Toss's hands were flames, burning with the desire to destroy his enemies. The remaining zombies attacked, but they were quickly burned. The flowing style of impenetrable defense turns the undead bodies to ash. All of this while Toss laughed at them. "So aggressive, you guys don’t have a problem throwing your lives away. Wait, you guys are already dead. You can’t throw your lives away, hahaha."

The sight of the dead moving to kill him was funny. "How many times I spoke to them expecting an answer, but they never answered me. You can make them talk, right? You can use them for whatever you want, right? Ahahaha. I’m envious of you." Toss continued destroying the zombies while moving closer to Thanatos. His objective was to kill him.

This man was definitely the leader of Underworld. The power to control the dead was too special to be a simple grunt under someone else's command. This was the final mission to become a boss of the Red Dragon. Once he presented the evidence of necromancy to the leader, he would be promoted.

"Sorry to say I’m not Hades, but only a servant named Thanatos. The boss is too busy to be dealing with a weakling like you. Maybe when your boss decides to come himself, then maybe Hades will consider showing up. Meanwhile, the two of us are strong enough to deal with you."

"The two of us?" Eric was surprised. The recoil of his special ability was already hurting his muscles. He wanted to fight, but the pain was too much. He couldn’t even move from the spot. He would be only a hindrance to Thanatos. I’m too weak… how can I help the boss, damn it-

"Eric!"

"…!"

"I’m going to entertain him while you look for the opportunity to strike the final attack. The plan hasn’t changed. I trust you." Thanatos looked at his back for only a second, but that was enough for Eric. He could see the trust in his boss's eyes.

Idiot, you can’t afford to pity yourself. "YES!" Using only his willpower, he prepared to attack at the slightest opportunity.

Toss and Thanatos were fighting in a deadly close quarters match. No one is given an inch of advantage. Even though Thanatos used his own style of combat, he couldn’t get past the defense. The flowing defense of Toss deflected all strikes.

On the other hand, Toss was barely surviving the onslaught of attacks from Thanatos. Every hit could potentially end his life. When he counterattacked, his fists bounced off the skin, and the fire was barely burning him, all thanks to the magic used for protection.

"You are very good. You could probably have become a Red executioner like me. Too bad that you chose the wrong path." Toss struck Thanatos's face with both open palms, burning his whole face.

"I know I’m good. That’s why I chose to make my own syndicate, but a weakling like you can only survive by following the strong." Thanatos was unfazed by having his head covered in fire. With a kick in the stomach, he launched Toss to the other side of the pit.

Toss was a bit late to react, now he was vomiting his dinner. "AAAUUUUGHHH" Only for a moment, he let his guard down. Thanatos jumped again to pursue, but Toss was already focused on the fight. "You're trying to look tough, but I can tell that my fire is affecting you. Hehe, there are also only a few undead left. This is my victory, but I won't underestimate you." Toss when on the offensive.

Although his style was still focused on the defensive side, he was attacking more and more. Little by little, he was hitting Thanatos's body, burning him more. To Thanatos, this sudden change of tactics was strange. If he was so sure of victory, why change to another tactic?

A bad feeling crossed Thanatos's mind. He retreated, and at the same time, he sent the last of the undead. The zombies surrounded Toss, not trying to get close but only keeping him still. Reviving so many people took a lot of mana. Even if he had two days to do it, the dozens of zombies were stronger than the average citizen. The only mana left in him going into his fight had already been mostly used for the [Strengthening] spell.

Using the only fraction remaining inside, Thanatos used his last spell. He had two choices: going for [Lightning ball] or [Ice spear]. He thought for a moment and chose [Lightning ball]. Since Toss could deal with the undead so easily, trying to impale him with the spear would be too hard. The electricity would hit his zombies, but also Toss wouldn’t have any way to dodge.

"[Lightning ball]!" He threw the sphere of electricity into the middle of the zombies. Then it exploded into several chains of light. The zombies took the damage as expected. Toss was also affected by the electric rays passing through his body; he had several burn marks and his muscles spasmed as a result of the electric current. Some internal organs were damaged, plus a broken rib. Still, he withstood the magic attack. Alive and breathing with difficulty, he tried to regain his rhythm.

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Thanatos jumped toward Toss with his claws ready to kill him. Despite the electricity, Toss's special ability [Salamander hands] was still active, but he was unable to use his flowing style to defend himself; the damage from the [Lightning ball] left him vulnerable. Thanatos took the chance like a predator pouncing on weak prey.

He sharpened his claws and struck at Toss's body. Before he could reach the Red executioner, a wall of flames engulfed him. The fire trapped Thanatos in a sphere of flames. It felt like being inside a sauna that had passed the limit for a malfunction.

Thanatos's hands were burned when he tried to attack Toss. They were bloody and red. Not even Thanatos could pass through unscathed in this heat. Having trouble breathing, he noticed the intention of Toss with this move. He's not going to kill me with fire, he's going to suffocate me with heat. Like a piece of meat on a stove, I’m being cooked to death.

"[Salamander stomach]" Toss's hands turn into a prison of fire, trapping Thanatos to burn him from the inside. "Did you know? Salamanders can spit fire. They do it because it actually helps them digest their prey. Isn’t it curious that a creature that must eat fire to survive can spit fire? They produce their own fire, and when they eat the meat, they consume their own flames. That’s why the hottest part of a salamander's body is his stomach."

Toss's special ability [Salamander stomach] was his last resort. To defeat an opponent that couldn't be finished with his flowing style, he invented the ultimate defense mechanism. During the fight, Toss noticed the overwhelming physical power of Thanatos. In strength and speed, Toss was the loser. It was only through his flowing style technique that he managed to stand his ground.

But he confirmed that his hands could burn Thanatos. That meant his fire prison could trap him inside. The fire of [Salamander stomach] was many times hotter than that of his hands. The recoil was hitting him in the form of a fever, but it was okay. Now that Thanatos was trapped. "You can try to escape, but the only thing coming out would be your charred body. You should feel honored. I don’t use this power unless my opponent is strong. Can you even hear me, or did you pass out already?"

Toss smiled. He had won the battle. There was no way for Thanatos to escape from the fire. His zombies were all dead. If he tried to use magic again, it would just explode inside the fire. Nothing was getting out of there.

Toss thought that Thanatos' expression was one of defeat and fear; knowing he was going to die, he probably broke down, or maybe he accepted his fate like some of the warriors he fought. No matter what acceptance or refusal, it was all the same. The result was his death.

Thanatos didn’t refuse or accept his fate. He simple waited, he believed in someone, his faith kept him focused in the battle. Taking a battle stance with heavy breathing, feeling the hot air burn his lungs, he trusted in his companion, no, his friend. Come on Eric, I’ll wait for your signal.

When was it? When did I begin to feel the expectations, the pressure, the admiration? I guess when I became the boss of a small group of thugs, I tried to earn our name as a syndicate, but it was useless. I wasn’t strong enough to fight the big guys. So why did you all follow me for so long? Eric stared at the ground; the dead bodies of some of his companions lay there.

He watched over them in silence, expecting an answer that would never come...

"Because you are super cool, Eric!" His eyes went up and he saw the figure of the young kid that died a couple of days ago.

"Hil? What?" Eric thought he had lost his mind. "Is this my own mind playing tricks on me?"

"Maybe, or maybe it is me. Whatever the case, please listen to what I’m about to say. You asked us why we follow you. I don’t speak for all of us, but I know a lot of us felt this way about you. You are cool, Eric. The way you fight and worry about us is super nice. I don’t want to work for a guy that doesn’t give a crap about me." Hil gave him a big, wide smile.

"You are dumb and reckless, but those things make us admire you. Raise your head, you are a good boss, Eric." Eric looked at him with bewildered eyes.

"Can I really believe that…"

"Of course. Boss Thanatos also believes in you. I felt his magic calling me. You know what he said? ‘Don’t worry, you guys are going to help Eric and me. I won’t let that bastard say your lives were in vain.’ He may not care for us like you, but he's still a good boss."

That belief made Eric stand up. With his muscles in pain, he rushed at Toss with all he had left. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH." It was painful. His muscles felt like they were about to break apart from the inside. He raised his right fist and charged at his foe one last time. "DIE!"

Toss turned back and saw Eric coming. He forgot Eric was there. That’s how little he considered him a threat. His hands were busy making the fire prison, but his legs were all he needed to deal with such an insignificant enemy. "Just die already!" A single kick, so fast that it was already in front of Eric's face.

"…!"

Pushing past his physical limits, Eric tried to dodge the kick, but it was too fast. I can’t make it, damn it, damn it! Stop worrying about it and DO IT! FASTER, FASTER, FASTER................

Eric's refused to yield and die. That determination took him a single step higher on the ladder of the powerful…

[Level obtained: Fighter 4]

[Skill created]

Eric's punch reached Toss's guts. What? How did he? I was sure I hit him with my kick. His speed increased so much in a moment. Was he holding onto a special ability till now? Toss tried to recover his stability, but the punch wasn’t finished.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"UUUUUUUGGGGHHH..."

Eric's hand pierced through the flesh and ended up on the other side. His fist came out of Toss's back.

"AH… AH… AH…" He was done. Eric could not move anymore.

"YOU! I´LL KILL YOU!" Toss spat out his own blood and rage. He made a knife-hand with both hands and attacked the limp and barely conscious Eric.

"…?!" He noticed that his hands were aimed at Eric. That meant [Salamander stomach] was undone. Toss tried to look back, but his neck did a 180 degree turn.

With a kick, Thanatos broke the neck of Toss, killing him. "Good job, Eric!"