[Vali's POV]
White flashes of light and countless spells crisscrossed the blood-red sky.
The moment we entered combat, I unleashed my aura directly at Azi Dahaka. In response, the evil dragon erected a formidable defensive barrier, repelling my attacks while firing back countered bursts of overwhelmingly destructive light magic.
The light spells he cast were created by compressing raw magical power over and over again. Even an Ultimate-class Devil—no, even a Devil King—would suffer critical damage from a direct hit.
Rather than attempting a foolish block, I altered my trajectory in midair to evade, yet his magic pursued me relentlessly. He must have bound homing formulas to the spells.
I spread my glowing wings, attempting to halve the light's power, but Azi Dahaka read my movements, throwing my aim off course. Finally, his magic reached me. At that exact instant—
『Reflect!』
The light that struck my armor bounced back along its exact original trajectory.
This was "Reflection"—an ability Albion possessed in life alongside "Divide." It was a power unlocked only after Albion reached a mutual understanding with the Welsh Dragon, Ddraig. Hyoudou Issei had similarly gained access to Ddraig's former ability, "Penetrate."
When I first learned of this power, I was astonished, and at the same time, felt a deep curiosity toward the will of the God of the Bible. Had God left these abilities sealed, using the reconciliation of the two Heavenly Dragons—the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor—as the key to unlocking them? Azazel, Hyoudou Issei, and I had often discussed that very theory.
Using the power of Reflection, I turned the raining spells back toward Azi Dahaka, but he controlled even the reflected magic, sending it back to chase me once more. To make matters worse, he deployed hundreds, thousands of magic circles across the open sky, unleashing spells of every attribute simultaneously—fire, water, wind, lightning, light, and darkness!
With numbers like these... shooting them down isn't an option. If I try to intercept them one by one, I'll definitely get caught...!
『Half Dimension!』
I spread my wings wide, unleashing the power of Halving! A domain of reduction expanded with me at its center, twisting everything—even the realm of space itself!
Under my power's influence, his spells were halved in rapid succession, shrinking smaller and smaller. By the time they reached me, they were so weakened that they dissipated the moment they touched my armor.
However, the magic I managed to halve was only a fraction of what he had fired. The endless barrage unleashed by Azi Dahaka threatened to overwhelm my Half Dimension domain...!
With spells of every attribute encircling me from all directions, I couldn't afford to dispel the domain even if I wanted to maneuver away. Maintaining the domain, I flew through the sky, shooting down incoming spells with blasts of aura. Yet, there was no sign of his magic thinning out. On the contrary, the spells were increasing in number as time went on!
His casting speed exceeds the rate at which I can halve them...!
Heh... It's just like back then.
When I first crossed fists with Hyoudou Issei, he evolved his Balance Breaker, surpassing my speed of Halving. Then, his fist shattered my armor and defeated me.
Isn't this the exact same situation?
I have grown stronger since that day. To defeat him next time—to ensure I would never lose again—I threw myself into relentless training.
I raised my strength to its absolute limit, all so I would never lose again—!
『Half Dimension Accelerate!』
『DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDivide!』
A powerful voice rang out from the jewels!
Accelerated Halving!
The Half Dimension domain that had expanded in all directions stretched even further, swallowing Azi Dahaka's spells and reducing them to nothing! In seconds, every spell covering the sky was erased!
An acceleration of power, much like Hyoudou Issei's. It was an ability that manifested because I had desired it so fiercely.
Azi Dahaka chuckled.
"Gugugu! To think you could stretch your power even further at a time like this."
"Then how about this!"
"How's this look to ya!?"
The next instant, Azi Dahaka deployed an even greater array of magic circles. The sheer scale of what he summoned dwarfed what came before! It wasn't merely hundreds or thousands—it easily crossed into five digits!
To think he possesses this much power...!
The expanded Half Dimension domain and the accelerated Halving slowly began to fall behind. His spells were pressing deeper into my domain.
And then—
"Gah...!"
A searing pain shot through my back. Magic that could no longer be fully halved effortlessly shattered my armor, tearing into my bare flesh. Flesh burst open, and crimson blood sprayed into the air.
Once a defense is breached, shattering it completely becomes simple. The countless spells unleashed by Azi Dahaka pierced sharply into my body. Fighting to maintain consciousness as the agony threatened to black me out, I tried to hold the Half Dimension domain together, but as if mocking my tenacity, the spells continued to rain down endlessly!
There was no sign of stopping!
That evil dragon's magic capacity wasn't just off the charts—it had entered the realm of the gods, boasting a scale and destructive force that ordinary deities couldn't hope to match! When we fought previously, he had never unleashed a output like this. He was on a completely different level than before...!
Azi Dahaka roared in delight.
"Alright then, from here on out, I'm throwin' forbidden arts into the mix, toooooo!"
True to his declaration, the magic circles deployed around us shifted. Their colors transformed—purple flames shaped like skulls, gusts of wind drenched in curses, pitch-black lightning, a cursed saint weeping tears of blood, a one-eyed giant whose mere gaze could steal one's life... Spells embodying forbidden elements, summons, curses, and every misfortune in the world were invoked!
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