Bastards Ascension: A Playground of Gods
Chapter 75: The Hunt

Chapter 75: The Hunt

At the mouth of the hill stood a small group of five.

Each one was clad in silver armor, longbows slung across their backs, with swords strapped at their waists. They were silent, alert—ready.

But the figure leading them stood out distinctly.

She wore blue armor that only covered half her body, revealing smooth, unblemished skin beneath. Her golden hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her verdant green eyes were fixed on the hill ahead, sharp with purpose.

Perched on her shoulder sat a small monkey wearing spectacles, unmoving and quiet.

"Enter the forest," she commanded, her tone steady. "Any intruders you capture must be brought back to the kingdom. Understood?"

All the elves nodded in perfect unison. Without another word, they blurred out of sight—vanishing into the trees, swift as shadows.

Mira remained at the edge, the monkey still perched on her shoulder.

"Valac," she said softly, "I’ll need you to support them. Guide them to any intruders. Your senses are sharper than mine."

The monkey turned its head to look at her, a calm smile on its face.

"My princess, you’re too kind. You always ask, even though you don’t need to." Valac sighed in a mock pout. "But just so you know, I already sent scouts before you said a word."

Mira raised a brow, glancing into the forest.

Following each of the elven warriors were small monkeys—dozens of them—darting through the trees, nearly identical to Valac.

"I’ve deployed more for wider coverage," Valac continued. "I’ll point out any who seem like a real problem. I can even act as a distraction, just long enough to give the others the advantage."

Mira drew in a breath, calming herself.

"If you sense the Phoenix—or catch even a trace of her aura—warn the others to stay away. The goal is to gather intruders and learn what’s going on... not to lose lives needlessly."

Her gaze sharpened as she refocused on the forest ahead.

Then, without hesitation, she moved.

Her figure vanished in a blur—light and fast, merging into the trees as she disappeared into the depths of the forest.

-----

’How can he stop my flames... What are his abilities?’ Frank thought, every bone in his body shivering with fear.

’Why do I feel this way... Why does it feel like I shouldn’t be fighting... Why this overwhelming urge to run?’ The thought filled him with anger as he glared at Kieran.

Those eyes—cold and unreadable—struck something deep within him.

A primal fear, one that clawed at the very core of his being.

Even the will to fight seemed to vanish beneath that condescending gaze.

Yet Frank refused to yield... Not to the person he had once mocked and looked down on.

’There’s no way he got this strong in just a few weeks,’ Frank reassured himself, clinging to false confidence.

Their eyes locked.

"Oh? So I guess that’s your ability—catching whatever’s thrown at you?" Frank sneered.

Kieran didn’t respond. His gaze dropped to the flames now hovering steadily above his palms.

’My Aetheris isn’t draining from this... Is it because the attack wasn’t formed using it?’ Kieran wondered inwardly.

As if in response, his system screen flickered to life.

{10 mana points consumed for Flame Ball!}

’Ah, that makes sense... Since the flame was created using mana, not Aetheris. When I used Eye of the Sun, it must have matched the energy Frank used—mana!’

’Now I just have to figure out how to use mana without tapping into my Aetheris,’ Kieran thought as he shifted his gaze back to Frank.

"I won’t warn you again. Just leave, and we’ll all pretend like nothing happened here," Frank declared boldly, his arrogant gaze sweeping across the group.

"I... I think we should all go," Stan said quietly, his voice small but clear.

Kieran heard him but didn’t respond. His eyes remained locked on Frank, as if weighing what kind of punishment best suited an idiot.

"Hmph, you’d better listen to him," Frank sneered, clearly emboldened.

"The fact that you haven’t changed still pisses me off... but nothing annoys me more than your stupidity and arrogance," Kieran said coldly.

"What did you just say?!" Frank barked, a vein bulging on his forehead as his face flushed red with anger.

"Should I repeat it?" Kieran asked without blinking. "You’re an idiot. Arrogant and stupid."

Blinded by rage, Frank snapped. "I’ll make you regret your words, you useless bastard! Get him!" he ordered, snapping Ben and Jacob out of their paralyzed fear.

Henry and Natasha immediately stepped forward, anger flashing in their eyes.

"Don’t even think about it!" Natasha warned, but Kieran raised a hand calmly.

"No. Don’t get involved. I’ll handle this," he said, his sharp gaze never leaving Frank.

Frank shivered for a second beneath that stare, but pride kept him rooted.

"Stupid brat! I let you off last time, but now... there won’t be a second chance!" Frank snarled.

With a motion from Frank, Ben slammed up a thick, solid wall of earth behind Kieran, sealing him off from the others.

Kieran glanced at the wall out of the corner of his eye, a wicked grin tugging at his lips.

’Good. Now they won’t see what I do to you.’

"Die, you bastard!" Frank roared.

"Flame Cannon!"

A swirling mass of fire erupted between his palms, condensing into a searing ball of molten flame. The air hissed, sizzling with unbearable heat as the sphere blazed to life. With a deafening roar, the cannon of fire shot toward Kieran like a meteor.

BOOM!

The explosive blast tore through the dark forest, lighting up the trees with an intense, fiery glow as it hurtled straight for its target.

But Kieran didn’t flinch.

He simply stood there—calm, unmoving—as the blazing fireball rushed toward him.

And then... just a meter before impact, the flaming orb suddenly curved, veering to the side and floating gently beside him, like a tame spark.

"What the hell?!" Frank gasped, eyes wide.

"Die, you fucking bastard!" he bellowed again, refusing to back down.

He summoned another flame cannon—and another. One after the other, he launched them in rapid succession, each attack more desperate than the last.

The forest lit up like day, streaks of flame tearing through the air, all aimed at Kieran.

"Let’s see you survive that!" Frank laughed maniacally, hurling fire with reckless abandon.

Behind him, Jacob and Ben smirked, arms crossed, watching the exchange with smug confidence.

"For a second, I thought that kid was actually gonna pull something off," Ben sneered. "Guess I was wrong. No way he’s surviving all that."

But the moment he turned his gaze back—

His smile vanished.

His mouth dropped open.

He couldn’t speak.

One by one, every single fireball—all of them—hooked just like the first, veering off harmlessly to Kieran’s sides. They floated around him like orbiting stars, crackling with heat but causing no harm.

Frank’s chest heaved. His breathing grew ragged. He’d poured everything into those attacks—he wasn’t giving Kieran any room to fight back, no opening at all.

Or so he thought.

"So much for that big mo—"

Frank’s voice caught in his throat.

Because when he looked up, Kieran was still standing there.

Unharmed.

Untouched.

And terrifyingly calm.

Kieran stood calmly, completely unfazed.

With {Eyes of the Sun}, using flames against him was perhaps the worst decision anyone could make.

Unless the opponent’s control over fire rivaled Alexa’s—and even hers had limits—defeating him with flames was nothing more than a delusion.

In fact, even Alexa couldn’t command fire like he now could. Her Phoenix Gaze was powerful, yes, but Eyes of the Sun was ten times stronger.

It granted Kieran perfect control over flames—limited in use, but devastating in effect.

The fireballs Frank had hurled now floated around him like obedient stars orbiting their master. It was as if a flame deity had descended into the realm of mortals.

The soft glow of the hovering flames cast a quiet, golden sheen across Kieran’s face—one that made Frank and his lackeys shudder.

There was no rage on his face.

Just calm.

And that terrified them more than any outburst.

"Now that we’re done with the introductions, Frank..." Kieran said, his voice steady, controlled. "Unlike you, I’ll be kind."

He casually tossed the flame hovering in his palm into the air, where it joined the others circling him.

"I’ll let you choose your struggle."

He dusted off his hands and tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes settling on them like a final judgment.

"But let me make one thing clear—so you don’t fool yourself."

His tone darkened just a fraction.

"I don’t care if it’s the AFO, the Nelkon family, or every single faction in the Nebulas combined..."

"I’m not leaving this place without doing one of two things I’ve already prepared for you."

He took a single step forward.

"Now pick."

His voice dropped lower—sharper.

"Do you want to burn by your flames... or mine? Although I’d advice you earlier, mine won’t be the best choice"