Chandler was surprised that a human could intercept his attack midway.
But when Chandler tried to yank back his staff, he found it wouldn't budge an inch.
Grinning wide, baring his needle-like teeth, Chandler said, "Looks like you're not just all talk. Maybe you really can give me a proper workout!"
Charles said, "I won't let you down!"
With that, their magic clashed, as if splitting the entire sky in two.
In fact, when Chandler suddenly moved against Elizabeth, Meliodas couldn't help wanting to strike him.
But Charles was faster and intercepted Chandler first.
Merlin came to Meliodas's side and said, "Captain, given the situation, we should withdraw."
Meliodas nodded. On the other side, Diane had already scooped up Monspeet and Derieri.
Elizabeth asked, "Are we just going to leave Charles behind?"
Meliodas smiled and said, "I know exactly how strong Chandler is, but I can't see Charles's limits at all! So trust him—he's not a man who falls that easily.
"And now that he's excited, I doubt he'll want us interfering in his fight!"
Stella patted Elizabeth's shoulder and said, "Charles can be a bit willful sometimes. He finally found a worthy opponent—let him have his fun! Still, this is probably going to get loud, so we'd better put some distance first."
Not everyone was as tactful as the Seven Deadly Sins.
One was a high-ranking member of their mortal enemy, the Demon Clan; the other, a lowly human defying him. With these two about to start a fight right in front of him, there was no way Ludociel could swallow the insult.
Light magic surged in, forcing open a pocket between the fire and the darkness.
"Demon Clan and Goddess Clan, huh? Perfect—let me see how excited the strongest of the two strongest races in this world can make me!"
Charles laughed heartily, his boiling fighting spirit pouring into ever more blistering flames.
Tilting his head to dodge Ludociel's flash, Charles sprang up and kicked the tip of Chandler's incoming staff.
With a thunderous crack, the night Chandler had summoned split under the blast.
Ludociel's longsword, sheathed in magic, slashed out countless times in an instant, sweeping Charles and Chandler both into the attack's range.
"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
Charles unleashed his fastest technique; his ten fingers shredded the sword-light slashing toward him.
Chandler's response was far more brute-force. His arm swelled like a balloon, a layer of dark teal scales crawling over his skin. The sword-light struck it without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Dragon Claw!"
Chandler's arm morphed into a massive dragon claw. A single sweep smashed apart the slashes and forced Ludociel back.
Of course, Chandler didn't forget Charles; the claw kept swinging, snatching at Charles to the side.
Charles raised a brow. Chandler might have picked the wrong move this time.
If Charles remembered right, Chandler's Power Level was only a bit over a hundred thousand, close to Charles's in his normal state—which was why Charles could enjoy himself a little.
But once Chandler used a dragon claw, Charles's skill \[Dragonslayer] kicked in.
Charles had studied this skill closely. While self-hypnosis could trigger it, that only boosted his combat power by about 20%.
If the opponent was a genuine dragon or revealed a draconic form, the skill fully awakened, and the boost surged to a terrifying 50%.
In other words, the moment Chandler used that dragon claw, Charles's Power Level spiked to beyond 250,000.
So when the claw reached for him, Charles simply grabbed one of its talon tips and, with brute force, swung it and slammed it straight into the ground.
No sooner had he handled Chandler's attack than a blinding light flared at Charles's flank.
Before Ludociel, the tri-bladed Goddess emblem formed of light ignited; a massive laser lanced out toward Charles.
Just as the Demon King had bestowed Commandments upon his subordinates, the Supreme Deity had granted power to the four strongest Archangels of the Goddess Clan.
Compared to the Commandments, which carried curses, the Supreme Deity was far more generous: she bestowed pure power with virtually no side effects. Thus, these powers were called Graces.
Ludociel's Grace was the strongest light element—\[Flash]. In both speed and destructive power, it was absolute top tier.
Charles's response to the laser was to reach out and grab it.
As the beam struck his palm, five shadows inside—his closing fingers—widened, and the laser split apart through the gaps between them.
The instant his fingers closed, the beam shattered into fragments.
Even Ludociel couldn't help widening his eyes at the sight. Not even the Demon Clan could counter his attack like this.
When the light dispersed, Ludociel saw Charles's arm now wore a gauntlet from palm to elbow.
The center of its palm still glowed faintly red, wisps of smoke curling up—evidence that Ludociel's attack hadn't been completely without effect.
Charles didn't hard-block that strike out of hot-blooded impulse; he had the confidence to do so.
First, his \[Dragonslayer] boost hadn't faded yet, and his base strength far exceeded Ludociel's.
Second, Ludociel simply wasn't someone Charles needed to back down from.
In the original plot, one Archangel was said by Sariel to possess the power to match two of the Ten Commandments.
That wasn't bluster, but at best you were talking about someone like Galand. Zeldris, who wielded the Demon King's power, was in a different class entirely.
So even at his peak, Ludociel couldn't surpass a highest-ranking demon like Chandler.
Moreover, Ludociel currently lacked a body and was only possessing a human as a soul. He was weaker now than even in the original plot.
Back then, he possessed Margaret, the first princess of Liones, whose compatibility with him was high enough to let him wield most of his power.
This time, though the Druid he possessed volunteered, the compatibility wasn't good, so he couldn't draw out much power.
Given all that, the fact that Charles had bothered to call out his Innate Armament was already paying him respect.
Boom!
With a resounding crash, Chandler returned to the fray, revealing the true visage of the Devouring Fiend.
His robe was in tatters, and beneath the dark skin lay a knotted, powerful physique, a jarring contrast with an old man's face.
Of course, that face had changed as well. Still aged, yes, but now truly ferocious fangs and a fearsome visage.
Most terrifying of all, a pair of demonic dragon wings unfurled behind him, with a long tail lashing the air.
"How interesting. This old man's blood is boiling too."
As he spoke, Chandler gripped the top of his palm and, with his other hand, mimed a drawing motion.
Then he drew from his palm… a forty-meter-long blade of light, cleaving the ground beneath his feet wide open.
Charles laughed as well and said, "Now I'm really fired up!"
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