"Fshuu…"

As the Fire Elemental made a heated exhalation, the atmosphere slowly rose in temperature.

Its presence was enough to cause a disturbance around.

Of course, with Asher in his barrier, and Rey being protected by all kinds of Resistance and his Enchanted Items, they didn't really feel anything.

The only one being affected was Anukus.

Beads of sweat fell from his face as he glared at the creature he was confronted with.

Regular Elemental Summons had to be manually controlled by their Summoners, but Greater and Grand Elementals had their own level of autonomy.

As a result, the Caster/Summoner didn't really need to do anything.

He just had to watch.

'Just sit there and watch, arrogant bastard!' Anukus grinned while licking his lips.

'Once I'm done with this one, I'll come straight for your head!'

Anukus prepared himself for the imminent confrontation.

He had more than enough Mana thanks to his Star distribution and his Class advantage.

Plus, his Items also blessed him with sufficient energy.

In essence, he wasn't lacking in Mana.

'All I have to do is—!'

~WHOOOSH!~

Before Anukus could even complete his thought, the Fire Elemental vanished from its position and appeared right in front of him.

'E-eh…?'

Its spear was already raised, and it began to descend at breakneck speed.

The pressure from the weapon alone told Anukus that he couldn't possibly survive a heavy impact like that—not without entering a critical state.

He also couldn't evade by leaping backward since the range of the spear was quite long.

The only thing he could do was dart to the side.

~BOOOM!~

The spear barely missed its mark as Anukus dodged the strike; though the pressure of the blast sent his body recoiling backwards.

He didn't have enough time to think, though, as his tall, flaming opponent instantly wielded the spear like a javelin and took its stance.

'D-don't tell me—!'

The flame spear was thrust at such a remarkable rate that Anukus feared for his life.

'I have to stop it!'

His body wasn't going to be fast enough to dodge it properly, and the weapon was moving too fast for his [Homing] to capture.

If [Homing] wasn't working well, then [Sever] wouldn't be as effective as normal.

As a result, Anukus' only option was to use his [Greater Fire Magic].

'They'll create equal impact, canceling each other out!'

He stretched out both hands and sent a surge of fire charging at the target.

~BWOOOSH!~

The roar of flames flowed through the air in a concentrated blast, everything directed at stopping the approaching spear.

~BOOOM!~

The shockwave caused by the impact sent Anukus flying once again, though he was able to quickly recover by twisting himself in the air.

Much to his shock, though, the spear wasn't impeded by his Magic.

Sure, it slowed down a little, but… it's fiery charge continued.

Thankfully, Anukus had already left his previous position, so the shattering earth replaced what would have been his body.

As the ground broke to pieces, engulfed by intense flames of sheer power, Anukus landed a considerable distance from the enemy and took in a deep breath.

'This guy is more difficult than expected. Is this how fighting Greater Elementals is supposed to be like?'

Anukus had never fought one before, so he wasn't sure.

'It's incomparably stronger than the one that the other guy summoned. I suppose this is just the gap in Tiers.'

Still… since Anukus also had B-Tier abilities—two in fact—he was confident in winning.

'It's time to stop holding back!'

He stretched out both hands and kept his focus on the approaching Fire Elemental.

'Any moment now, it'll vanish like before. I can't allow that!'

He focused all of his Mana in the incoming attack, prepared to end the enemy in only one blow—or rather, consecutive strikes encapsulated in a single moment.

"Before you can do anything…"

Combining [Homing] with [Sever] and [Greater Fire Magic], Anukus would create a new technique.

~Fiery Severance!~

"… I'll mutilate you!"

And so, his attack was initiated.

Slices that could not be avoided were mixed with intense flames that burned through even fire.

Combined, they devastated everything in front of Anukus, creating a path of destruction towards the true target.

"DIE!"

The destruction raged, rippling through everything around—the earth, the winds, and finally… the enemy.

Multiple ~SWISH!~ were mixed in ~VWUUSH!~ to form an elaborate layer of severance and flames.

—True, unbridled chaos!

"You can see it, can't you? My true power!" Anukus roared in delight.

His widened eyes struggled to see past the destruction, but it was too difficult to do so.

The fiery rage of fire and the multiple slashes that did not stop made it an impossible venture to properly examine the state of the opponent.

But Anukus pushed his sight to the limits.

He desired to see the pathetic state of his opponent as it was trapped in its cage of fatal torture.

However…

"W-what is… WHAT IS THAT?!"

… A certain silhouette was still walking through the flames and slashes.

It kept its steady advance, undeterred by the multiple slashes and explosions that constantly assailed it.

For every chip in its armor or every damage it suffered, it instantly healed.

It felt like it was walking through an unfettered storm, embracing the rain of destruction without a care in the world.

This Fire Elemental was walking through the ~Fiery Severance~ like it was nothing.

"No… NOOO!"

Anukus didn't believe it!

He couldn't believe it!

Even though his bulging eyes were staring at the occurrence, he simply couldn't accept it.

If he did, that would mean his analysis had been wrong all along.

His opponent was not a Greater Fire Elemental.

It was Grand One.

And if that was the case, there was only one implication that stemmed from it.

Anukus could not win!

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!" He kept howling like a wounded dog.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Anukus kept screaming this, until finally… the Grand Creature was right in front of him.

His inevitable fate… was sealed!

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Thanks for reading!

What an intense chapter. I hope you enjoyed the read.

I definitely enjoyed writing this particular chapter.