"Pride Flare."
The explosion that followed eclipsed everything.
As if a nuclear blast had torn through the heavens, a white mushroom cloud rose high into the sky. Even far beyond the volcanic region, the force behind it was enough to rattle the air and leave ears ringing.
But El barely had time to register it.
"The One" wouldn't last much longer, maybe another 40 seconds.
Just as he began to extend his senses, searching for any trace of the monstrosity left, another presence rushed toward him.
A naked woman, her expression feral with excitement, closed the distance in an instant.
A shadow portal opened in her path but was burned away by a single punch.
El's gaze settled on her, curiosity flickering even now as to why she was attacking him.
Her fist came straight for him, blazing with intense heat.
"What business do you have with me, lady?" he asked calmly, catching her fist midair.
For a moment, their flames clashed her wild inferno against his overwhelming sunfire but the clash didn't last long.
His power swallowed hers, throwing her across the scorched ground.
She rose almost immediately, lava sliding off her white skin, a maniacal grin stretched across her face.
"Now that your fight is over with that demon… I want a taste of your power too." Before she could take a step forward, El moved.
In a blur, his towering form closed the gap. He caught her mid-charge, pulling her into his firm hold, and in the next instant, they vanished using Instant Transmission.
A split second later Mahoraga crashed where she previously stood.
Its massive white form crashed into the exact spot she had been standing, the impact crushing the ground beneath it creating a deep crater.
Had she remained there, the force alone would have erased her and disrupted the ritual thus El acted first more annoyed then curious about her identity.
El reappeared a short distance away, setting her down with ease.
"Step aside," he said, his tone serious. "I'll entertain you another time."
His eyes settled where Mahoraga stood once more.
'Is this damn thing immortal or what,' Dissecting his body and delivering the 'Ultimate Cruel Sun' hadn't been enough?
They clashed again immediately with time running out barely thirty seconds remained of "The One."
But Mahoraga had changed yet again. It now towered even higher, its body more robust, white scales spreading across its body as it resisted the blazing sunfire perfectly.
'It's as if it has adapted… to my very existence?' El's eyes narrowed.
'Do I need to use The One: Ultimate…?, Like hell I will throw away my life…'
The thought came and was dismissed just as quickly. That move would drain all his life force, and even then… there was no guarantee it would finish the job. Worse, it might only push this creature further.
No.
There was another way.
"That's enough," El muttered. "Time for a change of tactics."
He stepped in and drove his fist into Mahoraga's abdomen with everything he had, launching the massive body high into the sky. In the next instant, he vanished and reappeared above him.
His leg came down hard, smashing Mahoraga's face and sending it plummeting straight into the overflowing volcano below.
Without pause, El conjured another Cruel Sun larger, denser than before and hurled it downward.
Then he followed himself.
His body, burning brighter than ever in "The One," form plunged into the volcano itself.
'25 Seconds Remained'
Below, Mahoraga struggled, His massive frame pushing against the descending sun but the crushing weight of it forced him deeper into the molten core. The cursed wheel above its head spun once more—
"Kirschhh…!"
The Cruel Sun stalled for a brief moment and in the next instant, El appeared on the opposite side of it, driving the blazing sun and Mahoraga downward with relentless force. The volcano split beneath them as they were forced deep underground at breakneck speed.
"Pride Flare."
The 'Cruel Sun' blew and the explosion that followed was even greater than before, erupting beneath the earth's surface.
The land above trembled violently, the entire strong magic region shuddering as if the earth itself cried out in pain.
Above ground, staying put was no longer an option.
Nacht spread his shadow wings and rose into the sky, while Mereoleona remained suspended Mid-air within her mana zone.
Below them, the land began to collapse inward, entire volcanic range caving in as if swallowed by a hungry beast even then tremors didn't stop. They centered around a single point where El had dragged Mahoraga.
El gripped Mahoraga's half-destroyed body and forced it further down, deeper and deeper, until they reached the molten layers beneath the earth.
The sea of Lava flowed beneath the mountain cavity, the heat so intense that even their breathing became difficult. Their bodies burned from within, yet neither of them slowed.
Without hesitation, El dragged him into the lava.
His mind remained clear toward his goal, dragging the bastard into Volcanic mana veins below earth.
Long ago, while studying the nature of magic, he had learned of them, vast streams of raw mana veins flowing beneath the earth, sustaining the world above.
Invisible barriers surrounded them like tunnel harder than diamond and lethal to the touch. Even the slightest contact would annihilate a normal person, the raw mana infiltrating and corroding them from within until nothing remained.
Though for reasons unknown or due to tampering in the past—in certain regions the invisible barrier would weaken, forming small tears that leaked raw mana continuously, giving birth to strong magic regions like this one.
In every ancient record one warning was ever present, tampering with them would bring disaster upon the world.
Legends claimed that in battle between demons and other races had shattered entire continents due to reckless interference with these veins.
And now El was about to do the same.
With barely ten seconds of "The One" remaining, he pushed forward with everything he had. His fingers drove into the hollow where Mahoraga's eyes should have been, forcing raw heat deep inside in a desperate attempt to make it rupture from within but the bastard absorbed it all like a bottomless void, devouring the sunfire even as it struggled to regenerate, its recovery only stalled by the sunfire flooding through its body.
***
Author's Note: The next chapter will conclude the fight and bring a surprising turn in the story. I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a powerstone, like, comment, and review—it really helps motivate me to write the story. Thank you for your kind attention on this chapter!