Pshhk!
Still airborne, Balen spat out a mouthful of blood.
When he hit the ground, his mind went blank. It took him a long while to recover. He turned to look at Jelka in the distance, his eyes practically saying: This is what you call 'not strong at hand-to-hand combat'?
At that moment, Balen had the same thought Dio once had. There might be a traitor in their own team.
After collapsing, Balen didn't get back up. Partly because his injuries were indeed severe, and partly because he had no intention of risking his life against Ur.
After all, Angel's Wing and Fairy Tail were allied guilds, and Balen had met Ur before. This fight was nothing more than a clash of opposing sides.
With one major combatant suddenly out of commission, the pressure on the remaining four increased sharply.
Meanwhile, Ur grew fiercer with every passing second. Facing four powerful opponents and more than a dozen remaining cannon fodder, Ur stopped using magic altogether. Instead, he gripped the Dark Dragon Fang and charged straight into the crowd.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Blade-light flashed through the mass of enemies. These Sea Hunters spent their lives roaming the ocean, their combat style heavily reliant on long-range magic. Against Ur's sudden close-quarters assault, they were utterly helpless. In less than three minutes, the cannon fodder lay sprawled in pools of blood.
Seeing this, Sico and Sipa's eyes widened in fury, veins bulging. These were members of their guild. To lose so many in an instant, how could they not be enraged?
With a furious roar, the twins launched another assault at Ur.
"Raging Tidal Cascade!"
"Infernal Flames!"
"Thousandfold Arrow Rain!"
"Mountainfire Annihilation!"
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It was as if they had lost their minds. Magic erupted wildly from their bodies, spell after spell raining down upon Ur in overwhelming waves.
But having already grasped their fighting patterns, Ur was hardly about to fall for it.
With the Dark Dragon Fang clenched in his right hand, his figure flickered through the battlefield. He evaded most of the incoming spells; those he couldn't dodge were split apart with a single stroke. In mere seconds, he had closed a significant portion of the distance between them.
Sico and Sipa's expressions changed drastically. They were "pure" mages through and through, devastating in magical offense, yet utterly untrained in close combat. After witnessing Ur one-shot Balen, they had no illusion that they could withstand that blade.
As Ur drew closer, the frequency of their spells increased frantically. Almost every second, another spell hurtled toward him. But such magic was useless.
Clang!
After sidestepping another burst of flame from Sico, a magic array suddenly appeared in Ur's left palm. Earth magic gathered rapidly, forming a razor-sharp stone spear, three meters long and brimming with lethal force.
The instant the spear took shape, a bone-chilling sense of danger seized both brothers.
Danger!
Instinct screamed at them to flee. But their reaction speed was just a fraction too slow compared to the enhanced spear.
Whoosh!
Ur hurled it. The stone spear tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom, lightning-fast as it shot toward Sico.
Sico's pupils shrank. In that instant, under the spear's lock, his body froze stiff. He could only watch helplessly as it pierced toward his chest.
"Big brother, watch out!" At the critical moment, Sipa burst forward with sudden strength and shoved Sico aside.
Thud!
Blood sprayed.
Sipa's eyes widened as the massive spear punched clean through his chest. Blood streamed from his mouth in steady rivulets.
His lips moved as if trying to say something.
But no words came.
He collapsed, lifeless.
Sico's eyes bulged as he stared at his brother's body in the spreading pool of blood.
"Little brother!" Sipa's death instantly drew Jelka and Dio's attention. Especially Dio, when he saw the corpse, a chill crept up from the depths of his heart.
Death was not uncommon in battles between mages.
But to face five opponents and still maim one and kill another with such ease. That was truly terrifying.
And when Dio saw the killing intent gradually seeping from Ur's body, the fear in his heart multiplied several times over.
He hasn't even gone all out yet.
The thought struck him like a thunderbolt.
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"I'll kill you!" Sico's eyes were bloodshot, hatred almost devouring him whole. His magic boiled violently as a massive magic array formed in his palm.
A cold glint flashed in Ur's eyes.
Magic gathered in his left hand as well, a crimson array blooming forth. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic fireball condensed.
"Infernal Flames!"
"Explosive Flame!"
Boom!
The two devastating fire spells collided head-on. For a fleeting moment, time itself seemed to freeze. Then, an overwhelming sea of fire engulfed the space between them, sweeping away nearly a hundred meters of ice and snow in an instant.
For a moment, those watching felt as if they had been thrown into the height of midsummer. When the flames finally erupted outward, Sico was blasted backward, wrapped in thick black smoke. The stench of charred flesh filled the air.
His magic power was simply inferior to Ur's, by a wide margin. Moreover, Ur's Explosive Flame had been strengthened to a level capable of contending with dragons. Even cast casually, it was far beyond what Sico could withstand.
Ur bent his knees slightly. Then, like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, he shot forward, instantly appearing before Sico.
Killing intent raged.
Ur was no saint. Once someone became his enemy, and if circumstances allowed, he would never permit them to walk away alive.
He couldn't touch the three members of Angel's Wing this time. But these Sea Hunters? He had never intended to let them leave this island alive.
Slash!
The Dark Dragon Fang carved out a frigid arc.
Rip.
The ground split apart. A massive gash etched deep into the ice.
But Sico was gone.
Ur turned his head to the left.
At some unknown moment, Jelka had appeared there. Behind her lay a charred figure, unmistakably Sico.
"Are you trying to stop me?" Ur's tone carried no visible emotion. Yet the chill in his voice was bone-deep, forcing Dio to retreat several steps.
Jelka frowned slightly, and with solemn majesty and sacred composure, she spoke. "Your killing intent is too heavy. If this continues, you will inevitably fall into darkness and become a demon. So I must stop—"
Shing!
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Next Chapter: It's Not That I Underestimated You
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