Chapter 495 The Piercing Strike

Clink~

Beside him, Fulmir tossed his empty potion vial to the ground and stretched his stiff muscles.

“It seems I’m good as new……”

After confirming his body was fully restored, he turned to Aralond beside him and spoke:

“Aralond, watch closely today. Witness the kind of battles you will face in the future, and burn this sight into your memory.”

“……” Aralond stared at him silently, then nodded at last. “Yes, Master.”

“Good. I’m off, too.”

Boom——!

Fulmir’s figure vanished from the spot.

……

Boom! Boom!

At the heart of the battle, horrific collisions echoed without end.

“Hahaha~! Elf! Let’s see just how much punishment you can endure! I’ll drown you beneath the entire sea of lava——!”

With those words, the whole burning sea inverted and crashed downward at once.

Hum!

The Staff of the Sacred Tree in her hand blazed with radiant light, wrapping Irus in a layer of green barrier.

Bang! Bang!

Lava slammed into the barrier wave after wave. She swayed like a single leaf upon a storm-wracked ocean.

Before the savage power of nature, the barrier faded at a terrifying rate, flickering on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, Sugart’s eyes lit up with unbridled glee.

Soon, soon!

I never thought the famed Undying Elf would die by my hand today!

The second her barrier shatters, I’ll deal the finishing——

“Irus——!”

A shout suddenly cut through the sky.

“Hm?”

Who dares?

Sugart lifted his head instinctively.

Whoosh——!

The moment he looked up, a bone-piercing icy wind slammed straight into his face.

And then,

in a single instant, the lava surging toward Irus froze solid into towering icebergs.

“What!?”

Sugart jolted.

He stared at the intruding figure, his gaze sharpening with vigilance.

What was the power of that magic just now?!

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Could it be…… another foe on par with the elf?

“Irus!”

Hulim Heyerar paid Sugart no mind, flying straight to Irus’s side.

Bang!

The ice layer exploded.

Irus leaped upward from below.

“Hulim?”

She looked at the girl before her in surprise, then seemed to understand, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“……It seems you succeeded.”

“Irus, are you unharmed?”

“Did you expect any less from me?” Irus chuckled lightly, completely at ease. “That fool was probably celebrating inside his head, thinking he could actually take me down.”

Sugart: “……?”

Hulim scanned Irus up and down, confirming she bore not a single wound.

She quickly realized why.

Though both possessed monstrous regeneration and endurance, Irus drew her power from the World Tree—a divine‑rank being.

Their tiers were not even comparable.

Even if Irus lacked a way to kill him outright, she could drag this fight out forever.

“Hey, Irus! Hulim!”

In the distance, Laki and Fulmir flew over one after another.

Bang!

The ice surface shattered.

Laki landed before them, sizing up Irus just as Hulim had.

“Oh, it really is you, Irus—not a scratch on you!”

“Laki, Fulmir. Are you both recovered?”

Bang!

Fulmir landed on the ice as well, replying:

“Fit as a fiddle. I can fight him again.”

“In that case——”

All four turned their gazes in unison toward Sugart not far away.

“……”

“Heh!”

Sugart actually laughed in rage.

“I’ve been sorely underestimated~!!!”

Rage practically spewed from his eyes.

“You bastards…… You think adding one more makes you strong enough to kill me?!”

A red glow seeped up from the frozen ground beneath his feet.

The four immediately shot into the air.

Crack!

In mere seconds, all ice and snow melted away, and the entire landscape reverted to a sea of lava.

“I am Sugart!!!”

Sugart raised both hands high overhead and roared.

“The great demon who will burn this world to ash! As long as I stand upon this flame, I am undying, unbeatable——the Fire Demon!!!”

Rumble!

The lava sea churned violently, and colossal energy converged nonstop into his palms.

“Spread out, everyone!” Laki shouted at once.

“We’ll attack from all sides! Even if we have to drag him down, we’ll finish this today!”

With that, Laki prepared to circle behind him.

“Hmph!” Sugart snorted coldly.

“Foolish tricks. Attacks from insolent weaklings like you are no more than tickles to me!”

“Now!”

Hum——!

The energy gathered between Sugart’s hands reached its breaking point.

“Turn to ash beneath my ultimate strike——!!!”

Feeling that monstrous energy, Laki and Fulmir’s faces paled at the same time.

“This is bad!!! Retreat——!”

“Hahaha~! Too late!”

Boom!

A horrific fireball was moments from crashing downward.

It was clear that once this power erupted, its blast radius would be apocalyptic.

Laki’s heart sank. She realized in an instant:

It was already too late……

Shing——!!!

Between heaven and earth,

a crimson light flashed.

In a single breath, a crimson beam pierced straight through Sugart’s body, piercing clear through to the sky.

“Ugh……”

Sugart’s body swayed. The motion of throwing his fireball froze mid‑action.

Time itself seemed to pause at this moment……

Whoosh~!

Only when the terrifying condensed fireball slowly unraveled and faded did he move.

“……”

Sugart still stood there, dazed and empty‑eyed.

He hung his head,

staring blankly at the gaping hole in his chest, and let out a disbelieving murmur.

“What…… is this?”

What is this power?

Why……

Why can I not regenerate?

I don’t understand……

An incomprehensible force ate away at his body. Everything he was vanished before his eyes at a visible rate.

His proud racial talent was useless at this moment. The sea of lava that had granted him invincibility could not save him.

Only death, clear and cold, drew closer with every step……

“Why?”

He lifted his head slowly.

“I am…… Sugart, the Fire Demon……”

With one final, resentful cry to the heavens,

his massive body dissolved completely into the air.

……

Watching Sugart fade away bit by bit, Laki and Fulmir froze mid‑air completely.

They could not make a sound for a long while.

Only one thought echoed in their heads:

What……

just happened?!

On the other side,

Hulim lowered her wand casually, tilting her head in faint confusion.

“He was even weaker than the monsters that appeared in the later stages of the arena……”

“Hu…… lim?”

She turned to Irus, only to find the elf staring at her with a strange, unreadable expression.

“……What’s wrong?”

“……Huh?”

Irus finally snapped out of her daze, hurrying to say:

“N‑Nothing, really.”

“Are you sure……?” (Stare——)

“Ahem, I’m certain! Alright, now that Sugart is dealt with, we should head back.”

“……Mm, okay.”

Hulim turned and departed.

Watching her back,

Irus could not help but marvel inwardly.

This child…… Even knowing what she is capable of, seeing it with my own eyes still leaves me stunned.

“Irus, aren’t you coming?”

“Ah—coming right now.”