"Hellfire Bird!"
Monspeet moved first. Between his outstretched hands, raging flames gathered into a screeching firebird.
He didn't choose to attack Meliodas—he wasn't stupid enough to use magic against someone with "Full Counter."
Unlucky for him, his attack didn't work on the other opponent either.
The Hellfire Bird shrieked forward, scorching a black trail across the ground.
Charles felt a bit conflicted. With how active he'd been across worlds, plenty of people had learned his abilities. It had been ages since anyone used fire on him!
So Monspeet… what a nice guy!
Charles didn't retreat; he advanced, opened his mouth, and bit down on the Hellfire Bird. The bird of flame cried like a real creature and was gulped down.
"Mmm, spicy—like chili," Charles said, chewing. "But it hits the spot. Power's rushing in!"
Monspeet frowned. In millennia of war he'd seen all kinds of magic. Someone who could absorb flame wasn't enough to rattle him.
It did severely limit his options, but that was fine. He wasn't alone.
The instant Charles swallowed the Hellfire Bird, Derieri moved. Dark energy formed a great claw over her arm and slammed at Charles.
He braced and took it on his forearm, dull thuds and shockwaves rolling out where the dark claw met his guard.
Derieri's face remained blank. Mechanically, she swung again—three rapid strikes hammered Charles's arm.
Feeling the steadily rising power, Charles eyed the woman whose fighting style and dress were both wild.
Magic: "Combo Star." With each consecutive hit, her attack power grew. In the original tale, at fifty-six hits she ruined even Meliodas's arm with a single blow.
If this were a fight, Charles would've liked to see how many stacks it would take to threaten him. Unfortunately, this was a melee.
With a power that ramps late, Derieri didn't care about the exchange of single blows. She shifted, lining up a fifth strike—
—but before her arm fell, Charles's boot thumped into her gut. Her eyes bulged and she went flying.
Charles gave chase—only for the Derieri before him to become Drole, whose fist was already crashing in.
They were too close; even Charles couldn't react in time and took Drole's punch, driven back.
If Zeldris hadn't capitalized, he wouldn't be leading the Ten.
He blinked into Charles's face and slashed him across the chest in one stroke.
Charles slammed down, spiderweb cracks exploding from the impact.
Monspeet's nameless magic was a god-tier assist—anything he touched could forcibly swap positions with a target.
He'd switched Drole and Derieri to catch Charles off guard.
With that Trick-Star-like help, Zeldris had found his opening.
"Not bad," Charles hissed through his teeth. "North of sixty thousand, huh? That hurt."
"Is that mockery?" Zeldris said coldly. "You're not even scratched."
True—there was only a white line where the blade had hit his chest. Not a drop of blood.
Zeldris's expression darkened. Galand had fled back in disgrace, even losing his Commandment.
When he heard the one who beat Galand and took Truth was a human, his first thought was disbelief.
Humans were a feeble race; this era wasn't three thousand years ago—magic had waned. No true powerhouse could come from them.
But he also knew that even without Truth, Galand wouldn't lie.
So despite his doubt, Zeldris prepared himself for a human powerhouse.
He hadn't expected this. His strike just now had pulled no punches—he believed even Drole under Heavy Metal couldn't have taken it.
Yet all it did was leave a mark that barely qualified as a wound.
Charles tore off his torn shirt, baring a solid torso.
"Now this is interesting. I'm fired up!"
Flames roared off him, so hot that even Zeldris had to give a half-step before the heat.
Charles stamped, shattered the ground, and blurred in faster than Zeldris could track, fist already driving in.
"Fire Dragon's Crashing Fist!"
Zeldris caught it on his shortsword; the struck metal glowed red-hot.
Shock still on his face, he was blasted away.
As he flew, the earth under Charles heaved; a massive diamond spire thrust him up from beneath.
Overhead, Drole's fist came down like a hammer on an anvil.
He'd put everything into it; even the near-unbreakable diamond shattered.
But caught between them, Charles was untouched. He raised a hand and stopped Drole's fist cold.
Zeldris, recovering, charged back and booted Charles in the chest, punting him away.
Charles dug his heel in, skid stopping. Evil Dragon and Dragonslayer sheathed his arms as he blitzed punches at Zeldris's darkness-wreathed blade.
Flame and darkness detonated on impact, splitting the sky in halves.
In an instant, the fire became a dragon and tore the darkness apart. Zeldris fell back again.
He knew the Goddess Clan's innate "Ark" countered demonic darkness—he hadn't expected a human's flame to do the same.
His darkness hadn't lasted a heartbeat against it. If he hadn't pulled back, he might've been burned.
Derieri took over, blinking in behind Charles via Monspeet's power—five strikes in a flash to stack her Combo Star.
Charles didn't trip on the same stone twice. He'd been ready for Monspeet to repeat the trick.
The moment Derieri appeared, he reacted—his hand chopped back.
Evil Dragon–sheathed, the edge smashed through her offensive and hit before Monspeet could switch again, swatting her away.
Charles's hand-blade was nastier than any real edge; even with darkness guarding her, a charred, ragged welt tore across Derieri's chest and belly, as if a fire dragon had ripped a bite out of her.
Drole failed to support in time and could only drive four fists at Charles in a frenzy.
"Fire Dragon's Blazing Flame!"
Charles curled his fingers as if he'd seized the flames themselves. He clapped his hands—and fire exploded outward, engulfing Drole from the waist up.
It raged for two seconds and vanished, revealing a wretched Drole.
He'd yanked his arms back in time and thrown up Heavy Metal over head and chest.
Even so, his forearms and all exposed skin were badly burned; sparks still clung in places.
A drop of Dew of Life fell onto him, and in a blink the burns were gone.
Charles frowned and glanced toward Meliodas—pinned under Estarossa.
"So, boss—could you be a little more reliable?"
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