“Uninvited guests, a fight is acceptable, but damaging the manor’s buildings is not. Come here and let’s settle this,” James’s voice carried a hint of arrogance.
After James and his two companions appeared, the manor’s guards vanished. Clearly, the ordinary guards knew better than to interfere in a battle between Espers.
Leo and his team had no choice but to change direction and charge towards their target. Leo decided to strike first, channeling his Spiritual Power and unleashing a Skyfire Talisman.
James’s ability was fire, so Leo thought he would counter him with fire. “Fire attack, just in time!” James laughed loudly. “Fire energy, reverse!”
A strange thing happened: the Skyfire that was aimed at James reversed direction and attacked Leo instead. Realizing his mistake, Leo rolled to the side awkwardly. The Skyfire hit the ground, instantly turning the grass into ashes.
“My turn!” James shouted. “Fire energy, come forth, burning dragon!”
In desperation, Leo summoned a Water Talisman. A violent water column shot out from the talisman, directly meeting James’s fire dragon. With a thunderous clash, water and fire collided, extinguishing each other and disappearing into the air.
James was momentarily stunned by the scene. Pulling out a piece of yellow paper could unleash such a fierce attack; it didn’t seem like an Esper’s ability. If this young man was an Esper, what exactly was his power?
After his brief stupor, James became furious. Regardless of whether the opponent was an Esper or something else, he intended to make him suffer in the flames. James’s body ignited in a fierce blaze, but his clothes remained unscathed. He pushed his hands forward, sending a massive wave of fire towards Leo.
On the other side, Knox and Eric were locked in a fierce struggle. After some physical combat, Knox suddenly released a bolt of lightning. Eric instinctively blocked with his arm. The next second, Eric screamed in pain, thrown to the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, and his once-stylish long hair now looked like a broom.
Knox’s ability was controlling electricity, which Eric was unaware of, leading to his severe disadvantage. Seizing the opportunity, Knox gathered electrical energy in his right hand, ready to strike Eric again. But Eric suddenly sprang up from the ground and opened his mouth towards Knox.
Eric didn’t shout, but the air instantly rippled with powerful shockwaves. A bolt of lightning shot from Knox’s hand towards the shockwave, like a knife cutting through air, neither able to stop the other.
Knox’s face showed surprise as he drew a circle with his hands in front of his chest. An electric shield formed before him. The shockwave hit the shield mercilessly; with a muffled groan, the electric shield dissipated, and Knox was thrown backward.
Of course, lightning moved at the speed of light, faster than a blink. Eric couldn’t dodge and was hit directly, causing him to jump up involuntarily like he was dancing.
Knox climbed up from the ground in frustration. With his cleanliness obsession, seeing himself covered in dirt made him furious: “The god of Thunder’s wrath, divine punishment!”
A massive lightning bulb formed in Knox’s hand. The rumbling thunder sounded like explosions in the sky, creating an intimidating spectacle.
Eric could absorb cosmic energy around him and store it in his cells to release later. When released, he could heat the air into an ionized state and form powerful shockwaves. He could control the amplitude of these shockwaves, with the smallest causing headaches. Eric himself was immune to any form of shockwave attack.
Meanwhile, Vivian and Savannah were staring each other down without rushing into action.
“Esper, what is your ability?” Savannah asked coldly after seeing Eric suffer at Knox’s hands.
Vivian raised her right hand, forming ice crystals in her palm. The ice crystals rapidly grew into an ice spear which she then hurled at Savannah as her answer.
Savannah extended her right hand and made a rotating motion. The sound of howling wind arose as an eye of the storm rapidly formed in front of her. The ice spear entered the eye of the storm and was shredded into ice shards before the storm transformed into a wind cone aimed at Vivian.
Vivian showed no fear. Her eyes flashed white as she spread her arms wide. The ground trembled as a massive ice wall rose from the earth to block the wind cone.
Leo was surrounded by flames. Although protected by Spiritual Power, the intense heat continued to invade his body. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that in such temperatures, Leo would be roasted within five or six minutes.
Not wanting to entangle with James any longer, Leo summoned the Divine Dragon Sword and shouted, “James, face my wrath.”
The sword’s blade glowed with substantial power, causing James’s heart to skip a beat. He screamed, “Flame shield!” A shield of roaring flames appeared before him. The Divine Dragon Sword’s powerful strike hit it but failed to break through.
James stepped back two paces; this attack hadn’t caused him any real harm. Seeing his flame shield easily withstand the attack brought a cold smile to James’s face. Just as he prepared to counterattack, his smile froze.
The flame shield still stood before him, but an ancient sword had pierced through it and his body as well. “This is impossible…” James muttered as he looked down at his chest and slowly knelt on the ground.
Without James’s control, the raging flames acted like wild beasts and began devouring his body. Soon, only a pile of black ashes remained on the ground.
Knox had already thrown the lightning bulb into the air above Eric. A white inscription pattern appeared on the ground within ten meters around Eric like a projection. The immense electrical energy exerted tremendous pressure on Eric; he wanted to escape but felt completely locked in with nowhere to go.
In desperation, Eric let out a wild roar towards the sky. Countless bolts of lightning struck down from above him; amidst the thunderous roars, Eric’s body was engulfed in terrifying electric light.
Half a minute later, the lightning ceased. The ground around Eric was riddled with holes with occasional sparks flickering out.