âAaargh! Thatâs annoying, I should have killed that bastard first!â
All movement was restricted. She couldnât even flap her wings at will. Was that it? She was being chased. She was being chased, pushed to the point of ridiculousness by the magic of a mere mortal. Even as she realized that the fire dragon was pushing her further and further out of her comfort zone, she couldnât muster a single protest.
She had no choice. Time and time again, the tireless dragon opened its jaws to devour her, and when she dodged its attacks, electricity spread out like a barrier in front of her. When she dodged the electric shock, the fire dragon bit her again. It was an infinite loop.
The fire dragon was not easily struck by the demonic energy-infused attack. No, it recovered immediately. The magicianâs endless supply of mana was too much. At first, she tried to defend moderately until he ran out of mana, but that thought didnât last long.
âYeah, I remembered him. The two-attribute magician I fought a long time ago. That sort of thing.â
It was the first and last time Sellev had ever faced a multi-attribute magician, but it had left a lasting impression on her. The combination of two-attribute magic had been unimaginably powerful, annoying, and persistent. And now this arrogant human was wielding a whopping three attributes of magic.
âHis mana doesnât decrease for crying out loud!â
Still, magicians were rat poison. You dealt with one, and a more terrible one sprung out.
Sellev looked down at the ground, her eyes wide. The magic circle. Somehow sheâd made it all the way down to the magic circle, and Cadel was sitting proudly on top of it. She didnât have to watch to know what he was going to do.
âThatâs a valuable magic circle. Do you think Iâm just going to let it get destroyed?â
It must never be destroyed. This was no ordinary magic circle. It was the essence of the Demon Realm engineering, a revolutionary tool that would upend the world order, and the only hope of the demons.
And most of all. Without that magic circle, she would have no means of returning to the Demon Realm!
Sellev has maximized the demonic energy on her body. There was no escaping this insane magic. The only way to avoid it was to kill its caster.
The resolute Sellev descended, piercing the fire dragon with her fierce momentum.
* * *
It was impossible to maintain [Thunderflame Dragon], clear the circle, and control Sellev at the same time. If he focused on one, he would have a gap, and that meant death.
It was something that could not be done without sacrificing oneâs life, and it was something that could not be succeeded even if one did. Cadel knew that better than anyone else.
So when he didnât stop working on dismissing the magic circle even as the [Thunderflame Dragon] was broken through and Sellev was ready to kill him, it wasnât a momentary lapse or mistake.
âDieâ¦â¦! Huh? What, what is this? This is?â
Sellevâs fist struck Cadelâs head with precision. The punch, delivered from above, was stained black with condensed demonic energy. Ordinarily, a mere brush would have ripped his skull off.
But Cadelâs head was intact. Sellev couldnât take her eyes off the blow, even as Cadelâs cold gaze turned to her.
A purple crystal perfectly wrapped around the area of the strike. The crystal was uncomfortably hard, and it emitted a surprisingly intense demonic energy.
âHit me as many times as you like. Youâve seen it for yourself, it never breaks.â
That was one of Cadelâs tricks up his sleeve.
[Immortal Heart]
It was a spoil obtained by killing Ergo, and it was the demonâs heart that would guarantee Cadelâs life for 20 minutes.
âThis bastardâ¦â¦.â
Sellev gritted her teeth. She didnât know how the human had gotten his hands on such power, but the mere thought of demonic energyâs help made her blood run cold. Sparks flew across the blue reversed eyes.
âIâll make you regret it.â
A creepy voice rang in his ears. His fingertips tingled at the smell of killing intent, but Cadel ignored it.
â20 minutes. I have 20 minutes to figure this all out.â
While the [Immortal Heart] protected him, he needed to dispel the magic circle and render Sellev incapacitated. Cadel brought the [Thunderflame Dragon] to the center of the magic circle. As the [Thunderflame Dragon]âs hot flames and electrical currents raged like a storm, purple crystal coated Cadelâs body.
Sellev wrapped the demonic energy around her body to minimize the damage, but she couldnât ease all the pain. Still, she didnât back down and attacked the crystal that enveloped Cadel.
âLetâs see how long you can use this cheeky power!â
âDonât worry, Iâll use it until you die.â
Jeriel suffered a mana rampage while disarming this spell, which meant that the intricacies of the spellâs formula were fraught with deadly traps. If he was not careful, tragedy would strike. Cadel had to do this delicate work while keeping the [Thunderflame Dragon] alive.
âI donât know if I have what it takes.â
It was a minute gap he had felt since dealing with Sellev. The gap, which seemed to narrow but could not be narrowed, continued to unnerve Cadel. However, if he was not prepared to jump over that deep chasm, even trying was pointless.
âIâll do it no matter what.â
There were no options. If it was to protect his precious subordinates, if it was to continue the journey with them.
He had to do it no matter what.