Inside the city—
Jelrai stood atop a tall building, silently watching Yuki and Tiyara's carriage leave through the city gates below.
"Found you," he muttered coldly.
Then his body slowly dissolved into water before vanishing completely.
Inside his mind, his plan was already clear.
First... I'll let them travel far away from the city.
That way, they won't be able to receive help from anyone.
And nobody from the city will witness what happens.
The carriage continued moving farther and farther away from the city.
Then... I'll suddenly attack and stop the carriage by killing the driver first.
Suddenly—
A puddle of liquid appeared a short distance away from the moving carriage.
The liquid quickly transformed back into Jelrai.
The moment part of his body touched the ground—
Sharp ice erupted outward at high speed.
CRASH!!
The attack pierced directly through the carriage driver's stomach.
Immediately afterward, Yuki and Tiyara rushed out of the carriage.
While Yuki checked the driver's condition, Jelrai continued thinking calmly.
Then, while Yuki and the Tower Master are distracted...
I'll attack again.
Suddenly, the moment Tiyara's attention shifted—
Jelrai launched another attack at her.
But Tiyara instantly sensed the danger and dodged backward.
Seeing this, both Yuki and Tiyara turned toward Jelrai with tense expressions.
Well... she dodged it, Jelrai thought calmly.
As expected from the Master of the Tower of Knowledge.
But still... they're only children.
Then Jelrai attacked again.
"Ice Sharp."
Suddenly, countless floating ice blades appeared right beside Yuki and Tiyara.
Before they could fully dodge—
SLASH!!
The blades sliced into both of them instantly.
"AAH—!"
The blades tore through Yuki's shirt before striking the armor underneath, which barely blocked the attack.
Meanwhile, Tiyara quickly protected herself using a magical barrier.
Immediately afterward, Tiyara looked toward Yuki in panic to see whether he was injured.
The moment she realized he was still standing—
"Haa..." she sighed in relief.
Meanwhile, Yuki stared directly at Jelrai.
His torn shirt exposed the armor beneath it as he slowly pulled out his sword—
—and instantly rushed forward.
But Tiyara quickly shouted—
"Stop!"
"You can't kill him with a sword!"
Yuki ignored her completely and continued charging.
The moment his sword was about to strike Jelrai—
An ice blade suddenly erupted from the ground beneath Yuki.
It was about to pierce straight through his body—
—but at that exact moment, Tiyara used psychic magic to make Yuki float into the air.
"Huh?!"
The sudden movement allowed him to narrowly avoid the attack.
Tiyara shouted again—
"You already know you can't kill him with a sword!!"
Hearing her words, Yuki suddenly remembered.
Immediately, he turned toward the carriage.
Tiyara released her psychic magic, and Yuki instantly began running.
But before he could move farther—
Jelrai used another spell.
"Ice Rain."
Dark clouds formed overhead.
Then countless small ice blades began raining down toward the ground at terrifying speed.
Tiyara looked upward in panic.
"Damn it...!"
"I don't have enough mana to erase all of them!"
While running, Yuki shouted loudly—
"Then just block the ones falling on YOU!"
Hearing that, Tiyara looked toward him anxiously.
"What about you?!"
But before she could say more—
Jelrai suddenly rushed toward her and slammed an ice-covered punch directly into her stomach.
BAAM!!
Tiyara was thrown backward and crashed onto the ground.
At the same time—
The rain of ice blades began falling everywhere.
Yuki desperately dodged the blades while running—
—but he wasn't running toward the carriage anymore.
He was running toward Tiyara.
Tiyara lay on the ground unable to stand properly, the middle of her body frozen by thick ice.
Then—
The falling ice blades descended toward her.
"AAAGH—!!"
But suddenly—
Yuki jumped between her and the attack.
Using his own body as a shield.
The countless ice blades slammed into Yuki's back one after another.
Most of the damage was absorbed by his armor—
—but the armor itself was nearly destroyed.
Seeing Yuki trembling in pain, Tiyara's eyes filled with emotion and fear.
"Yu...ki..."
Yuki forced out a trembling smile while stepping back slightly.
"I-I'm okay...!"
Then he grabbed the ice trapping Tiyara and shattered it apart with brute force.
Once she regained her footing, Yuki spoke sharply.
"I'm the one who's going to kill him."
His voice was serious and filled with determination.
Tiyara silently nodded.
Then Yuki immediately started running toward the carriage.
"I'm going to get the flamethrower!"
"Cover me!"
But suddenly—
Jelrai extended his hand.
An ice beam instantly shot toward Yuki at terrifying speed.
At that exact moment—
Tiyara launched her own spell.
"SIRUI!"
Suddenly, her shadow moved unnaturally—
forming a dark wall between Yuki and the incoming ice beam.
BOOM!!
The attack was blocked completely.
Jelrai immediately glared at Tiyara angrily.
"Then I'll kill you first... brat."
Tiyara replied proudly with attitude.
"Hmph!"
"You're lucky I can't kill you right now!"
"Otherwise you'd already be dead!"
She swung both her hands forward.
Red magic circles appeared above each palm.
Seeing that, Jelrai immediately stepped backward.
At the same time, several giant ice spheres appeared in front of him like ancient cannons, preparing to launch.
But before he could fire—
Tiyara thrust both her hands forward and shouted—
"AGFALE!"
Instantly—
Massive ropes of flame erupted from the magic circles.
The flames completely surrounded Jelrai from the ground all the way into the sky.
At the same moment, Jelrai launched his ice spheres—
—but the moment they entered the flames, they instantly melted away.
Seeing this, even Jelrai became slightly tense.
Tiyara smirked confidently.
"You're de—"
But suddenly—
An ice vine burst out from beneath the ground and slammed directly into Tiyara's chin.
"AGH—!"
She was launched into the air before crashing onto the ground heavily.
The sudden impact disrupted her concentration.
The ropes of flame immediately vanished.
Jelrai laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha!"
"What made you think defeating me would be that easy?!"
Then Jelrai turned toward the carriage—
where Yuki was desperately searching through his backpack for the flamethrower.
Jelrai swung his hand toward it.
Instantly—
A gigantic spear of ice formed in the air.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
The enormous spear pierced straight through the carriage and continued out the other side before slamming into the ground beyond it.
The spear was so massive that it completely destroyed the carriage instantly.
Seeing that—
Tiyara's eyes widened in horror.
"YUKI!!!"