With heavy steps and a pounding heart, Reno saw his opponent.
A middle-aged warrior with the beginnings of a rough beard. He was sitting on a large piece of debris the size of a boulder. Above him stood an old building that seemed to be made of concrete. Several windows were broken, and the ones that remained were so dirty that nothing inside could be seen. If the building had held up until now, it could collapse at any moment.
But Reno didn't care much. After all, even a collapsing building couldn't really worry him. The real problem was that the man sitting on the rock was above several corpses. They were dead, there was no doubt. Their bodies were torn apart as if someone had tried to overinflate them. Water mixed with blood was leaking from their soaked bodies.
Reno observed the scene with a perplexed look. Obviously, this was what those men meant by controlling water. It worried him a little.
Hearing them arrive, the man turned around—and Reno almost jumped. His eyes were filled with water. He wasn't crying; his eyes were just two massive hollows that seemed to contain the ocean. It was deeply unsettling.
However, the man smiled, seemingly unaffected by the group's reaction.
"You came, Reno Gazor."
Reno didn't move.
"So you're the man who's been bothering everyone?"
"What is wrong with wanting to seize the throne?"
"What's wrong is that you're using your cheap tricks called magic, and that's not really appreciated in Nozras."
The man looked at him, slightly frowning as if Reno's answer disturbed him.
"I don't understand. Do I absolutely have to use fists and weapons? I'd rather think that you're afraid I'll take the throne because of your powerlessness."
One of Reno's men got angry. He was about to shout at him before Reno raised his arm to stop him.
"I'll show you what real powerlessness is. Here, in Nozras, we've fought like warriors since the dawn of time. There's no magic, no external support, and no supernatural powers. That's not worthy of a warrior, and your title as the strongest means nothing. However, since you seem so confident, I'll show you why none of your tricks will work on me."
Reno gripped his sword once again. Man-Eater was ready to claim its first mage.
But the man did not seem afraid. Despite the ogre's build and overwhelming pressure, he still managed to smile faintly.
And that excited Reno.
"I'll wipe that smile off your face."
The mage stood up calmly, wiping the blood from his clothes.
"I'm looking forward to it."
It took only one step for Reno to close the distance between him and his opponent. His bursts of speed were always monstrously effective in combat. In an instant, he stood before the strange man. Reno brought his blade down quickly toward his neck.
A flash later, the man was decapitated without resistance.
"Huh?"
And that was what was going to cause him a lot of trouble…
The man exploded on the spot. Every part of his body suddenly turned into water.
"What the…"
Reno didn't have time to react. The water from the man's body spread quickly and reached everyone present. One of his men got some in his mouth.
Reno stepped back in panic, trying to understand what was happening. However, the only thing that followed was a horrible scream behind him.
Reno turned around hastily and saw one of his men—the one who had gotten water in his mouth—stab the man to his left. It had happened so fast that no one could react. Reno hurriedly tried to intervene. He propelled himself forward, and in a single step, he grabbed his man by the head and lifted him off the ground. In anger, the veins in his arm bulged violently.
He then asked the attacker:
"What's gotten into you? Explain yourself."
Suddenly, the man smiled.
"Thank you, Reno Gazor. This body is much better."
Reno's heart stopped in that moment…
He quickly understood—it was the man he had decapitated.
"Now, if you don't mind?"
The man then tried to grab a dagger from the possessed body's weapons. He took one and attempted to stab Reno's arm. But to his great surprise, it didn't even scratch him.
"How?"
Reno felt a slight hint of satisfaction before refocusing.
He needed to find a way to kill this guy.
"You… What are you?"
Reno tightened his grip even more, and under the immense strength of the Ogre, the soldier's head began to deform…
The man turned red and swelled in certain places. Reno then shouted:
"Move away."
The injured man and the other warrior obeyed. Reno squeezed even harder as his man screamed in agony. Before finishing him, he still whispered sincerely:
"Sorry."
His warrior's head exploded.
This time, it was truly blood and pieces of flesh that scattered into the air. His brain was completely crushed in the process.
Reno looked at his headless body to see if there was any sign of life. However, it no longer moved at all.
He then turned to check on the other two, who seemed fine.
Was it really over? No—Reno doubted it.
"No one possessed this time?"
"I don't think so, boss. And you, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. He didn't hit anything vital. I'll rest—it'll get better soon."
Reno observed the two men, but nothing seemed abnormal. No reaction at first, just warriors traumatized by what they had just seen.
So why was his instinct telling him to be careful?
He looked around again. The mysterious magician was nowhere to be seen.
"That's strange. He could probably possess people with his water, so why didn't he do it to me?"
Suddenly, a rising voice was heard behind him.
"Because it didn't work, you bastard."
Reno turned around at full speed and saw a puddle of water growing larger as it rose into the air.
"What?"
The water kept rising until it reached a certain size. It then began forming bubbles. As the bubbles burst, a shape started to take form. Countless bubbles soon formed a body made of water, and the face of the strange warrior faintly reappeared. However, it was like looking at the surface of a pond. It was nothing but water… at least, until it took on the light brown color of Nozras' inhabitants.
The man was naked at first, then another layer of bubbles appeared over the already skin-like liquid surface, forming hair, then another for clothes. In the end, only the eyes remained—two vast, restless oceans that could not be filled.
The process was almost a nightmare to witness. Reno stood frozen in shock as he gazed at true magic before him.
The man regained the body he had when Reno first found him. He looked at the ogre with what seemed to be a furious gaze. Hard to tell with eyes like those.
"You're really pissing me off."
Suddenly, he raised his hand toward the sky in a gesture Reno didn't want to understand—but ended up understanding anyway. The confirmation came when a drop fell on his head.
Until then, the rain had been light and sporadic. But the moment the strange man raised his hand, it was as if a torrent had been unleashed upon the earth.
The rain poured down violently, and water was already rising several centimeters on the ground. Surprised, Reno watched a true magician at work—and honestly, it pissed him off just as much.
"What is it, ogre? Realizing what I'm capable of? I think the rain has drowned your tears."
He was completely wrong—Reno was not about to cry.
On the contrary, he gripped Man-Eater even tighter and stared at the magician with a gaze filled with rage.
The magician felt the atmosphere change and went pale, as if he were facing a monster ready to devour him.
"Such an aura? How is that possible?"
Reno suddenly vanished from his sight.
The magician didn't even have time to move before his arm was already cut off. A clean slash made by the ogre's terrifying blade.
However, he didn't panic. On the contrary, he clenched his teeth and turned toward the culprit.
"You think that's going to be enough?"
He shouted and swung his remaining arm over the one that had been cut. In an instant, bubbles reappeared over it, and his arm reformed as if nothing had happened.
"I can do this all day."
Proud of his move, he lifted his head to mock Reno. However, Reno was already in front of him, his sword pointed toward the sky. All his muscles were tensed with rage, and water streamed through the deep crevices of his body. The strange man's face fell apart.
"Ha…"
Reno brought his blade down with power. He rarely held it with both hands, but today, he needed to double the damage. His rage could not be contained in just one.
The strange man was instantly destroyed. Not only was he cleanly cut in two, but the two parts couldn't even remain intact. Instead, they burst like balloons into a myriad of bubbles.
Reno watched the water scatter through the air. He knew his enemy would come back, so he didn't move.
And indeed, the strange man reformed farther away thanks to his bubbles.
However, he stayed hidden behind a building, afraid Reno might see him.
"He's a monster. I can't defeat him. I've never faced such a terrifying warrior. Why was I given this book?"
In response, a faint voice echoed in his mind.
"Do your best. He is coming."
Suddenly, the wall behind which he was hiding collapsed, and he was pierced through by a massive body weighing over 150 kilograms. His body exploded once again upon impact.
Reno stood there again, waiting for his prey to return, his gaze dark. The magician reformed far away, trying to run to escape the absolute danger that the ogre represented.
However, as he had just reformed about a hundred meters away, Reno appeared behind him, Man-Eater held in both hands. The fight was going to last a long time.
No—this wasn't a fight.
The humiliation was going to last a long time…