Chapter 107 107 – Black Flame

Jumping from the back of Amber's back, Kai landed right behind the puppet that got off and tossed it aside, looking at the Boogeymen, who had an ugly expression on their rag face.

Amber also turned back into her human form and stood beside Kai. She stood with a serious expression, looking at the giant fake body behind the small, ordinary Boogeymen.

"Well, why don't we try again?" Kai asked with a serious tone as he grabbed Amber closer and kissed her.

The Phoenix girl was surprised by his sudden movement and strange behavior, but she still accepted him as her body melted into fire, fusing with him. While she couldn't understand this slight change in her master, she didn't think this was a bad thing.

[Beat him, Kai.]

Nodding his head slightly, he let the Phoenix fire go loose, burned the trees around him, and covered the ground with the fire without covering the area with a barrier. He… couldn't really care about the damage and put up the barrier.

Liliana was also already far enough for her not to be involved in the fight. So it was all good. He could just deal with the damage later. The puppet was burned into ashes as its metallic part melted and became one with the ground.

The Boogeymen were forced to jump, standing on top of their fake body's right shoulder. Their body was made from human flesh they took over 10 years ago, covered in a rag and straw hat. It could burn, unlike its fake body created from dirt and rocks.

Even if the Phoenix fire could burn everything, it still couldn't turn dirt into dust. And the fake body could just recover the burned part by absorbing the dirt from its body that connected to the ground.

It was a never-ending cycle, and Kai also knew about it. To end this, he needed to destroy the fake body's core first, but that would be a bit hard as the real Boogeymen would bother him at the same time.

Still…

Kai kicked the ground and propelled himself with Phoenix fire, instantly covering the distance between him and the Boogeymen. The creature seemed to be surprised by the sudden change in her speed.

While he wasn't as physically strong as he was when he fused with Ibaraki, his physical ability was still enhanced due to his fusion with Amber. Added to his newfound power and black Spirit Power that covered his legs when he leaped, his speed was faster than before.

Then he sent a punch covered in bright flaming flames. It was blocked by the fake body's arm. A torrent of fire burst out, covering the whole area with a bright and tall firestorm that burned everything.

"Kishaa!!" The fake body screamed as the real Boogeymen leaped away to safety.

Kai pushed forward, covering his other fist with black Spirit Power with destruction properties. Then he tried something that he had in mind but couldn't pull out all this time. He wasn't good enough yet, but now, he believed he could do it.

That was combining Amber's Spirit Power with his and adding the destruction properties he got from Ibaraki Douji.

Instead of a bright flame, a black flame covered his left fist. It worked, but there was something else.

"Ugh!" Kai grunted as the black flame only covered a part of his fist. It also hurt him, burning his skin.

[Kai! Don't use that! It's too dangerous!] Amber shouted in his mind. [You can't use that yet!]

However, Kai didn't listen to her. He sent the punch toward the fake's face with that exact fist, and it connected.

Boom!

A loud explosion reverberated all across the area. A big shockwave kicked the dust everywhere. The fake body's core was destroyed as a black flame burst forth and burned even the dirt and rock. A storm of fire, mixed with bright orange and black color, exploded and sent everything flying, including Kai.

"Aarrrgh!"

Pain attacked his body as he slammed against the ground and rolled around a few times. The explosion was so big that it hurt him. It was just like what Amber had said. It was too dangerous.

His left arm was charred black as it slowly healed. He stopped on his track after he hit a tree with a thud. His clothes were burnt.

Unlike the pure Phoenix fire, he couldn't handle the black flame very well. He still needed some training. Still, that settled one problem.

Still feeling some pain all over his body, especially his left arm, Kai picked himself up and looked up. A deep crater was created in the area where he had exploded the black flame earlier. Even the real body of Boogeymen wouldn't come out unscathed from that.

If the attack that took a chunk of his Spirit Power as well as Amber's didn't do anything, then the Boogeymen was a real monster. Kai wouldn't know the way to beat that kind of monster.

[Kai, are you okay?] A worried voice came.

"Yeah. Somehow."

[Don't somehow me!] Amber shouted loudly, anger mixed in her voice. [That could've been really dangerous! Thankfully, you didn't use that when you fused with Ibaraki but me. If you didn't, then… your arm could've gone for good even with the regeneration you got from a part of my power!]

"It's all turned out fine." Kai dragged out words from his mouth as he tried his best to keep the pain away.

'Still, that was really dangerous.'

To be honest, he never expected it to be that destructive. He expected it to only smash the fake body to bits or expose its core, not obliterate it entirely with the ground.

Even more so, he didn't expect it to take around 10% of his Spirit Power and around the same from Amber.

That should've done significant damage to the Boogeymen's body, reducing their power and fighting ability.

The dust and black smoke that rose from the destruction slowly settled as the color in Kai's arm returned. And from that dust and black smoke, a figure that now resembled a human's silhouette walked toward Kai.

[And here the Boogeymen come again. Remember, don't use that fire again.] Amber reprimanded. [You're not ready yet to use that.]

"I know." Kai nodded, bracing himself as he raised his right arm in a stance. "I'll beat that creature without that." A smile appeared on his face.

However, that smile only lasted for that long.

"Sisisisi, this sucks." A low laugh appeared from within the dust as the Boogeymen's figure slowly appeared. The face hidden behind the rag was exposed. It was a man.

A long raven-black hair and eyes. A masculine look with slicked jawline and many stitches went across the handsome feature.

The mouth of the body that the Boogeymen took over curled upward in a grin as a crazy expression planted on it.

His left arm was limp, broken with black char. It dropped to the ground as black blood dripped from the stump that was left on his shoulder.

"Surprise! Boogeymen survived!"

That was certainly a surprise. It was proved by Kai's expression. He was shocked, frozen.

But, the reason why he was shocked wasn't that the Boogeymen survived his attack, but the fact that he recognized his face. Yes, that face was really familiar to Kai. How could he forget about that? No, he wouldn't be able to forget it even if he wanted to.

"Y-You…" Kai's voice was shaking in anger. His body trembled uncontrollably as his mouth was agape.

[Kai! Kai!!! Get a hold of yourself! Don't let it inside you!] Amber screamed, trying to bring her master back to his calm state. But it was useless. Anger had taken over his rational mind.

"YOUUU!!!!"

An animal-like scream rang, echoing in the forest, followed by a crazy unique laugh of the Boogeymen.

"Kishisisisisi!"