Chapter 174 Orun / Caius Ii

"what the hell, why can't I set myself free from this damn wood?".

Caius struggled to get the vines that were restraining his movements off of him, by pulling it toward him and attempting to uproot them from the walls they are attached to.

He was met with surprise when he noticed that no matter how much he pulled, or the force he exerted in pulling the vines, it did not budge from its position one bit.

"what are they made of to be this strong?".

He made one last attempt that proved futile. The flame coming off of his body also did no damage to the vines. It absorbed the flames from Caius body and sucked it all into itself, using it as nourishment for its growth.

This came as a shock to Caius. The natural order known to all, is that wood will always be weaker than fire, but this specific wood tying him down, was unbound by the natural order, and refused to succumb itself to its supposed natural elemental adversary.

Unknown to Caius, that he wasn't the only one with an affinity to fire in the vicinity, he continued to question why the wood would not burn under the influence of his fire.

As Orun had suspected, it is not that Caius had an higher affinity with fire than he does, it is just that Caius's affinity with fire is far too strong to lose to an attack with not enough fire influence in it.

After his evolution, Orun had been reborn through the tempering of fire, and is also how he got his skin's color in the form of red, and also his hair color akin to the fire element color.

His very core, has been influenced to becoming a core that portrays fire, and his race, differentiated to be the existence closer to the nature of fire, taking on the worst parts of the element, the Inferno side.

Unlike Caius who only has a high affinity to the fire element, Orun has been restructured in a way that his body has become accommodating to fire, and on the verge of reaching the realm where he can only be described as one true fire.

"wow Caius, you seem to be in trouble. Why didn't you call for me".

In the middle of nowhere, Ignatius's small figure appeared in front of Caius, seeing him in an unexpected circumstances.

"i don't need the help of a traitor, I can handle this myself".

Caius was still holding a grudge against Ignatius for telling Elsa about his past. He proved stubborn by refusing to receive any help from Ignatius, and insisting that he could get out of his unwanted situation by himself.

"ho well, suit yourself. When you need me, you know how to call for me".

Ignatius saw Caius willingness to overcome his situation by himself, and have also made himself clear on not wanting any help from it.

It decided to abide by his words and to not persuade him in offering its help. It left Caius on his own as it erased itself from his presence and back to the tent to continue feeding on its meat.

The soldiers outside the tents were all in dissary at their tents being burned by the fire arrow Caius had earlier rained down, but it bothered Ignatius less mostly because it's tent was unaffected by any of the burning commotion.

"now monster, where were we?".

It was clear to Caius that him putting up physical struggle would not help him get out of his situation, he needed to start thinking outside the box if he wanted a way out for himself.

Orun was not in a hurry to kill Caius, he has him pinned down already, and could very much take his life whenever he desires.

He hasn't done any of that, because he is still thinking of ways for him to communicate with Caius, and ask why he is being targeted by him.

While Orun was busy contemplating on his choice, Caius devised a plan that could get him out of the confine of the vine, and he immediately began its execution.

He secreted fire from his body, this time not focusing on burning the vine, but on melting the surroundings covered by earth walls.

The vines might be immune to his fire, but that does not mean that the hard ground will also be equipped with the same attribute.

Caius's plan is simple. Melt the ground enough so that the vines attached will have nowhere to solidify its root to, leading to its weakening, and subtle enough for Caius to draw it closer to himself, and start the breaking like he had just done.

Caius free from his bondage moments, sprung himself into action by jumping up with his fist clenched, and aiming it at Orun who is too distracted in his thoughts.

"he is free, already?".

Orun's reaction to Caius getting free was mild. He thrust his hand forward, and caught Caius's fist before it could make contact with his skin.

"okay monster, is this how you want to play? A test of strength, is that it".

The swiftness with which Orun used in defending himself against Caius's fist, was shocking enough to make his body get jolted, and in full working conditions.

With his fist still stuck In Orun's hand, Caius made use of his leg, stretching it in the direction of Orun, but just like his hand, his fist was easily guarded against by Orun, using his other hand to ward the fist off moments before it got to him.

Orun threw Caius back to the ground, using his hand that he had held unto.

"okay monster, I have to hand it to you. You, are one tough monster to fight, probably the toughest I have ever come across".

He says, picking himself up from the ground, and dusting his clothing that showed no signs of damage.

"can you tell me why you are after me".

As Orun spoke, he used not just words but also his body language to convey his words to Caius.

Unfortunately for him, Caius understood nothing about body languages, and only mistook Orun's gesture as a form of taunting.