Chapter 125

Mastema, who had defeated Agni’s left arm, came to stand beside me.

She didn’t seem tired at all.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. By the way, is that really a human?”

“Yeah, although he’s strayed quite far from it, he’s still human.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Kasugal, whose humanity was even doubted by a demon.

The surrounding temperature felt like standing near a volcano.

But Mastema, a demon, seemed unbothered by it. With the blessing of Victor, I was also unaffected.

Both armies had somehow moved a great distance away. They must have judged it best to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Sepia, while being chased by Agni’s right arm, managed to fire off a water spell from over there, but it was now almost completely ineffective.

It seemed that the conditions had now aligned to favor Kasugal.

“Sepia, fall back.”

“O-Okay.”

Seeing her water spell getting dissipated earlier, Sepia followed my instructions and retreated.

Agni’s right arm stopped pursuing her and returned to Kasugal.

When Kasugal absorbed Agni’s right arm, the burned stump of his right arm healed completely. He must have forcefully regenerated it using his magic.

Even after quitting as an adventurer, his strength has only increased.

While we go through the trouble to grow even slightly stronger…

Seriously, what a ridiculous guy.

Mastema stepped forward, took a deep breath, and unleashed hellfire from her mouth.

It was the same black flame that had given me so much trouble when I fought her.

Kasugal, unfazed, clapped his hands.

A thick, white wall of fire appeared to block Mastema’s black flame.

It looked like a simple spell from magic school, though on a much larger scale.

When I do it, the wall barely reaches my height. But when Kasugal gets serious, it turns into this.

I imagine the mages who studied alongside him had quite the experience.

Mastema’s black fire collided with the thick wall of fire. The white wall quickly eroded under the black flame, but it still managed to hold back the hellfire.

When she finished exhaling the black fire, the white wall that had stood in its way vanished, yet it had shielded Kasugal from harm.

Mastema’s dissatisfaction was clear on her face, looking a bit irritated.

“The Demon Lord once said it: occasionally, a human with great power emerges.”

“Oh? Occasionally, huh?”

“I can’t accept it. For my flames to be blocked…”

It wouldn’t do to have people like Kasugal popping up left and right. The Demon Lord’s sense of time must be different from ours.

He probably observes the human world from hell whenever he has some free time.

Kasugal raised his hand towards us. His magic turned the surroundings into a domain of fire, further enhancing his powerful spells.

In other words, the more he remains in place, the stronger his fire magic becomes.

In theory, other mages could accomplish the same, but Kasugal operates on an entirely different scale. White fire arrows materialized around him.

“Here it comes.”

“Yes, I know.”

I readied my sword, and Mastema readied her scythe. There were easily more than thirty fire arrows.

Mastema charged in first, skillfully spinning her scythe to deflect the arrows. As I followed her lead, I moved forward as well.

Mastema struck the fire arrows with force, extinguishing each one as her scythe, nearly as tall as her, sliced through them. Impressive as always.

I parried the arrows coming my way. The impact was heavy.

Even with Victor’s blessing, it’s like this.

For an ordinary soldier, this power would be utterly devastating.

I gripped my Heavenly Sword tightly.

“Raise it further.”

“Beyond this is—”

“Do you think he’s an opponent we can hold back against?”

Victor fell silent, granting me additional blessing.

The sword’s magic wasn’t enough, so the load on me increased.

But I could still manage.

Mastema moved forward, unfazed by the magic. At her pace, she’d soon reach Kasugal.

Drawing closer, she raised her scythe high and, letting go, sent it whirling down towards Kasugal.

It clashed with several fire arrows, sending them flying. Packed with incredible force, it charged forward without slowing down.

But as I advanced for a follow-up attack, fire erupted from the ground.

Had he laid a spell on the ground? I was forced to halt.

If that massive scythe hit Kasugal with that momentum, even he wouldn’t come out unscathed.

Yet he simply stared at the oncoming scythe without moving.

If he dodged, he would lose his advantageous position… Was he planning to block it with magic?

Kasugal raised his right arm to shoulder height and aimed his hand at the scythe.

The scythe was a weapon forged from Mastema’s demonic power.

Not even Kasugal should be able to destroy a weapon crafted from demonic power.

The scythe reached him.

He grabbed the whirling scythe with his right hand.

Under that momentum, his arm should have been blown away.

That is, if he left it as it was.

Kasugal’s right hand gripped the scythe, stopping it completely. For a mage like Kasugal, this strength was unimaginable.

Even at my level, it would be uncertain.

It’s reasonable to think he stopped it with something other than brute strength.

The surrounding temperature continued to rise. Kasugal’s hair shifted from red to blue.

What is that? I’ve never seen it before.

“Haven’t I shown you this before? I haven’t used it since that experiment with that man. It’s exhausting, and it doesn’t last long.”

Blue flames leaked from Kasugal’s right hand. Those flames were stopping the scythe.

“…The sky is the sky. Everything is void. Power is fleeting.”

Saying that, Kasugal enveloped the scythe in flames and crushed it. Simultaneously, his eyes turned blue, and the power I felt from him surged even higher.

“Fire, water, wind, earth, and the sky. Fire alone cannot reach the sky.”

Mastema spoke.

The sky—the fifth element and the ultimate goal for mages.

A realm beyond humanity, where angels and demons reside.

“In other words?”

“That fire will reach me.”

“Tch.”

Our greatest advantage had vanished.

But there’s no way he could maintain that state for long.

This next one will settle it.

I’ll hold nothing back, raising the Heavenly Sword’s blessing to its maximum.

With Victor’s enhancement, my limit increased.

It won’t last long, and once used, I’ll likely be unable to move.

“This ends here.”

“I’ll be the one to defeat you.”