Receiving a slash across the chest from Jago's scythe, mist poured out from Vaen's body—mainly from his wounds—solidifying into plates that protected his body. Trying to cut off one of Vaen's arms with his scythe, Jago feinted, switching hands quickly and moving to the right instead of the left. It was as if Vaen was adapting to that scythe—despite the feint, he managed to dodge downward and charged his foot with void magic. Taking the kick, Jago was sent flying out of the city, directly toward the portal high above.
'He's adapting to my movements? Impressive that he picked them up so quickly.'
Looking back, he saw those three ninth-circle monsters easily eliminating the Ranvil level three Nartheis. The only problem was that each time one of those Nartheis was destroyed, the same number emerged from the portal, as if they were infinite.
'My plan is going well so far, and at most there should be around fifty Ranvil level three left inside the portal.'
Even while thinking that, he didn't stop paying attention to Vaen, who appeared upside down above him with void magic around his feet. Crossing his arms, Jago blocked, being sent backward at incredible speed, piercing through a cloud like a meteor crashing into Earth—directly into the ocean, creating a massive crater.
Summoning bone servants like the knight and his father, he fused the two into one being, adding extra layers of bone as a second skin to the new summon.
'Bone fusion—this is my most powerful summon, but even so…'
That summon was on the level of a sixth-circle human, so when he saw it nearly erased by a single blow, he wasn't surprised. With his fist charged, a second layer of magic forming on his armor, he moved behind Vaen, ready to strike.
Seeing the attack, Vaen dodged to the side, charging his void fist. Moving forward, he landed a punch on Jago's face, and the water around the crater—which hadn't yet refilled—expanded even further. Without a doubt, that blow surpassed one hundred thousand tons, cracking Jago's armor.
"I can do that too."
Returning the strike with nearly equal power, as both had strength exceeding one hundred thousand tons, Vaen's chest split open down the middle. Grabbing Jago's hand, Vaen began to spin, parting the sea around them as the waters finally began to refill the crater.
Stopping midair, Jago pointed his scythe forward, gathering magic. His summon had stood for a moment before Vaen, giving him time to release a massive amount of mana at the tip.
"Slash of the Dead."
Releasing the attack just like Vaen had done, he split another part of the sea in the opposite direction. Having received another deep wound to the chest, smoke escaped Vaen's mouth, increasing his resistance as he healed and formed a second layer of skin on his body—just like Jago had done with his armor.
"You're trying to use me to evolve? Ha, how selfish of you."
"Megatons… Void."
"Looks like you're going to raise your level."
With an explosion of power bursting from within Vaen, he punched the air, creating pressure strong enough to cause multiple nuclear-level explosions directly on Jago, destroying the second layer of his armor instantly. Having been hit, Jago quickly escaped all that destruction, preparing a slash with his cracked armor.
Gathering mana at the tip of his scythe, he swung it down directly onto Vaen's shoulder, piercing deeply. Vaen felt immense pain as his body was not only wounded but also poisoned directly in the soul. Even so, he neither screamed nor showed much expression, demonstrating great mental endurance.
"Sword…"
Vaen gripped the air as if holding a sword, raising his hand and striking down. Jago's armor was cut in half—along with him. Shocked, Jago realized that this invisible sword was extremely troublesome, and he was right, because a second later, his body felt something trying to devour all the magic within him.
'Dangerous. This is dangerous.'
He noticed his magic being transferred directly into Vaen's body, so he immediately disintegrated the infected part and fully regenerated afterward.
With a calm expression, Jago let out a focused sigh. Raising his hands, several bones emerged around Vaen, trying to pierce him, but Vaen dodged with great speed. Knowing that he could evade, Jago was forcing him toward a trap he had prepared specifically for Enrico.
"Seal of the Dead."
He brought the battle back to the city of Vesparello. When Vaen passed over the ground near the ruins of a house on the left, several bone hands grabbed him, holding him in place. His body was completely covered—it was Jago's second-strongest seal—but…
"Looks like that won't work."
With a black explosion bursting from within, all those bone hands were shattered to dust instantly. Vaen raised his hand, showing gray claws, and as he slashed downward, the attack destroyed everything in front of him.
"Bone Study."
Creating a shield in front of himself, Jago managed to defend just before Vaen used his void fist to pierce the shield and hit Jago's chest. Enduring the blow, Jago countered with a punch to Vaen's face.
'I can't win in physical combat, so let's try something else.'
Using his scythe to block Vaen's next punch, he redirected it to the side, spinning in place and transforming his scythe into multiple blades that struck Vaen's ribs, attempting once again to affect his soul, causing him immense pain.
"Kill…"
Having his arm grabbed by Vaen's hand, and the other arm raised, Jago realized that the cutting power of that invisible sword had been transferred to Vaen's right hand.
"Eternal Slash."
As Vaen's palm came down, Jago's arm was severed and thrown far away. Seeing more strikes coming, he jumped back, managing to put some distance between them. He tried to regenerate, but noticed his regeneration wasn't working.
"Looks like I won't be able to capture you alone, but my plan is already complete, so I'd like to introduce you to something."
Opening his remaining arm, the portal above began to transform into a humanoid form, shocking every mage, knight, and civilian, while the three ninth-circle beings before the portal noticed what was happening and immediately prepared themselves.
"Thanks to the sacrifice of the Nartheis and the dungeon, I'd like to introduce you to my Kairom-level Nartheis."