When Rei spread flames across the surrounding area using search magic, a response came back instantly.
The reaction came from roughly twenty meters behind him.
Naturally, neither Visente nor Set was there, and the old man's figure vanished the moment it touched the flames.
At that point, it wasn't difficult to figure out who had been caught by his search flames.
He immediately swung the Death Scythe toward the source of the reaction behind him.
"Flying Slash!"
Launched alongside those words was a Flying Slash.
...However, the power of that slash was clearly inferior to the ones Rei usually unleashed.
Tch, so this is the Holy Domain's doing too!
Suppressing his bitter frustration, he kicked off the ground while maintaining his search magic and headed in the direction the Flying Slash had traveled.
Leaving Visente unattended was somewhat concerning—the man's hatred for him went far beyond mere loathing—but he also felt confident that leaving him to Set would be fine.
Indeed, just before turning his attention behind him, Rei had glanced at Visente and Set and confirmed that Set was fighting Visente on even terms despite struggling with the Holy Domain's effects.
"Magic Shield!"
Even if his opponent was an old man, he was still a member of Stigma.
One who possessed the troublesome ability to freely manipulate extremely lifelike illusions, at that.
With no way of knowing what other abilities he might have, it was only natural to prepare for the worst.
As far as Rei knew, Magic Shield—which could nullify any attack, no matter how powerful—was an extremely convenient skill when the opponent's hand was unknown.
However, even such a convenient skill had its drawbacks.
Being a shield of light, it stood out considerably at night.
...Though, given that he already had Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor deployed, the light from Magic Shield probably made little difference in terms of visibility.
Still too slow!
Even though he was moving with Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active, the scenery streaming past Rei was clearly slower compared to before the Holy Domain had been deployed.
Of course, even so, it was undoubtedly a speed at which an ordinary adventurer would struggle to track his moving shadow.
But to the person actually moving, that difference was enormous.
The same held true for the old man, who had noticed Rei charging straight toward him.
"Hyohyo. I was surprised by your skill in finding me... but do you intend to challenge me in that state?"
With a light tap of his foot against the ground, the old man closed the distance in the next instant—rather than fleeing from Rei, he came toward Rei of his own accord.
Gripped in his hand was, as always, his staff.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a staff an old man would use, but given that it was wielded by a member of Stigma, it could not possibly be ordinary.
True to that expectation, the old man raised his staff and pointed its tip toward Rei.
The tip was sharply pointed—closer to an estoc in design, built for penetration.
Furthermore, light gathered at the tip, glowing faintly white.
It was precisely because it was night that Rei could notice the white glow; had this been under the sun, it was questionable whether he would have noticed it at all.
What do I do? If it's another inexplicable ability like that Holy Domain... no, it doesn't matter. Since I've left Set to handle things alone, I can't afford to waste time here. I'll finish this in one go!
It wasn't that he didn't trust Set.
But for Set, having just entered this Holy Domain, there were bound to be moments of confusion.
If Visente exploited such an opening, even Set could be in danger.
With that in mind, Rei needed to defeat the old man before him as quickly as possible and rush to reinforce Set.
At the same time, he had to keep his search magic active in order to track the old man's position through his illusions.
Activating Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor within this Holy Domain while simultaneously using magic was consuming mana at a rate that an ordinary mage would be unable to endure.
In fact, Rei's mana was draining at what could only be described as a squared rate compared to normal usage of Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor or magic alone.
He couldn't dispel Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor while dealing with Visente, but once he defeated the old man before him, he could release the search magic. That was why he needed to finish this as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, the old man had no intention of settling things immediately. Rather, he wanted to prolong the battle even slightly.
He wasn't certain he could win against Rei alone, and ideally wanted to stall until Visente arrived as reinforcement.
Normally, the very fact that you can hold your own against Stigma members like us within this Holy Domain would be unbelievable... but I suppose you truly deserve the alias Crimson.
The time it took for the two of them to collide was less than three seconds.
Even so, there was enough time for both of them to think all of this through, and eventually Rei's Death Scythe clashed against the old man's staff.
"Power Slash!"
Rei struck first.
A blow better described as crushing rather than slashing was unleashed toward the old man.
He understood that the person he was facing appeared to be an old man.
But as someone called Stigma, there was no way he was just an ordinary old man.
Still, considering his build was roughly the same size as Rei's, it was hard to believe his pure physical abilities matched Visente's.
Of course, even so, as a member of Stigma, Rei understood he must excel in something beyond physical ability.
If that was the case, the plan was to prevent him from using that strength and overwhelm him all at once with sheer physical prowess.
That was the intent behind the Power Slash he unleashed.
"Hyo!"
A bold yet high-speed strike that seemed as though it might shatter his very body.
What appeared on the old man's face upon seeing it was a smile.
Rei found that questionable, but right now, with his search magic still active and maintaining flames, he needed to defeat the old man before him as quickly as possible.
The Death Scythe swung with that intent headed straight for the old man... and yet, for some reason, the old man neither blocked nor evaded the attack, letting it strike his body.
His location should have been known through the flames, so why? Rei harbored that doubt.
He wondered if perhaps, having no means of escape, the old man had decided to quietly accept his end—but he immediately rejected that thought.
No matter how kindly the old man might appear, he was a member of Stigma... a member of the Holy Light Religion.
As such, there was no way he would quietly accept the attack of someone he called a great enemy.
Indeed, the blade of the Power Slash Rei had unleashed sliced through the old man's body the moment it made contact, meeting no resistance whatsoever, and in the next instant, the old man who should have been there vanished.
"!?"
The moment he disappeared, Rei realized he had once again been toyed with by the old man's illusion, but he reflexively shifted his awareness to the search flames.
He was there. Without a doubt, the old man's figure was right in front of him.
He hesitated for only an instant at the sight—something that seemed like an illusion yet wasn't. Rei, who instinctively understood that his magic would not betray him, manipulated Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor into a whip-like form and slammed it down in front of him.
"Gyah!"
The scream came from the exact same spot where the old man had been just moments ago. ...However, from a position much closer to the ground.
He had created an illusion of himself standing while crouching down, waiting for a chance to land a strike on Rei.
That was likely his plan, but in every sense, Rei's existence was an anomaly the old man hadn't accounted for.
Not magic, not the blade of the Death Scythe, nor a strike from Rei's fist—but the red magical energy itself that surrounded Rei as Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, attacking him. That was something the old man had never anticipated.
Taking the attack head-on, the old man—whose body was roughly the same size as Rei's—was sent flying.
Due to the Holy Domain's effect, the power of Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was diminished. Additionally, the old man, being a member of Stigma, wore armor similar to Visente's.
Even so, while indirect heat might be one thing, taking Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor directly could not possibly leave him unscathed.
That much was evidenced by the cry of pain that escaped the old man's mouth as he was sent flying.
Normally, as a member of Stigma, the old man could have laughed off a degree of pain.
However, the strike from Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor that Rei had unleashed in that split second exceeded the old man's limits.
Rei's mana, compressed and concentrated into Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, possessed that much power.
"Gugyah... y-you're good. To think I'd struggle this much even with two of us, me and Visente..."
The old man opened his mouth, but Rei ignored his words and charged in again with the Death Scythe in hand.
The opponent's intent to stall for time was obvious.
He had no time to indulge such behavior. He charged straight toward the old man, who had created distance between them.
"Flying Slash!"
He unleashed a covering shot to prevent the old man from moving recklessly.
This was a skill that had been nullified by the old man countless times before, but this time was different.
He had launched a vertical slash to prevent the old man from crouching to dodge as he had done earlier.
If he moved left or right, Rei would detect his position through the flames spread across the ground. Whether he moved backward or forward, he could not evade the Flying Slash coming straight at him.
If he shifted even slightly from his current position, Rei would sense it immediately.
Given that Rei could not afford to lose track of his movements, there was only one option available to the old man.
"Above, right?!"
Along with those words, Rei's speed increased as he advanced toward where the old man had been.
What faintly reached Rei's ears was a sound like air being torn apart.
The moment the Flying Slash made contact, the old man's figure vanished as it had before.
Even so, Rei believed the old man had leapt to evade the Flying Slash and pressed forward... and in the next instant, the Magic Shield he had deployed shattered into particles of light and disappeared.
Why that happened was easy to imagine.
The sound of cutting wind he had heard a moment ago—the old man who had leapt must have launched some kind of attack against Rei as he approached.
But Magic Shield could nullify any attack, even if only once. A mere covering strike wasn't going to get through.
Of course, being an absolute defense that worked only once, a second or third attack might have been a different story. But despite being inside the Holy Domain, Rei's approaching speed was extremely fast thanks to Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, and there was no time for the old man to launch a second strike.
"Flying Slash!"
A Flying Slash was unleashed once again.
The flying slash shot straight up into the air...
"Guhoh!"
The moment it struck what appeared to be empty space, a groan of agony echoed throughout the surroundings.
And in the next instant, the old man materialized, flying through the air as though seeping into view.
Taking the Flying Slash head-on and still not having his torso severed was likely thanks to his armor.
That armor, crafted using Light Ore, possessed high defensive power.
...Even so, to Rei's eyes as he pursued the flying old man to follow up, he could see that the armor had been dented.
Seeing Rei charging toward him while pouring mana into the Death Scythe, the old man did not simply wait in silence.
He somehow produced an illusion to make Rei lose sight of him, intending to pierce Rei's body with the tip of his staff.
That was what he intended... but at this point, Rei's running speed increased even further beyond what it had been before.
Catching up to the flying old man—no, approaching with enough momentum to overtake him—Rei sensed that the old man was attempting a final desperate struggle, and accelerated even more.
At a speed that made it hard to believe he was inside the Holy Domain, the old man's eyes widened greatly...
Slash!
Along with that sound, the Death Scythe—infused with Rei's mana—was swung down with the physical abilities enhanced by Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, bisecting the old man's body as it flew through the air.
Entering from the shoulder and exiting through the flank, that strike effortlessly claimed the old man's life. His body fell to the ground, scattering innards, chunks of flesh, blood, and bones across the earth before rolling more than ten meters.
In its wake, the elevated temperature from Rei's Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor caused the strong stench of blood and innards to spread throughout the surroundings.
But Rei ignored it and turned his gaze toward Set.
There, Visente's movements had been momentarily halted by Set's Crystal Breath.
Seeing that Visente's attention was completely focused on Set, Rei—still clad in Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor—kicked off the ground in one explosive burst. With Visente's movements stopped once again by the Magic Eye of Shock, Rei bisected his torso with a single slash of his mana-infused Death Scythe.