Chapter 28 - 25: Saved

With that, Belle Bloom raised her hand and swung the axe right at Flora Bloom’s face.

Even with Flora Bloom’s astonishing recovery ability, this was her face she was talking about. She wasn’t about to let Belle get her way that easily.

A water shield just large enough to cover her face materialized, blocking Belle Bloom’s attack. The shield’s repulsive force sent Belle flying back.

At the same time, a familiar scorching heat swept past Flora Bloom from behind, engulfing the recoiling Belle Bloom.

A tiny flicker of flame latched onto Belle Bloom and instantly erupted into a massive blaze, enveloping her entire body.

Flora Bloom turned her head, delighted. Sure enough, Neal Wallace was running toward her, flames dancing in his palm.

Just then, Ethan Monroe also charged in, axe in hand, yelling, "Hiyah!" He saw Flora Bloom and Oscar Owen bound tightly by strange vines and immediately tried to hack them free.

To conserve his superpower, Neal Wallace recalled the fire from Belle Bloom’s body. As the flames returned to his hand, the fire in his palm suddenly flared, growing even more intense.

Flora Bloom marveled at his talent. ’He’s already grasped the key to controlling his superpower in such a short time!’ It was something many with superpowers couldn’t achieve even after two or three years.

The greater one’s control, the more precise their abilities become, and the less power they consume.

Meanwhile, Ethan Monroe had been hacking at the vines for some time, but they remained completely unscathed, without so much as a scratch.

"Old Monroe, don’t waste your strength. Ordinary weapons can’t cut these vines. We have to kill the superpower user first for them to disappear."

Seth’s expression changed drastically when he saw the flames in Neal Wallace’s palm. Plants are naturally weak to fire; it was a fundamental suppression of his power. With Neal’s arrival, the intense flames made Seth feel the superpower within him stagnate.

He had a very bad feeling about this. Suddenly, he put on a sincere smile and said to Neal, "My friend, we’re both exceptionally skilled. Why should we fight over a woman? How about this: you join us, and I’ll make you my second-in-command. As for this woman... I’ll let you have her. What do you say?"

Neal Wallace froze for a moment. He’d expected a tough fight the moment he arrived. ’Is this guy... trying to recruit me?’

Neal’s hesitation made Seth think he was actually considering the offer. He pressed his advantage, "Brother, from now on, you and I will be the leaders here. If we work together, who knows? We might even become heroes who save the world."

Neal Wallace suddenly scoffed. A huge ball of fire shot toward Seth, catching him completely off guard.

Caught by surprise and suppressed by the Fire Element superpower, Seth found it impossible to properly control his own abilities. To dodge Neal’s attack, he had no choice but to retract the vines binding Flora Bloom and Oscar Owen to focus on his new opponent.

"You little brat, you don’t know what’s good for you! My power is a Mutated Superpower; it has some resistance to the Fire Element. If we really fight, you’re not guaranteed to win."

Neal Wallace carefully controlled his flames as he faced off against Seth.

The moment she was free, Flora Bloom immediately checked on the unconscious Oscar Owen beside her.

’Good, he’s still breathing. As long as you’re breathing, I can pull you back from death’s door.’

Relying on the restorative properties of her space water, Flora Bloom pulled a bottle of water from thin air and poured it into Oscar Owen’s mouth. At the same time, she summoned her superpower to cleanse his wounds.

After she had him drink three entire bottles, Oscar Owen’s wounds finally stopped bleeding and scabbed over. Flora then stopped. ’If the scars disappear too, my water will seem far too miraculous to others.’

’Besides, the situation was so urgent that I didn’t even try to hide it, just pulling the water directly from my space.’

Oscar Owen, who had just woken up, was weak from blood loss. His mind was clear, but his spiritual power was depleted, as his superpower had been completely drained.

Flora Bloom saw that Neal Wallace and Seth were locked in a stalemate. She immediately pulled a white Crystal Core from the small farmhouse inside her space and handed it to Oscar Owen.

"Hold this in your palm. Use your spiritual power to connect with it and absorb its energy. It will help you recover your superpower."

Oscar Owen didn’t seem to doubt Flora Bloom’s words for a second. He did as she said, immediately sitting on the ground to begin recovering his superpower.

Seeing this, Seth feared they would gang up on him once Oscar recovered his superpower. He immediately began controlling his vines to launch an attack.

But plants were naturally weak to fire. Whether the vines tried to attack Neal Wallace or Flora’s group, the flames thwarted every attempt, beating them back.

Just a few minutes later, three Wind Blades suddenly materialized from different directions, all aimed at three of Seth’s vital points.

He dodged the one aimed for the artery in his neck, but was struck in one eye and in the chest.

Once awakened, those with superpowers have a much more tenacious Life Force than ordinary people. The Wind Blade in his chest had nearly pierced through his ribs; his mangled, still-beating heart was visible within the wound.

And yet, Seth still wasn’t dead.

Like a madman, he summoned ten vines. No matter how Neal Wallace’s flames scorched them, they stubbornly pushed through the fire to attack Neal, Flora, Oscar, and Ethan.

Flora threw up a water shield in front of herself and Ethan. Oscar, however, gathered a massive barrage of Wind Blades and recklessly sent them flying toward Seth.

The Wind Blades sliced through the vines, shot past the fire, and pierced Seth’s body. At the same time, Neal’s fire surged forward and engulfed him.

Seth, who had been clinging to life, let out one final, bloodcurdling scream before falling silent, allowing the flames to burn his body to a blackened crisp.