Yes, this is what the sorcerer thought after Rian's stubbornness:
"I'll cut off some of your limbs, hahaha, it doesn't matter, as long as you're alive, I'll get a huge reward for capturing you."
At that moment, while the sorcerer was muttering with expressions of joy on his face,
Tala was trying to treat Teal's injury. He was almost unconscious due to the shock caused by that massive explosion that hit him.
She took out some bandages from her bag and tried to stop the bleeding from the wound on Teal's hand,
then she took out a small bottle containing a magical potion and made him drink it.
On the other side, Carlos and Rian were standing beside each other, facing the sorcerer.
But the atmosphere felt different from before.
This time, the sorcerer was determined to win. All expressions of joy and relief disappeared and were replaced with serious and terrifying ones.
A black aura flared around the sorcerer, foretelling an impending omen, and soon his body began to change in a disgusting way.
He started to look just like the chimera did; his form no longer had any trace of humanity — a savage and terrifying appearance.
Rian and Carlos couldn't even finish their astonishment
before the sorcerer was already behind them! He moved with a speed that surpassed Rian's reaction.
At that moment, Carlos released a small whirlwind toward Rian at high speed, pushing him aside,
while he himself managed to leap away.
All of this happened within a fraction of a second.
Not even a second passed before the sorcerer's fist struck the ground,
causing it to split and collapse where Rian and Carlos had been standing.
But Carlos quickly reacted, pushing both himself and Rian away from the attack.
Rian was thrown by the wind shock Carlos created and crashed into a nearby tree,
while Carlos was sent flying through the air with nothing behind him to stop his momentum.
But, once again, the sorcerer leaped toward Carlos with incredible speed, trying to grab and tear him apart.
This time, Carlos had no time to dodge.
He turned around in midair, holding his two daggers, and slashed at the sorcerer,
but it had no effect.
The sorcerer's monstrous hands, hard as iron, clashed with Carlos's attack and blocked it.
From the impact, Carlos managed to regain his balance and dashed in the opposite direction of the sorcerer, finally landing on his feet,
while the sorcerer remained in the air, unable to act.
Before he could hit the ground, Carlos took advantage of his inability to dodge in midair
and unleashed a barrage of wind blades toward him.
The sorcerer couldn't avoid them, but he crossed his arms in front of him, trying to block the attacks.
Carlos's strikes hit the sorcerer, and this time they were strong enough to leave slight wounds on his arms.
The sorcerer then landed heavily, his weight amplified by the monstrous form he had taken, leaving a deep mark on the ground.
Before the sorcerer could take a single step, Rian shot forward like a meteor and appeared beside him.
The sorcerer's body was much larger than Rian's,
but Rian had broken through the sorcerer's field and appeared next to him in an instant,
delivering a powerful punch to his right side, in the stomach.
The blow was so strong that the sorcerer was thrown several meters backward, blood spilling from his mouth.
Carlos was astonished at the sight. Rian had repeated the same move he used earlier,
dashing like a meteor at extreme speed — just like when he had cut off the sorcerer's hand before.
Curiosity filled Carlos's face as he asked Rian:
"Hey Rian, haven't you become faster than before? Or am I imagining things? Hahaha."
Rian replied proudly:
"Yes! I've found a way to increase my speed. Now your and Teal's advantage in speed has shrunk!"
At that moment, the sorcerer wiped the blood off his face in deep irritation.
Rian and Carlos were exchanging words in front of him as if they had forgotten his existence.
Unable to bear the insult, the sorcerer started screaming like a madman
and charged at them with all his might.
Despite his huge body, his speed was not affected.
Carlos said:
"Rian, since you can now move with greater agility and speed, keep up with my movements!"
Both of them jumped away from each other quickly.
The sorcerer, who was charging toward them, was forced to change his direction to pursue one of them.
He turned toward Carlos immediately, recognizing him as the greater threat,
so eliminating him became his top priority at that moment.
As the sorcerer's fist was about to touch Carlos,
a faint, cunning smile appeared on Carlos's face.
The sorcerer was confused by the smile,
but he had no time to realize what had happened.
Suddenly, Carlos shouted to Rian:
"Now!"
Then, in an instant, Carlos disappeared from the sorcerer's sight.
All he could see was a shadowy figure and a blazing attack coming toward him like a projectile.
It was the same dragon-shaped flame that Rian had unleashed —
the new technique he had learned, extremely fast and swift, resembling teleportation, but not quite.
Carlos had distracted the sorcerer for a few moments,
giving Rian enough time to prepare his attack and appear where Carlos had been.
The fiery breath was right in front of the sorcerer; there was no room to dodge or even react.
The fiery blast struck the sorcerer directly,
and a massive explosion followed, sending him flying backward until he crashed into the mountain behind him,
creating a huge crater in its surface.
End of Chapter