Troubles Arriving One After Another

Boom!

After a thunderous blast, Solam transformed into a surging torrent of flame within the barrier, instantly filling the entire enclosure. Although his mind was in chaos, his innate battle instincts remained intact. He knew perfectly well that with his speed, facing the assassin before him one-on-one would be nothing but asking for trouble. The man could toy with him like a monkey for half the day.

Fortunately, Violette had created an excellent battlefield for him. In such an enclosed space, the Church of Fear assassin had very little room to evade.

As the flames flooded the entire barrier, Castro's face filled with despair. Under these circumstances, he could not escape even if he wanted to.

**********

Ten minutes later, the barrier shattered. The flames it had contained were no longer restrained and burst outward, instantly turning the three-acre garden that served as the battlefield into a sea of fire.

Solam, in his fire elemental form, slowly walked out of the blaze, carrying a fiercely burning corpse in one hand. Calling it a corpse was already a bit of a stretch, since it had been completely charred.

"Bang!" The corpse was tossed to the ground and, amid a spray of sparks, shattered into chunks of charcoal.

"My lord." Violette approached Solam with a black diamond in hand and respectfully offered it to him.

Solam did not stand on ceremony. He snatched the black diamond from Violette's hand. The moment his burning palm touched it, a shrill scream echoed in everyone's hearts. It was a scream from the soul itself, one that could only be heard by souls.

Solam lowered his head and looked at the diamond in his hand. Within the once crystal-clear gem, the assassin's face continuously twisted, screamed, and cursed. Solam had returned tooth for tooth, eye for