What kind of level was that? As far as she knew, Enrico should have been at the third circle like her, but it seemed he had somehow surpassed even the level of a fourth circle, which Deymon had reached.
"How? This guy really—"
"I want you to do something for me."
With wide eyes, she was surprised because she was being held by the collar right in front of Deymon and Nivren. Looking at the hand holding her, it was Enrico, with those empty eyes, who had brought her there without her even noticing.
"You're going to deal with that Nartheis while I deal with Deymon."
"...Why don't you eliminate him yourself? Your level seems to be higher than theirs."
"I have to have a personal conversation with Deymon, so don't turn into a useless rank 1."
Placing Victoria on the ground, Enrico looked at the two in front of him, taking a step forward. Both of them got into guard for the attack that would come.
"Let's go somewhere else."
Deymon suddenly felt his face being grabbed; clutching Enrico's arm, he found himself being dragged across the ground, destroying everything along the way. With overwhelming strength, he was thrown into the city square.
"No one will interfere here since this is the least crowded square."
Deymon touched his face where Enrico had grabbed him, scratching a bit, with fury growing inside him more and more as he saw how humiliatingly he was being treated.
"Come on, Deymon, show me that desire of yours to prove your magic is the best."
"You'll regret this."
Touching his chest, he activated the core embedded in him, which began spinning and absorbing mana from the air. His hair floated even more than before as Deymon exploded with a dark aura, stepping on the ground and propelling himself forward.
"Corrupt Hands."
Grabbing Enrico by the arm, he threw him to the ground, creating ten black spheres and hitting the area repeatedly. Jumping into the air, he charged a corruption mana attack and hurled it down at Enrico, causing a massive explosion.
"Poisonous Corruption."
Kicking Enrico, he released mana from all over his body, sending Enrico's body flying toward where Victoria was. He did this to show that just as he had done to her, he could also do it to Enrico—treating him like a rag.
'I'll kill him.'
Increasing his speed, he followed Enrico's body through the air while his staff charged another attack. Placing it against his opponent's stomach, he unleashed an explosion of mana.
'I won't even give him time to think—'
Trying to land another blow, Deymon released a second spell, this time at the face. Enrico, who until now had only been taking hits, suddenly spun in midair, letting the attack pass by him while his leg struck Deymon's head, making his brain shake for a few seconds.
'What was that?'
Losing strength in his legs, he stumbled backward. Before falling, he was caught by Enrico's hand, who punched him in the face, crushing it and breaking Deymon's teeth.
"Deymon, you're making me waste my time. Hurry up and show me the power of your corruption magic."
On Enrico's face there was evident rage and disdain—even with those empty eyes—which made Deymon bite his lips hard, drawing blood in sheer fury.
"Why is it always you who makes me feel so inferior? You damn bastard!"
Absorbing more magic around him, Deymon's body began to show signs of being unable to handle all that power. But before he could explode from rage, Enrico shoved his hand into Deymon's mouth.
"You know, you talk too much. So, to make sure you can still fight, let's take that tongue of yours out."
Feeling pain as Enrico pulled his hand back, Deymon covered his mouth, trying to use the regeneration of that transformation. He just needed more magic—he was sure of that—so he needed to absorb more, and he would once he had time.
"Looks like you haven't noticed yet."
Confused, Deymon felt his knee being crushed by Enrico's kick, deforming his leg. Sticking his finger under Deymon's chin, Enrico grabbed his jaw and slammed his head into the ground, cracking his skull.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"
"Looks like you regenerate your tongue well; guess I'll just tear it out again."
With dark eyes, Enrico punched his ribs, piercing them with sheer brute force, making Deymon tremble in pain. Then came a barrage of punches to the face, each one so powerful it disfigured him, as Deymon realized something terrifying and humiliating about what was happening in that fight.
"Why? WHY ARE YOU NOT USING MAGIC!?"
Having his head grabbed by Enrico's hands, he took a knee strike to the middle of his face, breaking his nose and skull, caving in part of it, while his eyes grew even darker.
"Does trash at your level deserve me using any magic?"
With his pride crushed, Deymon tried to defend himself somehow from the next knee strike, but when he crossed his arms to block, they were broken and then pierced as the same knee struck his face again, driving his nose even deeper into his skull.
[Temporary Mana-for-Body Pact: The user can receive a mana sacrifice seal in which all mana is emptied, allowing access to the "Perfect Body," reaching the peak of what their current body can achieve and enhancing it to the extreme.]
[You can only switch twice per day—once to the Perfect Body and once to return to normal. The usage time is five minutes; if you don't switch back in time, you'll have to wait an entire year before being able to use magic again.]
This ability should make Enrico reach the level of a peak fourth circle in terms of physical capability, but since his body was one of the two best in the world in terms of limitless improvement, he managed to reach the body of a fifth circle even while being a third circle—though with the drawback that he couldn't use any mana while in that state.
The disadvantage was great because even if he reached the level of a fifth circle, if he didn't switch back in time, he could lose an entire year of training to improve his circle, keeping him stuck at the fifth level even if he dedicated that year solely to advancement—perhaps taking two years to reach the sixth circle.
"Stay away from me, you bastard!"
Desperate, Deymon exploded his body with as much mana as possible, managing to throw Enrico back and deal some damage to his chest, but Deymon could only think of one thing in that situation.
'I need to escape. I can come back in the future, so—'
Before he could take a step, Enrico's punch struck his face, smashing his head into the ground. Raising his hand, Enrico delivered a palm strike like a blade, cutting Deymon's nose and slicing halfway up his head.
"What's wrong? Show me how far corruption magic can go. Isn't that why you're doing all this? Is your magic really that pathetic?"
"Shut up—"
Stomping on his chest, Enrico drove his foot deep into him, blood spraying everywhere, sending Deymon into shock. Right after that immense pain, Enrico began striking his vital points to cause even more agony.
"Stop—Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"
Tears of blood ran down his face as he could barely breathe anymore. Each hit was becoming a living hell; he felt every bone breaking as Enrico carefully avoided killing him—yet.
"Alright, tell me—was the one who made this plan someone named Jago?"
Deymon opened his eyes a little, which confirmed Enrico's suspicion. As if grasping a lifeline, he spoke with his own mouth.
"Yes, it was him... this plan was his... so... the only thing... I ask is that you kill me... quickly—"
Receiving a punch to the stomach, Deymon spat blood, some of it splattering onto Enrico's face.
"What are you talking about? Kill you quickly? I still have a whole minute to make you suffer."
As Deymon's eyes saw only a monster in his mind, Enrico raised another punch, striking deep into Deymon's skull, then another, and another, and many more as the system appeared to warn Enrico of the remaining seconds while he continued pounding Deymon.
[Enrico, I don't think you can do anything against Jago even if you stay at this level.]
'Don't worry. I have a plan.'
Grabbing Deymon's arm, he pulled with brute strength, ripping it off completely, making Deymon scream even louder. Looking up at the sky, Enrico declared his words while raising his fist once more.
"Hey, you damned Nartheis in there—I know you're watching, so how about we make a deal, just for today?"