Chapter 195: Drowning Fire

The sun’s light was fading into the distance, making the sky grey and allowing the first few stars to start twinkling in the darkening sky. Down below, Zen was too busy dodging wave after wave of fire to really pay attention.

He rolled along the ground, avoiding another wave which shot overhead, landing behind him where it sprouted a large fire. He kept dodging and rollingtto stay ahead of the waves. Then he stopped, the Masked Woman shot no more fire at him.

He looked around, noticing that he was surrounded by a blaze. Before, he could not see it because he was too busy dodging the waves of fire attacks but now that he was still he could see just how surrounded he was. It crackled fiercely and his clothes were already damp with sweat caused by the intense heat. His breathing also became laboured, a feeling of light headedness engulfed him as his peripheral vision began blurring.

The Masked Woman slowly made her way to him, slowly at first but with each step, she got faster until she was running. Zen took a deep breath to refocus himself before they met. Zen tried to block her attacks and dogde some but something was wrong. Each attack made him feel like it would reak his bones. He tried to move his ki to harden his ones and skin but it refused to bend to his will and when it did, it was as sluggish as his form.

Zen was getting beat up, beingpushed further back. Even when she made moves to unbalance him, he failed to counter like last time, ending up in him stumbling in desperation to regain his balance only to be kicked and punched.

The Masked Woman spun around before her leg shot out, connecting her heel to his cheek and sending Zen spinning away. Zen got up to his knees, looking at the fire close to him. He looked at the Masked Woman in confusion.

“What- What’s going on?”

“I’m guessing you mean the weakness you’re feeling.” The Masked Woman said as she got closer. “It’s all a part of my fire spell, Drowining Fire. Anyone caught in the vicinity of my fire gets a weak sickness, their health, vitality, even their ability to control ki rapidly deteriorates. It drowns your strength away!”

When she was upon him, he tried to punch her but she easily blocked him and grabbed him by the hair, cruelly twisting pulling it, while she gathered ki needles in her other hand. “I’ve fantasized about this for so long. I can’t believe it took over a year for me to finally end you but what else can I expect from a coachroach!” she spat.

The fire behind them burst open and Shibi jumped out, fire blazing around his fist. The Masked WSoman leapt back before he could make contact.

“Sh-Shibi,” Zen smirked, “I knew you could kill that mutt.”

Shibi nodded but kept his eyes on the Masked Woman.

She grunted in frustration before she completed her ki needles and shot it at Shibi. The Scorch Ape gathered fire and shot out a stream of flame to meet the stream of ki needles. There were white sparks as the needles dissapted while stopping the fire. When Shibi’s fire dissapted, a few needles came through and stabbed him, causing him to scream while collapsing.

“Shibi!” Zen said so loud that a spell of dizziness overcame him.

Shibi made his way back up, blood pouring from the spots where the needles had stabbed him.

“I guess because you’re a Scorch Ape, you instinctively can resist my Drowning Fire.” The Masked Woman said. “But you still have one problem, Orange rat, even without theh Drowning Fire, I’m still stronger than you.”

Shibi screamed in defiance before attacking her. Zen looked at their battle through half lidded eyes. He could already tell that Shibi was in trouble by the way the attle was going. He would need to help him if his companion would survive.

“Hang on, Shibi.” Zen said… hoped as he crossed his legs under him and made the hand sign for Cracked Earth cultivation technique. He was not cultivating, even he could sense the futility of such an action at this time as the Drowning Fire had robbed the eniviroment around them of natural mana. Instead, he was entering a hyper focused state, ignoring the blaze and Shibi’s desperate shouts for his life while he manipulated the ki in his body regardless of the Drowning Fire around him.

He hardneded his body and kept some ki nearby just in case he neede to reinforce it again. He opened his eyes just in time to see the Masked Woman spin Shibi around above her head by his tail before slamming him hard into the ground.

Zen rushed forward in panic and stopped when he saw her leave his body and approach him.

“Dumb monkey,” The Masked Woman said.

Zen quickly glanced at Shibi’s body, hoping that he was still alive. He could feel histhe extra ki already fully melted away. All he had was his hardening technique and even that was quickly fading.

“Ready to fight for your life again, kid?” The Masked Woman said.

“No.”

She looked at him in confusion.

“I know that look in your eye, Lady.” Zen said. “It’s the same look I have whenever I think about the people who took my brother from me. It’s the same look my father has when he knows someone else’s evil is responsible for taking his son. It’s the look that tells people that you are willing to die to get revenge. I know I’m going to die.”

“So you’ve given up?”

“Oh no, see, I may die today but I’m going to make sure to take you with me.”

She laughed then attacked. Zen blocked her hits, successfully weathering most of them thanks to his hardening, but he knew it would not last long. He allowed her to press him back, blocking her major shots when he could but he also took a lot of damage. He kept going further back and back, leading her without letting her know.

When he felt the heat at his back, he used his ki to activate one ki technique. “Dazziling Jab!”

The Masked Woman’s eye went wide in shock as she made to block the jab aimed at her face. That was her mistake as when the jab connected with her forearm, its effect activated, stunningher for less than a second ut that was all Zen needed. He grabbed her, trapping her arms beneath the ring he made with his. She struggledbut he held fast and with all his remaining might, he lifted her over and slammed her right onto an open flame.

She screamed as the fire greedily licked up her and his body. Zen qclenched his teeth as he was slowly also being engulfed in fire, determined to not let go until they were both on fire.

There was an explosion of fire that knocked Zen off her and into the air while also putting out the fire that had already engulfed the two. Zen landed on his back with a grunt.

“She used fire to put out fire?” Zen said, looking hopelessly at the sky above. “Is she a demon?”

Zen sat up and lost all hope of winning when he saw the Masked Woman was also sitting up. His hardening was gone, he was once again struggling to control his ki. He knew he was dead.

“You brat!” The Masked Woman shouted while sprinting at him.

She kicked him in the face, sending him rolling back. He got up, instinctively struggling for his life but all he got was a beating. His body was sent here and there with each punch and kick. His bones broke and fractured with each knee and elbow. His vision began to blur as his lifeforce threatened to vanish. He was struggling to breath, occasionally throwing up blood and coughing while still getting mercilessly beaten.

The beating stopped, he was not sure when but he found himself standing under crooked and trembling legs. He could see the woman standing before him, her palm held out as ki needles formed above it.

“I am ending this,” she said. “No one can save you now.” The ki sphere finished forming. “Finally,” she said, a tear falling from her eye, “I can avenge my love.” The Ki Needle Sphere began spinning rapidly. “By shredding your heart to bit!” She shouted before running at him and thrustung the ki sphere for his chest.

Zen allowed his muscles to take over and fell back, the Ki Needle Sphere passing him overhead. He grabbed the Masked Woman’s arm and allowed her momentum to carry her forward as they both fell back. She landed on him and he used to egs to vault her over him and into the blaze behind them!

She screamed as she disappeared in the very intense fire she had built.

Zen stayed on the ground. He smiled as he looked up at the starry sky, having no doubt that this was the last one he would enjoy. The darkness of death began invading his visionleaving only a tiny hole of the stars before it took him. Then his eyes shot open, as one thought kept death at bay, “Shibi,” he whispered.

He forced himself to his feet and began limping over to Shibi.

“Hey buddy,” Zen said, standing over Shibi.

Shibi’s eyes opened. “Zen,” he said.

Zen sat on the ground and took Shibi’s body in his arms. “The Masked Woman is dead, don’t ask me how cause I don’t know either.” Zen looked around at the raging fire around them. “I don’t think it matters at all though, cause the way this fire is burning, we’ll need a miracle to…”

Zen’s eyes widened in shock as he saw a silhouette engulfed in fire oming at him. He knew it was the Masked Woman who had somehow used a fire spell to wreath her body in fire the same way Shibi had done when he freed himself from the coils of Chen Jian’s snake when they were fighting.

Zen threw Shibi away as the Masked Woman fell on him with an unnatural scream. She strangled him as he futily striggled under her. From teary eyes, he saw the Maske crumble apart from the fire, revealing the woman’s wrinkley and melting skin and the crazed look in her green eyes. That’s when Zen realised that she was not using an elemental spell to cover herself in fire, she was actually burning! And what’s worse, she had entered Death Throes.

Zen could feel his windpipe closing and her burning hands melting the skin on his throat away. His eyes began rolling to the back of his head. Then the pressure on his throat ceased and the woman fell atop of him.

Zen grunted and pushed the burning body off his. He gulped a few thankful breathes while crawling away on his hands and butt away from the burning body.

Shibi joined him.

“Don’t worry, her body gave out.” He said. “I guess now, we join her.” He patted the Scorch Ape in sadness.

Shibi walked in front of him and looked at the fire before them. He gathered heat in his core, his body began glowing red as embers rose from him like an aura. Shibi screamed as he released a massive stream of fire out. Shibi’s fire and the blaze it passed through twisted and curled around each other before they both died down. Leaving a clear path out of the blaze.

Shibi fainted after the massive output of power. Zen lifted Shibi’s body into his arms.

“Thank you, Shibi.”he said before he began limping through the newly created path. “Fire putting out fire, I need to learn how that works.”

Zen made it out of the fire. He reorientated himself to figure out where he was. He knew if he headed east, he could walk to the nearest town, hop a carriage and get to his father’s funeral. But what occupied his mind also is what laid north. That was where the academy was and where Silicy was taking Xue Shaonu.

If he went to the academy, he would find out if the woman he loves, Xue Shaonu was still alive or not. He could also find out whether his cousin had survived her battle. The two girls had risked and maybe sacrificed their lives to help him and a big part of him wanted to make sure they were okay. He could also get Shibi to the medical center, for even though he was breathing, Shibi laid in his arms, limp and unresponisive.

For a moment, he stood still, looking between east and north, looking between loyalty to his love, cousin and companion orhonouring his father.

He took a deep breath and began walking east.

The carriage pulled up on his home. The day was well established with the afternoon sun well above in the sky. It had taken Zen longer than he thought to get to the town. He stumbled out of the carriage and entered the yard of his childhood home.

“Yin Bhiki! Ding Wu!” Zen shouted as he walked to the door with SHibi in his arms.

The door open and a woman rushed out to him and hugged him tightly. The smell of the woman was comforting as it was a smell he had not smelled in what seemed like ages. He wanted nothing more than to hug the woman back but he could not with Shibi’s limp body in his hands.

With tears in his eyes, he looked at the woman. “Mom, where’s Dad?”

“He’s dead, Honey.” She said, her voice shaking as she too cried. “We had his funeral yesterday.”