Each step had been so hard to climb that the pressure along the way opened wounds all over the body. That mental staircase had truly been a great difficulty, but the worst part was that the damage taken in that place would be transferred to his real body.
'Damn it, I knew that when I came back it would be hard, but facing a Malignant God...'
He may have been unconscious, but he could still hear some things said by everyone, even if it was difficult while having to survive in that place. One voice he heard called a name.
"Sairao, Malignant God of Curses, it's a pleasure to meet someone so grand."
Sairao looked surprised at the boy in front of him. He hid his title well so no one would know what magic he used. He even interfered with his own future so that Ylrie wouldn't know what magic he used, only using his other two magics while keeping the main one hidden.
"You don't seem to be one of my followers, so who are you?"
In total, he had 150 followers, but only the five main ones called "The Five Supreme Curses" knew his original magic.
'Good, now there's one minute and ten seconds left.'
"Well, we can say that my father knows a little about you all."
He was buying as much time as possible. He wasn't just standing in front of a Nartheis of the Ranvil rank, he was injured from just having returned from the limit-break state, and that made him feel irritated for still being weak compared to the Ranvil. This feeling had been with him since he faced that Nartheis.
"This is interesting, but I can't waste time with you."
A hand held Enrico's face, and feeling his magic being drained, Enrico summoned his clone and switched places with it. Dissolving the clone, Enrico, upon feeling his body had risen to circle two, prepared a new spell.
Sairao sensed that the boy was preparing something, but not wanting to waste time, he pointed his finger at the boy's heart—it was time to end this. A blazing ray of Valença hit Sairao's hand. He didn't feel anything, but it was enough to distract him, and Val'Drakar appeared from behind with two swords slashing at his shoulders.
"Sairao, today I'll leave a mark on you."
"You're simply a statue speaking with innocence."
Sairao placed his hand on Val'Drakar's chest. His body exploded at the touch, destroying the core. Right after, Val'Drakar appeared beside him, recreating himself with another core from the tree. That tree was annoying, so he summoned creatures to attack it and explode while Sairao defended himself from Val'Drakar's sword, who didn't care that his tree was being hit. When the smoke cleared, there was no damage to the tree, which meant it was immortal in some way.
Valença, who was at a distance, pointed her finger toward them and drew a small circle in the air. This was the new magic inspired by one of Val'Drakar's spells.
"Flaming Circle."
A magic ring of embers instantly formed around Sairao, about four meters wide. Raising two fingers, the ground below ignited in flames, engulfing both of them. Sairao didn't mind the damage as it was minimal. Suddenly, when Valença lowered one finger, the circle expanded and Val'Drakar's strength grew rapidly.
It was an attack she created after seeing Val'Drakar's Lava Terrain magic. She had asked him for tips on how to create it. Enrico, noticing the effect, stepped onto the area, which increased his magic.
"That's a good spell, Valença."
"I know. I worked really hard on it."
Valença stepped on the Circle and released her blazing ray at Sairao, who dodged with his hand. Even so, he was handling the two of them quite well, despite them being stronger thanks to this magic.
Enrico took a deep breath and created his fire bow. By channeling mana into the bowstring and fiery base, he altered the tip to form a barrel like a pistol. The arrow began spinning rapidly between his fingers, with air swirling around it too.
"Flaming Shot."
Upon release, the arrow triggered a controlled explosion at the base, creating a pressure wave. The arrow shot forward like a bullet fired from a gunpowder barrel, leaving a large trail behind as it spun. Sairao, seeing the attack, raised his hand but noticed the spin was strong, so he preferred to dodge. He moved to the side but felt himself being pulled toward it.
"It's so strong the pressure is sucking me in."
That wasn't the magic of someone at circle two. He anchored himself to the ground, and the arrow pierced everything in its path, disappearing into the distance. Sairao then felt two blows on his back that surprisingly launched him into the air. Seeing Enrico's smile from afar, he grew irritated as he spun midair. Looking down while spinning, he saw Val'Drakar with two swords glowing with more mana than a Nartheis of the Faizes rank should have.
"Now I can use everything..."
Val'Drakar's tree vanished completely, and his two swords began to merge into a new sword. Its appearance was of three blades in a single hilt, each with a circle, and one in the center of the hilt. His statue armor grew slightly, and a helmet covered his previously exposed head.
"Now I'm Ranvil level too, Sairao."
Sairao stopped spinning in the air and glared at Val'Drakar. Raising his hand, seven creatures appeared and turned into mana. He began to spin all seven in the air, and everything around started to tremble as rocks on the ground lifted.
"Final Sacrifice."
He hadn't wanted to do this since he still needed to find where the sphere with the Elves was. His plan had been to leave only one alive, but now he would have to hunt the sphere alone. This attack would destroy everything on that island.
"Cut of the Three Guardian Flames."
The three blades shone and the sword exploded like a volcano. He was combining fire and lava magic into a single point. The ground beneath him split completely, and both launched their attacks at each other.
Enrico and Valença were covered by Val'Drakar's summons, which transformed into a layered barrier around them. The explosion was so massive that the entire dungeon began to collapse, revealing the void outside it.