(Heartfelt thanks to You're Quietly Watching Me Update, Dongfang Wansui, Invincible Origin, Yan Ai Ai, Long Lian Qingxue, Starting from Dawn, and Bu Leng Mu Leng for their tips!)
The terrifying waves of fire continued to surge, raging through the corners of the forest like a tidal wave that blotted out the sky.
Within those fire waves that filled every corner of the forest, tree after tree burned to nothing in the blink of an eye. The ground had all turned into blackened scorched earth, and not even a slightly larger rock remained, all of them annihilated by the astonishing explosion.
At the center of that terrifying explosion, a huge crater gradually emerged from the sea of flames, exposing the bedrock beneath. Seawater even flowed up from underground through crack after crack, as though the entire island had been punched through, making one's scalp tingle.
Only a small patch of land remained intact.
That was where Noah stood, holding Wendy in his arms and carrying the mysterious boy in one hand.
At the center of the crater, thick roots twisted together like vines had long since turned charred black. They peeled away bit by bit like scattered ashes, revealing Azuma within.
Yet even though he had been protected by those thick roots, which contained immense magic power and were as hard as rock or even steel, Azuma still looked as if he had been burned all over. His body was covered in charred marks. He staggered, his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Cough, cough..."
Azuma coughed up several mouthfuls of bloody phlegm. The color drained from his resolute face, and his slightly dark complexion became deathly pale, leaving him looking utterly weak.
Even so, Azuma continued to stare fixedly at Noah, murmuring as though in a