### Chapter 156: Long Night’s Dark Fire (Part Three)
Whoosh—
Clang!
“d*mn….”
In a rush, the Tall and Slim Heretic raises his long sword in front of him, but it only hold on for a moment.
The tremor of metal chimes rings out as the sword shatters, a broken blade grazes his face, drawing a line of bl**d that flutters into the air. The Extreme Ice Short Scythe keeps charging forward with relentless momentum, slamming into his chest with a “thud,” deeply piercing him while hot bl**d splatters out.
“Ugh!”
The Tall and Slim Heretic cannot help but let out a muffled groan as his bl**d, burning with Infernal Fire, spills from his mouth. Frost Power starts to erode his body from the chest, white frost visibly spreads rapidly to his neck and arms, covering his entire upper body. Coldness and heat, two extreme temperatures intertwine within him, accompanied by a sharp “sizzle” sound as thick steam seeps from his skin, slowly rising into the air.
“Ugh… ugh ah… ha, ha ha…”
The Tall and Slim Heretic’s expression is one of pain, his voice trembling as veins bulge from his forehead. Dark red patterns swiftly crawl across his ugly face, and the man grins maliciously, big beads of sweat forming that freeze in an instant, then evaporate again.
“You…”
He glares at me with his bl**d-red eyes, struggling to speak. The Infernal Fire consuming him dims under the frost’s encroachment for a moment, but then it erupts with a “bang,” reigniting with fierce heat, dispelling the surrounding frost. The scarlet flames fill my vision, and I can’t help but squint, my left hand forming a fist, ready to strike. In that instant, however, the Heretic swiftly retreats.
Quick reflexes and even quicker feet, he spins away just before the frost could consume him, and with a “whoosh,” the Short Scythe is pulled from his chest, taking with it chunks of frozen flesh. But the man isn’t bothered; he doesn’t even seem affected as he instantaneously creates distance between us, backing up nearly ten meters. Lifting his palm towards me, bl**d foam spills continuously from his mouth as his malicious grin widens, “—A bit cute, hee hee hee…”
Boom—
Gathering Infernal Fire, a blazing fireball forms in his palm and suddenly hurtles toward me.
“Hmph…”
I grunt softly.
This level of attack isn’t even worth dodging.
As the fireball approaches, Frost Power re-gathers in my left palm, and then I swing forward with great force!
Boom!
My slender arm powerfully strikes the blazing fire, and the clash of ice and flame lasts little more than a moment. The incoming fireball is swatted away like a pesky little bug, whipping through the air with a howling gale, leaving a trail of flames as it smashes into a small hill in the distance.
Boom!
A violent explosion creates a mighty wave of fire, scorching winds swirl up a storm of dust, rumbling in like thunder as my tousled hair dances wildly. For a brief moment, the Heretic appears shocked. At the same time, I hurl my Extreme Ice Short Scythe swiftly through the air.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—
The icy scythe slices through the remaining swirling flames, tracing a perfect arc in the air, hitting the Heretic’s head before he can react. The cold, sharp blade plunges into his left eye socket with such force that it lifts his feet off the ground, flipping his body backward as he tumbles through the air and lands about five or six meters away.
Ha, easy…
Channeling power into my legs, I’m poised to chase down for another k*ll when suddenly, a strong wind rushes by my side. A wave of heat flashes in my peripheral vision, and I sense danger, abruptly halting my momentum to crouch down as a fiery kick flies over my head!
Whoosh—
The rush of wind and flames stings my ears as I crouch on the ground, pressing my palms down, frowning slightly.
Here comes another one…
Thinking of a two-on-one?
…Bring it on.
Thoughts race in my mind, and in less than a third of a second, as the incoming kick hasn’t yet been retracted, I don’t even need to turn my head to check. In my peripheral vision, I spot a bare foot wrapped in Infernal Fire, the other leg used to maintain balance standing right beside me, still radiating heat—
Such a big opening!
Reacting immediately, I keep my crouched stance, and with a lightning-quick movement, I raise my right leg parallel to my head, sweeping it toward the Heretic’s supporting leg!
Thud!
Crack.
The sound of bone breaking is distinctly audible at the moment our shins collide. The sweeping kick’s brutal force overwhelms him, leaving no time for resistance or adjustment. The Heretic’s leg snaps with a loud crack, his broken tibia piercing through flesh as he lets out a pained shout, his body losing balance, teetering precariously in the air.
In the next moment, I propel myself off the ground with my hands, using the force of my sweep to launch into the air, spinning like a wheel, one rotation, two rotations. I retract my right leg while extending my left like a whip, aimed squarely at the airborne Heretic’s head, striking down with lightning speed!
Whoosh—
Bam!
Boom!
As my leg whips through the air, the whistling sound cuts through the atmosphere, and a dull thud echoes off the Heretic’s head, the terrifying force snapping his neck as his skull crashes into the sandy ground below, three sounds erupting almost simultaneously. He may look like a small fellow, seemingly weighing less than a hundred pounds, but the impact shatters the hardened earth, sending dust and debris flying seven or eight meters away!
He doesn’t even have time to let out a cry.
His head, chest, and legs hit the ground nearly simultaneously, splintering the earth in the process, and a series of bone-cracking pops ring out as his body suddenly goes limp, propelled away by the incredible recoil, with broken muscle and skin flailing, he is launched several meters away, one side of his skull indented deeply, bl**d yet to ooze out—
Meanwhile, I complete my final rotation in the air, slamming my right palm down onto his face, using my whole body’s weight to drive him back down!
Boom!
With my palm clenched around his face like a vice, the immense force slams his rebounding body back into the frost-covered ground, his skull unable to withstand the pressure, splitting open, disgusting red bl**d splattering everywhere, staining my fluttering skirt, the hot, viscous fluid splashing against my cheek.
Not enough yet…
Boom! Boom! Boom—
With three explosive sounds, a torrent of white mist surges out from my palm, instantaneously re-encasing the already cracked, loosened earth in ice, while the Heretic’s head, now thoroughly cracked under the cold and horrifying impact, disintegrates into countless pieces, exploding outward like an ice storm.
At this moment, my feet finally land firmly on the ground.
I pull my hand back from where his head lay, straighten up, and exhale lightly, looking at the body on the ground that’s now headless, the torso lifeless—this guy is completely dead. The Infernal Fire is extinguished by the frost, his body doesn’t even twitch, turning into a cold statue.
And from him kicking at me, to my returning sweep, then my jump kick, a palm smashing down on his head, skull exploding, and finishing off with three bursts of frost mist to shatter his head, the whole process took less than two seconds—just a blink of an eye.
Cold air begins to spread around me as I stand at the center of the mist, listening to the sounds around. After a while, I scrape off the frozen bl**d clumps from my face and glance back at the corpse.
“…Three hundred and thirty-seven.”
This person isn’t a Jester.
Dark red glimmers fade in my eyes as they return to the color of the night.
…Four left.
“Hey, hey, this isn’t fun…”
In the distance, it seems another Heretic is speaking.
“Even Quell is dead…”
“That was a little girl… oh d*mn, I hate little girls…”
…The nearest voice belongs to the one I had struck in the left eye with the Short Scythe earlier.
Moon Step.
Whoosh—
The icy wind rushes into my ears as the ice mist in front of me parts ways. I burst forth from the fog, my steps changing swiftly. A petite figure flickers under the night sky, in a black skirt swirling like a ghostly apparition, I flash several times before appearing right before the Tall and Slim Heretic.
He doesn’t even have time to react.
The frost on his body hasn’t completely melted, but he’s managed to stand back up. The Short Scythe pulled from his eye now lies on the ground beside him, the dark, horrific wound barely healing, bl**d burning like a fountain bursting out, and his remaining right eye still trembles, perplexedly glancing at the direction of his fallen comrade’s body shrouded in mist over ten meters away, thinking I’m still there.
But I’m right in front of him.
Head tilted back, I stand straight, staring at him.
Letting the splattering bl**d coat my body.
One second.
I watch as the Tall and Slim Heretic’s pupils lose focus, then snap back into sharp clarity, his facial muscles twitch, and his body suddenly tenses. His wide-open right eye locks onto my expressionless face, alarm flashing for a brief moment before warping into a furious scowl. He lets out an “Ah!” as fierce flames erupt once more, wrapping around his body and ugly face like a fiery cocoon.
Then, the scarlet flames rush toward me.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The roaring flames engulf my body and vision, the crackling sounds of fire roaring in my ears. I dig my feet in, leaning forward, bracing against the inferno for just a moment before frosty mist surges from beneath my feet, surrounding me.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…
The blaring clash of high heat and low temperature drowns out everything, and the steam is blinding. I can’t help but squint as the Tall and Slim Heretic gives it everything he’s got, expelling the scarlet flames from his palms towards me. In the distance, I faintly hear him shouting, “Help me!”
“Mr. J—!!”
In the next moment, I brace against the flames, reaching out to grab hold of his clothing around the abdomen, knees slightly bent, I leap into the air.
“Doesn’t hurt… doesn’t tickle…”
As I speak, a rich rush of white frost bursts from my mouth.
“Who exactly are you—”
BAM!
I launch a heavy punch right to the heretic’s face.
The impact smashes his jaw, the unfinished words he tried to put forth are sent tumbling back into his mouth, teeth flying, his nose crumples, and his face implodes. The Tall and Slim Heretic cannot even scream, his feet leave the ground in an instant. Just as his body begins to tumble backwards, I pull him back down by his clothes, following up with another frost-wrapped fist to his face!
BAM!
BAM!
BAM—
After three punches, the Tall and Slim Heretic’s face has morphed into something unrecognizable, with only his exploding eyeball remaining, and his nose and mouth twisted together to produce bizarre sounds; however, in the next moment, an enraged roar descends from the heavens, accompanied by a fierce wind barreling down from above.
“d*mn it, little girl!!!”
The fourth Heretic leaps towards me like a cannonball, his fists clenched tight, enveloped in red flames bright enough to illuminate the entire night!
