Appearing above her once again, Enrico, with a clenched fist, struck her squarely in the face, sending her body crashing into a massive section of the castle. Even so, Enrico noticed for a moment when he hit her face that she was irritated.
'She must think I'm holding back.'
The structure of that part of the castle couldn't withstand it. Stone, metal, and ancient symbols shattered under the impact, creating a cloud of debris that plunged into the void below. Before the fragments had even finished falling, Enrico was already moving again, descending after her with his body aligned like a blade.
"Don't underestimate me, human."
Serteria reacted at the last instant, expanding her disease magic around her own body and turning the air into a contaminated, solid surface. The clash between the two created a visible distortion, as if the very atmosphere twisted, unable to sustain such immense force. The pressure pushed both of them in opposite directions, opening a momentary vacuum that made the air explode inward immediately after.
'Ha, she's strong. My body has reached the seventh circle, but I still have a disadvantage fighting these mages with only physical power, even at a higher level.'
'This human is simply unbelievable. How can he stay at my level without even using magic?'
Seeing his enemy get back up with injuries but nothing serious, Enrico maintained control, sharpening his senses even more. He wanted to go further, so he intended to evolve to the eighth circle.
'I'll raise my senses to the maximum.'
Focusing completely, his senses began to become absurdly sharp. He now perceived the tension in space, the slightest change in pressure, the intent reflected in his opponent's posture. Every micro-movement Serteria made in front of him was read before it was even completed.
'This is…'
Serteria advanced, now using her extra arms. Attacks came from different angles, mixing physical force and corrosive effects that warped the air around them.
'Slow.'
Enrico retreated only as much as necessary, dodging by centimeters, using his own body as a محور of rotation to evade the consecutive attacks. A minimal mistake would mean having his flesh corroded or his bones crushed. Serteria grew worried as she saw how quickly Enrico was evading her blows.
Enrico counterattacked with maximum possible precision. An upward kick struck Serteria's abdomen, interrupting her airflow for a fraction of a second. That was enough for Enrico to close in even more, grab one of her extra arms, and use her own weight to spin her through the air before hurling her against the ground of the castle garden below.
The impact opened an irregular crater, cracks spreading like webs across the corrupted ground. Serteria rose immediately, but the movement was less natural for her.
'Damn, my fusion is having problems.'
'I'm improving—'
Serteria pushed her body upward and leapt at Enrico, who prepared to face her head-on. Before he could do anything, blood suddenly poured from his nose and mouth. His body nearly froze for a moment, giving her time to land a blow that forced him back. He crashed through a castle wall and emerged quickly, blood on his face.
'Heh, looks like it doesn't last long.'
'I don't know how he managed to dodge so well in those seconds, but it seems it won't work anymore… at least for now.'
Enrico rushed toward her, pressing the attack without giving her space to recover. The physical impact of his fist against her flesh was enough to cause internal damage, something Serteria couldn't endure so easily.
"Corruption of the cursed blessing."
She tried to expand the cursed blessing, spreading a wave of corruption across the ground and air to cause constant damage to him, but the effect met unexpected resistance. Enrico's body, sealed and empty of mana, offered no clear anchor point for her magic, which latched onto an opponent's mana. The disease slid around him, unable to fully take hold.
"Sorry, but my body has resistance to diseases."
"Tsk, then I'll just kill you another way."
The fight shifted back into the air. Serteria used corrupted surfaces to propel herself, while Enrico responded with pure physical pressure, both moving at speeds that distorted the space around them.
Each collision created shockwaves that spread for kilometers, tearing apart the golden clouds that tried to gather again. Standing atop one of the castle's towers, he twisted backward, using his hands to deflect a kick from Serteria.
'What kind of body is this?'
From the castle, the observers remained silent. Takeshi's wind falcon could barely keep up with the movements. Aina felt uneasy realizing that this fight followed no common logic of circles or pacts, and Raizen analyzed every impact and every movement, trying to understand how a body without mana could sustain that level of combat.
"Did he do something to his own body in those two years?"
"I don't think that's it, brother."
Raizen turned to Rina, who spoke while Yumeha watched with a slightly worried expression each time Enrico was struck by Serteria. She trusted him; she just didn't want him to get hurt too badly.
'I'll have to give him a better massage when we get back.'
"What do you mean, Rina?"
"If that were it, Yumeha and I would feel that something different happened to his body, but what I feel is that he simply… sealed his own mana, I think."
"Wait, how so? As far as I know, that's only possible with a sealing stone or some special magic cast by someone else. Besides, sealing one's own magic doesn't give this kind of power increase…"
With eyes wide open, he turned back to the fight. He would have to ask Enrico later what that was.
Serteria managed to land a direct hit on Enrico's torso. The impact blasted the air backward in a violent explosion, and for a moment it seemed his body would be pierced through. She saw a slightly excited smile on his face despite the expression of pain.
"Nice hit."
'This crazy bastard… shouldn't I be the monster here?'
Even so, Enrico remained firm, his feet planted in the air as if standing on something invisible. The force was absorbed and redirected by his muscles and bone structure in an almost perfect motion.
"My turn."
Then came an immediate response to her blow. A short punch struck the exact point where a certain fusion energy converged—a false core that held the fusion together. The impact caused no visible explosion, but something inside Serteria fell out of order.
"Damn it."
The connection between the three cores wavered, creating an instability perceptible even to herself. She spat purple blood, some of it splashing onto Enrico's face. He raised a finger and wiped away both his red blood and her purple blood, his expression turning serious.
"I can't afford to waste more time with you."
Feeling an utterly absurd amount of mana, she noticed dark energy emerging from the castle. She knew what it was. It seemed her master had grown desperate when close to defeat and released the seal of that being.
"Haha, my time has come."
Enrico passed by her at great speed. She turned to chase after him, but noticed that his eyes were now black with golden pupils. His voice also seemed deeper at that moment when he spoke.