The Red Hand
Chapter 413 – Chloe’s Trial (Part 2)

{Hmmm... I thought Mizumi was the only high-ranking Spirit remaining. No, maybe he's not really the same kind. He doesn't give off the same vibe as she does and this guy's power seems to be mixed with something else.} (Chloe)

*WOOSH*

As Chloe tried to analyze Johan's power he extended his hands and began casting fire magic, creating blasts of white-hot flame that shot from the ground like pillars before curving upwards and rocketing toward the Cat like tornadoes of flame. Naturally, her reflexes easily allowed her to twist and turn out of harms way, with each coming within a hair's breadth of the Ninja but failing to leave their mark.

"You've got some toasty candles there, Johan. But if you want to kill me, you'll have to try a lot harder than that!" Chloe said as she tossed two more knives at Johan, each striking his 'torso' but burning to ash moments later and leaving no visible damage. "Tsk." She clicked her tongue, having expected such a result.

{As expected he has no physical form while he's like that so regular attacks won't do anything. Good thing I've got a way around that little problem.} (Chloe)

"How long can you keep running, Cat?" Johan asked as he sent a series of flame slashes toward her, Chloe leaping into the gap between two and deftly dodging them before flinging more knives at him, which were easily melted by a subsequent blast of flame from his hand. "Your stamina won't last long at this rate, and it's clear your attacks have no effect on me as I am now! Just give up! I'll grant you a quick death as a reward for having made me use this much power!" He said as he slammed his foot into the ground while moving his hands in a complex pattern as if he were casting a spell before sending out a wave of fire that slammed into and engulfed Chloe. "Hmpf. You really were weak, and it would seem you've already been-"

*SLICE*

"Ahhhh!" Johan's taunting was brought to an abrupt halt as he screamed in pain from Chloe's blades tearing into his back, the pain momentarily distorting his flame body as she appeared from the darkness behind him.

{When did she?!?} (Johan)

"My attacks have no effect you say?" Chloe laughed as she leaped backward into the darkness to dodge another blast of flame, vanishing just as quick as she'd arrived. "Then that scream I heard must've been someone else's then, right?"

"You're annoying!" Johan raged as he allowed a bust of flame to explode outwards from his body in an attempt to force Chloe out of hiding, to no avail.

{She hurt me? But how?!? Only magic can harm my elemental body!} (Johan)

"Don't get cocky because you landed a lucky strik!." Johan said as he tried to track Chloe's movement through the Darkness by sensing her magic. "Why don't you try it again? I promise you that it won't be so effective the second time."

"Wanna bet?" Chloe snickered as she appeared behind him in an attempt to repeat the same attack, only to find that a magic formation appeared under her feet the moment she landed, triggering a magical explosion.

*BOOM* *WOOSH*

"Fool! I told you I wouldn't fall for such a trick twice!" Johan laughed, gloating at how easy it was to entrap the Cat. "You're so predictable!" He said smugly as he imagined her being burned to a crisp from the blast.

"Oh? Am I?" Chloe's voice echoed from his side as he felt a punch to the side of his 'head' which sent him flying across the room, crashing into a pillar that collapsed on top of him.

*BOOM* *CRUMBLE*

"Only my Myaster can act all cocky like that and get away with it. When others do it, it comes off as stupid." Chloe smirked as she hopped and jumped in place.

"Ahhh!" Johan exploded from the debris in a torrent of flame, slowly getting to his feet. "You bitch! I'll destroy you!"

"Oh come on, don't lose your cool." Chloe snickered as she vanished back into the Darkness just in time to avoid a blast of fire tossed her way. "If you're not careful that hot head of yours might burn you!" The Cat thought her puns were funny, but nobody else seemed to laugh, especially not Johan whose eyes only grew bright in anger with each one.

{She struck me with her first, so she must've suffered severe burns from touching my body. I just don't understand how she's doing this much damage when I don't even detect magic on her weapons or around her body! It's not possible! You can't just punch living flame! That's impossible! It's like trying to fight a water elemental with rocks!} (Johan)

"I'll commend you for surviving this long." Johan said as flames roared around him like a vortex. "And while I don't know how you've managed to harm me, it does not matter." He said as dozens of red magic circles formed around him. "Rejoice, Cat! I'll kill you in the most horrific way possible! Get ready to burn! So see if you can dodge this!" He exclaimed as the circles shot out rapid-fire volleys of fireballs in all directions in an attempt to smoke Chloe out from hiding. He figured that she wasn't immune to damage which hiding in the Darkness and that enough volume of fire would draw her out.

"Not bad." Chloe laughed as she danced between the attacks, dodging them as she circled Johan. "If you weren't a disgusting murderer I'd make you an offer to join my Clan."

{But I want nothing to do with people like him. Killing is not something to take sadistic joy in and doing it for no other reason than to KILL is a disgusting act that I won't stand for, and I know myaster feels the same way. That's probably why she assigned me this job, to ensure that people like him are removed from the world she wants to make for us.} (Chloe)

"Be quiet! I serve only Lord Korex! And for him, I'll take pleasure in spilling your blood!" Johan roared as he exploded with an even hotter flame that exploded outward and pushed some of the darkness back. "I think that it's high time I blew away this stupid Darkness that you're hiding in!"

*WOOSH*

The flame vortex expanded rapidly until it grew to encompass a good portion of the room, burning alive any poor Cultists unfortunate to still be alive, though such things did not matter to Johan or his God. It was a ferocious attack, and the heat was intense enough to melt even the stone walls and floors for the brief moment it flickered and swirled. When it was done the Darkness that once clouded the room was gone, and Chloe was left standing at the other side of the hall, partially singed but unshaken.

"There you are." Johan said, seeming to smirk though it was hard to tell as he no longer had a 'face'. "Now that your little tricks are gone you've got nowhere to run, Cat." He said as he sent another torrent of flame at Chloe, who met it with a punch that stopped and dispelled it. "What?!? That's not-"

*BOOM*

"Don't go thinking that I'm helpless outside the Darkness." Chloe said as she appeared next to him, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and kneed Johan in the head.

"But... How?!? I thought you could only appear in the darkness!" Johan spat in surprise as Chloe continued a combination attack that saw her slam her fists into his chest and head as she delivered a rapid series of blows that ended in a back kick into his 'temple' with the heel of her shoe that sent him face first into the ground. It was a truly fearsome combination attack and was so quick that it left Johan completely unable to defend himself

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

"There are shadows everywhere." Chloe said as she delivered a blow to the back of his head that caused his entire flamelike form to flicker heavily. "All I need is one, even a small shadow, and I can leap to it." She smirked.

{Myaster taught me that early on. One must always look for ways to use their advantages against an opponent. Ditching the ridged view of our techniques worked was a necessity if I was ever going to improve beyond mortal limits.} (Chloe)

"How..." Johan tried to claw himself back to his feet before finding Chloe's boot planted firmly onto the back of his hand, crushing him and preventing him from moving. "How can you... Touch me... You... Should be... Burning alive..." He'd never come across anyone who could touch his flame body without using magic, so the fact that Chloe was doing just that, with seemingly no damage being taken to her, left him bewildered.

{Right now I'm basically living flame! How can you punch fire?!?} (Johan)

"Simple, it's because magic isn't the only way to deal with incorporeal beings like you." Chloe answered as she put more pressure on him.

"W-What?" Johan yelped in shock. He couldn't believe that something like she was describing was possible and he'd never heard of a non magical way to destroy raw elements.

"Ki." Chloe said as a red aura appeared around her fist, flowing around and away from it like water. "It's like magic in many ways, but it has its own unique quirks." She said as she kicked him across his face. "One of them being the ability to destroy creatures that don't have a physical body, like you."

{And the others wondered why I pushed them to learn how to use it.} (Chloe)

"Ki?!?" Johan exclaimed as he was kicked in the head again. He'd heard of such a technique before but had never seen it himself. As far as he knew the only people who used such powers were those of the Eastern Continent and it was rarely practiced elsewhere. Chloe had learned it after transitioning from FWO to the real world and had been slowly practicing to use Monk abilities since it was discovered that former NPCs could use other classes' abilities if they put in a bit of effort. Normally Ki was something only Monks could use in FWO and it allowed for a variety of abilities, one of which was the power to channel it into one's attacks to damage creatures that were immune to normal physical techniques. Of course, Chloe could use magic to do something similar, but her magical ability was nowhere near as high as her physical and Ki, despite what one might assume, was a physical ability, albeit a special one.

"My Myaster insisted that I master it, and while I didn't quite understand why at the time..." Chloe said as she slammed a dagger coated in Ki into his back where his heart would be. "It's clear that she foresaw that I'd fight someone like you and need it." She smiled, happy for Akagi's foresight. "And I'm glad that I heeded her warnings. Without Ki killing you would've taken far more effort."

"W-Wait..." Johan began to plead for his life as his flame body gave out and he returned to his wounded human appearance. "P-Please... I... Don't..."

{I don't want to die! Lord Korex! Save me!} (Johan)

"Oh God..." Chloe spat in disgust as she twisted her knife into his heart, causing blood to gush out. "Don't you dare go begging for your life..." Her voice got cold as she pulled her blade out of his back. "That's pathetic. A creature like you doesn't deserve to live in my myaster's world." She said with a sharp look in her eye that caused Johan to feel terror in his very soul.

{And besides, if you want to beg for mercy, there's only one God you need to plead too, and I know good and well she won't be listening.} (Chloe)

"N-No! P-Please I'll serv-" Johan's pleas were cut short as Chloe jammed her blade into the back of his skull, killing him instantly.

"What a disgusting man." Chloe said as she withdrew her blade and flicked away his blood. "I tend to share myaster's hatred for such things. If you refuse to grant mercy to others at least have the decency to not demand it for yourself." She said before turning to face Deborian who sat on his throne, unmoved as he pat Remmy on the head. He seemed amused by what just happened and oddly enough the bunny-girl was not saddened by Johan's death despite her connection to him, rather she expressed a look of admiration and awe as she stared at Chloe.

{And now, the real battle begins.} (Chloe)