Due to Clifford's ability to drain energy from a source, he had gained a passive sense for the flow of energy around him. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to warn him whenever something dangerous entered his range.
Because of that, the entire Wyndham group immediately looked toward the same direction he was staring at.
At first, they couldn't fully make out what was coming toward them through the smoke and heated air.
But only a second later, they saw it clearly.
Two figures were flying directly toward them.
Their bodies were wrapped in flames so intensely that, from afar, they almost looked like statues carved from living fire itself.
The two figures slowed down before finally stopping in the air above the ruined street.
They hovered there silently.
The moment they stopped, the temperature around the area rose sharply again. The heat rolled outward in waves, making the air shimmer and distort.
"This..." Gavalich muttered.
His face stiffened.
"This is the Pyre-Fang Clan."
The panic in his voice was obvious.
Honestly, nobody blamed him for it.
Every member of the Wyndham family could feel the pressure pouring from the two figures above them. The flames surrounding their bodies weren't normal fire. They carried power behind them. Violent power.
It felt suffocating.
Even breathing suddenly became harder.
The melted streets nearby and the burning remains around them made things even worse. Anyone with common sense could already connect the dots.
The destruction from earlier?
These people were likely responsible for it.
Meanwhile, Zephyr didn't wait to be told what to do.
His body transformed immediately.
Crack!
His bones shifted.
Two extra limbs burst out from his back while dark fur rapidly spread across his skin. His body lowered into a crouch as his muscles expanded.
In only moments, he had transformed into the same monstrous werewolf-like form he had used earlier.
His claws dug into the melted ground beneath him.
Growl!
A deep growl escaped his throat while he kept his eyes locked onto the two Pyre-Fang members above.
The others also reacted quickly.
Jimmy tightened his fists.
Henry slowly stepped backward while keeping his guard raised.
Lennox narrowed his eyes.
Even Isla looked tense now.
No one dared to relax.
Not in front of enemies like this.
And the scary part?
The two Pyre-Fang members still hadn't made a move yet.
But even then, the Wyndham family already felt like they were standing right in front of death itself.
"He's not here," the female member of the Pyre-Fang Clan said.
"Then we have no reason to waste time on this trash," the male replied coldly.
"Deal with them. I'll go look for the boy."
The next second, flames exploded from beneath his feet.
Boom!
His figure shot into the sky like a meteor and vanished straight into the thick fog above the ruined city.
Meanwhile, the female member of the Pyre-Fang Clan slowly turned toward the Wyndhams.
The heat around her body rose sharply. The air itself started warping.
Then she raised one hand.
A massive ball of fire formed above her palm almost instantly before crashing downward at the group.
Boom!
The road exploded apart. Molten cracks spread across the ground as fire blasted in every direction.
Everyone reacted immediately.
Jimmy jumped backward. Lennox rolled behind a broken vehicle. Henry and Gavalich split to opposite sides while Clifford dragged one of the others out of the blast zone.
The attack missed them by seconds.
But the Pyre-Fang woman wasn't done. Not even close.
She inhaled deeply.
Then opened her mouth.
Fwoooosh!!
A massive stream of fire burst outward and swept across the street.
It wasn't a short attack.
The flames continued pouring out endlessly like a dragon breathing destruction into the city. Buildings blackened instantly. Broken cars melted where they stood.
The Wyndhams scattered across the ruined street trying to avoid the sweeping flames.
"Move!" Clifford shouted.
The fire chased after them from side to side.
Zephyr, still in his transformed state, leapt onto the wall of a ruined building and pushed himself away just before the flames tore through the spot he had been standing on.
Meanwhile, Henry had already gathered wind into his palms.
Compressed air twisted violently around his hands.
Then he fired.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Multiple air bullets shot forward one after another.
He didn't stop after the first shot.
Henry continuously launched more attacks while guiding their direction toward the Pyre-Fang member hovering above the street.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The attacks struck one after another, forcing the Pyre-Fang member to shift from her position in the air. The explosions distorted the flames around her body for a brief second.
Her eyes instantly locked onto Henry.
Then she raised her hand.
A massive fireball formed above her palm before shooting down at him at terrifying speed.
Henry reacted immediately. He condensed another air ball between his hands and fired it straight at the incoming flames.
The two attacks collided midair.
Boom!
For a moment, it looked like the air ball would be swallowed by the fire completely.
Then the compressed air exploded from inside the fireball.
The flames burst apart instantly, scattering burning embers across the ruined street below.
But the Pyre-Fang member did not stop.
Another attack came down immediately after.
This time, it wasn't a fireball.
It was a continuous stream of fire pouring downward like a burning waterfall.
Henry saw it coming, but his expression changed.
He wouldn't have enough time to create another air ball.
The fire closed in rapidly.
However, just before it could hit him, a strong hand suddenly grabbed him by the arm and yanked him sideways with force.
Gavalich had pulled Henry away at the last second.
Boom!
The stream of fire slammed into the ground where Henry had been standing moments earlier.
The road exploded apart.
Molten cracks spread across the surface while flames continued burning violently.
Meanwhile, the Pyre-Fang member remained in the air, maintaining the stream of fire without pause.
Something suddenly jumped from the ground.
It was fast.
A powerful leap shot upward like a missile.
The Pyre-Fang member barely had time to react before a giant clawed hand grabbed her arm.
A massive werewolf had reached her.
Zephyr.
His transformed body twisted in the air as he forcefully pulled himself closer to her face. Flames burned across her body, but Zephyr ignored them completely.
Then he opened his jaws and went in for a bite.
However, before his teeth could sink in, a massive sphere of fire suddenly formed from the Pyre-Fang member's chest.
It expanded instantly.
Boom!
The explosion erupted point-blank.
Zephyr was blasted away through the air while smoke and flames spread outward violently.
Meanwhile, the Pyre-Fang member remained hovering in the same spot without moving an inch.
But immediately after blowing Zephyr away, another attack came at her.
An object had been hurled straight toward her.
This time, she was fully focused.
She raised her hand and fired a blast of flames directly at it.
Boom!
The object exploded before it could even reach her.
At the same moment, another figure launched upward from below.
Lennox.
He kicked off the ground with a powerful jump, shooting straight toward the Pyre-Fang member.
His fist was already pulled back.
But the woman calmly shifted her body slightly in the air.
Just a small movement.
That was enough.
Lennox missed her completely.
Meanwhile, she continued firing streams of flames toward the ground below without stopping.
The ruined street kept exploding from the constant bombardment.
Eventually, Lennox lost momentum and started falling back toward the ground.
She spun her body like a tornado and swung her fist at Lennox.
Boom!
The hit landed cleanly.
The force sent Lennox crashing heavily into the ground below. At the same time, flames spread from her fist onto his body like hungry parasites trying to eat through his flesh.
Lennox groaned as he rolled across the broken street.
The fire clung stubbornly to him.
Just from that short exchange alone, the Wyndhams understood something clearly.
They were not her match.
Not even close.
The female member of the Pyre-Fang Clan hovered calmly in the air while flames danced around her body. She looked completely relaxed despite fighting all of them together.
Isla watched the scene unfold with a dark expression.
For some reason, it reminded him of another fight.
Alex.
Back then, Alex had made fighting multiple opponents at once look simple too.
But there was a difference.
A huge one.
Back then, they had outnumbered Alex, yet he still pressured them.
Now, they were the ones with numbers, but against this woman, their numbers felt meaningless.
"What are you all standing around for?!" Zephyr shouted after regaining his footing.
"Do something!"
He kicked off the ground and jumped onto the side of a nearby building, his claws digging into the wall as he latched onto it.
His sharp eyes stayed locked on the Pyre-Fang woman.
'To beat her... we need something that can counter fire,' Zephyr thought.
But the more he thought about it, the worse things became.
None of them had abilities suited for that.
Henry's air attacks might even make the flames stronger at this level.
That realization hit hard.
Too hard.
For the first time since entering the tournament, Zephyr started questioning everything.
'Is this our limit?' he wondered silently.
'Is this as far as our strength can take us?'
The thought tasted bitter.
Outside, people praised the Wyndham Family. They carried status, influence, and power.
But here?
Inside this tournament?
Against monsters like this?
They looked weak.
Zephyr clenched his teeth as helplessness slowly crept into his chest while the Pyre-Fang woman effortlessly overwhelmed them all.