~WHUUSH!~

The flaming blade resonated with the arrows of wind, causing a roaring tempest to be born.

Slashes of fire rose to form a torrent of whirlwind as the arrows burst in a wind vortex.

The result was a surrounding flame-wind combination that engulfed the enemy,

The whirlwind of flames ascended high, completely shrouding Anukus within its heated embrace.

Slashes of winds would continuously tear through the target as fire turned them into hot crisps.

Surely, no one could survive that.

~FSHUUUU!~

The flaming torrent was dispersed instantly, turning into mere sparkling embers within a second.

And standing within it all was Anukus, with a hand raised up and an insane expression on his face.

Asher could see it, and he didn't like the sense of foreboding that coursed through his mind.

His brain quickly worked up a solution, but before he could think of one, something bright was glowing from Anukus' hand.

It resembled.. flames!

~BOOOOOOMMMM!!~

The intense fire wave was sent towards the Flame Warrior, consuming it in fire far more intense than what it was composed of.

"Hehehe… hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Anukus gave the flaming warrior all of its attention, as more flames roared from his second hand, all rushing past the Warrior's body.

One would think that a Flame Elemental wouldn't be affected by Fire Attacks, but that wasn't true at all.

A lesser Flame Elemental would definitely be affected by the Flame Attacks of higher intensity.

It was almost like being involved in a fist fight.

Flesh hitting flesh… only the superior kind of flesh—with better muscles and sturdiness—would emerge the winner.

So also was the case here.

The Fire Warrior was already slowly vanishing as a result of the raging fires that bathed its body.

It couldn't even move. a

"Guh! Attack!" Asher grew so desperate that he yelled despite not needing to.

He was talking to his Water Mage, who had managed to generate a large ball of water for situations like this.

~WHOOSH!~

She launched her 'WaterBall' at the enemy, and it moved quickly for its size.

In no time at all, it would traverse the distance and reach the enemy.

But—

~VWUUUUMMM!~

A wall of fire suddenly rose from the ground to stop the giant ball of water.

And… believe it or not… the flames and water were evenly matched in strength!

'N-no way! I've been preparing that WaterBall for some time now!'

Despite all that, it couldn't get a single barrier that had just been formed.

It was absurd to Asher.

~SHUUUUUUUU~

In the end, both clashes ended in steam rushing from their point of impact, filling the area with its white cloud.

The steam's influence did not last very long, though, as the explosion from the distance cleared everything up in a flash.

The area's steam parted as the pressure of heat and wind sent everything dissipating, paving the way for an image of destruction itself.

"A-ah…!" Asher's eyes nearly bulged as he looked before him.

The Flame Warrior that he had spent so much Mana to create was in shambles, its dying embers fading away.

That was one out of four.

Anukus, whose back was facing Asher, slowly turned his head and looked behind him.

He had a cold, completely imposing expression on his face as his eyes glowed brighter crimson.

"Next." He said.

Shivers covered Asher's body, and he began to slowly panic.

He commanded the Water Mage to prepare another round of its WaterBall, but right before it could do so, a bright pillar of flames rushed from beneath it.

The swirling flames consumed the Water Mage in no time, not even leaving a single moisture left in the immediate atmosphere.

The Wind Archer that was now targeting Anukus from a blind spot shot a very intense wind arrow at him—one that was strong enough to shatter the earth itself.

However—

"Weak."

—The wind itself tore to pieces, slashed by an invisible blade that none could see.

Before the Wind Archer could flee from its compromised position, or even react to the shocking defeat of its strongest arrow…

"Sever."

… It too was ripped into shreds.

The very personification of wind, sliced into pieces beyond recovery, soon died out as it faded away into obscurity.

In the end, Anukus stood alone in a field of devastation, watched only by Asher and the Earth Tank that was meant to defend him.

"Now then… shall we continue?"

Anukus began to move from his position, every step of his seemingly causing a quake in the ground.

His maniacal grin returned as he watched Asher tremble from where he stood.

The man was absolutely terrified; and for good reason.

Before Asher could even think of a next plan of action, Anukus was already standing in front of the Earth Tank.

The massive Elemental made to charge at Anukus using its sturdy shield, but before it could make any meaningful movements, Anukus was right behind it.

And then—

—The Earth Tank crumbled on the ground, turned into nothing but blocks of rock.

Its sturdy shield had been broken to pieces before it even realized it, and its body followed not long after; yet another effortless display of power by the one known as Anukus.

"It's just you now. Got any other way to entertain me?"

Asher was speechless.

'I… I haven't recovered enough Mana yet!'

He had thought his Elementals would be able to buy him enough time. He had even been generous about the time by placing his estimation to the lowest possible time possible.

Still… this was unexpected!

'I barely have enough to summon one Elemental, and even then… what good would that do?!'

His enemy was strong. Overwhelmingly strong.

Too strong!

The reason he chose the Elemental Strategy was to create a variation of attack patterns in order to see which would be more effective.

This would allow him to learn more about his opponent while also keeping his distance and preserving his life.

But, it turned out all of that was pointless.

There was no 'weakness' to exploit here.

There was no 'attack pattern' to be studied either.

There was only Anukus… and the chaos that he wrought with his power.

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Thanks for reading!