Chapter 80 – Burning Sun

"What is it doing? Can't it see that everyone has already run away from it?" Kieran asked.

"That's how you see it, but for it, it's different," replied Alexei.

"How?"

"Look," Alexei said, pointing the Ice Mist Hawk in the air, "Amber's Ice Mist Hawk creates a thick mist that obscures sight and dulls the senses."

"Thick mist? I can't see anything."

"It's because of its singing. Anyone who hears it won't see the mist."

"Even if that's the case, how can a summoning beast of the Bronze rank can disturb the senses of a beast of the Silver rank?"

"You forgot Holden. His ability boosts others, so even though Amber's beast summons is only at the peak of Bronze rank, it can restrict the Ice Cloud Lion's senses."

Kieran was struck dumb for a moment. He had learned to love hunting alone during his two months in the archipelago and had a new look at the possibilities that working with a well-trained team could create if their abilities synergized well.

'Could I find someone with abilities that can synergize with mine to form a team?'

The thought crossed his mind for a moment before he shook his head, focusing on the Ice Cloud Lion again.

The beast was wreaking havoc all around it. Between its eye being slashed by Kieran and its senses restricted by the Ice Mist Hawk, it had gone mad.

*roars*

Its roar once again shook the cave, and large spikes of ice formed at its feet which flew in all directions.

Seeing one of the ice spikes close in on Amber, who stood paralyzed with a pale face, Kieran reacted quickly, forming a thick wall of earth in front of her, stopping the spike in its tracks.

Amber fell to the ground, her body shaking with fear. She turned her gaze to Kieran with a deep sense of gratitude in them.

Most of the rest of the team managed to take shelter from the ice spikes, except Danaë, who had the weakest physique among them. Caitlyn, who was close to her, turned around as soon as she saw a spike pointing at her.

She raised her ice sword above her head, and an icy mist began to swirl around the entire blade before she sliced through the ice spike with all her might.

"Ice Edge!"

The ice spike and the ice sword stood frozen in place for a moment.

*crack*

A loud cracking sound was heard. The ice sword in Caitlyn's hands exploded into several fragments. Her arms twisted back from the force of the attack, and her body was thrown through the air before being stopped by the walls of the cave. She fell unconscious to the ground with blood pouring from her head and arms.

The spike of ice that threatened Danaë's life deviated from its trajectory, passing beside her and sinking deeply into the cave wall.

Danaë's heart was pounding as the spike passed her. She forced herself to calm down as she rushed towards Caitlyn. The blue mark on her hand shone brightly. As a result, a wave of water the size of her arm came out of the mark on her hand, surrounding the wounds on Caitlyn's body, healing them quickly.

Caitlyn's eyelids quivered slightly as she opened her eyes, her consciousness cloudy, she could only see blurry shapes, but she could recognize Danaë, her lips curved slightly upwards.

"Are you okay?" asked Caitlyn in a feeble voice.

"Silly, you are badly injured," replied Danaë with concern in her voice.

"At least you have nothing. That way, you can heal me," the smile on her lips grew even bigger at that moment.

"You... fool..."

The Ice Cloud Lion, who was still berserk, slowly headed in their direction, destroying everything in its path. The ground was filled with the aftermath of the many ice attacks he had thrown all over the place.

But before it could reach the two, an ice spear streaked through the cave, hitting its head, and then another spear appeared after it, hitting it again.

One after another, like an endless barrage, a rain of spears fell on it, forcing it to change direction to shoot down the ants attacking it with those little needles.

Kieran watched as the Ice Cloud Lion rushed in their direction when he turned his gaze to Alexei.

"Can you keep it occupied for a few seconds?" asked Kieran.

"Do you have a method to finish it?" replied Alexei.

"Yes, but I need a little time to prepare it."

"Okay, we'll buy you some time. Gaharis, Vagan with me. Anna, cover us."

A water dagger appeared in each of Alexei's hands. His body quickly moved towards the Ice Cloud Lion with Gaharis and Vagan behind him.
Three spears of ice streaked past them, hitting an ice spike that aimed at them, causing it to deviate from its trajectory.

Kieran stared at the entire scene for a moment, storing Shard of a Broken World into his aurora collar before raising both hands in front of him and closing his eyes.

His consciousness shifted inside his body until he reached the giant's transformation crystal tree. A flame suddenly ignited in his hands.

During the past month, he had created very few new attacks. He still used his flames in the shape of a blade or spear, just like the first time he had used them. However, even though he didn't display any new attacks, it didn't mean he hadn't made progress during this month after his fight with Allen.

Seeing the yellow sun above his crystal trees day after day as he cultivated gave him an idea. All month long, his training with the element of fire was directed towards the one and only goal of making that idea a reality.

The flame in his hands began to grow slowly, and then under his control, it compressed into a small orb of fire the size of a fist before starting to grow again to repeat this process several times.

Sweat started to appear on his face. He used all his concentration to not lose control of the fire orb in his hands as its power increased with each compression.

The air in the cave suddenly began to change, a sweltering heat could be felt, and each team member couldn't help but glance in Kieran's direction, as well as at the fiery orb in his hands that sent shivers down their spines.

Ten seconds passed in this state as he slowly opened his eyes, the reflection of the fire orb in his hands reflected inside them, his arms shaking as if he were carrying an immense weight.

"It consumes less crystal essence than Earth Shattering, but it's harder to form. I'll have to train harder to control it better," he whispered.

His eyes finally landed on the Ice Cloud Lion, who was being held back somehow by the rest of the team. A cold glow shot through them as a thick killing intent escaped from his body.

He slowly separated his hands, holding the orb of fire floating above his right hand. Leaning the upper part of his body forward, he stretched the claws of his left hand, driving them into the ground before channeling the giant's transformation into his legs, increasing their size several times. Bracing against the cold ground, the claws of his feet left deep marks in the ground.

His body arched with his right hand reaching back as he pushed with all his strength on his feet.

A black blur crossed the cave at an incredible speed, passing by Alexei and the other two in an instant before leaping into the air, appearing right next to the Ice Cloud Lion's head, its only remaining eye staring at Kieran and what looked like a mini sun in its hand approaching it like the shadow of death.

"Burning Sun!"

A bright red light filled the cave, forcing everyone to close their eyes for a moment. When they opened them again, the scene in front of them left them speechless.

The Ice Cloud Lion's head was gone, along with half of its body that had been reduced to ashes, with horrible burn marks covering its remains.

Kieran was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily for air. His whole body was drenched in sweat. His back was turned towards them.

"You did it, Kieran!"

Alexei approached him with a smile on his face when his gaze landed on Kieran's right arm. His fur was gone, and the skin underneath was half melted, revealing his muscles and even some of his bones which seemed to glow with a faint golden sheen.

"Kie..."

As he was about to call his name, Alexei’s body froze when his eyes fell on Kieran’s cold eyes, a chill running through his back. He did not feel at all in front of a human, but in front of a vicious beast, the aura that emanated from him at that moment made him suffocate, making him take a step backward unconsciously.

"I couldn't control it well. I even burned part of my arm when it came into contact with the head of the Ice Cloud Lion. Should I cover my arm with a layer of earth? No, if I do that, I will lose even more crystal essence for this attack. I have to learn how to control it properly..."
Kieran didn't seem to notice Alexei's presence as he talked to himself.

"You should calm down before thinking about all this. If you stay in this state, you could leave a mark in the mind of this youngster," Runihoril's calm voice echoed in his mind, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Kieran blinked as he looked at Alexei. The killing intent that emanated from him gradually calmed down until it disappeared completely.

"Sorry, it seems like I overdid it," he said with an embarrassed smile on his face, scratching the back of his head with his left hand.

Alexei was shocked by the change before him as if he was dealing with two totally different people.

"It's nothing. It's thanks to you that we could kill it so easily. I'll tell Danaë to heal you when Caitlyn has sufficiently recovered."

"Thanks."

"I'll see how the others are doing."

"Okay."

Kieran watched Alexei leave, he could feel that he was a bit frightened by him.

He began to realize that whenever he did everything against an opponent or that his emotions were out of control, he felt this killing intent uncontrollably fill his body, but it was the first time someone he considered an ally was afraid of him, making him think more about it.

"Master. What's happening to my body?" Kieran asked, looking down at his hand.

"It's called the killing intent. It's the physical manifestation of your emotions. After you slaughtered the members of the Thundershields guild on that island, your killing intent began to manifest around you. The killing intent is based on controlling yourself and your emotions. It can be both beneficial and harmful. It all depends on how you manage to control it."

"How can I learn to control it?"

"I can't teach you that. It's something you'll have to figure out for yourself."

Runihoril said no more words after that and left Kieran alone with his thoughts, a slight pain coming from his arm brought him back to reality.

He sat on the ground, canceling his abilities before grabbing a medicinal potion from his aurora collar, which he emptied onto his right arm while pulling out another potion and drinking its entire contents in one go.

He closed his eyes, meditating to direct the potion's energy to the injury on his right arm.