With every step he climbed, the difficulty increased. The pressure was so great that each new step opened wounds across Enrico's body. That mental staircase had proven to be an enormous difficulty, but the worst of all was knowing that the damage received in that place would be transferred to his real body.
'Damn... I knew it would be difficult when I came back, but facing an evil god...'
Although he had remained unconscious, Enrico could hear some of the things being said around him. It was still difficult to distinguish everything while he struggled to survive in that mental space, but one of the voices had called a name he knew very well.
"Sairao, Evil God of Curses. It is a pleasure to meet someone so grand."
Sairao looked surprised at the boy before him. He hid his true title very well and, consequently, the nature of his main magic. In the past, he had even interfered with the future itself to prevent Ylrie from discovering what his true magic was.
Until that moment, he had only been using his two other magics, keeping his main one completely hidden.
"You don't seem to be one of my followers. So, who are you?"
In total, Sairao had one hundred and fifty followers, but only the five main ones, known as the "Five Supreme Curses," knew the true nature of his original magic.
'Great. Now there's one minute and ten seconds left.'
Enrico was gaining as much time as possible. He was not only facing a Nartheis that had reached Ranvil level, but he was also injured from having just come out of the Limit Break state.
His body still felt the effects of that effort, and this made him irritated at still being weak compared to the Ranvil. That feeling had appeared from the moment he had previously faced that Nartheis from the mana zone.
'And to make matters worse, my body won't stop hurting...'
He could feel that he had some broken bones, but it was not the time to worry about that with an evil god standing in front of him.
"You must be quite curious to know—"
"That's interesting, but I can't waste time with you."
Sairao advanced and grabbed Enrico's face with one hand. When he felt his magic being drained, Enrico immediately summoned his Elemental Clone and switched places with it. As soon as the clone was undone, Enrico once again felt the change in his body.
'Even with my body in this state, I can see the difference between the first and second circle.'
Now that he had reached Circle 2, he prepared a new magic.
Sairao realized that the boy was preparing something, but he did not want to waste any more time. Pointing his finger directly at Enrico's heart, he decided to finish this once and for all.
Before he could attack, however, Valença launched an Incandescent Ray at his hand. The attack did not cause any significant damage, but it was enough to distract him for an instant. Val'Drakar took advantage of the opening and appeared behind Sairao, using both swords to cut his shoulders.
"Sairao, today I will leave a mark on you."
The evil god simply shook his head with an arrogant smile.
"You are simply a statue speaking with innocence."
Sairao placed his hand against Val'Drakar's chest. At the moment of contact, the guardian's body exploded, destroying his core. However, immediately afterward, Val'Drakar appeared again beside them, recreated from another core that had come from the tree.
That tree was annoying.
Sairao summoned some creatures and sent them toward it. The creatures exploded while he simultaneously defended himself against Val'Drakar's attacks. The guardian did not care that his own tree was being hit. When the smoke finally cleared, there was no damage to it.
"So it is immortal somehow..."
From a distance, Valença pointed her finger toward the place where the two were fighting and drew a small circle in the air. It was a new magic, created by her after being inspired by one of Val'Drakar's techniques.
"Flame Circle."
A magical ring formed by embers instantly appeared around Sairao, approximately four meters in diameter. Valença then raised two fingers, causing the ground beneath Sairao to rise in flames and engulf both him and Val'Drakar.
Sairao did not care about the damage, as it was minimal. However, when Valença lowered one of her fingers, the circle expanded and, at the same time, Val'Drakar's strength suddenly increased.
The technique had been created after Valença saw Val'Drakar's Lava Terrain. She had asked him for some tips on how to develop something similar, and now she was able to use the knowledge she had learned.
Enrico noticed the effect of the magic and stepped inside the circle, feeling his own magic increase as well.
"That's a good magic, Valença."
"I know. I put a lot of effort into it."
Valença also entered the circle and immediately fired an Incandescent Ray at Sairao. He dodged using his hand, but he was already beginning to realize that he was having trouble dealing with the two, who had become stronger thanks to that magic.
Enrico took a deep breath and created his fire bow. By channeling mana into the string and the flaming structure of the bow, he modified its end, making it take the shape of a barrel similar to that of a pistol. The arrow began spinning rapidly between his fingers, while the air around it also began to spin.
"Flaming Shot."
When Enrico released the arrow, a controlled explosion was triggered at the base of the bow, creating an impulse wave and strong pressure. The arrow was launched like a bullet being ejected from a barrel, leaving a large trail in its path as it spun at high speed.
Sairao saw the attack approaching and raised his hand to block it, but he realized that the arrow's rotation was too strong. Instead of taking the attack, he preferred to dodge.
He moved to the side.
However, he immediately felt his body being pulled toward the arrow.
"It's so strong that the pressure is sucking me in."
That did not seem like the magic of someone in Circle 2.
Sairao planted his feet on the ground and resisted the force while the arrow pierced through everything in front of it, disappearing along the way.
Before he could react, two blows struck his back and launched him into the air.
Sairao looked down while spinning in the air and saw Enrico's smile in the distance. Irritated, he turned his attention back to Val'Drakar, who was holding both swords and accumulating an amount of mana far greater than should have been possible for a Faizes-level Nartheis.
"Now I can use everything..."
Val'Drakar's tree disappeared completely.
At the same time, the guardian's two swords began to fuse, forming a new weapon. Its appearance resembled three blades joined into a single sword, with a circle present on each blade and another in the center of the hilt. The statue's armor also increased slightly, while a kind of shell covered its head, which had previously remained exposed.
"Now I am also Ranvil level, Sairao."
Sairao stopped spinning in the air and stared at Val'Drakar with irritation. He raised one hand, causing seven creatures to appear around him. The creatures immediately transformed into mana, and Sairao began spinning all that energy through the air.
The entire environment began to tremble. Rocks broke loose from the ground and began to rise as an absurd amount of power accumulated around him.
"Final Sacrifice."
Sairao did not want to have to use that technique. He still needed to discover where the sphere containing the Elves was, since his original plan was to leave only one of them alive. However, now he would have to search for the sphere alone.
That attack would destroy the entire island.
"Three Guardian Flames Slash."
The three blades of Val'Drakar's sword began to glow, and the weapon exploded into a manifestation of power similar to a volcanic eruption. He had combined his fire and lava magic into a single point, concentrating everything into the new sword.
The ground beneath him completely split apart.
Sairao and Val'Drakar launched their attacks at each other at the same time.
Enrico and Valença were immediately covered by Val'Drakar's summons, which transformed into a barrier with several layers around the two.
Then, the attacks collided.
The explosion was so great that the entire dungeon began to be destroyed, revealing the void that existed outside.