A light drizzle had begun before anyone noticed.

The central plaza, which had become a battlefield, was strewn with debris. Looking down, Yuu saw the ground had turned into a muddy mess where rain and dirt had mixed together.

The once-beautiful central plaza of Lyuubeffo, a city praised for its beauty, was now unrecognizable. The grand fountain that once used the abundant water supply, the enchanted stone pavement, and the perfectly spaced trees had all been reduced to rubble. Two-thirds of the plaza was now in a devastating state, far removed from its original splendor.

(Damn.)

Yuu scowled at the shattered shield made from black dragon scales.

(The old man’s going to be pissed. But damn, that guy’s attack power is ridiculous.)

Before the battle, Yuu had checked Merit's stats and had a rough idea of how powerful his attacks would be.

Even so, the attacks Merit unleashed far exceeded Yuu’s expectations—not just by a little, but sometimes by several times.

(If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve just tried to kill him from the start instead of bothering to figure out his moves… No, he’s not that easy of an opponent.)

“The rain feels pretty good on this heated body!”

The fluidity Merit had shown during the battle was now gone, and he was lumbering towards Yuu with heavy steps, his demeanor a far cry from before.

And despite being in the middle of a fight, a huge grin—no, a full-on delighted smile—was plastered on his face. It wasn’t a sneer; it was a smile of pure enjoyment.

“Kukaka! What’s wrong? Got something you wanna say?”

“What’s all this nonsense about Ryujinken? It’s the Jinryuken!”

“Huh? You know that old geezer? What a lame name, Jinryuken. It’s called Ryujinken now—my fist technique.”

Merit, clearly excited, started talking like that detail didn’t even matter.

“But you! You really survived my ‘Ryuha Mikakutou’! That move usually kills most people. I’ve only ever used it against dragons or ancient giants.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty, like I’m weaker than you.”

With a sharp glint in his eyes, Merit swung his fist sideways. Yuu, who had lost his shield, blocked it with his left arm. But even through his black dragon scale gauntlet, Yuu felt his bones creak under the pressure.

In return, Yuu swung his greatsword in a wide arc, but Merit blocked it with his own left arm, mimicking Yuu’s move.

The black dragon sword clashed with a metallic sound, and the force deflected Yuu’s strike.

“Wanna know why?”

Ignoring Merit’s clear eagerness to explain, Yuu remained silent.

“It’s the intermediate level of Ryujinken: Ryuurinkou. It’s not just for defense, you can apply it offensively too!”

“Stop babbling. I didn’t ask.”

Even while exchanging words, the intensity of their attacks increased.

Yuu found Merit to be a particularly difficult opponent. His passive skill, Madragon Eye, allowed Yuu to predict certain events. However, predicting the future was like navigating a branching tree of possibilities, and Yuu had to choose the right one.

This posed a problem.

Against Merit, there were far too many possible outcomes. Merit also possessed a passive skill called Dragon Eye, but unlike Yuu, Merit seemed to thoroughly enjoy the chaos of the fight.

“What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Enjoy the fight more!”

Merit’s attacks grew even more intense as he threw another punch.

Yuu met it with his left fist, and the two fists seemed on a collision course. But at the last moment, Yuu opened his hand, covering Merit’s fist with his palm, using the technique Penetrating Fist that Holy Fist Dros had once used against him.

Yuu channeled his energy into Merit’s right arm, aiming to destroy it from the inside—

“GAAAH!!”

—before that could happen, Merit roared and twisted his arm further.

The massive amount of energy Merit possessed repelled Yuu’s own, reversing the flow and sending it back through Yuu’s left arm. His arm swelled from the inside, causing his black dragon scale gauntlet to bulge.

With a hiss, air escaped, and Yuu’s left arm exploded. Blood spurted from every direction, and his bones and muscles were ground up like they’d been thrown into a blender.

“Damn it.”

Clicking his tongue, Yuu aimed a kick at Merit’s solar plexus, hoping to gain some distance. But instead, Yuu was the one who was flung back.

Spinning mid-air, Yuu managed to land. His left arm was gravely injured, an injury that would take an ordinary mage months to heal. However, Yuu’s passive skill High-Speed Regeneration and healing magic began to close the wounds and regenerate the bones and flesh almost immediately.

(No wonder he’s so full of himself. He probably hasn’t faced a real opponent until now. Barehanded fighting… no, I can’t win this in close combat.)

Yuu quickly abandoned any thought of winning in close-quarters combat and decided to return to his original fighting style.

Which meant—overwhelming his opponent with the sheer number of attacks.

“Do you need more time?”

Despite having the opportunity to attack, Merit stood there with his arms crossed, waiting.

Excitement clear in his eyes, Merit couldn't seem to hold back his anticipation. Yuu, now in a half stance, pulled another greatsword from his item pouch—the Black Dragon Sword, Wet Crow—and placed the twin blades over his shoulders.

“I’ll teach an overconfident fool like you that there’s always someone stronger.”

Electric sparks danced across the blades of the greatswords.

Yuu stretched out his left foot, lowered his waist, and unleashed a terrifying killing intent towards Merit. The bloodlust was so intense that any ordinary person would’ve passed out, but Merit, instead, trembled with pleasure.

The sheer magnitude of Yuu’s killing intent shook the air, causing Marifa and the others watching from afar to retreat even further.

“This is gonna be fun.”

The moment Merit responded to Yuu’s taunt, the attack began.

The ground instantly froze. The second tier of black magic, Ice Burn, froze several centimeters of the ground. But the version Yuu cast encased Merit up to his waist in ice.

“Annoying!”

Merit shattered the massive ice block with just the strength of his upper body. But by that time, Yuu had already used his unique skill, Skybound Untethered, to launch himself high into the air.

“From above?”

Merit looked up just in time to see a vortex of blue flames swirling down from the sky. It was Yuu’s original spell, Blueclash.

Flames change color based on their temperature: red at around 1500 degrees, then yellow, white, and at 10,000 degrees, blue.

Despite the fact that the 10,000-degree flames hit him directly, Merit was still smiling within the fire.

“Not hot enough!”

Merit countered with his Dragonfist Technique: Dragon Kick, sending the vortex of flames back towards the sky. As the flames split in two, Yuu appeared, ready to strike.

He activated sword skill level 7, Soaring Phoenix Sword. It was a technique that sent the user high into the air, raining slashes down upon the enemy.

Yuu unleashed the attack with both swords, each blade charged with powerful lightning magic.

“RAAAAAAH!!”

With a loud battle cry, Merit covered himself in Ryuurinkou, crossing his arms to block the attack—but midway, he deflected it with brute force.

Sparks and electric bolts flew violently between the blades and Merit’s arms.

“Ugh…”

A rare groan escaped Merit’s mouth.

The left arm, where Yuu’s sword had made contact, looked as though it had been ground down to shreds.

“What’s wrong? Not gonna block like before?”

Yuu taunted, thrusting his sword with one hand—the blade was now only millimeters from Merit’s throat.

Merit, despite managing to evade the strike at the last second, noticed something odd. A sword was embedded in the ground near Yuu.

At some point, Yuu had let go of his Black Dragon Sword, Wet Crow, leaving his left hand free. In his left hand, a distorted fireball flickered.

Sliding the fireball along his right arm, Yuu sent it rolling along his sword’s blade toward Merit.

“GAH!!”

Panicking, Merit kicked the blade upward and flipped backward in a series of somersaults. The fireball’s trajectory was thrown off, shooting high into the sky.

“Hahaha… no need to panic over a clumsy fireball like that…”

“That’s right. Why did—"

Before the mercenaries of the Immortal Mercenary Corps could finish their casual remarks, the sky exploded.

“GYAAAH!!”

“Wh-what the hell!!”

“Vee, explain!”

“Silence, all of you!”

The rain clouds over Lyuubeffo had been blown away, replaced by a sky now engulfed in crimson flames. The shockwave and heat from the explosion were so intense that even the mercenaries on the ground could feel its force.

(This… this is unbelievable! That magic just now wasn’t only a combination of multiple black magic spells but also ancient magic! Could it have included other types as well? Combining spells from different systems to create original magic—unthinkable!)

Even Vint, a master magician, found it hard to believe what had just unfolded before his eyes.

"Captain Luvto, that kid is definitely not normal."

"What do you mean?"

"When you were unconscious—"

"Who was unconscious?! I was just… temporarily losing consciousness for a moment!"

(That’s called passing out…)

Luvto’s subordinates wisely kept their mouths shut, knowing that arguing now would only make things worse.

"Well, while the captain was briefly unconscious, that kid blocked Sis’ Ryuken attack with a shield, and I swear, he used at least two or three different shield techniques."

"You’re sure?"

Though Luvto hadn’t witnessed it during the Ryuken attack, he had seen Yuu employ multiple shield techniques when Merit used Ryuha Mikakutou. Still, he asked for confirmation to be sure.

"I’m sure."

"And that’s not all."

One of Vint’s elven subordinates chimed in next.

"He also used multiple enchantments. Not just three or four—he used over ten enchantments that I could count. And his sword, it was charged with high-level lightning magic, turning it into a powerful magic sword."

For a mercenary, underestimating the strength of an opponent could be fatal. That’s why they were always cautious, assessing their enemies’ power carefully. Luvto, entrusted with leading the squad, understood the importance of this well.

"So, what you’re saying is that kid, who isn’t even a front-line fighter, is going toe-to-toe with Sis?"

Luvto’s face twisted in frustration, clearly reluctant to acknowledge the reality in front of him. But it was the truth.

"Most likely, he's a magic knight or a warrior who focuses on magic. He’s probably also chosen a defensive role as a third job. That would explain his use of magic swords, enchantments, shield techniques, and healing magic."

Vint added to Luvto’s deduction.

However, even Vint found the idea hard to believe. It was one thing to be an all-rounder, but usually, someone with both front-line and back-line jobs would be spread too thin, becoming mediocre in all areas. Yet Yuu had engaged in close combat with Merit, while also unleashing magic with tactical-level power all on his own.

"The kid’s a monster! A devil child has appeared!"

The captain of the tenth squad, Varland, had been trembling ever since Yuu appeared. Now, he crouched down, arms wrapped around his large body, shaking uncontrollably.

"Get a hold of yourself! You’re the captain of the tenth squad! Besides, those two haven’t even gone all out yet!"

Vint’s words caused the fur on the beastfolk members to bristle.

"O-oh, Sister!"

Vanamo, her forehead still discolored from the poison dart that had hit her earlier, called out to Marifa for help.

"Stay behind me."

Marifa used the fourth-tier wood spirit magic, Mangrove, to shield them.

"This… this isn’t a fight between people anymore!"

"Vanamo, don’t be a coward!"

"You talk big, but look at your tail—it’s puffed up like a balloon!"

"T-this is…"

It wasn’t just Graphira. All of the beastfolk members’ tails were puffed up in fear.

"That magic just now…"

Merit, his smile gone, glared at Yuu.

"If I hadn’t kicked it away, you’d have been caught in that blast too."

Ignoring Merit’s words, Yuu pulled his Black Dragon Sword, Wet Crow from the ground, shaking off the mud with two or three swings.

"Are you scared? You’d die for sure, but I’d survive without a doubt."

That was a lie.

In reality, Yuu had planned to manipulate the magic’s range so that only the area in front of Merit was affected. He hadn’t expected Merit to dodge it by kicking the spell away.

"You need more time?"

Merit’s temple pulsed with veins as Yuu threw his own words back at him.

"Oh yeah, earlier you said something like ‘Oh!’ and then jumped back all panicked—how lame."

As Merit’s body trembled in barely-contained rage, Yuu calmly began his preparations.

(Why waste time chanting unnecessary incantations? If my opponent’s going to waste time enjoying the fight, I’ll make full use of that opening.)

This time, instead of taking a half-stance, Yuu fully faced Merit. He lifted his sword, and behind it, distorted fireballs—Yuu’s original magic, Shokuren—began to form.

Knowing that one fireball wouldn’t be enough to kill Merit, Yuu created ten in total. Each one consumed a massive amount of mana, but with Merit waiting patiently, Yuu had the time to fully prepare.

"We need to fall back."

Marifa, observing from behind, quietly gave the order to the others. Tim and the rest complied without question.

After all, this time, the magic would be used on the ground, not the sky. If they were caught in it, they wouldn’t survive.

"Heh… you really waited for me to get ready? Well, that’s considerate of you."

Even at this point, Merit continued to engage in conversation with Yuu.

"Only a fool would wait until death to realize their mistake. No, I guess even dying wouldn’t fix that."

“Wh-who are you calling a fo—”

The moment Merit took a step forward, Yuu crossed his arms. With that movement, the ten Shokuren fireballs hidden behind his back and sword were all launched towards Merit at once.

"GAH! GAAAAAHHH!!"

It had been a long time since Merit had felt the stench of death so clearly.

As the overwhelming sense of death surrounded him, Merit laughed. He thrust both hands forward, releasing his trump card: Dragon Palm Cannon, the secret technique of the Dragonfist.

When Merit’s energy blast collided with Yuu’s Shokuren, the world was consumed in blinding white light.

"GAHHHHH!"

The shockwave from the impact sent Luvto and the others flying, rolling across the ground. Vint, who had cast a protective barrier in advance, struggled to maintain it as cracks formed with each shock. He quickly repaired the barrier, determined to see the battle’s outcome.

The massive energies clashed, splitting into two—one surging into the sky, creating a towering cloud of flame, and the other carving a bottomless crater into the earth below.

For a moment, the space between Yuu and Merit became so hot that even breathing would burn one’s lungs, turning the area into a death zone where no living creature could survive.

"Kukakaka… damn it."

Merit let out a defiant laugh but clicked his tongue as he looked at his charred arms.

Yuu’s magic hadn’t overpowered Merit’s Dragon Palm Cannon, but the attack had placed tremendous strain on Merit’s arms. Additionally, since he had released his technique after Yuu, Merit had absorbed more of the backlash from the collision.

Despite that, Merit assumed Yuu wouldn’t come charging at him right away and began to focus on healing himself with the level 4 martial skill, Breath—but—

"Wh—?"

A voice of disbelief escaped Merit’s lips once more.

Yuu had sliced through the superheated air, cutting through the dust and debris, and launched himself straight at Merit.

"You’re not coming? Fine, I’ll come to you."

Clearly, Yuu had pushed himself to the limit. His entire body was smoldering, black smoke rising from his scorched flesh.

※

"C-captain! Captain Luvto! I’ve been looking for you!"

One of the mercenaries who had been fighting Lena finally found Luvto and called out, breathless.

"Some weird kid—no, a girl—has been messing with our guys, and they’ve been fighting her! Our men are struggling!"

"I see."

Luvto didn’t turn around, only offering a brief acknowledgment. He, like the others, was too focused on the scene unfolding before them.

"And that girl, she’s some kind of crazy magician! She’s taken down at least ten of our men already! That explosion in the sky just now—it’s gotta be her magic too!"

"Sounds serious."

"I’m not joking!! We need your help! Are you even listening to me?"

"It’s not the time for that."

In front of Luvto, Merit—the unbeatable Merit, who had crushed even the mightiest monsters—was being utterly overwhelmed by Yuu.