“Curse you! Curse you! Curse you! You actually dared to destroy my physical body.”
“I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you all!”
The demonic figure roared incessantly, as if he had just suffered a supreme humiliation.
Moreover, the aura radiating from him was significantly more powerful than when he had been wearing the black cloak.
‘Oh no, it looks like we’re really in for it now.’
Witnessing the demonic scene before his eyes, Ian felt helpless.
He hadn’t expected this guy to have such a trick up his sleeve.
He began to analyze the current situation.
Veronica had fainted, and his own mana was completely exhausted.
Instead of being eliminated, the enemy seemed to have grown even stronger.
It appeared they were truly in a desperate situation, but Ian did not just sit there waiting for death.
He picked up Veronica from the ground and used every ounce of his strength to run toward Far East City.
Even without mana, he wouldn’t give up.
As long as there was a shred of hope, he would chase that light.
“You still want to run? Run straight to hell!”
This time, the figure didn’t waste any more words.
He no longer had the desire to toy with Ian as he had before.
He condensed a **[Magic Orb]** in his hand and raised it, throwing it directly at Ian.
That attack vaguely possessed the power of a 7th-tier Mage.
It seemed that by shedding his human shell, this demonic existence had received a massive boost.
Feeling the aura approaching from behind, Ian closed his eyes, preparing himself for the arrival of death.
He didn’t regret putting himself in this position to save Veronica.
After all, he was the kind of person who couldn’t just stand by and watch someone die in front of him.
‘If I have to blame someone, I’ll blame that shitty System that transported me here. If it weren’t for that, I’d probably still be on Blue Star eating and drinking well! I wouldn’t be stuck in this desperate situation!’
However, after a few seconds passed, Ian slowly opened his eyes.
The scene of death he had imagined hadn’t occurred.
Everything was quiet, as if the threat of death had never existed.
‘Why haven’t I felt the attack yet?’
‘Am I already dead? Did I not even feel the pain because that attack was so fast?’
‘Am I in heaven now?’
Thinking this, Ian looked around and realized he was still in the Magic Beast Forest.
He turned his head and saw the broad silhouette of Deere standing in front of him, having blocked the previous attack.
“Father!”
“Ian, you’ve done well. Leave the battlefield to me now.”
Deere’s tall figure shielded Ian.
Looking at that magnificent back, Ian’s heart immediately settled into a state of peace.
Deere was a 9th-tier Great Archmage.
Since the black figure’s attack was only at the level of a 7th-tier Mage, there was naturally no suspense regarding the outcome of this battle.
“Who are you?”
The black figure frowned as he looked at Deere blocking his path.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter who you are. Not even one of you will escape today.”
Although Deere had easily blocked his strike, the black figure wasn’t panicked at all because that had just been a casual blow.
He didn’t believe that this man could still stand so calmly if he used his full power.
With that thought, the black figure raised both hands toward the sky and chanted a low incantation.
An extremely powerful aura manifested in his hands.
Demonic Magic — **[Evil Dragon Strike]**.
As he finished the chant, the silhouette of a massive black dragon emerged from his hands and lunged straight toward Deere and Ian.
This was the strongest attack he could currently muster, a self-created move that combined his own power with the power of the Evil Dragon from this world.
With his current 7th-tier realm, even an 8th-tier expert would be heavily wounded by this strike.
He was confident that unless his opponent had 9th-tier strength, it would be impossible to survive this hit.
And since 9th-tier experts were incredibly rare across the entire continent, he didn’t believe he would encounter one here.
A faint smirk played on his lips as if he could already see the dawn of his victory.
Facing the black figure’s strongest attack, Deere didn’t show the slightest hint of panic.
Instead, his expression remained perfectly calm.
It was as if the incoming attack was completely beneath his notice.
“Keep acting! Keep pretending! Once this attack lands on you, let’s see if you can still be so breezy!”
The black figure roared in disdain.
“Watch closely, Ian. This is how Magic should be used!”
Deere suddenly spoke.
He stopped hiding his aura, and his presence as a 9th-tier Great Archmage erupted completely.
For a moment, every Mage in Far East City who possessed mana could feel this overwhelming power, but the black figure standing right in front of him felt it most intensely.
“You… You’re actually at the 9th-tier!”
The black figure felt the terrifying aura coming from Deere and was so terrified that he turned on the spot, attempting to flee.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Sword Magic — **[Heaven-Slicing Sword]**!
Deere didn’t waste time with words.
He immediately unleashed his signature move.
In an instant, a colossal sword manifested out of thin air.
It fell from the sky with a gentle grace, hacking straight toward the black figure.
The **[Evil Dragon Strike]** used by the figure was trivial compared to the aura of this giant sword; it was obliterated before they even made contact.
“Curse you! Curse you! Curse you!”
Even though the black figure had pushed his speed to the limit to escape the moment he sensed danger, he still couldn’t get out of the range of the giant sword.
Just like that, the demonic physical entity was annihilated by that single strike.
However, after the demonic entity was destroyed, a soul-like state drifted out from within.
This was something even the well-traveled Deere didn’t recognize.
“I’ll take the loss today, but don’t get too arrogant. Once I recover to my complete form, I’ll come looking for you again.”
After throwing out those harsh words, the soul-like entity drifted away without a moment’s hesitation.
Seeing this, Deere swung his sword again, aiming directly at the soul.
Then, a shocking scene occurred.
The attack passed right through the soul without causing any damage whatsoever.
‘Unable to take damage?’
Deere frowned.
He had no clue what that figure actually was.
Seeing this, Deere didn’t bother pursuing the soul further.
Instead, he landed on the ground and walked toward Ian.
As Deere approached, Ian couldn’t help but replay the scene in his mind.
‘Is this the strength of a 9th-tier Great Archmage when they unleash their full power?’
Even though the attack hadn’t been aimed at him, he had still felt the threat of death!
Today was also the first time Ian had witnessed Deere’s Magic with his own eyes.
It wasn’t the Elemental Magic of the natural world, but a Magic that used a sword as a medium.
This was likely the reason why he was known as the Sword Saint.
One had to know that the Magic awakened on the Faloran Continent was generally divided into two major categories: Special Magic and Elemental Magic.
Most people aimed to awaken Elemental Magic because it was easier to train and had more developed spells.
Special Magic was often looked down upon because it was difficult to cultivate and lacked established spells.
Someone like Deere, who could train Special Magic to the 9th-tier, was extremely rare.
“Are you all right?” Deere asked.
“I’m fine.”
Even though Ian was completely drained of mana and so exhausted he could barely stand, he forced himself to say he was okay.
“Veronica!”
Just as Deere was checking on Ian, a beautiful figure flew toward them.
Looking closely, it was Aetherinra, who had been with Deere earlier.
Since her flying speed wasn’t as fast as Deere’s, she only arrived after the battle with the black figure had concluded.
Looking at the unconscious Veronica in Ian’s arms, Aetherinra asked anxiously, “Veronica! What happened to her?”
“Veronica was ambushed by that black figure. Combined with the fact that she overextended her mana, she’s currently unconscious. Her breathing is very weak; she needs emergency medical attention.”
Previously, when he was being targeted by the black figure, Ian hadn’t had time to check her injuries.
Now that he looked, her aura had indeed become very faint.
‘But Veronica is the Protagonist, so she should be fine, right? After all, protagonists always turn danger into safety.’
Life Magic — **[Herbal Healing]**.
Feeling Veronica’s weak aura, Aetherinra hurried to take her from Ian’s arms and cast the strongest healing Magic she could currently manage.
Seeing this, Ian’s tense heart finally relaxed completely.
Unable to hold himself up any longer, his legs gave out and he collapsed, falling into unconsciousness.