Faced with the swarm of green fire serpents erupting from underground like earthen spikes.
Isabella merely gave a light leap, turning her body into flames and becoming an enormous fireball that looked like a miniature sun up close.
After plunging into the miniature sun, the green flame serpents writhed and struggled for a moment before vanishing completely.
At the same time, the miniature sun "fell" toward Shuzo.
A "figure of fire" broke away from the back of the miniature sun, coalescing on the scorched ground and taking Isabella's form again.
-BOOM!!!
Flames exploded like a heavy incendiary bomb, stripping another layer off the nearly carbonized area that had once been a forest.
At the center of the explosion, a sphere of green fire flickered as though it were "running low on fuel."
"-Cough-aargh-"
The green fire shield dissipated. On the scorching ground, Shuzo propped himself up with the Seven Star Sword, looking as though he had one foot in the grave.
"It's useless. Your flames can't hurt me, and neither can your slashes."
At first, Isabella had wondered just how powerful this "Demon Flame" might be. But after actually fighting it, she found its destructive power fell far short of the Flame-Flame Fruit's.
It could barely hurt her, either. Even a direct hit only drained a little of her stamina and energy.
Still... the Demon Flame could actually collide with things like a solid object, while possessing animal-level "intelligence." That was rather absurd.
"-Shut up!"
Shuzo stood up, his chest heaving violently. The wounds on his body began to heal slowly.
But with his breath growing increasingly shallow, he looked ready to drop dead at any moment. Even the Seven Star Sword's enhancement of his physical abilities had its limits.
"The Seven Star Sword's power... I can feel it... the