El charged straight into the fading explosion.
Through the smoke and fire, he could still sense Mahoraga's presence, damaged but not gone. Even after that attack, it hadn't been completely destroyed.
El closed the distance but the next moment, a crushing blow slammed into his stomach.
He was sent flying, thrown out of the smoke by a powerful kick.
The haze slowly cleared and from within, Mahoraga stepped forward.
Completely healed and changed.
He was bigger, far bigger than before. Its body had grown by nearly Five feet, its towering form now reaching around fourteen feet in height. Its muscles bulged continuously, expanding as if adapting in real time, and its sword had lengthened and brightened alongside him.
The previous attack, the one that had nearly obliterated him before, had only managed to destroy half his body this time.
And now… even that damage is gone.
The bulky figure of Mahoraga vanished from sight and reappeared in front of him, not by teleportation, but by overwhelming speed.
El felt it… but his body couldn't keep up due to the sudden appearance of someone else.
For a brief second, his focus split.
Two presence just appeared close to where he was fighting, One he was familiar with but the other…?
His eyes flickered toward them, catching the outline of a naked woman standing beside Nacht. A faint frown tugged at his expression.
'What is that bastard thinking, bringing a naked woman here…?'
His gaze lingered on the woman's body a moment longer than it should have, then their eyes met.
Something foreign stirred inside him.
'Why does her Ki feel like that bastard Mahoraga?' That single lapse in focus was all Mahoraga needed.
A deep slash tore across El's chest, splitting his chest open as blood poured freely. His body reacted on instinct, muscles tightened to stop the flow, but the damage was done.
El didn't step back.
A small, blazing sun formed in his palm only to be crushed instantly as he clenched his fist, channeling that destructive force inward. He drove the empowered punch straight into Mahoraga's chest.
(A/N: Imagine it like when Akainu drove his Lava-infused fist straight through Ace.)
A fist-sized hole tore through its body but it closed the next second.
'He adapts to physical attacks faster than skill-based attacks,' El realized, the pattern finally clicking into place.
'If only I had a weapon that could keep up with this overwhelming heat… The already broken Murasame sword would shatter under this kind of heat within seconds.' El thought but soon his expression darkened as the Dharma wheel spun once again.
"Kirschhh—!"
The cursed wheel above Mahoraga's head turned once more and this time, its growth halted at fifteen feet.
El clicked his tongue, with an irritated face.
'Bastard… What are you trying to pull? Planning to grow into ancient demon or what?'
Then as if to answer his question, an overwhelming sense of dread pressed down on everyone present.
The next instant, a brutal kick slammed into El's chest, sending him flying across the region. Before he could stabilize, Mahoraga appeared above him, both fists raised high as they came crashing down.
The impact drove El into the ground, carving a massive crater beneath him.
Blood spilled from his mouth, forcing his body to respond even as the pain surged through; he blocked the next strike, twisting his body and landed an uppercut but it barely did anything.
Mahoraga had already adapted.
What followed next was a brutal street brawl.
Fists met flesh. Shockwaves tore through the land with every collision, shattering stone, warping the already volatile magic region. The battlefield grew more chaotic by the second, as if unable to withstand their clash.
El exhaled slowly.
Enough.
"Divine Sword Escanor!!!"
Though he held no weapon, the attack took shape as heat condensed along his vertical outstretched palm, the nature of attack was more spatial than physical. With a single motion, he unleashed a devastating slash.
A searing arc of energy tore through Mahoraga's body, cleaving its upper half in two.
For a second Mahoraga stood frozen then the flesh pulled itself back together, regenerating instantly stronger than before.
Mahoraga stood there, whole once more, and this time… even more resilient.
Another vertical slash tore through Mahoraga then several more followed in rapid succession, shredding its body down to the core. Yet this time, instead of regenerating cleanly, the severed pieces fused together, stitching back into place as if they had never been cut at all.
For the first time, the demon let out a sound, something akin to a laugh.
Then it attacked.
Its blade moved with terrifying precision, cutting through El's body as if it had fully adapted to his strength and skills. The Sword of Extermination cleaved through the Cruel Sun, deflected Divine Sword slashes, and countered each strike perfectly.
On the other hand, its offense only grew deadlier. Each swing carried more weight. Its punches followed, heavy enough to dent El's body, to tear flesh and draw blood, forcing him down to one knee under the relentless assault.
Until a smile appeared on El's lips as he slowly exhaled a hot breath.
"So… it's finally time."
A faint orange glow spread across his skin like burning sunlight as his frame expanded, his presence rising with it.
"You are a demon worth fighting," he said quietly. "But don't think for a second… you can adapt to the brilliance of the sun."
Without answering, Mahoraga's blade descended, aimed to split his head in two but El raised his hand grabbing and stopping the white blade between two fingers.
"The One…" The words left his lips, as he used his strongest skill, the one minute invincibility.
With a flick, he tore the blade away.
"Divine Sword Escanor…!!!"
His arm moved faster than Mahoraga could react. In a single motion, he carved through its body splitting its upper half from shoulder to waist and sending the lower half crashing into a nearby river of lava.
"Pride Flare."
A concentrated beam of sunfire erupted, obliterating everything below its neck. What remained of Mahoraga struggled in his grip as El held it by the neck with one hand, lifting it effortlessly.
"Cruel Sun."
This time, the sun formed from within the head of Mahoraga.
Blazing light erupted from Mahoraga's mouth, expanding rapidly as it devoured its entire head from the inside out. Even the cursed wheel above its head trembled violently, letting out a strained…
"Kirschhh—!"
For the first time, it struggled to complete a rotation.
El hurled the blazing sun skyward. The miniature sun swelled as it rose, growing larger, hotter until it became a massive sphere of destruction, easily twenty feet across, radiating power capable of erasing the entire royal capital.
When it reached high enough, El raised his open palm and clenched it.
"Pride Flare."
The explosion that followed eclipsed everything.
A blinding burst of light consumed the whole region, not merely scattering the thick ash clouds but erasing them entirely.
The heavens burned orange, flames stretching across the horizon as the darkness above was completely annihilated, leaving nothing but blazing brilliance of a mid day sun.