Two minutes before I defeated Desmond with a punch, Lichtalia was on high alert with the grimoire ready to cast any spells to attack or defend. Teradein had transformed and looked very different from before. Both in terms of the threat he radiated and in terms of his personality.
"Are you still Teradein?" Lichtalia asked the horned figure standing opposite her.
Showing a thoughtful expression, Teradein replied, "Ah, you mean the original owner of this body? I'm not him. That human was very bold in trying to use me for his interests. When I took over his body, I also erased his existence completely. But it seems the spell he used had quite a strong effect. Even though I don't know you, for some reason my body has a strong desire to destroy you. I thought, as a little rewards for giving me a new body, maybe I would grant his request."
Lichtalia saw the figure in front of her move his hand about to launch some kind of attack. Lichtalia was already on full alert and began to cast a protective spell. At that moment, suddenly, a flash of electricity was seen, accompanied by a loud explosion that came from my fist.
That was when I smashed Desmond's zombie head to pieces.
What had just happened caught the attention of the creature that had taken over Teradein's body, causing him to turn his head for a moment.
At the same time, Lichtalia took the opportunity to defend and attack at the same time.
The sheets of her grimoire moved along with the spell chant that Lichtalia was reciting.
The water rotates and creates a vortex that forms a protective shield – Vortex Barrier.
A giant whirlpool was created and immediately protected Lichtalia's body from all directions.
The fury of the ocean echoes, compelling its predatory inhabitants to emerge and tear apart those who disrupt the peace of the ocean – Shark Torpedoes!
At the same time, black shadows began to swim quickly and threw themselves towards the opponent. It was a shark created entirely from high-pressure water.
If they touch the target, they will explode like a bomb.
About ten sharks charged at the figure that had taken over Teradein's body. However, the figure did not dodge. Instead, he confidently stated, "I am Ifrit, one of the devils of the underworld. I don't even need to dodge an attack at this level."
Ifrit didn't move to avoid it, the ten sharks hit his body hard and exploded but he didn't get any fatal injuries.
Seeing several parts of his body bruised from Lichtalia's attacks, Ifrit furrowed his brows and said, "The human body is indeed very weak. If this were my real body, a thousand of the same attacks wouldn't be able to damage my skin in the slightest.
"You will pay for it."
Moving his hand, Ifrit cast a spell.
Those who are despicable deserve to be punished by the fire of hell – Judgement of Fire.
A magic circle appeared in front of Ifrit's palm. From the magic circle came a fireball the size of a basketball. The fireball shot up and hit the whirlpool that protected Lichtalia. A big explosion occurred, and Lichtalia was thrown out of the whirlpool that served to protect her. As her body almost hit the wall of the duel arena, I appeared and held her so that she didn't hit the wall and worsen her injuries.
Even though her body appeared badly injured, Lichtalia managed to warn me before losing consciousness. "Be careful, Ace," she said, "He's not Teradein. He's Ifrit, a devil. One of the high-ranking demons."
I carried Lichtalia's badly injured body with my hands and spoke to Principal Merlin. I was sure he could hear and know what was happening inside the duel arena.
"Principal Merlin, I'm sure you already know everything. Could you please take the badly injured Lichtalia and the unconscious Desmond out of the duel arena using your teleportation spell? The duel against fellow students has long since ended."
Ifrit seemed to narrow his eyes when I mentioned Merlin's name but didn't comment further. On the other hand, Lichtalia and Desmond's bodies disappeared from the duel arena and appeared in the VIP area for the elites.
Merlin's voice sounded in my ears, "You asked me to take out your comrades and enemies. Why don't you ask me to take you out too?"
I let out a faint smile before answering the question in a flat tone, "Professor Merlin, isn't the answer clear enough? I want to beat him up with my own hands."
Ifrit couldn't hold back his laughter when I said that sentence.
"You want to beat me? Do you think you can?"
I felt angry when I saw the severe injuries suffered by Lichtalia. His attack on Lichtalia was not only intended to defeat the opponent but also to kill. If Lichtalia's defensive spell was just a little weaker, her life could have been lost on the spot.
Pointing my sword at Ifrit, I challenged him, "You look strong and arrogant, but fate says that your life must end in my hands today. Take out your weapon and use your best spells. I don't want you to die in regret."
Since my opponent is not a fellow student of Zephyr Magic Academy nor a fellow human but a demon, then I will not hesitate. This is a one-on-one duel of life and death.
Ifrit, who was unhappy that a human dared to act more arrogantly than him, looked at me coldly and replied to my words, "If you can force me, maybe I will consider it."
Not even a split second after Ifrit said those words in an arrogant tone, I had already arrived behind his body while swinging my sword, about to cut his neck in one swing.
"Then, don't regret it when you don't know why and how you'll die."
Just like my body, my sword is currently coated with an electric element using the mana stored in the sword. So besides having lightning speed, my sword also has great sharpness and strength.
At first, Ifrit intended to act arrogantly, similar to when he blocked Lichtalia's offensive spell. However, upon remembering that his current body was originally a human body reinforced by demonic power, Ifrit swiftly reacted by blocking my attack with one hand, while his other hand pulled out a sword from a magic circle that he instantly created.
Due to a wrong decision, Ifrit watched as his left hand fall to the floor which was filled with water.
Even though Lichtalia was unconscious, the effects of the spells didn't immediately disappear. Despite the rain having stopped long ago and no more black clouds remaining in the ceiling of the duel arena, water still filled every corner of the arena, creating a pool-like environment.
Staring coldly at Ifrit, I said with a flat tone, "I told you to face me with your best, but you wouldn't listen. You acted arrogantly without realizing who was weaker between us."