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With a 'bang,' Bai En was sent flying like a meteor by Nois, slamming into the red-roofed house behind him.
The supporting walls crumbled like a spiderweb, then collapsed with a roar.
Under the immense impact, Bai En, still holding his sword, shattered stone walls one after another, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.
A salty, viscous taste filled his mouth.
Slightly twisting his body to alleviate the discomfort from the impact, Bai En pulled Walden, who he had been protecting by his side, to one side, gave him a few instructions, and then walked towards the hole he had created in the front.
In the sparsely populated southern part of the town, it was now difficult for any disturbance caused by battle to arise.
Bai En walked to the hole in the house leading outside, shattered stones at his feet falling from above.
The azure sky and bright light poured down, forming a stark contrast with the darkness within the house, obscured by the architecture.
Gazing at Nois, who stood suspended in the air, enveloped in flames, Bai En felt, for the first time since his fight with the Magic Knights Squad Captain, the pressure of a truly challenging battle.
But it was precisely this pressure that ignited in him the desire to break through his limits and become stronger.
Lightly stepping on a point of support provided by the shattered wall, Bai En burst forth with his sword, fully activating Water Breathing, Mana Skin, and Mana Zone.
Under these various buffs, his speed was exceptionally fast.
In the blink of an eye, a flowing blue waterline bloomed before Nois's eyes, and dazzling Water Flowers unfurled in the air with the swing of the Water Blade style.
The powerful, burning flames clashed repeatedly with the blue water currents.
The fiery red figure, enveloped by Water Flowers, was like a vibrant pistil blossoming within a flower.
Zhan Yan continuously struck Nois's flame-transformed left hand, and the rebounding force combined with the scorching high temperature made Bai En quite uncomfortable; in fact, he was barely resisting.
For the first time, Bai En felt somewhat grateful for the excellent physical conditioning brought about by his diligent practice of Water Breathing, which prevented him from being slapped away by Nois's flaming palm.
But continuing like this was certainly not an option; the rebounding force from the blade and the temperature of the flames were still increasing!
It wouldn't be long before he would either be knocked flying or burned to a bloody mess by the high temperature.
Taking advantage of the barely maintained stalemate, Bai En, aided by his Mana Sense, carefully observed some minute details, and this calm observation allowed him to notice some anomalies.
The slashes that had previously passed through Nois's body and the slashes from the Zhan Yan blade now were not misses; they had indeed struck him, and the slashes had actually severed a part of Nois's body.
However, almost at the same moment the slashes penetrated Nois's body, a powerful surge of mana regenerated and covered the severed areas!
Such an inconceivable method could naturally not be employed by a Mage.
The current Nois… was more like a magical lifeform.
But slightly different from a magical lifeform, he was much stronger than an ordinary one, and even had the auxiliary blessing of a grimoire!
The fiery red grimoire flipped pages beside Nois, spewing forth surging flames that instantly forced back the constantly entangled Bai En.
Nois raised his palm, flames flickering in his hand, and the surging mana caused the flames to continuously gather, entwine, and compress around the flickering flame.
The rolling, surging giant heatwave made Bai En wary.
The Ying-white light on his Zhan Yan blade flared brightly, and with the white mist exhaled from his breath, he raised the blade over his head.
"Fire Magic, Nightmare Fireball!"
The massive fireball, condensed from vast mana, momentarily overshadowed the sun in the sky with its size and brilliance.
From afar, it looked like a tiny human figure holding up a planet, and the swirling heatwave caused tremors.
The next moment, as Nois gently waved his palm, the fireball descended, like a planet falling from the sky, bringing with it towering flames and a sizzling, violent scorching sound amidst the wind's roar!
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form, Waterfall Basin!"
The raised blade slashed forward and down, and as water flowers bloomed, the power of "Unleash" climbed to an unprecedented peak.
The slash, carrying white light within the surging water foam, shone like daylight.
It was not the Eleventh Form: Lull, a defensive stance, but a full-power slash; this was a head-on, violent posture, an ultimate outpouring beneath the water flowers!
The fireball and the blade's light collided, and amidst the almost extinguished wind and impact, the fireball continuously fell downwards, but the blade's light, bright as day, never broke or dissipated.
The two sides continued to collide and friction!
Until the blade's light was crushed onto the ground, scattered blue water lines abruptly extended beside the blade's light, lifting the fireball upwards.
In an instant, the white light slashed upwards, and the fireball collapsed and peeled away layer by layer.
The overflowing light from the fireball resembled dancing fireflies.
On the scorched, sunken ground stood a figure with tattered clothes.
Bai En leaned on his long blade, breathing heavily, and one could faintly see the burn marks on his ragged clothing from the flames.
At some point, Nois had already stood beside the sunken empty space, looking down at Bai En from above.
Just as Sally had said, he had not lost his sanity; instead, he had gained control over this peculiar state.
"How truly miserable, Sir Magic Knight," Nois said with a smile, his words filled with scorn and mockery.
His arrogant, condescending posture seemed to imply, "So, you too can get beaten this badly?"
Bai En did not respond.
He felt the mana within his body, contemplating that in his current state, he should still be able to unleash one more slash.
Although he was somewhat disheveled now, compared to safely taking the hit with Lull, the remaining mana would certainly not be more than it was now.
The risk was clearly worth it.
As for subsequent attacks, slashes could no longer be used; Nois, in his magical lifeform state, seemed to have an additional resistance to slashes.
Then he could only use… "Do you remember our previous meetings?"
Nois's question made Bai En feel a bit familiar; he seemed to have asked him this question not long ago.
"Actually, this should be our fourth meeting.
To correct you, our first meeting was not at Moli Restaurant; that was our second meeting.
Our first meeting was during the Magic Knights entrance exam."
"Of course, compared to you, who shone so brightly, and that four-leaf clover Mage, an unknown mediocrity like me naturally wouldn't catch your eye.
However, that was indeed the first time I saw you."
'So what?' Bai En thought to himself.
"No need to declare victory so early, after all, you haven't truly won yet."
Bai En couldn't understand his behavior, but… clearly, if this situation dragged on, his chances of winning would be greater.
So, he chose to quietly watch Nois, listening to what he truly wanted to say.
Beautiful hopes always shattered in the next moment, and a sudden appearance broke Bai En's illusion.
"Stop… it!"
Walden, holding a stick he'd picked up from who knows where, cautiously warned Nois with it.
'This guy! Didn't I tell him to hide and not come out? Now, it's… now I have to go.' Bai En tightened his grip on Zhan Yan, observing Nois's movements, ready to strike at any moment.
But… Nois looked at the boy, who was crying and trying to suppress his fear and trembling, and did not act for a long time, as if lost in a moment of trance.
Quietly, about half a minute passed, and Nois walked towards Walden, the flames burning around him like shimmering magma.
'Is he going to act? At this distance… I can do it!'
Without hesitation, Bai En extended his right hand, his five fingers instantly clenching, and the Mana Zone "Open" activated!
Unlike "Unleash" and "Eighth Form," the Mana Zone unleashed an explosive, all-consuming flame!
Crimson flames blazed majestically!
They instantly spread over Nois's body, and the sudden flames made Nois pause.
But after only a second of hesitation, he walked towards Walden again.
'That guy! Is it resistance to flames? Or does he simply not fear pain?'
Bai En prepared to rush forward to protect Walden, but as soon as he took a step, he realized something was wrong: his speed was too slow.
The battle in the mine, riding a flying broom all the way, and now the release of "Open"… extreme mana depletion, and physical exhaustion!
'Damn it!'
'Move! Move!' Bai En roared in his heart.
He moved his legs, which felt as if they were filled with lead, and walked forward, but his speed was not as fast as Nois, who was being consumed by the intense fire.
'Am I just going to watch like this? Faster, be faster!'
Walden did not remain idle.
White frost covered his wooden stick, and he lunged at Nois with it.
But this attack was too simple; Nois merely shifted his body slightly and dodged it.
Unwilling to give up, Walden turned and swung the ice-covered stick at Nois again.
Nois did not dodge; he reached out and grabbed the wooden stick.
The frost dissipated, and the long stick was half-flame, half-frost.
Like an adult reprimanding a child, Walden, who had not obtained a grimoire, was as tiny as an ant before Nois.
A scraping sound came from the wooden stick.
Walden used both hands to pull, wanting to snatch back his stick, but… it had no effect whatsoever.
After a struggle, Nois let go of the stick.
Walden, holding the stick, plopped down onto the ground, and facing Nois's advance, he involuntarily retreated.
A wave of heat washed over him.
Nois drew closer and closer.
"What's wrong? Is this all it takes? There will be many such situations in life.
Are you going to sit on the ground in fear every time?"
"Where is your dream?!"
Amidst Nois's loud reprimand, the figure cowering on the ground stood up.
He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, as if erasing the cowardice and fear in his heart, and pointed the long stick forward again.
"I… I won't be like you!
Forgetting my dream and becoming a villain who commits all sorts of evil!
I… I will join the Magic Knights and move towards my goal!"
"Is that so?"
Nois murmured, standing still.
The next second, he instantly charged towards Walden, a large flaming hand reaching for Walden's face.
The large hand grew larger and larger in his eyes, until… the flames extinguished, and the palm bypassed his face.
Nois reached out and stroked Walden's head.
"I understand, Walden, but this world isn't gentle.
You need to be strong, and become truly powerful…"
The injected drug caused his mana to continuously surge exponentially, and it also rapidly burned away his life.
Now, as the flames receded and extinguished, his life also reached its end.
"Keep going…"
After speaking his last words beside Walden's ear, Nois quietly collapsed, falling to the ground.
Both the flames created by "Open" and his self-generated mana simultaneously vanished, leaving only a cloud of dust.
————————————
The three Eye of the Midnight Sun members observing from a distant rooftop prepared to leave.
A black spatial portal appeared beside them, and Valtos continuously urged the two beside him.
"It's time to go, Sally, Ladis."
"Damn it! Why did that guy… stop? He was so close to winning…" Ladis was furious: "Valtos, teleport me over there.
This time, I'm definitely going to kill that guy!"
"Don't do anything foolish.
You have no mana left and you're covered in wounds.
How are you going to kill him?"
"He's not doing so well either!"
Valtos looked towards the east and west sides of the town.
The raging fires were gradually coming under control, and the surging mana from the south indicated that the other two Magic Knights were rushing towards their location.
"His companions are coming.
Now is not the time for us to fight to the death.
It's time to go."
"Sally, you too."
"Heh heh heh~ I'm coming.
It's a shame, though.
He was the only successful experimental subject, and he could even remain conscious under the drug."
Sally's usual excitement vanished at this moment, replaced entirely by regret for the loss of something precious.
"That was his own choice, after all, we've already warned him, haven't we?"
The three entered the black spatial magic, and their figures vanished.
On the other side, after helping the town residents control the fires, Nancy and Jie Kai, sensing the immense mana erupting from the south, rushed towards that direction, meeting in the air.
"The mana from the south is a bit unusual.
Where's Bai En? Wasn't he with you?" Jie Kai spoke first.
"No," Nancy thought for a moment.
"I thought he was with you.
Now it seems he must have guessed something and went alone with Walden."
"Although the fire in the west was very large, surprisingly, the flames did not directly spread towards the most densely populated areas."
"The east was the same…"
The information they exchanged indicated that the fires were started by saltpeter combined with some strange combustible minerals.
Large amounts of combustible materials were piled in the middle of the burning paths, which led to the fires being large and spreading extremely quickly.
One strange thing was that while the flames ignited in residential areas, they deliberately avoided the most populated places, as if intentionally… used to attract attention.
Noticing this, Nancy and Jie Kai sped up.
Soon, they arrived at the place where Bai En and Nois had fought.
What greeted their eyes was a sunken, scorched pit.
Bai En and Walden were sitting by the pit, as if deep in thought.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Bai En was concerned that he hadn't won smoothly, while Walden was wondering what Nois's last words meant.
Why would he, a bad person, say such things?
…