"Still... maybe I overdid it a bit."
I looked around and saw that a considerably vast area had been bleached pure white. I was glad the spell hadn't hit Grimo, but the output had exceeded my expectations.
"No, Master Lloyd. Our opponent is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army. You must do at least this much to destroy one of their rank."
"He's turned completely white, too."
Before me lay a pure white mass—all that remained of what had been Vilfrey. I hadn't expected him to end up like that. Holy Magic had the effect of purifying things that humans instinctively found repulsive. I wondered if a demon's entire body was composed of such substances.
"Well, even one of the Four Heavenly Kings looks pathetic like this. Pwahaha! He can't even move a finger! Moron! Total idiot!"
Jiriel flew out from my hand and began repeatedly kicking the white lump that used to be Vilfrey.
"Now then, Master Lloyd, let us make our triumphal return—"
A sharp crack suddenly ran through the mass. A hand reached out from the fissure, its fingertip brushing against Jiriel.
"Gyaaah!?"
Jiriel frantically scrambled back and dove behind my shoulder. The cracked mass crumbled away entirely, and Vilfrey stepped out from within.
"Heh... Hahahahaha! You're pretty good, you little brat!"
He radiated a terrifying killing intent, but his distorted smile also carried a hint of genuine delight. His appearance was slightly different than before; the very outline of his body seemed to be wavering.
"I’ll be honest, I’m impressed. The difference in our mana capacity is several-fold, yet you’re fighting me on equal terms... no, it’s fair to say you’re actually outperforming me. Just what kind of magic trick are you using?"
"If I had to call it something, I suppose it’s wisdom."
For a mage, a gap in mana capacity wasn't everything. That difference could be overcome through knowledge, technique, and experience—the accumulated wisdom of humanity.
"No, no, normally it is absolutely impossible. It is only possible because you can perform the feat of simultaneously maintaining multiple techniques from different systems, Master Lloyd. You are the crystallization of impossible wisdom."
Jiriel chimed in with his usual flattery, though I personally wasn't satisfied yet. I wanted to gather even more wisdom and reach the ultimate heights of magic.
"Heh, I see. Wisdom, is it? It’s true that you humans don't just throw mana around; you weave it into spell formulas and the like to bend it to your will. I’ll admit that the history of mankind has produced a few things that pose a threat even to us demons. ...But."
Vilfrey’s silhouette blurred even further.
"If we’re talking about accumulation, we demons are on an entirely different level!"
With a sickening squelch, his upper body distorted and bent as if it were melting. The moment a flicker of doubt crossed my mind at the impossible movement, a heatwave grazed my cheek. I had managed to dodge it through Automatic Combat, but Vilfrey had launched an attack from my absolute blind spot.
"Tch, I only grazed him. You’re a slippery one."
Vilfrey muttered as his body began to stretch. Rather than simply extending, he was shifting his shape like a roaring wildfire, lashing out as if to swallow me whole.
"Hot! It's too hot! Master Lloyd, the heat is bleeding right through the Magic Barrier!"
"I see. He's heating the air using mana that has undergone Nature Transformation."
A Magic Barrier could only block physical phenomena; it had no power to stop the influence of raw mana itself. Even so, he had actually turned his own body into fire.
"Exactly. Nature Transformation of mana. I was born a Lower-ranking Demon. To claw my way up, I forged my Magic Body to its absolute limit. Now, I can turn my very form into flames."
Nature Transformation—while it was possible to imbue mana with various attributes through visualization, transforming one's entire physical essence into fire was extraordinary. I was incredibly curious about how he achieved it.
"Holy Magic is effective against pure malice, but its efficacy drops significantly against entities mixed with nature, like monsters. Its compatibility with mindless natural phenomena like fire is the absolute worst! I’d wager that last Ultimate Holy Light was less than ten percent effective...!"
I see. So that was why William Bordeaux had developed Sealing Magic instead of relying on Holy Magic centuries ago. Against an opponent who could alter the very nature of their Magic Body, the rigid properties of Holy Magic were at a disadvantage.
"That's right, Master Lloyd! Why don't you use 'Void' to erase the flames and the demon all at once!?"
"I can't. He's moving way too fast."
The Spatial System Magic, Void, could open a hole in space and annihilate anything it touched. It wouldn't matter if the target was a demon, fire, or both. However, distorting space was a heavy task that required significant casting time. I’d never be able to land a hit on an enemy moving at this speed.
That didn't mean I was out of options, though. Since he possessed the dual traits of fire and demon, I simply needed to attack both aspects simultaneously.
"The problem is, I’m running out of hands..."
To deal a fatal blow to a High-ranking Demon like Vilfrey, I needed to prepare a substantial spell. It was difficult to find the opening for that while dodging his high-speed, erratic attacks.
"Ora ora ora! What's the matter? All you can do is run!?"
With a roar, he unleashed a barrage of fire-imbued punches and kicks from every direction. Each strike radiated intense heat; even a near-miss felt like standing in a furnace. I was using a water barrier from the Water System Magic Waterfall Canopy to forcibly lower the ambient temperature, but his output was still winning out. If I took a direct hit, I'd be nothing but charcoal.
A Magic Body made of fire... this was proving to be quite the nuisance.
"Hmph, you’re doing a hell of a job dodging. Let’s see how you handle this!"
Vilfrey took a massive breath, and his body began to swell. He erupted in flames that burned a deep, magma-like red. I could feel the sweat instantly pouring off me. The temperature was astronomical.
"Uugh... it's so hot I'm getting dizzy..."
"I'm starting to get thirsty."
Jiriel’s head was swimming. I had been sipping water through a straw from a floating Waterball, but the sphere had turned lukewarm in seconds.
"This is my final form—the Exploding Flame Body! The heat of this roaring inferno can't be compared to what I was doing before! Now, try and dodge this! If you can find any place to hide!"
Vilfrey charged, his form expanding to fill everything in front of him. It was a massive, wide-area attack that left no room for evasion.
"Yeah, there's no dodging this one."
"Is this the end, Master Lloyd!?"
As Jiriel shrieked in despair, the heatwave surged forward. The intense thermal energy began to singe the tips of my hair, but at that exact moment—
"As if I'd let that happen, Master Lloyd."
A familiar voice rang out. It belonged to Grimo, who had returned to his massive, demonic size. He stepped in front of me, planting himself like a wall to halt the oncoming wave of fire.