Laura fell to the ground, but before she hit it, Derivan caught the blonde, keeping her from falling.
"Hold on, Laura. I'll try to get you to a hospital right away, the doctors will help you."
"It's pointless… I can feel my time running out. Please, protect my mother and sister. Don't let them die too."
"I'll do everything I can."
"Thank you… I'm glad I got to meet my brother."
Those were Laura's final words before her eyelids closed.
Derivan, however, was shocked by her words, not understanding what she meant. Eric began walking toward him to finish him off, but the mayor's grandson stopped when he saw a purple aura surrounding Derivan's body.
"You'll pay for this," Derivan said coldly.
His nails turned into claws, fangs grew, his pupils became red with a black slit, his eyes developed dark rings, and his hair stood up, spiked.
"GRRAAARHHHHH!" Derivan roared, almost demonic.
Eric charged at Derivan. Just as he was about to strike, the teenager dodged his attack, then punched Eryk in the stomach, sending him flying toward a nearby mountain.
A few moments earlier…
Ronibo and Kriro were still fighting.
"Why are you attacking this city?"
"It's simple. I want to obtain the Kinotro Crystal."
"What do you need that crystal for?"
Kriro smirked. "I just want to use its power to destroy all four countries and create one unified nation, so future conflicts like those from the past decades never happen again."
"What nonsense. Even if you create such a country, there will still be people who rebel against you."
"That's why I'll be the ruler. I'll have everything under control. With the power of Kinotro, no one will dare oppose me."
As the two fought, they sensed Derivan's power.
"That energy… impossible," Ronibo thought.
"There's no doubt about it. That's the power of the Shonetsu demons. But how did it appear here?"
Eric fired several energy projectiles at Derivan, but the academy student dodged them all with ease. When Eric tried to strike him, Derivan blocked the blow by grabbing his arm. Then, with his other hand, he struck the mayor's grandson in the stomach. The hit was so strong that Eric spat blood and flew several meters back, bouncing off the ground multiple times.
"You damn brat. You don't deserve a grandfather like him. Look because of you he ended up in the hospital."
Pupils appeared in Eric's eyes again. "Shut up. You don't know anything about me," he said, charging forward again and firing a magical energy beam from his hand.
Derivan surrounded his own arm with a demonic aura, allowing him to deflect the attack. Eric instantly appeared in front of him, but before he could land a hit, Derivan dodged to the side and hit Eric with a spinning kick to the face. Then he leapt upward and crashed down on the mayor's grandson, striking him in the stomach. The dark aura surrounding Eric's body began to fade, and Derivan's appearance returned to normal as well.
"What was that power…?" Derivan wondered, looking at his hands.
Eryk, beaten so badly he couldn't move, was forced to stare up at the sky.
"I just wanted my grandfather to be proud of me…"
[Flashback]
Young Eric was playing outside the city when he suddenly saw bandits attacking some merchants.
"Give us all your valuables and we'll let you go."
"Please, leave us alone… this is all we have."
The man surrounded his arm with choki and was about to strike the merchants, but someone grabbed his arm.
"You're really pathetic, attacking defenseless people."
"You're… Matomiro!"
"So you've heard of me."
"Even if you're a famous Midan, I won't back down!" The bandit fired a magical energy beam from his hand.
Matomiro stood still, simply tilting his head so the attack passed right beside his face.
"Damn you!" The bandit fired a barrage of magical energy projectiles.
But even that was no problem for Matomiro, who blocked every projectile with one hand.
"Incredible…" Eric watched the fight, fascinated.
In a flash, Matomiro appeared behind the bandit and knocked him to the ground with a single punch. "I'll give you a chance. Take your men and go back where you came from and think about your life. Don't attack poor people. It's not cool," he said, releasing the man.
Midan turned to Eric. "Did you enjoy the show?"
The young boy nodded. "You were amazing!"
"I'm glad you liked it."
"I want to become a strong mage like you!"
Matomiro smiled, placing a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Work hard and never give up, no matter what. If you do, you'll definitely become a powerful mage. Farewell!"
Eric watched Matomiro leave for a moment, then returned to the city and ran straight to his grandfather.
"Grandpa, Grandpa!"
"Oh? Why are you so happy? Did something happen?"
"I've decided I'm going to become a strong mage like the Midan!"
Henry's expression didn't look pleased at all upon hearing that. "Give it up. Find another dream."