"Boom——!"
On a street swept by strong winds, a dull impact suddenly echoed like thunder.
"Ah...!"
A scream-like sound escaped from the assailant's mouth, causing him to be thrown back like a cannonball. He slammed into a tree by the roadside, shattering it before slowly sliding down to the ground.
Rozen, however, remained standing in place, his hand extended toward the direction of the assailant, indicating to others that he had just attacked.
"Senpai!"
Yuri, who was wrapped in a whirlwind and suspended in mid-air, was overjoyed upon seeing this scene.
Seeing this, Rozen turned his gaze to Yuri and shifted his outstretched hand toward her.
"Buzz!"
Mana gathered at Rozen's fingertips, forming a pitch-black orb.
At this moment, Rozen was using one of the first spells he had ever learned, a curse from Northern Europe — Gandr.
This spell was originally non-lethal, its effect merely to deteriorate the opponent's health. Though when mastered to a powerful extent, it could indeed cause direct harm, its power and effect at most rivaled that of a bullet. However, it would normally be unthinkable to knock an enemy flying as Rozen had just done.
But Rozen's current mastery of magic had long since surpassed his former self. The mana he was using was compressed to its extreme, approaching the level of Foreign Mana. Even though this step marked the difference between heaven and earth, it was still far superior to ordinary mana. Using it for magic, its power could easily rival that of a cannonball rather than just a bullet.
If Rozen wished, he could even use this spell to blow up an entire building.
Thus, the mana gathered at Rozen's fingertips was astonishing, causing the atmosphere to tremble frequently.
"Boom——!"
In the next moment, the pitch-black Gandr orb blasted away the whirlwind encasing Yuri.
Yuri immediately began to fall but quickly stabilized herself, hovering in the air thanks to a flight spell, allowing her to continue soaring in the sky.
"Senpai, I..."
At that moment, Yuri wanted to fly toward Rozen.
"Don't worry, leave this to me."
Rozen shook his head at Yuri.
"This opponent is a bit unusual; it's better if you don't rush into battle."
As he said this, Rozen turned his gaze toward the assailant.
There, the figure of the assailant was shakily rising, his chest sunken as if his ribs had been shattered.
"Cough...!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out from the assailant's mouth.
However, the blood that gushed from his mouth was not red, but blue.
"This..."
Seeing this, Yuri was stunned.
"...I see, so he's no longer human."
Rozen seemed to have realized something and looked at the assailant with a look of pity.
But...
"Bastard...! Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard...!"
The assailant, ignoring the fact that his chest was caved in, struggled to stand up, lifting his head and staring at Rozen with bloodshot eyes hidden under his hood.
"Don't get cocky, Rorelai Arneet!"
The spell placed on the assailant had worn off, allowing him to roar in fury once again.
Then...
"Squish... squish...!"
Accompanied by the disgusting sound of flesh writhing, the assailant's chest began to twitch and twist, slowly returning to its original state.
At the same time, a fearsome wave of power emanated once again from his body.
But this power was not mana.
It was...
"Jutsuryoku?"
Yuri's eyes widened.
Yes.
Jutsuryoku.
That was Jutsuryoku.
A power not possessed by humans, but used by Armored Beetles.
Rozen gazed at the assailant, murmuring to himself.
"Just as I thought, it wasn't my imagination earlier."
Rozen confirmed this fact.
And at that moment, the assailant launched his attack.
"I'll kill you!"
The assailant raised both hands high, as if swinging two machetes, slashing the air repeatedly. Jutsuryoku erupted from his body, disturbing the atmosphere, stirring up currents that formed sharp wind blades, slicing toward Rozen like invisible blades.
"Buzz!"
In response, Rozen simply extended a single finger, gathering mana, condensing it into a ball, like a handgun trigger being pulled, continuously releasing Gandr shots. The pitch-black orbs formed a barrage, colliding with the incoming wind blades.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom——!"
In the midst of a series of explosions, countless Gandr shots and wind blades clashed, creating a series of collisions.
All the wind blades released by the assailant were blocked by Rozen's Gandr shots, canceling each other out without exception.
"Is that all you've got?" Rozen said as if provoking his opponent. "You should have more in you than this, right?"
Saying this, Rozen once again gathered mana, releasing another pitch-black Gandr shot.
"Boom——!"
This time, the pitch-black Gandr shot, more powerful than any of the previous ones, shattered the oncoming wind blades, cutting through the air and striking the assailant, sending him flying once more.
"In addition to Jutsuryoku, you can also use mana. In that case, you should be capable of much more, right?"
Rozen spoke with an overwhelming dominance, saying this to the assailant who was rolling on the ground.
"Get up. This isn't nearly enough to be satisfying."
Rozen smirked.
That expression clearly indicated that he hadn't even gotten serious yet.
And in fact, that was the case.
If Rozen had truly been serious, the enemy before him would have already been pulverized and obliterated from existence in their first encounter.
The only reason this hadn't happened was because Rozen was holding back.
Because...
"With both mana and Jutsuryoku at your disposal, you should be able to use that kind of power, right?"
Rozen pressed on.
"If you don't bring it out soon, you might end up dead."
Saying this, Rozen mercilessly launched another attack, the pitch-black Gandr shot piercing through the air, covering the assailant's direction.
"Boom——!"
The Gandr shot struck the ground, shattering the asphalt, sending countless fragments of stone and debris flying, leaving a crater.
But the assailant, who had been lying there a moment before, had already used a flight spell to ascend into the air.
"Cough, cough...!"
Mouthfuls of blue blood continued to spew from the assailant's mouth, causing him immense pain.
However, at this point, the assailant could no longer feel any pain.
At this moment, the only thing surging in his chest was boundless rage.
"Why...!?"
Why did it turn out like this?
"Hadn't I already obtained power...!?"
Hadn't he already become stronger?
"I should be stronger than you!"
There was no doubt about it.
After all, to obtain power, he had evolved.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh...!"
A frenzied roar erupted from the assailant's throat.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, both mana and Jutsuryoku ignited simultaneously on his body.
"Here it comes!"
Rozen squinted his eyes.
In his eyes, there was no fear, only anticipation.