"Kai!" Belle's voice rang out over the battlefield, sharp and commanding. Amidst the chaos, Kai flicked a glance back—flames reflecting in his crimson eyes.
"Get to the leader! I'll clear the way!"
For a split second, he hesitated. But then—that smirk. That cocky, confident and unshaken smirk appeared on his face.
"About time."
Belle closed her eyes. Breathe. The air around her shifted. The residual heat from battle coiled around her like a living thing, feeding into something deeper, older, wilder.
This wasn't like Darin's fire. It was something else. Something hotter, untamed—primal.
Her heart pounded. She exhaled—and the world exploded. A roaring inferno erupted outward, a tidal wave of blinding crimson fire bursting from Belle's very core. The temperature in the cavern skyrocketed—the air itself igniting into a swirling storm of embers. A wall of flame surged forward, swallowing the battlefield in a surge of raw destruction.
The kobolds in her path didn't just burn—they were reduced to nothing. Ash in seconds. The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of it, stone melting into molten rivers where the flames had touched.
And for a moment—just a fleeting, breathless moment—everything was silent.
Trinity Blade froze.
Lena's blue eyes went wide, the frost on her fingertips flickering. "That's—"
Darin took a step back, the fire in his own hands faltering, paling in comparison to the inferno raging before him. His voice came in a whisper. "No way…"
Even Kai, always quick with a comeback, stood in stunned silence, his grip tightening on his katana.
And Belle—she moved again. Lightning crackled. Sparks danced across her fingertips, electricity coiling around her limbs, growing denser and hungrier.
And then—she raised her hand to the heavens. The air hummed. The cavern's atmosphere shifted, thick with static. Even the flames bent toward her, drawn to her presence.
And then—lightning answered.
A blinding pillar of light descended from above like the judgment of a wrathful god. It tore through the battlefield, the sheer impact shattering the cavern floor, leaving a crater of molten stone in its wake.
The shockwave alone obliterated the closest kobolds, their charred forms collapsing mid-scream. The air crackled, thick with the scent of ozone and burning flesh. And Belle stood in the center of it all—untouched, wreathed in fire and lightning, steam rising from her body.
Her silver eyes gleamed, still alight with residual sparks.
Silence. Not just among her team—but the kobolds. The remaining creatures hesitated, their shrill cries dying in their throats. They stumbled back, eyes darting toward their leader.
Fear. They had seen death.
Darin swallowed hard, voice barely audible. "She… has two affinities?"
Lena's throat was dry. "Fire and lightning. That's—"
Kai let out a low whistle, shaking off his stunned expression with a wide grin.
"You guys can be surprised later."
Belle smirked, flexing her fingers as energy still coiled around them.
The battlefield still pulsed with residual energy.
Flickering embers clung to the scorched stone, casting eerie shadows along the cavern walls. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt fur and charred flesh, mixing with the lingering ozone from Belle's lightning strike. The once-ferocious kobold horde had been reduced to ruins, their ranks obliterated.
The kobold leader stood at the center of the destruction, towering over the battlefield. Unlike the others, its hide was reinforced with dark, iron-like scales, its eyes glowing with a cold, calculating intelligence. The scars lining its massive frame spoke of countless battles survived, of wars waged in the depths of the dungeons.
It was no mindless beast. It was a predator. And it recognized the real threat.
The moment Kai stepped forward, flames licking at his katana, the leader's grip on its massive curved blade tightened.
A low, guttural growl rumbled from its throat. It acknowledged him. A true duel.
Kai cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as his fire surged. "Finally," he muttered under his breath.
Then—he moved. A blur of motion. Flames exploded from beneath his feet, propelling him forward like a comet.
The leader reacted instantly.
With a bone-rattling snarl, it swung its massive blade down in a brutal, earth-shattering arc. The sheer force behind the strike split the ground beneath it, sending jagged fissures racing outward.
Fast. Too fast.
Kai's eyes widened, but instincts took over.
At the last second, he twisted, flames bursting from his soles, launching him into a rapid sidestep. A hair's breadth.
The leader's blade missed—barely. Stone shattered beneath it.
Kai skidded across the battlefield, embers trailing behind him. He let out a slow breath, feeling the rush of adrenaline, of danger, of pure exhilaration.
"Damn." His lips curled into a smirk. "You're not just some dumb monster."
The leader's eyes narrowed, reading his stance. Then, without warning—it lunged.
A blur of steel and scale, moving far faster than its massive frame suggested. Its blade came in a whirlwind of death, slashing in a rapid series of brutal strikes, each one carrying enough power to shatter boulders.
Kai met the assault head-on. Steel clashed against steel. Each impact sent shockwaves through the cavern, the force so intense that nearby kobolds were thrown off their feet, tumbling backward from the sheer pressure of the duel.
Kai gritted his teeth, arms straining with each parry. Every swing from the leader was like getting hit by a wrecking ball, raw power behind each strike.
But Kai wasn't just enduring. He was studying. He watched the leader's footwork, the way its muscles tensed before a swing, the split-second pauses in between its heavier strikes.
A pattern. A weakness.
The moment the leader raised its curve blade high for another devastating overhead swing—Kai acted. He ducked low, letting the massive blade carve through the air just inches above his head. Flames coiled around his legs, propelling him forward like a flame-wreathed bullet.
His katana flashed. A single, perfect strike.
A deep, burning gash tore across the leader's chest. The monster roared in pain, staggering back as smoldering embers clung to its scales.
But it wasn't finished. With a snarl of pure fury, its massive tail whipped around—a thick, bladed limb moving like a scythe through the air.
Kai saw it coming—but too late.
CRACK.
The impact sent him flying.
His back slammed into a stone pillar, the force cracking the rock behind him. Pain exploded through his ribs, the breath ripped from his lungs.
"Kai!"
Lena's voice, sharp with worry.
Belle's eyes narrowed, body tensed, ready to move.
Kai coughed, shaking his head as he pushed himself to his feet. He wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That's all you got?" His grin never faded, despite the ache in his ribs.
The leader stomped forward, chest rising and falling heavily, its eyes glowing with battle-lust. Its wound bled, but it didn't slow.
And then—it shifted its stance.
Belle's eyes widened.
That posture. She had seen it before, in books, in ancient duels. It was a finishing move.
The leader raised its massive blade high, gripping it with both hands. The cavern shook beneath its feet, stone cracking under the sheer weight of its presence.
One blow. That was all it needed.
And if Kai took it head-on—he'd die.
"Heads up, Kai!" Belle called, urgency in her voice. "That's a finishing move!"
But—Kai's smirk only widened.
"Perfect."
The leader struck. A single, unstoppable swing. The very air howled as the massive blade descended, splitting the battlefield in two. But—Kai was already gone.
For a single instant, he vanished. A flickering afterimage remained where he stood, a mirage of fire and motion.
And then—he reappeared behind the leader.
"Hellfire Crescent."
Kai's katana glowed white-hot, wreathed in an inferno so intense it warped the air around it. A single, devastating arc of flame carved through the leader's back.
Silence.
The leader's massive body staggered forward. Its blade slipped from its grip, crashing against the ground with a heavy clang. It tried to turn—tried to fight—but its legs gave out. With a final, rasping snarl—it fell.
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the cavern.
For a moment—nothing moved. And then—a sound. Not from the heroes—but from the kobolds. The remaining creatures, once snarling with bloodlust, now stood frozen in absolute horror. Their leader—the strongest of them, their chieftain, their warlord—was dead.
Fear gripped them like chains. One by one, their resolve broke.
A heavy silence settled over the battlefield, broken only by the distant echoes of retreating kobolds. Their frantic claws scraped against stone, the last remnants of their resistance crumbling to fear. The cavern, once filled with snarling monsters and the clash of steel, now lay in eerie stillness.
Kai exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. The lingering heat from his magic still crackled faintly around him, flickers of embers dancing along his blade before fading into the darkness. His chest rose and fell with measured breaths, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Sweat dripped from his forehead, trickling down his jaw, but his grin remained—wide, exhilarated, almost feral.
"Man, that was fun," he said, his voice filled with an unmistakable thrill. With a practiced motion, he flicked his katana to the side, shaking off the last remnants of charred blood before sheathing it.
Lena, still catching her breath, gawked at him. "You call that fun?" Her voice wavered between disbelief and sheer exasperation.
Kai shrugged, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. "Would've been boring if he went down too fast."
Lena groaned, running both hands through her hair. "You lunatic."
Garron, who had been watching the duel with arms crossed, hadn't said a word.
Kai smirked.
Meanwhile, Darin was still staring at Belle. His eyes were locked onto her with an intensity that hadn't been there before. His brow was furrowed, his mind racing to piece together what he had just witnessed.
Finally, he spoke. "Fire and lightning?"
Lena blinked, as if just now realizing the weight of the moment. She straightened up. "Wait—yeah. You used two affinities just now."
Belle tilted her head slightly, looking at them as if they had just stated the obvious. "What about it?"
Lena's mouth opened, then closed. Her expression cycled through confusion, frustration, and disbelief before she finally managed, "You don't just casually ask 'what about it?' like that's normal!"
Darin shook his head slowly, his mind still reeling. "It's not just two affinities. Your fire magic—" He hesitated, his hands tightening into fists. "—it's stronger than mine."
The weight of that realization hit him like a hammer. It wasn't just stronger. It was something else entirely. Fire wasn't supposed to crackle with that sheer intensity, it wasn't supposed to tear through enemies like an unrelenting force of nature.
Belle, however, merely shrugged. "I guess it is."
Lena threw up her hands. "You 'guess'?! That's not something you 'guess'! Do you know how rare dual affinities are?!"
Kai let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot this is their first time seeing it."
Lena's gaze snapped to him, wild and incredulous. "Wait—you knew?!"
Kai's smirk grew. "Yeah, she showed it during the affinity assessment back at the guild."
Darin's eye twitched. His mind was still racing, still trying to rationalize what he had seen, what it meant. "And you didn't think to mention it?"
Kai shrugged, completely unfazed. "Didn't seem important."
Lena let out a strangled sound somewhere between a groan and a scream, pressing her hands against her temples. "Not important? Not important?! Belle, I don't know what's crazier—your magic or the fact that Kai is acting like this is completely normal!"
Belle blinked, genuinely confused. "…Is it not?"
Lena gaped at her, before groaning loudly in pure frustration.
Belle looked at Lena, then at Darin, before sighing softly. "…I really don't see what the big deal is."
Darin rubbed his temple, trying to gather his thoughts. "The big deal is that people go their entire lives honing a single affinity. The best of the best might—might—gain access to a second element, but it takes years of grueling training." He inhaled sharply. "You used two. Effortlessly. And your fire? It's beyond anything I've seen."
Belle frowned slightly, as if mulling over his words. "Ah… shit."
She had totally forgotten about the chaos during the rank assessment and what Garrick had explained to her about magic affinities in this world.
Kai clapped his hands together. "Alright, enough talk. We still have an exit to get to."
Belle gave a small nod. "Fine."
Lena sighed, muttering to herself. "I swear, I'm going to lose my mind with you people."
With the kobolds defeated, the path forward was finally clear. The air was still heavy with the aftermath of battle, the lingering heat of flames and the acrid scent of burned fur. But beyond the cavern, a faint glow of light filtered through the winding tunnels.
The dungeon's exit awaited.
End of Chapter 45