'Must be that Divine Sword. Or is that a perk of his Class.'
Rey had many thoughts as he saw the Hero approaching with sheer ferocity and an unstoppable will.
Either way, though, Rey couldn't see the fight going his way.
'He looks so determined. I hate to do this to him, but…' He began to raise his hand.
However, he found himself unable to move.
'What's this? Marionette?' He turned to his side to see that Justin was still slightly conscious, and he was smiling while on the floor.
'Nice one, Justin. But…' Rey easily broke through Marionette.
The moment he did so, a flash of lightning descended from the sky—obviously a Skill from Trisha.
Still, none of the electric currents that burst from the attack really affected him.
'Looks like I slightly underestimated their recovery capabilities.' Rey smiled as he stepped out of the lightning-charged assault.
'I should end this now.'
Taking a deep breath, Rey's eyes turned purple as he raised his index finger—seeing that a bunch of people were already gaining consciousness.
"[Absolute Spatial Domain]…" He whispered.
~VWUUUUUUUMMMMM!~
At that very instant, everyone appeared in the same position, forcefully transported beside each other.
Even Adonis, who had been charging towards him, experienced the same change in location.
He looked surprised, but his grand march did not stop.
Unfortunately for the dear Hero, Rey wasn't finished with him—or everyone else for that matter.
"Fall."
In that instant, space itself warped in a way that forced them to fall to their knees before him.
Adonis was no exception.
The boy struggled to get up, but it was no use.
'Space seems to be warping around the Divine Sword, so he must be fighting it somehow.'
However, it was useless.
'My [Absolute Spatial Domain] allows me to control every facet of space around me. That allows me to unwarp the space around the sword.'
For Rey, as long as he had enough power to overpower his enemy, there really wasn't anything they could do to resist.
'Seems like none of them can escape. Time to finish things…'
His index finger was still raised, so Rey activated one of his SS-Tier Skills.
[Divine Elemental Magic].
A sudden swirl of several elemental attributes—Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Darkness, Light, etc.—began to swirl around Rey's palm.
Everything danced around one another, becoming a massive sphere that rose above his finger until it floated above Rey.
His other Skill, [Fusion/Fission] allowed everything to flow seamlessly, so no conflicting element reduced the total ability of the cluster of various elements.
Rey smiled as he saw them tremble before his colossal orb of destruction.
'Now you understand…' His thoughts trailed.
It was different seeing a Dragon—the enemy—exhibiting such power, and a human doing the same.
'Ralyks' wasn't even an Otherworlder, so by showing them this power, he wasn't intending on granting them despair.
No. It was the exact opposite.
'You all can do great things like this someday. Well, not all, but…'
As long as they saw someone show them that humans were capable of this much, the people in front of him wouldn't be too distraught about the Dragons.
"That's it. Lesson over."
The cluster of elemental attributes was broken down into nothingness, causing mere sparkles of broken-down energy to remain.
Rey also undid the effects of his Skills, allowing the Otherworlders to move of their volition.
"I was slightly wrong about you all." He moved forward and smiled at the disheveled group.
Their crestfallen faces and dirtied clothes showed just how badly they had been hurt—both physically and emotionally.
Rey stretched out his hand and activated his [Absolute Healing] Skill.
He spread the effects to everyone, and while the ability took a toll on his Mana, it wasn't too serious.
Thanks to his remaining Buffs, it was no big deal.
"A-ahhh…?!"
"I feel good as new!"
"The… hell…?"
Rey smiled and nodded at them, moving even closer to the eight—appearing as nine.
'Healing Magic, unlike Potions, doesn't reset a person's growth by reversion. I'm sure they've grown a tad bit stronger due to this experience.'
"All of you should rise." With everyone being conscious and capable of movement, they obeyed.
Some were a little sluggish, but in a mere few seconds, everyone was on their feet.
Rey placed hands in his pocket and nodded slowly at them.
"Stand proud. You are strong."
He wasn't just saying that to make them feel better. He genuinely thought so.
'Compared to the humans of this world, they're definitely top tier. They are also very young and have room to grow.'
That was enough reason for Rey not to discount them.
"You all have immense potential to be stronger. I can promise you that by the time you are done with this Raid, you'll be much stronger than you were today."
That much was a given, but Rey wasn't done with his admonition.
"I probably won't be able to hold you off as easily as I just did."
As soon as he said that, he could see shocked expressions on the faces of everyone present.
After his display of power, they most likely saw him as an impossible wall that they could never surpass.
But now…
"Who would win between you and all of us if we fought again after actualizing our potential?"
Justin was the one who raised the question, and from his smile, Rey could already tell he wasn't being very serious.
Still, he answered it with his usual 'Ralyks' tone.
"Well, if you were at full strength, then you might cause me some trouble…" He began, stroking his chin a little as he narrowed his eyes on a select few of his classmates.
'Once Alicia can use her Divine Beast Summon, she'll be at an advantage in that aspect due to her Class. Adonis also had a lot of room for growth, and he Levels Up fast too. As much as I don't like Billy, he has a very powerful set of Skills, and then there's Belle and her problematic abilities.'
All in all, Rey could see a bunch of other students as well who would prove problematic if they all joined forces and fought him with a proper strategy.
That said…
"Would you lose though?" Adonis asked with all seriousness.
Rey smiled at the Hero, almost as if he already knew what was on the boy's mind.
There was no need to skirt around the issue.
'They could give me all the trouble in the world. That doesn't matter at all.'
Rey was still confident in the outcome.
"Nah, I'd win."