That serpent was undoubtedly powerful, but what truly shocked Sairao was the fact that Enrico was commanding a Nartheis—especially one so strong—and that he had kept it hidden all this time.
'The more I look at him, the more I realize how dangerous it would be if I don't kill him now.'
Before he could think further, the colossal serpent moved the instant it appeared. Its scales vibrated as if each one carried immense mana, and its gaze locked onto Sairao as if seeing a perfect meal after years without feeding. Sairao reacted instantly, releasing a crimson explosion around his body that collided with the basilisk's head, making the air tremble violently. But the creature only slid a few meters aside, opened its jaws, and lunged again with a speed that surprised even the evil god.
'It's fast, but still—'
Enrico appeared behind him, using his own momentum to spin and deliver a side kick to Sairao's face, pushing him directly into the basilisk's bite. Sairao crossed his arms and reinforced his body with sacrifice mana, being partially devoured as the fangs crushed his defense and pierced his flesh. He unleashed a sequence of internal explosions, forcing the basilisk's head back in a chain of detonations.
"Fire Threads."
Before he could recover, Enrico was already on him again, wrapping fire threads around his face and dragging him across the ground at high speed, destroying everything along the way. Sairao responded by creating crimson blades around his body, cutting the threads—but that was part of the plan. As he retreated, the basilisk erupted from below, emerging from the ground and swallowing half of Sairao's body in a surprise attack.
"Aaaaahhhh!"
Sairao screamed in pain, but immediately released a silent roar, unleashing a wave of curse energy from inside the creature. The interior of the serpent exploded partially, and he freed himself, covered in blood and unstable mana.
"Sacrifice Point."
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and summoned dozens of souls, compressing them into a single point before launching it as a concentrated projectile at Enrico. Enrico charged straight through, absorbing part of the energy with "Devour," while the rest exploded around him, tearing his flesh and exposing bone for an instant before being regenerated by the water constantly circulating through his body.
Taking advantage of the opening, Sairao appeared behind him and pierced Enrico's chest with a crimson blade—but at the exact moment of impact, fire threads wrapped around his arm again, pulling him back in and nullifying his only advantage: distance.
'I should have hit the heart… then why?'
Because Enrico no longer had a heart. What he had now was a Ranvil-level Nartheis core—and such cores were only revealed when their users were defeated.
Enrico spun his body and unleashed a barrage of direct blows, each punch carrying compressed impact that exploded on contact in flames, forcing Sairao to retreat step by step until he planted his feet and stabilized himself, releasing a crimson pressure wave that halted Enrico's advance.
'This bastard is forcing me into a fight where I'm at a disadvantage.'
At that moment, Sairao understood the pattern. Enrico wasn't trying to kill him directly—he was restricting his movement, forcing close combat, eliminating space for complex spells, turning the battle into a direct clash where curse and ritual advantages were diminished.
'I can't let this continue.'
Irritated, Sairao changed his approach. Instead of retreating or trading blows directly, he began releasing small explosions across the battlefield—not aimed at Enrico, but creating unstable zones to disrupt his movement.
Enrico immediately noticed and began maneuvering through minimal gaps, but that slight slowdown was exactly what Sairao wanted. Using the extra time, he gathered mana above his head, compressing multiple souls into a dense, unstable core.
"Soul Cannon."
Enrico accelerated instantly, sensing the danger, while the basilisk attacked from the side to interrupt—but Sairao smirked and brought his arm down, releasing the attack before they could reach him. The explosion devoured everything, creating a massive distortion that tore the ground apart and violently pushed both Enrico and the basilisk back.
"With this, the fight—"
"I admit… that attack was strong."
As the dust settled, Enrico was already standing again. His body was partially destroyed but regenerating, while the basilisk rose in the distance, wounded but still very much active.
'This kid is only eighteen… right?'
Sairao breathed heavily. Even after using power that compromised his own evolution, he still couldn't finish the fight. And now he understood the real problem—Enrico wasn't just enduring, he was adapting, learning patterns, reducing the effectiveness of each technique over time.
"Nartheis Form."
The moment Sairao heard those words, Enrico stepped forward. Steam rose from his body, golden pupils glowing as his form began to transform into his Nartheis state from years ago—taller, stronger, refined. Sairao's eyes widened.
"You're a Nartheis?"
"Almost. But that's not what you should worry about… because you still haven't realized that the Nartheis behind me hasn't even used magic yet."
Enrico pointed behind him without turning, a confident smile on his face. A flicker of desperation crossed Sairao's expression as he looked up at the basilisk. The creature was condensing an immense amount of mana in its mouth. He retreated as much as possible—but it was too late. The attack tore through the ground before hitting him, creating an explosion that shattered the entire zone Sairao had created.
'Sacrifice of a Life'
Inside the bottomless crater that had been created, Sairao was left with half of his body gone. Even so, he was still alive—because he had used his final trump card. A spell that required sacrificing half of his remaining souls to grant himself a second life. Sairao hated it without a doubt, but he needed to escape to survive. So he made his domain completely disappear and erased his presence to the point it seemed like he was already dead. His body fell deeper into the abyss as he looked upward. He was one of the 43 Evil Gods who once threatened the ancient gods during the War of Heaven—losing like this was humiliating, even if he wasn't even at half his former strength.
'It doesn't matter… when I return with all my power, I'll repay this twice over.'
Even if he wasn't among the strongest evil gods, he still had his pride. He let himself fall further, planning to use the bottom of the abyss to escape. Closing his eyes, he tried to rest before his back hit the ground, because this had been one of the worst days of his life.
'Goodbye, evil god.'
Just as Sairao was about to touch the ground, Enrico—already in his Nartheis form—was waiting.
With a single motion, he released a slash with his claw, one that would surely erase Sairao completely. The space where Sairao existed was cut into countless fragments, leaving no trace that the evil god's body had ever set foot in that world.
"Void Slash."
Enrico returned to normal, his hand still raised. His eyes were empty, but his smile carried satisfaction—he had successfully completed the plan to eliminate the evil god.
"Now there are only forty-two left."