The instant the cross was drawn—
Suenari sensed danger!
BOOM!
Almost immediately afterward, an expanding explosion of flames filled his entire vision!
"Feel it for yourself. What true fire really is."
At the critical moment between life and death—
The black flames collided against the explosive inferno!
Faint black markings surfaced across Suenari's skin.
Kanzaki Rei observed everything closely.
As expected…
Only when people faced the threat of death would their potential truly erupt.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Stone pillars burst upward from every direction!
They transformed into massive spikes, stabbing toward Suenari from all sides!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
But in the very next moment, the stone pillars summoned by Kanzaki Rei exploded apart one after another. Suenari stepped onto the void itself and began moving rapidly across the battlefield.
[Focus: Void Erosion • Wind]
The void formed into a faint cloak of wind around him. Every sweep of his hands created razor-sharp wind whips that lashed outward—
Shattering pillar after pillar!
Kanzaki Rei never moved from where he stood.
Yet the pressure crushing down on Suenari had already reached its limit.
Both of Suenari's hands moved nonstop while his mind desperately calculated countermeasures. At the same time, mana poured continuously from his body.
"Master! Is this what you meant by transcendent magic?!"
"No. This is merely ordinary Earth Spikes."
The power of a spell was not supposed to change dramatically just because a mage's level increased.
That was common knowledge.
And yet—
The Tier 1 magic Kanzaki Rei released was completely different from any Tier 1 magic Suenari had ever seen.
The palace had many mages.
They had all gladly demonstrated magic for him before, but…
It was nothing alike.
Kanzaki Rei's magic was simply too violent.
"What?"
"Don't tell me this is already your full strength?" Kanzaki Rei asked casually, a faint trace of teasing in his tone.
Swish—
Suddenly, Suenari stopped moving.
He slammed both palms onto the ground.
Mana surged violently in all directions.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Earth spikes erupted wildly upward. The stationary Suenari looked moments away from being skewered into countless holes.
But suddenly—
Ting!
In that instant, every protruding earth spike was instantly dyed black.
CRACK!
Then they exploded apart like shattered crystal!
"Oh?"
A slight look of surprise crossed Kanzaki Rei's face.
Almost simultaneously, the corruption spread through the earth itself—
BANG!
A black crystal-like earth spike erupted beneath Kanzaki Rei's feet!
"Not bad."
Kanzaki Rei lightly clapped his hands together.
The ground beneath him instantly shattered, forming a crater five meters in radius.
Black crystal blocks hidden underground were exposed.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—
Meanwhile, the earth spikes stabbing toward Suenari from every direction also transformed one after another into jet-black crystalline fragments after erupting.
[Void Erosion — Evolution: Void Assimilation]
Suenari's Talent allowed one of his spells to continuously evolve.
Unlike Kanzaki Rei, whose path embraced countless forms of magic and limitless variation—
Suenari walked a path of specialization.
"So after understanding the nature of magic, you can let the void erode it?"
The longer the battle dragged on, the greater the advantage of the void became.
At this stage, Earth Spikes no longer posed any threat to him.
BOOM!
In another instant, hundreds of earth spikes erupted simultaneously.
But before any of them could touch Suenari—
They froze in place.
Transforming into black crystal.
"But isn't this exhausting?"
"These are solid objects. You can see them."
As Kanzaki Rei spoke, several thin streaks of blood suddenly appeared across Suenari's cheek.
"But what if it's wind?"
Suenari's pupils contracted!
For a split second, he saw an image of himself being severed cleanly at the waist.
But when he regained his senses—
The breeze was gentle. The clouds were calm.
Only several shallow cuts remained on his face.
The faint sense of danger emanating from Kanzaki Rei had already disappeared.
"That's enough for today."
"If I teach you too much at once, you won't be able to digest it."
"Even though you still can't sense it now, remember this: most things in this world cannot be perceived through sight alone."
"See with your spirituality. Feel with your mana."
Suenari nodded seriously.
"I understand, Master Kanzaki."
"I'll remember everything you teach me."
Kanzaki Rei patted his head.
In some ways, the boy resembled himself.
But compared to him, Suenari possessed far more obedience.
He was a genuine child.
And because he carried the hatred of a destroyed city within him, he was more resilient and humble.
He lacked the arrogance and pride common to talented youths.
That was exactly what Kanzaki Rei wanted to cultivate in him.
To become strong, one's mentality was just as important.
"You've already learned nearly all elemental magic by now."
"With your current mastery over magic, your advancement should be able to reach perfection."
"I'll help you advance."
Just as Kanzaki Rei was speaking, he suddenly paused.
"Mm. Wait a moment. I have something to deal with."
Swish—
Kanzaki Rei vanished instantly from before Suenari's eyes.
In the next instant, he appeared above the skies of the Moonsea.
Standing before him was a blindfolded man with a two-meter-long blade hanging at his waist.
The man rested one hand on the sword before speaking.
"I didn't expect the Land of Moonwatch to truly survive."
"Within a radius of four hundred billion kilometers… there really isn't a single monster left."
"Did you do all this?"
The blindfolded man questioned Kanzaki Rei.
Kanzaki Rei answered calmly,
"You come onto someone else's territory, and the first thing you do is interrogate them?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
Hearing that, the man burst into laughter.
"Haha? Your territory? Since when did the Moonsea and the Land of Moonwatch belong to any individual?"
But then his tone shifted immediately.
"Still… fair enough."
"If you really did save this place, then perhaps you truly do have the qualifications to say that."
"I'm just curious. How exactly did you accomplish it?"
Hum—
The instant his words fell, the long blade had already arrived directly before Kanzaki Rei's face.
Yet Kanzaki Rei remained completely motionless.
He merely gazed calmly at the sword tip, showing no intention of dodging.
"If you want to talk, then talk. Pointing a blade at someone seems a little rude, don't you think?"
"If everyone in the Expeditionary Army behaves like you, I refuse to believe none of them have ever met someone hot-tempered enough to snap."
Kanzaki Rei pushed the blade aside with two fingers.
Seeing that, the man shook his head and finally withdrew the sword.
"You know I'm from the Expeditionary Army?"
Kanzaki Rei replied,
"Mm. It wasn't difficult to guess."
"Then you should know why I've come looking for you."
Kanzaki Rei answered,
"How would I know if you don't say anything?"
The blindfolded man spoke.
"The world is currently facing a crisis of extinction. You should already have noticed that the monsters have awakened. They now possess wills of their own."
"There are more of them than there are of us. And it's far easier for powerful individuals to be born among them."
"They don't need to cultivate bitterly for centuries. Through certain methods of incubation, they can be born directly as Eighth-Tier monsters."
Kanzaki Rei nodded.
"Mm. I know all of that. So what are you planning to do?"
The man before him carefully examined Kanzaki Rei once more.
"That's classified."
Kanzaki Rei replied,
"If I'm expected to join you without even knowing what you're trying to accomplish, then how do I know I wouldn't actually be helping the enemy?"
The man fell silent for a moment before sighing softly.
"I've already learned about what happened here. By principle, I'm not supposed to reveal any more."
"But your combat power is exactly what we need most."
"I'm willing to gamble on this…"
"I can't tell you too much. But what I can tell you is this…"
"We're going to hunt a Nest Lord."
Kanzaki Rei narrowed his eyes slightly.
"A Nest Lord? Are you sure you don't mean a Nest Hive Lord?"
The blindfolded man answered with certainty,
"I mean exactly what I said."