After receiving another blow from Jago's scythe to the chest, Vaen once again released that dark mist that escaped mainly from his wounds. This time, however, something different happened: the substance began to solidify over his body, forming plates that served as an additional layer of protection.
Jago tried to cut off one of Vaen's arms. To do so, he performed a feint, quickly switching the scythe from one hand to the other and attacking from the right instead of the left. However, even in the face of that unexpected change, Vaen managed to react. As though adapting to the weapon's movements, he dodged downward and concentrated Void Magic in one of his feet.
The kick struck Jago squarely, launching him out of the city and directly toward the portal still suspended high above.
'Is he adapting to my movements? It's surprising that he can learn to deal with these attacks so quickly.'
Looking back, Jago spotted the three Circle Nine monsters eliminating the Rank Ranvil, Level Three Nartheis with relative ease. The only problem was that whenever one of them was defeated, another emerged from the portal, as though the number of enemies were infinite.
'My plan is going well so far. At most, there should be another fifty Level Three Ranvil inside the portal.'
Even while thinking, Jago never took his eyes off Vaen. The creature appeared above his head, concentrating Void Magic in its feet.
Jago crossed his arms to defend himself, but the impact was so powerful that it sent him flying backward. His body pierced through a cloud at an absurd speed, like an asteroid falling toward Earth, until it struck the ocean and created an enormous hole in the water's surface.
Summoning his bone servants once again, including the Skull and his father, Jago used his magic to fuse them into a single creature. The result was an even more powerful summon, with several additional layers of bone that functioned like a second skin.
'Bone Fusion. This is my most powerful summon, but even so...'
The creature had reached the physical level of a Circle Six human. Therefore, Jago wasn't particularly surprised when the summon received such a powerful blow that it almost disappeared.
Preparing his own fist and concentrating a large amount of magic into it, Jago also created a second layer of protection over his armor. Then, he moved quickly, appearing behind Vaen as he prepared to throw a punch.
Sensing the attack, Vaen dodged to the side and concentrated Void Fist. Immediately advancing, he struck Jago's face with tremendous force.
The impact caused the water surrounding the enormous hole to expand even further, increasing the hole's size before the ocean could even begin to fill it again.
Without a doubt, that blow possessed strength far greater than that of an ordinary Level Two Ranvil Nartheis. The impact was so intense that Jago's armor couldn't withstand it completely, causing several cracks to appear across its surface.
"I can do that too."
Jago retaliated with a blow of almost equivalent power, striking Vaen directly. The strength of both was monstrous, and the impact was enough to make the creature's skin crack in the center of its chest.
Grabbing Jago's hand, Vaen began spinning his body with tremendous force. The pressure generated by the movement spread across the ocean, violently pushing the waters away and opening an enormous void around the two of them. Gigantic waves rose at the edges of the affected area, while the ocean floor was temporarily exposed.
The water was pushed so far away that it took several moments before it began returning, slowly filling the gigantic holes left by the previous blows.
Interrupting his movement in midair, Jago pointed his scythe forward and began gathering magic at its tip. His summon had managed to remain in front of Vaen for one second before being destroyed, and that brief interval had been enough for him to concentrate an enormous amount of mana into the weapon.
"Deadly Slash!"
Releasing the attack, Jago managed to split another section of the ocean, this time in the opposite direction from the previous opening.
Vaen received another deep slash to the chest. Dark smoke escaped from his mouth, and his resistance increased as his body regenerated. At the same time, a second layer of protection began forming over his skin, resembling the armor Jago had created for himself.
Jago observed Vaen's new manifestation of magic with some amusement.
"Are you trying to use me to evolve? Ha! How selfish of you."
"Megatons... Void."
"It seems you intend to raise your level even further."
An explosion of power emerged from within Vaen. Concentrating his strength, he punched the air itself, generating such absurd atmospheric pressure that it produced multiple explosions of nuclear proportions directly against Jago. The destructive force was enough to destroy his armor's second layer all at once.
After receiving the impact, Jago managed to quickly move away from that area of destruction. Even with his armor cracked, he prepared another attack with his scythe.
Concentrating an enormous amount of mana at the tip of the weapon, he brought the blade down directly onto Vaen's shoulder, managing to pierce it deeply. The creature felt intense pain because, in addition to the physical damage, the attack also injected a poison that directly affected its soul.
Even so, Vaen neither screamed nor showed any significant expression of pain, revealing impressive mental resilience.
"Sword..."
Vaen raised one hand and began concentrating Void Magic, as though he were holding an invisible sword. Then, he brought his arm down in a single motion.
Jago's armor was cut in half, along with his body.
Surprised, Jago realized that the invisible sword was far more troublesome than he had imagined. And he was right. Just one second later, he felt something trying to devour all the magic present in his body.
'Dangerous... This is truly dangerous!'
Realizing that his magic was being transferred directly into Vaen's body, Jago acted immediately. He disintegrated the part of his body affected by that magic and then completely regenerated his physical structure.
With a calm expression, Jago let out a sigh and concentrated his magic. Raising his hands, he made several bones emerge around Vaen, attempting to pierce him from different directions. The creature dodged the attacks with impressive speed.
However, Jago had already expected that. He knew Vaen would manage to escape and was deliberately trying to guide him into a trap prepared specifically for Enrico.
"Dead Seal!"
The battle was led back to the city of Vesparello. When Vaen passed near the ruins of a house on his left, several skeletal hands emerged from the ground and grabbed his body, completely pinning him in place.
That was Jago's second most powerful sealing technique. The bone hands enveloped Vaen so thoroughly that it was no longer even possible to see his body.
"Looks like that won't work."
A black explosion emerged from within the seal, shattering all the skeletal hands and quickly turning them into dust.
Vaen raised one hand, revealing his grayish claws. Then, he delivered a violent blow against the ground, releasing a wave of destruction that advanced toward Jago and devastated everything in its path.
"Bone Shield!"
Jago reacted immediately, raising a bone barrier in front of his body to block the attack. The impact made the structure tremble, but it held long enough to prevent him from being hit directly. However, before he could counterattack, Vaen had already closed the distance. Concentrating Void Magic in its fist, the creature delivered a blow with Void Fist, breaking through the shield and striking Jago directly in the chest.
Even after receiving the impact, Jago managed to remain standing. Taking advantage of the proximity between them, he immediately retaliated with a direct punch to Vaen's face.
'I can't defeat him through physical combat alone. So, let's try something else.'
Jago used his scythe to intercept Vaen's next attack, deflecting the weapon to the side and using the movement to spin his body. Then, he split the scythe into several smaller blades, which advanced toward the creature's ribs. Once again, he attempted to strike its soul with the same poison he had used earlier, inflicting intense pain.
"Kill..."
Vaen, however, didn't retreat. With one hand, he grabbed Jago's arm holding the scythe, preventing him from completing another movement. The creature's other arm remained free, its right hand raised and ready to attack. It was then that Jago noticed something troubling: the cutting power of that invisible sword seemed to have been transferred to Vaen's right hand.
"Eternal... Slash."
With a downward movement of his palm, Vaen completely severed Jago's arm, sending it flying away.
Upon noticing that more attacks were coming his way, Jago leaped backward, moving away from Vaen and creating a safe distance between them. He took advantage of that brief interval to try to regenerate his lost limb, but soon realized that something was wrong.
His regeneration simply wasn't working.
"Looks like I won't be able to capture him on my own."
Jago let out a sigh, showing no great concern about the situation. After all, despite the difficulties he was facing, he still seemed to have something in reserve.
"But my plan is already complete. So, I'd like to show you something."
Jago opened the only arm he had left and raised his gaze toward the portal suspended high above. His expression showed a certain satisfaction as the structure began to undergo a transformation. At first, its surface expanded irregularly, as though something were trying to break through its limits. Little by little, that mass of energy took on increasingly defined contours until it acquired a humanoid shape.
The change did not go unnoticed. The mages, knights, and civilians still watching the battle were completely frozen by the sight.
The very environment seemed to change with the appearance of that presence. Even the three Circle Nine users positioned in front of the portal immediately sensed the gravity of the situation. Without wasting time, they stopped what they were doing and prepared to face whatever was about to emerge.
Jago, meanwhile, seemed satisfied with the result. Even after everything that had happened during that battle, the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
"Thanks to the deaths of the Nartheis in this battle and the sacrifice of the dungeons, I would like to introduce you to... my Kairom-level Nartheis."