Solo Leveling : Fire

Chapter 7

The wind howled fiercely as Choi Jong In stood in the midst of the battlefield, sweat trickling down his forehead. The monstrous dragon before him, its body a terrifying combination of ice, fire, and wind, was reeling in agony after the precise and decisive strike he had just made. Its enormous body was torn in places, but its sheer size and fury were far from quelled.

The Wind Dragon was the most dangerous of all, its agility and destructive power making it a nightmare for anyone who dared to face it. The ice head was already dealt with, but this dragon had the ability to conjure chaos with every breath, every movement. The battle was far from over, and Choi Jong In could feel his body heavy with exhaustion.

The dragons had been relentless. Each head represented an elemental force so strong, so inherently destructive, that they were nearly impossible to control. The fire head had been unpredictable, its flames scorching the earth beneath them. The ice head, though slow, had frozen vast sections of the ground, turning them into dangerous traps. The wind head, however, had been the true challenge. It was fast, elusive, and could unleash gusts that could tear through buildings.

Choi had fought through all of it, making calculated moves, exploiting every opening, and adapting to the unpredictable nature of the dragons. But now, standing at the center of the chaos, he knew he was fighting on borrowed time.

"Focus," he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as the wind head, still alive and furious, began to rear back.

Choi had already anticipated this moment. He had outplayed the wind dragon once, using its own fire breath against it to create an opening. The flash of fire had allowed him to sneak up and sever the wind head clean off, but in doing so, he had paid a price. The dragon's tail had whipped around and sent him crashing into the ground, its raw power leaving him gasping for air.

He struggled to his feet, his body aching from the impact. His blazer was singed, the once pristine fabric now burned, with one sleeve reduced to nothing more than charred remnants. His hand, still clutching his blade, trembled from the strain of the last attack.

"Dammit..." Choi let out a small growl of frustration as he stood, trying to ignore the stinging pain that flared from the burns on his arm. "Doing this alone without a tank is a real pain in the ass."

He looked up at the dragons, his heart pounding in his chest. The fire and ice heads were still there, both enraged by the loss of their companion, and now, they were preparing their deadliest attacks. Ice and fire swirled around their bodies, growing larger and more intense with each passing second.

His mind raced. How do I end this? How do I take down these monsters before they take me down first?

A flash of memory hit him suddenly. The image of Yamamoto from Bleach flashed across his mind. The way he had fought during the final arc, how he used his flames to obliterate his enemies. That's it... I can do something similar.

Choi tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. His mind was focused, the sharpness of his thoughts cutting through the confusion and pain. He had one last chance to end this battle, but he needed to push beyond his limits. His blade, now hot from the previous strikes, still hummed with an unnatural energy. He could feel it—his blade was not just a weapon, it was a conduit for heat, energy, and power. But there was something more to it now. He could feel the energy inside it, waiting to explode.

Compress the heat inside the blade. I'll do what Yamamoto did...

The thought came to him in a flash. The plan was reckless—after all, he knew what would happen. The blade would shatter from the pressure. But the dragon before him was not made of flesh and bone alone. It was raw material, elemental in its nature, and his sword could cleave through it if he concentrated the heat enough.

Choi's smile widened, a sense of determination filling him.

"Let's do this."

His sword trembled in his hands as he focused, narrowing his senses to the blade. He drew in a deep breath and released it, closing his eyes for a moment as he concentrated. The air around him seemed to shimmer, the heat radiating from his body. He could feel it now—raw power, churning in the blade. He was compressing the energy, forcing it to gather in the steel of the sword.

Slowly, he could feel the heat building up inside the blade. It was like holding a furnace in his hands. The blade's once-steady hum became a roar of intense heat, the air around it growing thick with scorching pressure. He could feel the blade warping under the strain, but he couldn't stop now. Not when the dragons were about to unleash their final assault.

Choi's eyes snapped open, and his grin deepened. "This is it."

The fire and ice heads roared in unison, their combined elemental breath gathering with frightening intensity. The ground trembled beneath Choi's feet, and he could feel the heat of the fire and the chill of the ice even from a distance. They were both preparing to unleash everything they had in one final push.

But Choi Jong In had already made his move. With a battle cry, he swung his blade forward, the force of the strike sending shockwaves through the air.

The moment the blade cut through the air, the heat inside it exploded. The dragon's attack was met with a sudden explosion of energy, the concentrated power of his sword colliding with the dragons' combined assault. The explosion was deafening—fire and ice, air and earth, all colliding in a cataclysmic burst.

For a split second, there was nothing but light and heat. Then the air cleared.

Standing in the midst of the smoke and debris, Choi Jong In grinned, despite the exhaustion that weighed on him.

He was holding the hilt of his sword, but the blade... was gone. Melted away by the force of the attack.

Before him, the dragon's body was split in half, its fiery and icy forms dissipating into nothingness. The Wind Dragon was no more, reduced to nothing but elemental remnants scattered across the battlefield.

Choi Jong In, his body bruised, his blazer tattered, and his mind exhausted, let out a relieved sigh. He had done it. The final blow had been struck. The battle was over.

But even as his body threatened to give way to fatigue, he knew this moment wouldn't last long. There was still work to do.

"Guess that's the last of them," he muttered, staring at the remains of the dragon, his chest rising and falling with each labored breath.