Watching Visente charge toward him, Rei manipulated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and sent a portion of it flying.
A piece of the armor shot straight toward Visente, and the moment it landed in his path, an enormous wall of flame erupted from the ground.
"Ngh!?"
Visente threw himself diagonally forward on reflex.
Had he plunged straight into the wall of flame, he would have undoubtedly suffered severe burns.
Under normal circumstances, the metal armor worn by Stigma members could reduce or even nullify most attacks through its magical enchantments.
But this was an attack from Rei, who was still resisting despite being trapped inside the Holy Domain—a space overwhelmingly advantageous to his enemies. If he took it head-on, there was no telling whether he would walk away unscathed.
That split-second judgment was likely the right one.
Had he barreled into the wall of flame as he was, he would have been incinerated along with the very armor he relied on, consumed by flames born from Rei's compressed magical power.
It was a reflexive action, but without question the correct one.
And yet... Visente's struggle was far from over.
The next piece of Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor shot out as though Rei had read exactly which direction he would dodge. The instant it struck the ground, it transformed into flames with an adhesive quality, spreading like a casting net to entangle Visente's body.
"Guh!"
Judging that pressing forward would only snare him in the net of flame, Visente forcibly changed his trajectory again, fully aware of the strain on his body.
Under normal circumstances, such a maneuver would have injured his knees or ankles. But within the Holy Domain, it was not impossible.
"You stay put too!"
After a brief glance to confirm Visente had pulled back, Rei severed another portion of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and hurled it toward the old man.
"Hyohyohyo. You attack me even knowing it's futile?"
The old man flashed a smile, but the chunk of armor Rei had launched burst apart in midair, scattering into countless small flames that swept across the entire area where the old man had been standing.
(How about that?)
At the far edge of Rei's vision, the old man's figure vanished the instant the flames struck—just as expected—and reappeared some distance away from the burning wreckage.
"Persistent!"
Without bothering to track the old man, Rei caught sight of Visente circling wide to close in on him after evading the flame net, and loosed another piece of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
It struck the ground as if to steal a march on Visente, erupting instantly into a wide blaze.
Expecting the flames to surge directly toward him as before, Visente again wore a startled expression and kicked off the ground to put distance between himself and the fire.
"Damnable!"
The words he spat came from the very bottom of his heart.
A diverse array of flames that could hardly be mistaken for a single method of attack.
Had Noise been present, he would have undoubtedly nodded in agreement.
This was Deep Flame—a skill derived from the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
It worked by launching the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor—compressed with Rei's magical power—and reshaping it into whatever form of flame he desired.
The raw power was not dramatically greater than the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor itself, but the fact that the flame's shape was entirely at Rei's whim—limited only by his imagination—made it exceedingly difficult to counter for anyone on the receiving end.
If even Noise, an S-Rank Adventurer who had gone so far as to name the technique Deep Flame, found it troublesome, it was only natural that Visente could not cope.
If anything, the sole reason he had yet to take a direct hit was the Holy Domain deployed around them—a unique skill inherent to Stigma.
"You intend to keep me from approaching. In that case, I have an idea of my own."
Visente spat the words out resentfully and raised his fists.
The distance between them was not a matter of a few steps. They were separated by more than ten meters, yet Visente clenched his fists tightly as if to say such a gap was completely irrelevant.
What he poured into them was not magical power, but his own fervent devotion.
An intense faith in the Goddess of Light, channeled only while the Holy Domain was active.
All of Visente's power converged into a single point... and in the next instant, it burst forth.
"Receive this holy power!"
With a battle cry, he swung his fist forward, and a fist forged of light materialized and streaked toward Rei, who stood draped in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
Sensing the sheer force behind that strike, Rei furrowed his brow.
(Can I tank this as I am?)
If this were a normal space, he would have judged that he could take it without issue.
He placed that much trust in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, which had fought Noise to a standstill.
But the biggest problem was this place.
The entire area was saturated with something inexplicable, something even Rei could not comprehend. It was clearly abnormal.
In fact, the effect had so drastically reduced his physical abilities that he could barely move, inevitably forcing him onto the back foot.
After hesitating for a fleeting instant, he chose to evade.
Despite wearing the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, his movements still felt sluggish. Rather than making an exaggerated dodge, Rei pulled back half his body into a half-profile stance, opening a gap where the fist of light would pass.
Even for such a minimal movement, his body felt as though it were laden with tens or hundreds of kilograms.
Irritated by that sluggishness, Rei nonetheless managed to adjust his stance. Unsure what would happen if the fist of light made contact with his armor, he sent the bulk of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor enveloping him as Deep Flame, launching it toward the old man.
The fist of light screaming past his side and the Deep Flame crashing down on the old man's position happened almost simultaneously.
"Guh!"
Even though he had dodged, pain lanced through him.
The impact carried straight through the Dragon Robe he wore.
The Dragon Robe was resilient against blades and magic, but it was by no means strong against techniques that transmitted raw shock directly through the fabric.
The fist of light Visente had unleashed was precisely such a technique.
Even so, the fact that he was not sent flying and could endure the pain in place was likely because he had successfully avoided a direct hit.
What would have happened if it had connected? The mere thought was enough to tell Rei he could not leave Visente free to act. And then—
A tremendous roar echoed across the area.
Rei did not wonder what had caused it. It was his own attack, after all.
Turning his gaze toward the source of the sound to check the result, he found a scene that could only be described as a sea of fire.
The Deep Flame he had just released had expanded violently the moment it struck the ground.
Compared to the previous attack that had scattered in midair to blanket a wide area, the range of this one was dozens of times greater.
"Nuh!"
A groan of anguish reached his ears.
(Just as I thought.)
Recognizing that the voice had come from a position far removed from where the old man had been standing, Rei allowed a satisfied expression to surface despite the pain he was holding at bay.
Yes, in that exchange Rei had taken damage—but he had gained something far more valuable in return.
The old Stigma member had been tormenting him relentlessly since the battle began.
He vanished the instant an attack landed, as if using Teleportation. But what if it was not Teleportation?
Rei had harbored that suspicion mid-battle, yet after several attacks produced no response whatsoever, he had begun to wonder if he was wrong.
Harboring those doubts, he had seized on the opportunity of dodging Visente's attack to unleash Deep Flame toward the old man.
The resulting spread of flame—area denial on a massive scale—must have caught the old man completely off guard.
He had likely assumed the flames would never reach his position. That assumption had been sorely mistaken.
As a result, the old man suffered non-trivial burns.
...Specifically, not the old man at the location where Rei had aimed, but the old man who had reappeared a considerable distance away from that point.
(An illusion, huh? And to conjure one that realistic is impressive.)
Relieved at having finally unraveled the mystery, Rei poured magical power back into the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor he had consumed as Deep Flame.
In the next instant, red magical power—so compressed and concentrated it was visible to the naked eye—once again clung to his body.
Even as he did so, Rei furrowed his brow.
The magical power channeled into the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor had consumed several times the usual amount... perhaps more than ten times as much.
Originally, the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor did not consume as much magical power as the Overlord's Armor from which it was derived.
Compared to the Overlord's Armor, which even Rei could not sustain for long, the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was far more efficient.
But that was only relative to the Overlord's Armor.
Even with the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, an ordinary mage would struggle to maintain it for more than a dozen seconds.
The reason Rei could operate it despite such enormous consumption was his vast reserve of magical power.
(So this is the power of this Holy Domain or whatever. ...Annoying ability. Must be the power of this Stigma they keep going on about.)
Even so, with the magical power Rei possessed, reactivating the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was not difficult.
With the armor blazing around him once more, Rei faced Visente, who was glaring at him from afar with a hard expression.
"You... you actually dodged a strike imbued with my faith. To think there is someone who can pull off such a feat inside the Holy Domain. No—that is precisely why you are a great enemy."
"Your way of speaking has changed quite a bit from how you started. Is that your true self? ...Holy Domain, huh. You certainly have a gift for spouting whatever words suit you. From where I'm standing, this isn't anything like a holy domain. I'd be more convinced if someone called it the domain of an evil god filled with miasma."
"!? You—!"
The greatest fury he had displayed yet.
An expression that could only be described as demon-like.
Precisely because his features were refined, that twisted rage stood out all the more.
He must have felt his faith had been profaned. Surrendering to rage, he lunged forward to close the distance with Rei—
"Calm yourself, you fool. What are you doing, falling for the enemy's provocation so easily? He means to divide us and crush us one at a time."
"I know that much! But on my faith, I will deliver Divine Punishment upon that man, our great enemy! Besides, inside this Holy Domain, those without God's blessing are slowed. Now is the perfect opportunity!"
"...That is exactly why I am telling you to calm down. There is no need to rush. He is a great enemy to me as well. Given that, I fully understand how you feel. ...Look. This arm trembles with joy at the thought of piercing him with my staff."
"Master..."
Visente turned his gaze toward the old man, visibly moved. But for Rei, the last thing he wanted was for Visente to settle down now.
Thanks to the unfathomable entity called the Holy Domain, his physical abilities and magical power were broadly diminished, while the two Stigma members were actually enhanced.
(That's the one part I envy. It'd be nice if I could use this skill too, but...)
A skill that forcibly lowered the opponent's abilities across the board while boosting one's own.
From the perspective of Rei, who primarily operated solo and frequently found himself outnumbered, such a skill was intensely appealing.
But he immediately shook his head in silence.
Based on what he had observed, he understood this skill stemmed from the tattoo—the Stigma.
It appeared to carry a prerequisite condition, which according to Visente was something akin to devotion to the Goddess of Light.
Even if not to that exact extent, the likelihood that it was a secret technique of the Holy Light Religion was overwhelmingly high.
Which meant that to use the Holy Domain, one would have to become a believer of the Holy Light Religion...
"Hard pass."
He muttered under his breath.
What those words triggered, Rei could not say.
But that offhand remark had undeniably and fatally enraged Visente.
"You! I will never forgive you—never! In the name of the Goddess of Light, I shall bring down Divine Punishment upon you, our great enemy! Punishment that demands your very death!"
As Visente once again began gathering light into his fist, the old man beside him sighed.
Watching them, Rei shifted his gaze to something behind Visente—and let a small smile cross his lips.
Because there, he could see...
"Guruuu!"
Set—Rei's partner, a presence he could even call his other half.
With a short cry, Set vanished from sight. What must have been a diving strike from the sky with its front legs came crashing down. Visente sensed the approach and barely managed to dodge—but in the very next instant, Set wheeled around and slammed a follow-up blow squarely into Visente's body.