The fake Edward was lying.
The condition to activate his skill has already been met!
Before Val could react, Edward's bloodline ability activated. An icy chill washed over Val, causing his skin to prickle with goosebumps. The world around him fell into an eerie silence as though he had been plunged into a deep abyss. The surrounding chaos disappeared. The train beneath his feet and his enemy also disappeared. He found himself in a desolate hand.
However, nothing else happened.
Because of his unique trait, Val, The unfeeling, had no fears to speak of!
An illusion that existed to show one's nightmare couldn't exist without a purpose.
Since there was no nightmare to be shown, it shattered in an instant.
As a result, Val found himself back on top of the train.
'The skill didn't affect me as Edward had anticipated!' he grinned internally.
However, outwardly, he acted as if he was trapped in a horrifying nightmare.
He decided to use this situation to his advantage.
He feigned terror, freezing in his spot, playing the part of the victim trapped in his deepest fears.
His face contorted into an expression of dread, setting the stage for Edward's impending disappointment.
Edward thought that that Val was trapped in a nightmare, seeing his expression.
He charged towards Val with a pair of gleaming daggers. With a vicious cry, he leaped and brought down his daggers in a swift, lethal arc.
However, just as Edward's victory was a hair's breath away, Val sidestepped the attack.
"How?" Edward's eyes widened to the size of saucers as the impossible happened. His attack was dodged!
In the very next instant, Val launched his counterattack. His right hand, wreathed in an inferno of hellish fire, lunged forward, aimed straight at the man who had intended to do him harm.
The man's eyes widened, taken aback by the sudden retaliation.
Bam!
Before he could even react, Val's fist, ablaze with searing flames, smashed directly into his chest. The impact was profound, the sheer force not onlg sending him hurtling backwards and knocking the air out of his lungs, but also setting him ablaze.
Arghhhhhhh!
The imposter's screams echoed through the air as the intense heat from Val's Hellish Fist engulfed him. His clothing immediately caught fire, the fabric disintegrating under the ferocity of the blaze. His skin, once flawless, began to blister and melt away as the relentless fire hungrily consumed him. After that, his flesh started to melt under the terrific assault of the hellish fire.
Val watched with grim satisfaction as his assailant writhed in agony, the air around him warping from the intense heat. His counterattack had succeeded, and the results were as he had anticipated - Edward was indeed vulnerable to his Hellish Fire
"Stop, stop!" Edward pleaded desperately. "I can give you valuable information. Just put out the fire!"
Val looked at him coldly. "What information?"
Through gritted teeth, the imposter gasped, "I...I can tell you who hired me...to kill you!"
Seeing the imposter desperately pleading for mercy, Val tilted his head and observed him coolly. He didn't show a trace of sympathy, nor did he attempt to extinguish the flames. The searing fire from his Hellish Fist continued to consume the imposter.
Val regarded the imposter with an indifferent gaze as his body writhed and burned from the Hellish Fist.
"Aren't you fucking curious to know?" the imposter screamed through his agony.
Val shrugged, his face devoid of any sympathy or curiosity. "Why should I be curious? I haven't managed to cross paths with many, so the list of my enemies that would and can go this far just to kill me is pretty short. If I had to guess, it would be either the Kendricks or... The Strouds." he commented with chilling nonchalance.
The imposter's eyes widened in shock amidst his suffering. "You...you knew?"
Val scoffed, "Simply had my guesses."
The imposter's cries grew weaker and weaker as the Hellish Fire turned him from a man to a pile of ashes.
A notification rang in Val's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've killed Marvick, a level 4 Bloodline User. You have gained more than a 800 EXP! You've gained an additional 200 experience points for the 2 level difference between you and your opponent!]
Val didn't know who Marvick was and honestly he didn't care.
Val looked at his EXP bar.
[EXP: 3160/3200]n0velusb.C0m
He only need 40 EXP to level up!
Standing alone on top of the train under the moonlit sky, Val watched as the wind swept away the last remains of the man.
At the same time, the guardians killed the chieftain of the Winged Reapers.
Seeing this, the other winged reapers retreated.
Val really wanted to kill one of them. Sadly, his body didn't listen to him.
[Stamina: 0!]
He was dead tired!
The only reason he still hadn't collapsed was because he was staying awake on his willpower alone.
Anyways, fighting in such a condition was impossible for him!
Morthos's face twisted into a contorted mask of rage and disappointment as he watched Marvick being reduced to ashes by Val's Hellish Fist. His fists clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. The man's failure was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Useless bastard," he hissed under his breath, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Can't even take care of a simple job. I guess I will have to put an end to Val's wretched existence myself!"
With a cold gaze locked onto Val's figure standing atop the speeding train, Morthos barked an order at the colossal figure he was seated upon.
"Stormgazer! Annihilate him and everyone that helped! Leave nothing but ashes!"
The command reverberated through the silent night, the echo lingering ominously in the air.
Stormgazer, a monstrous giant with power over thunder and lightning, grumbled in acknowledgment. It was powerful but so stupid that it hadn't learned any language despite being alive for hundreds maybe even thousands of years. No wonder it had fallen prey to the Enthraller's charm.
The corners of Morthos's lips turned up into a sinister smile as he watched the creature spring into action. "None of them will survive what's to come."