Reborn As An Evolving Monster

62 Wielding Fire

"More... More... More...!" The Guardian shouted.

Mark and Levi's successive attacks passed through its burning body.

"You'll have to do much more..."

Their fists were about to pass through their enemy.

The Boss Monster brought its hands together.

"To hurt me."

BOOM-

'Fuck...!'

The two fighters were launched away by the explosion, but they quickly stood back up.

The physical damage was negligible.

Still,

'How the hell do I beat this guy?'

Before Mark and Levi could approach the Guardian, streams of flames were shot at them.

"Hahaha! How do you like this one?" Their enemy shouted.

From each one of its extended fingertips, the Guardian shot a stream of fire resembling a burning spiderweb.

Just when the two thought they had dodged the attack,

"AGH!"

The Guardian moved its hand, twisting the fire stream.

Levi's leg was burnt because of that.

"Now, let's dance! Hahaha!" The Guardian shouted as it moved its hands in every direction.

The streams of fire moved as if they were whips that hit and burnt everything in their way chaotically.

There was no regularity or thought to be found in the Boss Monster's movements, which made the attack pattern erratic, unpredictable, and therefore, hard to dodge.

'This fucking guy...! Levi.'

Mark's Underling immediately took his side.

A protective barrier appeared over the two.

A couple of bruises and burn marks were on their body, but no major injury.

"Huh...? That barrier sure is troublesome. Still, that was a pretty good attack, right? I tried to recreate the way your tail hits. Although-"

Before the Guardian could finish its sentence, Mark's infamous "Sonic Tail Flick[B+]" Passive Skill made its body disappear.

"Yeah. Yours is faster and has more... Strength? Weight? Mmm..."

The Guardian reappeared on the ceiling.

But just as Levi was about to jump towards it,

"Let's try this. Why not, huh?"

A torrent of violent flames surrounded its body.

'Another explosion? No. This feels different...'

The Guardian's body started changing.

'It's just one thing after another against this guy! Can't even get a moment to-'

A mighty roar echoed throughout the Second Floor.

'Seriously...!'

Its body had become that of a ferocious dragon.

The Boss Monster opened its mouth.

'How many forms can this fucker take??'

The Guardian's scorching breath burnt the whole room.

Apart from Levi, what remained of Mark's Underlings inside the Boss Room was decimated.

But he didn't mind, after all, their early death only help to accentuate and show their worth.

"I really thought this one would be good..."

Before Mark could get back on the offensive, the dragon disappeared.

"Even added wings to it. Guess being that big in a small room doesn't help." The Guardian muttered with its hand on its chin.

'Adding wings? You mean... He was just mimicking the Inferior Fire Wyrm's appearance? Then... The forms he takes aren't Skills, they're just-'

"Well... I guess it can't be helped." The Boss Monster added, in a disappointed tone.

The Guardian's burning palms were raised towards Mark and his Underling.

A burst of Fire Balls was shot.

"This is really fun but... I'm really running out of ideas here..." The Guardian whispered as its attacks were dodged swiftly.

"My Lord! About those red flames-" Levi shouted.

'I know...' Mark said as he raised his right palm towards the enemy's back.

Great Fire Ball[D+].

Before the attack could hit Mark's foe, the Great Fire Ball was turned into flames that spiraled around the Guardian.

"Well, well. Aren't you kind, haha! I'm not running out anytime soon though!" The Boss Monster shouted before turning towards Mark.

'There's a definite difference between Fire and Flames Of Chaos... Even the Guardian thinks of them as different types of Fire. Plus, every time this guy absorbed the Salamander's attacks, he had to extend his hand towards the attack. He didn't do that to absorb normal Fire Attacks like mine or the Inferior Fire Wyrm's.' Mark thought as he dodged the numerous attacks.

"Well? You running out of ideas too??" The Guardian shouted.

'Either its Fire Manipulation Skill is higher ranked than its Flame Of Chaos Manip... Wait. Is there even such a thing as Flame Of Chaos Manipulation? The Skill I obtained from devouring that giant was "Flame Of Chaos"...'

Mark instantly tried to activate the Magic Skill, but nothing happened.

With a puzzled expression on his face, he quickly created more distance between the Guardian and himself.

'How do I use it? The "Flame Of Chaos" Skill?' Mark asked the System.

No answer came.

The next second, Mark felt intense heat coming from behind him.

He quickly launched himself forward, but,

SLASH-

'AGH!'

A long wound appeared on Mark's back.

He turned back.

"That's what you get from running away." The Guardian said with a smile.

In its hand, was a sword.

A sword made of red flames.

Mark's eyes widened as he stared at the "weapon".

"Cool, isn't it?" The Guardian said jokingly. "That lizard of yours is stingy so I don't have much of this kind of Fire. Shooting it would be a waste. This way, I can keep it."

Despite the sharp pain coming from his back, Mark's thoughts raced.

Mark thought back to when he had tested the "Fire Manipulation[B]" Skill earlier.

Even though he wanted nothing more than to bash the Guardian's head in, Mark jumped away once more.

"Huh...? You're no fun!" The Guardian exclaimed, as it ran towards Mark.

The Boss Monster swung its burning sword again and again, but Mark's high Agility Stat along with his "Advanced Kinetic Vision" Skill made dodging relatively easy.

'Oh. Right. The Skill that I have is... "Fire Manipulation". It must be like my "Bone Manipulation" Skill. Of course, what I tried earlier couldn't work. After all, manipulation... Is different from... Production? Which means I should be able to...'

A vertical strike from the Guardian was dodged by a sidestep.

"Got you." The Boss Monster whispered as Fire Ball was shot from its other hand.

A stunned expression appeared on the Guardian as Mark quickly stepped back.

"What... Did you do?" It asked.

The Fire Ball that was aimed at Mark's stomach grazed his side and missed.

A wide smile appeared on his face.

'Ha... Hahaha! I couldn't change its course completely. I could only make it deviate from its path. Must be the difference in Rank between our "Fire Manipulation" Skills, right?' Mark asked himself as he stared at his slightly burnt side.

"What did you do?"

'Now that I get how it works, Fire Manipulation is pretty handy. Now, let's figure out this "Flame Of Chaos" Skill.' Mark thought.

"What did you... Do?"

The temperature inside the Boss Room rose as a great amount of Mana surrounded the Guardian's body.

'Levi. To my side.'

The Underling immediately obeyed.

"You just... Stole my fire, didn't you??"

The next instant, an outburst of flames was released in every direction.

Mark extended an open palm forward.

'Ha... Hahaha!' He laughed nervously.

Mark's eyes widened.

His heart started beating faster.

'This Fire Manipulation...'

The incoming flames were split.

'I love it!'

The whole Boss Room was burnt, except for the portion behind Mark.

"You think..."

The expression on the Guardian's face was completely different than it was previously.

"You can come in here... In this room..."

The flames that made up its body became violent.

They fiercely and sporadically sprung in every direction.

"And do... Whatever you want?"

The Guardian's flames became even more vibrant.

Its humanoid shape became hard to discern.

"You think you can come into my own room..."

A gigantic ball of fire appeared above the Guardian.

'Shit! LEVI GET OUT-'

Red flames covered the sphere before seeping in, coloring it from the inside out.

"And take what's mine?"

Mark immediately positioned himself in front of the opened doors while Levi obeyed his order.

It only took an instant, for the attack to be thoroughly condensed.

"Now..."

So much so, that it wasn't stable.

So much so, that it couldn't be controlled.

"Die."

The explosion that ensued was so violent that the light it emitted was more than enough to blind Mark.

BOOM-

His Passive Skill "Fire Hide[C+]" was activated, and his "Impenetrable Barrier[C]" appeared around him.

'It's... Too much!!'

The barrier that was supposed to protect him broke like glass.

"MY LORD!!" Levi shouted from the Boss Room.

His legs trembled, as he was torn between two opposing instincts.

To protect his Master.

Or to obey his Master.

Even though Mark's feet were firmly planted on the ground, he was being pushed back by the attack.

He raised his hand to use his "Fire Manipulation[B]".

An attempt to keep the explosion's flames at bay.

But it wasn't enough.

'Fuck...!'

His raised arms were burnt to a crisp.

The force pushed him back.

Mark's feet left the ground.

He bathed in the burning flames, as the attack launched him away.

The flames were so hot, that even his [A] Ranked "Fire Resistance" couldn't keep him safe.

The shockwave was so powerful that he was pushed out of the Boss Room.

Mark's back hit the ground

He rolled on the ground many times, until his back hit a wall.

'What... The hell...'

Mark could only open his eyes slightly.

Anguish overtook him right away, as a limb was missing.

Mark had lost his right arm.

He felt dizzy.

His half-opened eyes spotted the Underlings outside the Boss Room.

After he noted that they were okay, his eyelids immediately felt much heavier.

Parts of his white scales had been burnt to a crisp.

Massive amounts of blood were leaving his body.

'I can use... The necklace now, right...? Get me... The one remaining...'

The next instant, the sole Underling that Mark had kept inside his Familiar Necklace appeared.

"My Lord! If you need my-" Levi shouted as he arrived in front of Mark.

'It's fine... This one... I kept... For this reason...'

The Underling was immediately devoured.

Mark's missing arm was restored and the burn marks on his body started healing.

As he felt his strength coming back, a horrifying smile appeared on his face.

'You know... I never lost... To a Guardian before. Ever since I found myself inside this damn Dungeon. I never lost against a Guardian. And I never... Ran away. Until today.'

"My Lord, you were pushed back, it's not the same-"

'No. It is the same. I didn't mean to exit the Boss Room, but I still took the opportunity to heal. If I hadn't been pushed out then... Yeah.'

Mark started walking towards the Boss Room once more.

'I've realized two things thanks to that guy. First, it was how to properly use "Fire Manipulation", and now...'

Mark raised his hand towards the ceiling.

He activated a certain Magic Skill.

A Great Fire Ball appeared in front of his palm.

'This Guardian... Is infuriating. It's finally taking me seriously.'

Then, he thought about activating a different one.

The Great Fire Ball started changing.

Mark's horrifying smile widened.

'The good thing is...'