Arlen and Ultear's pupils shrank.
A mocking smile curled at Ulunos' lips. With another casual flick of his finger, the spatial rift reappeared—this time behind Arlen and Ultear. The previously swallowed Wind Scar burst out from it, slashing straight back toward them.
"Arlen-sama, careful! I'll send that attack into the future—disperse!"
Ultear raised her hand. A gray-white magic circle unfolded, and the incoming Wind Scar vanished instantly before reaching them.
"Wonderful, wonderful… your Arc of Time is truly exquisite," Ulunos clapped slowly, his hoarse voice dripping with exaggeration. "You two are exceptional—far beyond ordinary S-Class. Especially you… Arlen, was it? If that attack had landed, even I wouldn't come out unscathed… but that's assuming you could hit me. Hahaha!"
Arlen said nothing. His gaze remained calm and indifferent, though the brief flicker of surprise in his eyes had already faded.
"Arlen-sama, be careful," Ultear said quickly. "He can tear space and redirect attacks. I'll support you."
Arlen moved.
If ranged attacks could be redirected—then close combat it was.
He dashed forward, leaping into the air as Alaya cleaved down. Ulunos leaned back, narrowly dodging.
"Tsk tsk… switching to melee, are we?"
Arlen didn't respond. His blade moved in a blur—high-speed slashes raining down like a storm. At first, Ulunos evaded effortlessly. But soon, he was forced to raise magic defenses, his earlier arrogance replaced by a darkened expression.
"Radiant Storm of the Gods."
Ultear seized the moment. She cast her crystal orb, summoning dozens of future projections that fired beams of light toward Ulunos.
"Trying to sneak attack me? Dream on!"
Ulunos' eyes flashed viciously. His magic erupted, forcing Arlen back as he tore open another spatial rift, swallowing Ultear's attack—only to redirect it behind her.
Arlen didn't move to intercept.
He knew—she could handle it.
Instead, he held Alaya horizontally. The blade turned azure, crackling with fine arcs of lightning. A massive blue magic circle spread beneath his feet.
Behind him, a colossal dragon of pure magic—dozens of meters long—roared into existence.
"Azure Dragon Break."
He drove the blade into the ground.
The thunder-dragon plunged beneath the earth.
Ulunos' expression changed.
That attack—far more dangerous than the earlier Wind Scar. Even he, standing at the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints, felt the sting of death.
At the same time, Ultear chose not to evade her redirected attack.
Instead, she formed a seal.
"Ice-Make: Rose Crown."
An explosion of frost erupted. Countless crystalline ice roses and thorned vines burst from the ground, weaving into a deadly, beautiful prison that ensnared Ulunos at its center.
The redirected Radiant Storm was completely absorbed by the defensive-offensive construct.
"Damn you… you little brats!"
Ulunos snarled, his face twisting. He now had to defend against both the constricting ice prison—and the unseen threat lurking beneath him.
The next instant—
A pillar of thunder erupted from below.
Dozens of lightning dragons burst upward, roaring as they tore through the earth, engulfing Ulunos.
"YOU WON'T KILL ME LIKE THIS!" he roared, enduring the agony. "Space-Time Lock!"
To Arlen and Ultear's shock—
The raging thunder pillar froze mid-motion, as if time itself had stopped.
Then—
A purple-black mass burst out from within, crashing to the ground.
Moments later, the lightning resumed—before dissipating into the sky.
Arlen's eyes narrowed.
This was the first time someone had survived his Azure Dragon Break head-on.
And instead of fear—
A spark of excitement ignited within him.
A true equal.
Meanwhile—
Ulunos emerged, charred and disheveled. His cloak had turned to ash, revealing a grotesque, withered body beneath.
"You… DAMNED BRATS!"
His sanity shattered. Madness and fury consumed him.
A mass of purple-black magic formed in his hand, then exploded outward into a massive, twisted net that tore through the air toward them. Space itself warped in its wake.
"Arlen-sama!" Ultear shouted. "I'll hold him—destroy the crystal! That's the core of the ritual and the vessel holding the villagers!"
"Disappear—be sent into the future!"
She activated Arc of Time again, erasing the incoming attack.
Ulunos froze for a split second—
That was all Arlen needed.
He vanished.
Reappearing behind Ulunos, he unleashed full gravity magic, slamming him to the ground.
"You think you can destroy my artifact?!" Ulunos roared, raising a stronger barrier that blocked Arlen's strike.
Arlen retreated instantly.
His blade transformed—shining like diamond.
"Adamant Spear Break."
Dozens of razor-sharp diamond projectiles shot forward.
"NOT HAPPENING! Space-Time Lock!"
Ulunos froze the attack mid-air—
Exactly as Arlen intended.
In that instant—
He teleported again.
This time, his blade didn't aim for Ulunos—
But the crystal sphere at his waist.
"No—STOP!!"
Too late.
Crack—!
A sharp sound echoed.
A fracture spread across the black crystal. The blue-purple light inside flickered violently. The villagers' cries grew clearer.
"NOOOOO!"
Ulunos let out a hysterical scream.
"My artifact! My ritual! You've ruined everything! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
His reason collapsed completely.
Dark magic erupted uncontrollably.
The air trembled.
The ground cracked.
Ulunos—no longer a man—
But a rampaging space-time demon.
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