Zola and Bola launched at Alonso in perfect synchronization, their forms blurring as they released waves of raw mana that pulsed through the battlefield. The sheer pressure from their combined aura cracked the ground beneath them and sent shockwaves through the forest, causing trees to sway and splinter in their wake. Alonso's eyes remained sharp, tracking their movements with calculated precision, his expression calm but intense.
Bola closed in from the left, his chain mail-covered fist swinging toward Alonso with tremendous force. Alonso blocked it effortlessly, his forearm absorbing the impact. Almost simultaneously, Zola attacked from the right, his fist igniting with flames as it hurtled toward Alonso's side. Without flinching, Alonso intercepted Zola's strike with his other hand, locking both attackers in a powerful standoff.
The three exchanged a relentless series of blows, their movements fast and furious. Zola and Bola attacked in a synchronized fury, each punch and kick aiming to overwhelm Alonso. But Alonso's movements were masterful—he bobbed, weaved, and deflected each strike with precise control, as if he could predict their every move.
With a swift motion, Alonso reached out and grabbed Zola's horn, twisting his head toward Bola's incoming fist. The punch meant for Alonso landed squarely on Zola's face instead, sending Zola stumbling backward with a snarl of frustration. Not missing a beat, Alonso drove his right foot into the back of bola's knee, forcing him to drop down on one knee with a grunt. Seizing the moment, Alonso brought his elbow down in a brutal arc, smashing into bola's face with enough force to draw blood and send him hurtling backward across the ground.
Turning to Zola, Alonso's eyes flashed as he summoned flames to his feet, propelling himself toward his second attacker with blinding speed. As he closed in, he extended his right arm, executing a powerful clothesline that collided with Zola's neck. The impact, fueled by Alonso's boosted speed, sent Zola staggering back uncontrollably, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact that left cracks radiating outward.
Suddenly, Alonso sensed a powerful gust of wind building from behind. He turned just in time to see Bola unleashing a massive pillar of wind in his direction, the force tearing up chunks of earth as it roared toward him. Alonso leapt back, channeling mana into his fists. A vortex of wind surrounded him, spinning in a protective sphere as Bola's attack collided with it. Instead of overpowering Alonso, the winds flowed seamlessly around him, deflecting Bola's pillar and redirecting it back toward its caster.
The redirected wind shot back at Bola with incredible speed, forcing him to brace himself. Bola planted his feet, summoning his strength as he raised his hands to meet the oncoming attack. With a fierce roar, he clashed with the redirected wind, forcing it back and dispersing it with a burst that shook the entire forest, scattering debris and sending shockwaves through the battlefield.
Zola's face twisted with rage as he channeled his mana, pointing both hands toward Alonso. "X-Bura!" he roared, unleashing a massive X-shaped pillar of flames that tore across the battlefield. The intense heat seared everything in its path, transforming the lush forest into a wasteland of scorched earth. Trees burst into flames, the ground blackened, and ashes filled the air, darkening the sky. Fortunately, the king, carrying Marcel with him, was safely shielded within the protective forcefield Alonso had placed around them.
As the blazing X-cross flames surged toward him, Alonso stood unfazed, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He let out a low, dismissive humph, raising his right hand with a casual motion. Twisting his wrist, he summoned a swirling flame at the center of the incoming inferno. With expert control, Alonso manipulated the flames, causing them to spiral inward. The X-cross flames, drawn by this twisting force, began to collapse upon themselves, swirling into a tight vortex and funneling directly into Alonso's flame.
In mere moments, the once-massive torrent of Zola's fire attack was reduced to a concentrated, floating sphere of fire, no larger than a marble, suspended in the air before Alonso. Zola's expression shifted from fury to bewilderment, unable to comprehend how one of his strongest attack had been contained so effortlessly.
Alonso moved toward the compressed flame with calm precision, reaching out to grasp it with his right hand. He examined the sphere, his eyes gleaming with calculated amusement. Using his deep understanding of heat and combustion, mixed with an element of magic, he had compressed Zola's flames into a single, intensely focused point. Without a word, he pointed his hand toward Zola, directing the sphere in his opponent's direction.
A thin, concentrated beam of fire shot from the sphere, as sharp and precise as a laser. This wasn't a wild flame but a fiercely focused line of intense heat, its energy so condensed that it sliced through the air with surgical precision. As it approached, Zola barely managed to dodge, throwing himself to the side in desperation. The beam missed him by inches, striking the ground just behind where he'd been standing.
The impact was cataclysmic.
The ground exploded in a deafening roar, shaking the entire battlefield. The blast tore into the earth, leaving a massive crater that glowed with molten lava, the sheer heat melting rock and soil alike. It felt as though a nuclear explosion had gone off, the shockwave sending debris flying in all directions. Even the onlookers shielded their eyes, trying to protect themselves from the searing light and the thick dust cloud that rose in the aftermath.
Bola's face twisted with a mix of fear and rage as he glared at Alonso, his usually confident demeanor cracking. "You bastard!" he shouted, voice laced with disbelief. "Where did a monster like you even come from?" Desperation flared in his eyes as he channeled mana into his hands, the air around him rippling with raw energy.
With a sweeping motion, he pointed forward, unleashing a barrage of wind blades from his fingertips. Each blade was large and fast, slicing through the air with deadly precision. Bola didn't hold back; his hand became a blur, launching wave after wave, determined to overwhelm Alonso.
Alonso merely stood still, watching the oncoming storm of wind blades with an almost bored expression. As he channeled his own mana, a powerful gust of wind formed around him, causing his coat and hair to whip dramatically. In an instant, the wind engulfed his body, granting him agility and speed.
Calm and precise, Alonso began to sway from side to side, effortlessly dodging each wind blade, his movements like a graceful dance. To him, this attack was child's play. His face showed no strain—only a faint, knowing smile, as if he were toying with a helpless opponent.
Bola's frustration grew as he watched his every effort evaded so easily. "What… what are you?" he muttered, hands trembling as he continued his assault.
Just then, Zola dashed toward Alonso from the side, his face twisted with anger. His right fist ignited with flames as he channeled mana, launching a flaming punch with deadly speed. "You're mine!" he roared, his eyes gleaming with vicious intent.
In a swift, fluid motion, Alonso turned, catching Zola's blazing fist with his own hand. The flames licked at Alonso's skin, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he tightened his grip, twisting Zola's arm before using his momentum to fling him straight into the path of Bola's wind blades. Zola's eyes widened in horror as he was sliced mid-air, blood splattering as he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, his body covered in cuts.
With a faint smirk, Alonso used his wind-enhanced speed to close the distance to Bola in a flash. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he surged forward. In an instant, he was upon Bola, his right hand shooting out to seize Bola's face. "You wanted to know what kind of monster I am?" he whispered coldly.
Alonso slammed Bola's head into the ground with brutal force, the impact shaking the earth and creating deep cracks in the stone. Bola let out a choked scream as blood began to seep from the back of his head.
Without hesitation, Alonso formed a razor-sharp wind blade at his fingertips, his eyes glinting with a chilling calm as he prepared to end it. But just as he was about to strike, Bola's eyes blazed with a desperate fury. An intense gust of wind exploded from his body, shoving Alonso back.
Alonso flipped through the air with effortless control, landing gracefully as if the whole event had barely registered to him.
Nearby, Zola slowly rose to his feet, his wounds already beginning to heal. His expression twisted in fury and disbelief. "You… how can you…? How is this possible?" he stammered, his voice thick with rage and desperation.
Watching from a distance, the king's face turned pale as he took in the scene before him. "Two S-ranked criminals… and he's toying with them," he muttered in awe. "They haven't even managed to land a single blow. And he's only using fire and wind… This boy is truly a monster."
Bola, struggling to rise, fixed Alonso with a look of horror and confusion. "You… how can you have such mastery over two elements? That's impossible! Just how old are you, really?"
The notion of a young Oni with mastery over multiple elements defied all logic. Most magicians spent their entire lives dedicated to mastering a single element, with knowledge of elemental magic guarded fiercely within families, passed down through generations. For Alonso, a lone Oni, to wield both fire and wind with this level of mastery—it was ludicrous, beyond anything Bola could comprehend.
And to make things worse, Alonso's mastery was far beyond that of him and Zola, who had spent over 300 years honing their craft. The look of dread on Bola's face said it all: this wasn't just a battle. They were facing a force they could neither understand nor hope to overcome.
Zola's face twisted with unrestrained fury, his eyes wild as he roared, "That's it! I'll burn it all to the ground! I don't care if I scorch this entire battlefield, let's see you try to protect your precious king!"
A look of horror crossed Bola's face as he understood Zola's intent. "No! Zola, stop it! You'll kill us all!" he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.
Alonso narrowed his eyes, a sneer crossing his lips. "Is that why you're so reckless, Zola? Because you can regenerate, you think you're invincible?"
Until now, Alonso had been willing to toy with them, to show restraint. But the threat to the king was real, and Zola's recklessness was beyond tolerance. Alonso's demeanor shifted, his gaze hardening.
Zola, blind to Bola's pleas, raised his right fist to the sky, channeling mana with fierce intensity. His voice was laced with malice. "Get ready to die, you bastard!" he snarled, ignoring Bola's desperate protests.
"No! Zola, you'll destroy everything! This wasn't what we were sent here to do!" Bola screamed, panic flooding his voice as he saw the mana accumulating around Zola's fist. But Zola laughed darkly, the flames around his hand flaring brighter.
"I don't care! This Oni has made me mad, and now he'll burn!" Zola bellowed as fiery dots began to gather around his raised hand. In mere moments, an enormous fireball, as bright and fierce as a sun, coalesced above him, filling the battlefield with searing heat. It was as if the very sun had descended, a blinding inferno that stretched endlessly, its edges invisible beyond its burning brilliance. The air crackled with the intensity, and even from a distance, the oppressive heat pressed down on everyone, scorching skin and drying the air.
Zola's voice was filled with hatred as he hurled the blazing sphere toward Alonso. "Take this—Grand Inferno!"
The monstrous fireball hurtled toward Alonso, its flames roaring like a raging beast. But Alonso stood unfazed, his expression a picture of calm calculation. As the sun-like fireball neared, he extended one hand, a small flame igniting in his palm. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he launched the tiny flame into the core of Zola's inferno.
Then, with a graceful twist of his wrist in a clockwise motion, Alonso's flame began to influence the massive fireball. The blazing sphere trembled, the outer edges swirling and compressing, twisting in upon itself. The fireball, once an all-consuming sun, began to shrink and compact, drawn into Alonso's tiny flame until the inferno was no larger than a basketball, burning with an intensity that could melt steel.
Alonso moved in a blur, dashing forward with the compressed flame in his grasp. In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Zola, his expression unreadable yet cold. "There's a difference," he said quietly, "between immortality and eternity."
With his right hand, he drove the condensed flame directly into Zola's chest. Zola's eyes widened, a look of horror and agony contorting his face. "No! Bola, help me! Help!" he screamed, his voice cracking as the unbearable heat of the compressed fire invaded his entire body.
Bola's scream of "Nooo!" echoed across the battlefield, a desperate plea lost in the chaos. But it was too late. The inferno Alonso had planted within Zola ignited from within, consuming him cell by cell. Zola's face twisted in sheer agony as his flesh began to disintegrate, turning to ash and scattering with the wind. His screams choked in his throat, his form rapidly deteriorating as the intense heat burned him away on a level so fundamental, no regeneration could save him.
With a calm, controlled gesture, Alonso lifted his hand, directing the residual energy of the compressed flame skyward. The blazing remnant shot into the clouds, disappearing harmlessly into the heavens. Alonso lowered his hand and looked at the spot where Zola had stood, now only a pile of scattered ashes drifting across the battlefield.
Zola, a once-immortal force, had been extinguished in an instant, reduced to nothingness.
Alonso wasn't finished. He strode toward Bola, his steps slow and deliberate, releasing his aether in a powerful wave that sent tremors through the battlefield. The ground beneath him cracked, the very air thickening with his presence. Each step was a testament to his overwhelming power, and Bola felt the weight of it pressing down on him, as if the atmosphere itself was folding in around him.
Bola's face contorted in desperation and disbelief as he muttered to himself, "How could someone like him serve under the king? No… perhaps it's better to take the king hostage. I'll shatter that shield somehow!" His expression tightened with resolve as he attempted to summon the wind, intending to enhance his speed and slip past Alonso's defenses. But… nothing happened.
Confusion flickered in his eyes as he tried again, straining to draw on the wind's power, but still, nothing. Panic crept into his face, replacing his earlier confidence. He turned back to Alonso, a mixture of frustration and suspicion in his gaze. "What… what did you do?" His voice was laced with barely-contained rage, his pride wounded by the sudden loss of his abilities.
Alonso's expression was cold, unyielding, as he simply launched himself forward, closing the distance in an instant. Without a word, he drove his knee into Bola's chin with brutal force, sending him staggering back, pain exploding through his body.
The truth was that when Alonso had released his aether, he'd subtly manipulated the air pressure on the battlefield, effectively nullifying Bola's wind magic. He knew that wind was created by differences in air pressure, flowing from areas of high to low pressure. By altering these pressure zones, Alonso could block the flow of wind, causing Bola's abilities to falter and die out entirely.
Bola stared at Alonso in stunned defiance, grasping at the realization that his greatest weapon had been stripped away. Before he could recover, Alonso advanced on him with deadly precision, launching a relentless flurry of punches. A right hook, then a left, followed by a crushing uppercut and a backhand that left Bola reeling. Each blow was calculated, and within minutes, Bola's face was swollen and bruised, his body collapsing to the ground as he struggled to breathe, the agony written across his face.
Alonso looked down at him with a detached curiosity. "Hmm… Without your wind, you're truly helpless. You should have invested some time into learning real hand-to-hand combat," he said with a hint of disappointment. "It's almost… pity-worthy."
The king, watching from the forcefield, felt a shiver run down his spine. He had heard tales of Alonso's prowess, but seeing him dismantle two of the legendary Cataclysms with such ease was beyond anything he'd imagined. There was no mercy in Alonso's methods, only a precise, unrelenting destruction of his enemies.
Bola, battered and beaten, glanced toward the ashes of Zola with despair, then back at Alonso, his eyes filled with a mix of hopelessness and resignation. "Fine then… if I'm going to die, I'll take you with me!" His voice wavered, as he began focusing every ounce of his mana into his core, intending to self-destruct in one final, desperate attempt.
But Alonso, who could see the intricate flow of mana with perfect clarity, already knew Bola's plan. With calculated swiftness, he thrust his hand into Bola's abdomen, injecting his aether into Bola's body. The aether twisted through Bola's mana flow, disrupting it with deadly precision, forcing his energy to spiral out of control. Bola's face contorted in shock as his mana scattered chaotically, refusing to concentrate into a single point.
Bola laughed bitterly, his voice laced with frustration and despair. "You… you won't even let me go the way I want… damn you…" His voice faded, as his strength failed him completely, leaving him broken and defeated.
Alonso's gaze hardened, unyielding, as he stepped forward with a cold, calculated stare. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know," he declared, his voice dripping with ruthless intent. He raised his hand, summoning his Nanosphere—a smooth, metallic orb that glistened under the fractured sunlight. With a soft hum, the sphere split open, releasing a cascade of nanobots. The tiny machines, gleaming like grains of dark sand, poured out in a controlled wave, swirling in the air before funneling toward Bola.
The nanobots swarmed into Bola's nostrils, his ears, and his mouth, burrowing beneath his skin with a sickening precision, moving toward his brain. Bola's face contorted in agony, veins bulging as the invasive force spread through him. His hands clawed at his head, eyes wide with desperation. The sheer sensation of a foreign intelligence worming its way into his thoughts was both mentally and physically excruciating.
Alonso watched, a slight smirk of intrigue on his face. "I knew you had a strong will, Bola. But don't fight it. The more you resist, the more it's going to hurt."
Bola's eyes flashed with defiance, his face twisted with fury. "Damn you… I'll never be anyone's puppet again!" he spat, his voice ragged. With a fierce scream, he summoned every ounce of his strength, his body convulsing as he forced the nanobots out, pushing them back inch by inch. Blood trickled from his nose and ears, but he didn't relent.
Finally, with a choked gasp, Bola coughed out the swarm, the nanobots spilling from his mouth in a lifeless heap, covered in blood and saliva, scattering across the ground like specks of metallic dust. His body shook with exhaustion, but his eyes remained defiant, a fierce spark of pride still intact.
Alonso raised an eyebrow, momentarily impressed, a glint of intrigue in his gaze. "Well, look at that… you do have a formidable will. But if you'd rather drag this out…" He tilted his head, his smirk widening, his tone dripping