"Akase... what kind of technique is that?"

Even though his arm had just exploded from the recoil, Kanzaki Rei’s combat stance remained perfectly stable—without the slightest hint of disorder.

Akase’s strength...

was overwhelming.

It even felt stronger than that golden dragon he had faced before.

"This—" Akase grinned, "—is my unique physique!"

At that very moment, his power seemed to form an impenetrable fortress. The instant anything made contact with his body, a violent rebound of force surged back in response.

And yet—

the authority of Primordial Forbidden Magic was terrifying.

The Akase who had just moved like a bullet—

was now slowing once more.

Just moments ago, he had indeed weakened the effect of Kanzaki Rei’s magic for an instant.

But only for an instant.

Even under a ten-thousandfold time slow—

his movements were still far beyond ordinary.

With a single thought—

Kanzaki Rei widened the distance between them.

With a casual wave—

countless magic circles ignited across the sky!

Millions of Tier 6 spells began to take form...

Using Elemental-type deconstruction against Akase would be too much—borderline unfair.

Better to test him with conventional Tier 6 magic first.

At some point—

had he actually begun holding back against Akase?

The sky lit up with brilliance.

Though his class levels hadn’t increased—

his personal refinement had accumulated in full.

The endless cycles of training had pushed his mana to an absurd level.

360 billion mana.

That was the depth of Kanzaki Rei’s current mana pool.

If released in full, it could flood nearly half of Chronoa’s royal capital like an ocean.

At this stage, however—

mana growth had already slowed to a crawl.

He had even improved upon his own mana enhancement techniques.

But compared to Iz Palt’s original teachings—

it was only a marginal improvement, not a qualitative leap.

It was foreseeable—

that no matter how much time he invested at this stage...

his mana would likely cap around 500 billion.

Unless he leveled up.

And the troublesome part was—

he now knew too many spells.

Thanks to "Lighthouse of All Laws," and his continuous exploration of different regions—

stealing spells from countless mages—

the number of spells he possessed had grown exponentially.

For someone like him—

who could cast all spells simultaneously—

every new spell learned meant an additional mana cost.

Stealing thousands of spells in a single day meant that when he unleashed everything at once—

the total mana consumption would be the sum of all those spells combined.

—Flash!

The battlefield transformed into a dazzling spectacle.

Akase—

nearly frozen in place—

stood against a storm of apocalyptic magic.

"Akase... you’ve always been someone I aimed to surpass."

"Let me see... whether I’ve truly outgrown you."

BOOM!

The magic compressed inward—

crushing toward Akase!

Yet the moment most spells touched his body—

they were torn apart by an invisible force!

"Invincible Style — Twelfth Form: Absolute Suppression · Immovable."

Akase gripped his greatsword with both hands—

and drove it into empty space.

Holding a stance of absolute stability—

he became utterly motionless in midair.

BOOM!

A spherical field erupted outward from him—

instantly shredding massive amounts of magic!

If you won’t let me move...

then I simply won’t move at all.

—RIP!

Hundreds of millions of lightning bolts crashed down—

striking Akase’s body—

and dissipating completely.

So—

low-quality magic really couldn’t do anything to him.

"...Then—"

—Shhh!

The entire sky shifted again.

The chaotic mass of spells—

began to converge.

To fuse.

Level 5 Mage Specialty — Fusion Magic.

"Kanzaki Rei..." Akase muttered.

"These results of yours... shouldn’t you be showing them to Iz instead?"

"If you’re fighting me, shouldn’t you be showing your warrior side?"

Kanzaki Rei gave a slightly helpless smile.

"Sorry, Akase..."

"My warrior training... has been a bit neglected."

"...Tch."

Akase clicked his tongue in annoyance.

So mages were the favored ones, huh?

He had been hoping Kanzaki Rei would shine as a warrior—

so he could brag about it in front of Iz.

"Then come on!"

The moment he spoke—

lightning exploded across his body!

"Fusion: Perfect Thunder (Tier 6) (LV: 501)"

BOOM!

In an instant—

lightning filled the entire battlefield—

then compressed into a single point on Akase’s body!

But—

his greatsword was already there—

intersecting the lightning!

The collision detonated—

and the thunder forcefully penetrated his body—

shattering his internal organs!

Kanzaki Rei could clearly sense it—

Akase’s organs had been destroyed in that instant.

Yet—

he didn’t die.

Instead—

he dragged his broken body forward—

his battle intent surging even higher!

BOOM!

A thunderous force erupted from within him—

and the magic that had just destroyed his body...

was now being converted into his own power.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had a fight this intense!"

Behind that white mask—

his eyes burned like flames.

His strength continued to rise.

"This is my power."

"Before, only Iz could push me this far!"

Akase’s body roared like thunder itself.

The lightning that had once torn him apart—

reassembled—

reforming his organs from within.

...

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