As an enchantment-type magic, Ais's wind was clearly abnormal.
Using Alise's Agaris Alvesynth as a point of reference, its performance was inferior to Ais's wind by far more than just a small margin.
The reason was unknown.
But most likely, it was related to Ais's origins.
Ais's parents were the Mercenary King, Albert Waldstein, and the Great Spirit, Aria.
But spirits are not supposed to be able to bear children.
No matter how mighty the Mercenary King was, he could not create something from nothing.
Because of that, Ais's origins were extremely mysterious.
There was no doubt that she had inherited the power of both the Mercenary King and the spirit.
"Haaahhh!!"
Ais's full-powered strike came crashing down viciously onto the Greatest Evil's head.
Its long serpentine neck swayed, and the enormous dragon head rocked several times, as though that blow had left it seeing stars.
But the firepower was not enough.
An attack of that level was not enough to kill the Greatest Evil.
Even if she landed twenty or thirty more hits like that, it probably still would not have any truly decisive effect.
"We shouldn't stop Ais for now."
Riveria, who had always worried over Ais, suddenly spoke up, unexpectedly changing her view.
She said, "Rather than stopping Ais, it would be better to let her, in this state, suppress the Greatest Evil. What we need to do is kill it as quickly as possible. As long as the Greatest Evil is slain, Ais will immediately break free from this madness."
Rayleigh nodded.
"I agree."
"In that case—"
"Mm. Then let's show what we can really do."
Whoosh!
Rayleigh's figure vanished from where he stood in an instant.
Even Riveria could not help but marvel at how powerful that movement technique was.
It was not just fast—the sound it made was suppressed to an extremely low level as well.
And there were no obvious preparatory movements before moving, nor any stiffness after the movement ended.
For a mage, this was practically the worst kind of enemy.
Not to mention that this enemy could use magic too.
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
Rayleigh's figure appeared in the air in an instant, directly above the Greatest Evil.
Casting the spell without incantation, he generated a blue pillar of light between his hands and hurled it down viciously at the monster.
While flying through the air, the single blue pillar split into more than a dozen, turning into a descending lattice of light.
Those bars pierced through the Greatest Evil's body and pinned its massive form to the ground.
Especially its wings.
Rayleigh gave those special attention.
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"
Golden chains burst forth toward the monster before him. Several thick chains wrapped themselves around the Greatest Evil's entire body.
"Bloom wildly, Ruri'iro Kujaku!"
Rayleigh released the Shikai of his second Zanpakutō as blue-colored vines began growing wildly.
The tough vines coiled around the Greatest Evil and began frantically draining the magic power within its body.
"RAWWWWWWWWWRRRR!!!!!!!"
At the same time, a roar both piercing and deafening burst from the monster's throat.
Ais, who was closest to the Greatest Evil, was blown away on the spot.
But her whole body was wrapped in wind, so there was no need to worry about her.
Rayleigh was disturbed by that sound as well, feeling a wave of discomfort, but he still endured it and did not stop.
"Walls of iron sand, tower of monk-form, glowing iron, boiling iron—silent to the end!"
"Bakudō #75: Gochū Tekkan!"
With the full incantation, Bakudō #75 summoned five enormous iron pillars. Their size was so overwhelming that one might mistake them for iron towers crashing down.
The five iron pillars, each around ten meters tall, slammed down onto the Greatest Evil's spine, wings, and tail, completely suppressing it against the ground.
After doing all of that, Rayleigh was left panting.
Using so many high-numbered Kidō in succession had left his spiritual power seriously depleted.
Fortunately, at that moment, the flower bud of Ruri'iro Kujaku had already bloomed.
He plucked the magic-filled flower and held it in his mouth, using it to restore his spiritual pressure.
'Those spells…'
Watching Rayleigh unleash the entire chain of Bakudō with her own eyes, Riveria's eyes widened further.
'This boy—he actually had that many kinds of magic?'
Combined with the offensive spells he had used before, the total number of spells he had used seemed almost close to double digits!
'How was that possible?!'
Three magic slots should have been the limit of the Lower World.
Even for a special individual like her—who had split one magic into nine variations—that was already extraordinarily rare, practically one of a kind.
'No.'
'More importantly, he was clearly human, so how could he have mastered magic to this extent?'
'Elves were supposed to be the unrivaled race of the Lower World when it came to magical talent.'
'Could this be some special skill?'
Having witnessed countless heroes before, the elven princess would not deny a reality already confirmed before her eyes.
If it existed, then it was reasonable.
If it seemed inexplicable, that only meant the available information was insufficient.
Still, although she was deeply curious, now was not the time to investigate it.
"Well done…"
Riveria offered a word of praise, then began her chant.
The melodious voice of the elf echoed across the battlefield.
"Before long, the flames shall be unleashed—"
"The quietly encroaching warfire, the inescapable destruction. The horn of battle rings out high, surrounding all in savage warfare… Come, crimson lotus flame, merciful annihilation."
"Thou art the incarnation of karmic fire!"
"Sweep away thousands upon thousands, and bring the curtain down upon this great war!"
"Burn all things to ashes, Sword of Surtr—"
"—my name is Alf!!"
The surge of magic flowing from Riveria made even Rayleigh tremble.
Standing within this tide of magic himself, he felt as though even the air had thickened and solidified.
His senses were affected—overwhelmed—by that intense fluctuation.
All he could feel now was the vastness and profundity of that magic power.
'So this was the Nine Hells!'
A chill ran down Rayleigh's spine, and the corner of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
The magic of the city's strongest mage!
Now.... it was about to bloom.
Bzzzz—
Red glowing veins spread across the ground, centered on Riveria.
Those veins gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.
And when Riveria spoke the name Lævateinn—a fiery magic sword pierced through the earth, baring its fangs across the 18th Floor.
It was flame.
One pillar of fire after another erupted from those crimson veins.
The terrifying flames looked like gigantic flaming blades, piercing the Greatest Evil's enormous body and even surrounding it completely.
Absolute, overwhelming firepower.
Even with the barrier Riveria had raised between them, Rayleigh could still feel the terrifying heat.
At this temperature, a piece of dry cloth would be able to burst into flame on its own.
In an instant, the already scorched land transformed into a hell of fire.
That scene before him made Rayleigh think of a certain Zanpakutō.
'Ryūjin Jakka.'
The strongest fire-type Zanpakutō, whose release phrase—"Reduce all creation to ash"—perfectly embodied the sword's power to burn all things in the world.
If the power of its Bankai were mishandled or even slightly allowed to slip out of control, it could destroy the entire Soul Society!
Even a Level 6 monster… if it took a hit like this, it should be finished.
This was the firepower of the Nine Hells, even a Level 7 probably could not withstand it head-on.
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