Vesta was seething with anger at Elzed's arrogance and callousness towards their friends' lives.
"You'll pay for this!" he said, his voice roaring like thunder.
He charged at him, his fists balled up and his face contorted in fury.
He covered the distance between them quickly, his feet pounding the ground with every step.
When he was within striking range, he threw a powerful left hook at Elzed's head, his fist glowing with a fierce energy.
Elzed, however, was prepared for her attack.
With a flick of his wrist, he conjured up a reinforced shield of [Energy Magic], that intercepted and absorbed the impact of her punch, dispersing the energy into the air.
Vesta quickly struck again with his right hand, this time aiming lower, at Elzed's midsection.
Elzed quickly countered his second attack by catching his fist with his left hand while simultaneously firing a burst of energy from his right hand that Vesta dodged by jumping back.
"You're quick, I'll give you that.." (Elzed)
[ This guy's martial arts is no joke!
Is he a Martial Magus like me?
Maybe, that's the only possible reason he'd be this good... ] (Vesta)
Meanwhile, Lirien had not been idle.
"Everyone, get back!" (Lirien)
She unleashed a volley of energy arrows at Elzed in quick succession.
The arrows were imbued with a spell that would make them explode on contact with their target.
But to everyone's surprise, Elzed created a dense point in space with his right hand that distorted the arrows, making them explode harmlessly in mid-air.
He used 『Spatial Magic』 again.
At this point it was an idiosyncratic gesture of sorts.
Vesta, livid at Elzed's unshakable arrogance, once again charged at him.
This time he spread his legs apart, crouched down, and with a mighty yell he launched himself, leaping into the air and coming down with a powerful dropkick that sent powerful waves of energy emanating from his foot towards Elzed.
Elzed, however, was ready.
He calmly stepped aside and let Vesta's kick hit the ground, smashing it to pieces and sending rocks and debris flying in every direction.
"Oh please, you'll never hit me with attacks like that... well unless you were actually aiming for the ground.." said Elzed, his voice mocking.
Elzed saw an opening and immediately seized the opportunity to conjure an [Energy Magic] spear and thrust it towards Vesta, aiming for his chest.
Vesta, still recovering from his attack, was caught off guard and had to react quickly.
He raised his arms and crossed them, forming a shield that took the brunt of the [Energy Magic] spear's impact.
The force of the attack knocked him back several meters, and he stumbled to the ground, panting heavily.
Rumia focused her attention on Elzed while also keeping an eye on her surroundings, conjuring up a new tactic to use against him.
Without a moment's hesitation, she lunged towards him, her staff glowing with a bright light that illuminated the entire area.
As she got closer, she swung the staff in a wide arc, sending a powerful gust of wind rushing towards Elzed.
The wind whipped at his clothes and hair, making it hard for him to maintain his balance.
Elzed, however, was quick to recover.
He raised his left hand and unleashed a blast of [Energy Magic] that tore through the wind and headed straight towards Rumia.
She quickly sidestepped the attack, her body moving fluidly as she dodged the beam of energy.
[ That was close! ] (Rumia)
Lamperogue, impressed by Rumia's quick thinking, decided to join the fray.
『Lightning Bolt!!』 (Lamperogue)
He summoned a bolt of lightning and sent it towards Elzed.
The bolt crackled and sparked as it hit its target, but Elzed was unfazed.
"Well, that stung a bit..." (Elzed)
"How did he—?!" (Lamperogue)
"Oh please, such an attack isn't worthy of my existence." (Elzed)
He simply shrugged off the attack and continued to advance towards them.
His eyes gleamed with a cold determination.
Myne realized that their attacks were useless against Elzed.
"It's like we're hitting a rock solid object!" (Myne)
『Hall of Tempest!!』 (Myne)
She focused her energy into her wand and summoned a massive tornado that rose up and engulfed Elzed in its swirling winds.
The tornado was incredibly powerful, ripping up the ground and tossing debris around like it was made of paper.
"I must say, this attack is a tad... discomforting, I'm afraid I might catch a cold." (Elzed)
His hair whipped around his face.
Calmly, he conjured up a shield of [Energy Magic] and held it in front of him.
The shield absorbed the brunt of the tornado's force.
And gradually it pushed its way through the winds and towards Myne.
Despite her struggles to maintain her control over the tornado, Myne began to lose her focus as Elzed pressed forward.
"How can someone, be... so... str— ahh!" (Myne)
She eventually lost control, and the tornado dissipated quickly, leaving behind a flattened and destroyed landscape.
Myne, panting heavily, stood her ground, fists clenched in anger and frustration.
Lamperogue charged towards Elzed, his blades at the ready.
But to his surprise, Elzed effortlessly dodged the attack, walking past him as if he wasn't even there.
"Nice try," Elzed said, his voice filled with disdain. "But if you had mastery over the [Thunder God Arts], maybe your attempt would have been more useful."
『Shadow Magic • Chains of Servitude』 (Elzed)
He conjured from the shadows multiple elongated, flexible limbs
These tentacle-like cords held Myne, Lutessa, Rumia, and Lirien in place.
The four of them struggled to break free.
But they were firmly held together; the shadow cords were unyielding.
Elzed looked at them with a smug expression on his face.
"Your attacks were absolutely beautiful," he said. "But they paled in comparison to mine."
"You bastard!" (Lirien)
She stared at him with animosity in her eyes.
In spite of that, Elzed didn't even flinch.
"You're all mine now," he said, his voice filled with pride. "And I must say, you're all very beautiful women."
"Stay away from my sister!" Vesta charged towards Elzed again.
Unfortunately, Elzed half-heartedly flicked his wrist and used [Gravity Magic] to send Vesta flying through three large boulders and into a wall.
Vesta lay there, badly injured from the attack.
However, Elzed wouldn't classify such as his attempt at an attack.
He was simply putting Vesta in his place.
"Vesta!" Myne cried out, her face filled with worry.
[ How many forms of Deviant Magic can he use?
Energy, Spatial and Gravity magic... and they all cover such a wide range without him having to strain himself. ] (Lutessa)
Elzed looked at the four of them with lust in his eyes.
"You will all become objects in my harem. Yes, you will all serve my needs quite well..." (Elzed)
Rumia, disgusted, shouted "No!" and rejected his offer.
Elzed sighed. "It's not like you have a choice," he said. "You're all nothing but my property now."
Elzed approached Rumia.
His hand reached out to stroke her jaw.
But before he could touch her, he heard the sound of cords being cut.
The girls were free from the [Shadow Magic] bindings that had held them captive moments ago.
A split second later, Lamperogue appeared from behind, wielding his weapon to decapitate Elzed.
"How fascinating, I didn't know you could move so quickly." (Elzed)
He was prepared, and instantly created a shield using the [Energy Magic], which absorbed the force of Lamperogue's attack.
Lamperogue was taken aback by how quickly Elzed reacted.
Quickly, he jumped several meters back to think of his next move.
『Lightning Magic • Emission Sphere!』 (Lamperogue)
Mentally preparing himself, he conjured up an orb of lightning and sent it hurtling towards Elzed.
The orb split in mid-air, forming a circle and closing in on Elzed.
However, Elzed lifted his hand as if to grab the attack.
In doing so, he created a dense spatial point that absorbed the full brunt of the lightning orb's power.
The orb was completely nullified, leaving Elzed unscathed.
『Spatial Magic』... again.
This battle should've ended minutes ago.
But Elzed was too proud not to toy with his opponents.