PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

491 Chapter 491 Both A Snake And A Wolf

Mouthfuls of blood poured nonstop from Graham’s mouth, who was unable to process what had just happened. Since Graham had awakened his pyrokinesis, there was nothing he couldn’t do; power, wealth, women, he had it all, and over time that created an arrogance that prevented him from processing the notion of defeat.

Wounded pride, that arrogance built on years of standing above thousands and only below one produced a wave of anger as intense as flames, and in a moment of opportunity few can find, Graham apparently advanced to the two-star class.

In an instant, blazing fire poured from Graham like water from a broken dam, forcing Desmond to back up quickly to avoid being engulfed in flames. To many, Graham’s advance would have been a spectacular sight, full of terrifying power and fury, but to Desmond, who had seen Sasha’s true form on more than one occasion, Graham was nothing surprising.

Fortunately for Graham, who was now blinded by power and rage, Desmond didn’t take the opportunity to kill him as he completed his advance. Whit blue eyes filled with deep curiosity; Desmond stood on the sidelines, waiting for Graham to finish advancing on him.

The fire around Graham was sucked out in a breath, and like a supernova, a second explosion of immense power took place. This time, Desmond was not so nonchalant and summoned his barrier of shifting flows, using the giant dome of water to completely block the blast.

Graham felt intoxicated, breaking out of his trance, the power coursing through his veins with each heartbeat. Feeling that things would be burned to the ground at his will, Graham regarded Desmond with disdain.

“You don’t look so intimidating now, Desmond.”

Sarcasm and mockery distilled from Graham’s words like poison, the pyromancer greatly despised Desmond, who was currently hiding in a turtle shell made of water, at least in Graham’s opinion. Graham didn’t even seem in a hurry to act; from his perspective, with his newfound power, there was nothing Desmond could do against him.

Desmond didn’t usually base his actions on pride, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a proud man, and the way Graham despised him at the time had already pissed Desmond off.

.....

The water shield dispersed under Desmond’s command, who, without saying a word, just raised his hand and made a rather offensive sign at Graham.

Unexpectedly for Desmond, an unstable fluctuation of mana was picked up by his senses as he insulted Graham; unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance to think about it anymore due to the sea of ??fire raining down on him.

The difference in power and intensity was noticeable; Desmond couldn’t afford to despise Graham now. However, Graham was still far from meeting the standards of a natural predator like Desmond.

In a snap of the fingers, Desmond’s figure blurred, completely escaping the sea of ??fire and Graham’s senses. Graham knew Desmond was fast, but Desmond’s current deployment wasn’t something he could handle. Unknown to Graham, although Desmond was quick, his speed hadn’t reached the point where he became untraceable; he was using other means to stay out of Graham’s senses.

Unable to keep his , Desmond appeared right behind Graham, delivering a palm strike accompanied by a small river of densely concentrated aquatic mana.

Strictly speaking, Desmond hadn’t named the move he was using. It was just a way of amplifying his martial arts power by accompanying all of his hits with small amounts of highly concentrated mana, and it would be ridiculous to name each possible move.

However, one thing that became apparent when Desmond used this booster is that his fighting style changed significantly, adopting smoother, more fluid stances and movements instead of his usual wild and destructive style.

All the details involved made no difference to poor Graham, who, in his despair, noticing Desmond’s incoming attack, burst into flames in an attempt to repel his attacker.

Desmond was taken by surprise, but his reaction speed was as absurd as it could be. Even as his palm was colliding with Graham’s back, Desmond still had the reactivity to find a way to mitigate the damage.

Following a blue burst, Graham was sent flying at high speed before crashing into a tree, causing severe injuries. At the same time, following a fiery blaze, Desmond was sent flying in the opposite direction.

Unlike Graham, Desmond was not injured, and a thin layer of aqua blue mana could be seen on his body. One could only assume that Desmond had used the impact of his own blow to get out of the blast area and used a mana barrier to mitigate any remaining damage.

While Desmond was uninjured, Graham wasn’t so lucky, the burst of fire helped him mitigate some of Desmond’s blow, but the remaining force nearly snapped him in half. As he rose from the ground, the flames of anger in the depths of Graham’s pupils seemed to have dimmed, giving way to a faint spark of fear.

They say that one of the greatest motivators a human being can have is fear and anger; for Graham, who was now drowned by both, these served as fuel for his flames.

Desmond furrowed his brows; that unsteady fluctuation was there again, Desmond had felt it too when he hit Graham from behind, and suspicion began to form in his mind.

In a way, it made sense; Graham was far too weak compared to other elementalists in the two-star class. The mana fluctuation might be similar, but the level, intensity, and, most of all, the stability were nothing like other people Desmond had fought.

Based on what Desmond had learned from Kyuru over time and the few things he’d heard from Titania, walking the path of the elements was far from simple. It wasn’t something that could be done hastily and recklessly; if that was true, what happened with Graham made a lot of sense.

With Desmond lost in his thought, Graham finally had a chance to breathe and gather his strength. Blinded and nearly insane with hatred and fear, Graham let out a primal roar before unleashing a gigantic pillar of fire at Desmond.

And there was that instability again, flames scattering everywhere and a complete lack of control over the pillar of fire. Desmond was now sure of his suspicion, especially after seeing how Graham’s countenance only seemed to get worse with time.

“Then you are just a failure, someone who did not manage to take the second step, and now it is like a candle flame that the faster it burns, the faster it burns out; what a disappointment.”

Graham had his mind clouded almost entirely, but he could still hear what Desmond said to himself in disappointment; Unfortunately, Graham didn’t understand what Desmond was saying.

Desmond had already lost all interest in the fight; Graham was no different from a dead man. No matter how strong he was, with his rationality all but gone, Graham was even worse than a wild beast; for Desmond, there was no longer any challenge.

“Forget it; I might as well finish the job by trying something new. ”

For an instant, Desmond’s eyes took on a greenish glow, the green elemental seed at his heart pumping out mana at a maddening rate, allowing Desmond’s body to be blanketed in a devastating hurricane wind. When the greenish gleam in his eyes disappeared, Desmond charged with a burst of speed and momentum beyond anything he had ever been capable of.

Slamming head-on into the pillar of flame, the gale-force winds around Desmond shredded Graham’s attack like paper through a shredder. Covered in a layer of aquatic mana, Desmond didn’t even feel the heat of the flames as he made a beeline for Graham.

Desmond continued to advance with a low stance like a predator preparing to pounce on his prey, but he seemed to have slightly underestimated Graham’s mad burst of power.

Seeing that his new movement skill that was more suited to ramming wasn’t proving enough to resist the pillar of flame, Desmond was flexible and decided to switch maneuvers.

Showing a new shape much more suitable and consistent with the fluidity and smoothness of water, a blue gauntlet formed around Desmond’s arm, made up of thousands of threads of incredibly concentrated mana.

Instead of the aggressive, almost bestial version he had before, the mana gauntlet around Desmond’s arm now looked incredibly sleek and smooth, almost like a long glove of shiny blue silk with aquatic patterns and designs. However, one thing hadn’t changed about the gauntlets, and that was that they were filled with leviathans.

“”

A single blow was all it took; Graham’s pillar of fire was instantly scattered and suffocated by the water waves of smooth destruction. The remaining force of the attack was still enough to catch up with Graham and take him down again, although it seemed that he would not get up this time.

Desmond walked over to Graham to finish the job without wanting to drag things out any longer than necessary. In the past, Desmond hadn’t made a move against Graham to avoid unnecessary complications, but now that Graham had come on his own, Desmond had no reason to doubt.

In a dying state filled with pain and agony, Graham watched Desmond walk toward him. Suspicions no longer mattered; the evidence was not necessary; Desmond’s strength said it all. Graham was sure it was Desmond who was behind it all.

Between pain and unconsciousness, Graham spoke. “Bastard... The general treated you well; he gave you wealth and power.”

Desmond mercilessly interrupted the dying man. “All those things I got for myself, I don’t owe anything to someone like him.”

Spitting out another mouthful of blood, Graham replied with what little breath he had left. “You are nothing but a treacherous snake.”

Graham was still alive, but he wasn’t trying to talk anymore; it seemed he had said everything he wanted, and now Graham was just waiting for his death. But even with his blurred vision, Graham caught the cruel, angry smile Desmond wore.

“It’s funny you say that, Graham, really funny.” Desmond’s emphasis on each word gave it a sinister, sadistic edge that was impossible to ignore, and his following words sealed Graham’s fate.

“.”