seen cultivators temporarily increase their strength through secret techniques and rare abilities, but nothing like this. His grip tightened around his sword as a cold realization settled into his mind.

If I don’t kill him now...

He didn’t finish the thought.

He didn’t need to.

Something told him that whatever was happening to Victor was only getting started.

Victor himself didn’t seem aware of any of it. His mind had nearly disappeared beneath the heat. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t reason. There was only instinct. Something inside him wanted to survive, and it was willing to burn everything in its way to accomplish that.

Victor lowered his head.

The black flames surged.

Then his foot struck the ground.

The stone beneath him cracked. By the time the sound reached the others, Victor was already gone.

Kyle barely had time to raise his shield.

Victor appeared directly in front of him.

The large man’s eyes widened. "What—"

A black-flamed hand grabbed the top of his helmet. The metal began to glow instantly. Kyle screamed as the armor melted beneath Victor’s fingers, the black flames consuming it before reaching the flesh underneath. He dropped his shield and desperately grabbed at Victor’s arm, but the flames were already spreading across his head.

His screams echoed through the cavern.

Victor didn’t react.

He simply held him.

Within seconds, Kyle’s body caught fire. The flames consumed him from the inside out, and his screams abruptly stopped. His burning body collapsed to the ground.

Victor turned.

A bestial roar escaped his throat.

His gaze locked onto Janet.

The archer froze. She had barely enough time to reach for another arrow when Victor stomped his foot against the ground. The stone cracked beneath him, and he vanished.

Janet’s eyes widened as Victor appeared directly in front of her. She couldn’t even draw her bow. Victor reached toward his shoulder and ripped the dagger free. Blood splashed across his chest, but the wound immediately began closing. Before Janet could react, Victor drove the dagger into her neck.

Her hands flew toward the blade as she desperately tried to breathe, but nothing came out.

Victor stared at her for a moment.

Then he struck.

His palm slammed against the side of her head with enough force to send it flying from her shoulders. It sailed across the cavern and disappeared over the edge of the waterfall while Janet’s body collapsed to the ground.

Jefferson stared.

He couldn’t move.

He had just watched Kyle die in seconds. Then Janet. Two members of his team were dead before he had even managed to understand what was happening.

Victor’s black eyes turned toward him.

Jefferson’s face drained of color.

"No..."

His body moved before his mind could.

He turned and ran.

Victor disappeared.

Jefferson felt something behind him and turned his head.

Too late.

Victor’s flaming fist punched through his back. The force carried the blow straight through his body, and Jefferson looked down in disbelief as a black-flamed fist protruded from his chest.

His eyes widened.

Then everything went dark.

Victor pulled his arm free.

Three bodies lay scattered across the stone.

The entire thing had happened in seconds.

Leo stood several meters away. For the first time since meeting Victor, there was no smile on his face. He had watched three members of his team die almost instantly. Kyle. Janet. Jefferson.

His fingers tightened around his sword.

Enough.

Leo’s body disappeared.

He reappeared directly in front of Victor, his sword already swinging. Victor reacted instantly, twisting his body as the blade passed beside him. The edge barely missed his chest before Victor’s fist came forward.

Leo raised his sword to block.

BOOM!

The punch sent him flying.

Leo’s body crashed backward and skidded across the stone for nearly twenty feet before he rolled back onto his feet. His expression was no longer playful.

He was fighting seriously now.

Victor stomped.

The ground cracked beneath his foot.

But before he could disappear, something moved behind him.

Jennifer.

She had been waiting.

Her body seemed to melt out of the shadows as she appeared behind Victor with a dagger already in her hand. She drove it into his back, the blade sinking deep.

Victor’s body barely reacted.

The wound immediately began healing around the dagger.

Jennifer’s eyes widened.

"What...?"

Victor turned his head.

His black eyes met hers.

Fear flashed across her face.

She tried to pull the dagger free, but she couldn’t. Victor grabbed her wrist, and black flames immediately crawled up her arm. The flesh beneath them began to burn.

Jennifer screamed and tried to escape, but Victor’s grip didn’t move.

He pulled the dagger from his back and drove it into her chest.

The blade pierced directly into her heart.

Her body went rigid.

Then he reached for the second dagger still buried in his back. He tore it out and drove it into her head.

Jennifer’s body went limp.

Victor released her.

She collapsed beside the others.

Silence returned to the cavern.

Victor stood among the bodies, surrounded by black flames. His breathing was heavy, and something inside his mind was beginning to clear. The haze was slowly receding. His thoughts were returning one piece at a time.

Victor looked down at his hands.

The black flames still covered them.

His vision shifted toward the bodies scattered across the cavern.

Kyle.

Janet.

Jefferson.

Jennifer.

His eyes slowly widened.

Then he looked across the cavern.

Leo stood alone.

Sword in hand.

Victor stared at him.

And for the first time since the flames had awakened...

Victor remembered why they were here.

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