What the……huh!?

  "So, uh……is it just me, or were you not always THIS strong, Az?" I inquired with a grin of disbelief.

  "Oh, I just started to put effort into activating my magic, that's all. I haven't actually gotten stronger, I'm just trying harder, I guess," He replied with a shrug.

  "Goddamn……I feel like my head is spinning. I mean……a lot of people have gotten a lot stronger lately, but you've been capable of this for a long time, you haven't gotten even a single external power boost so far!"

  "Uh……yeah, I suppose so."

  "Hey, by the way, I've been wondering……human blood is mostly water, so can you control a person's blood while it's still inside their body?" I inquired curiously.

  "No, I can't……I've tried, but it doesn't work, the Mana of the person I target acts as a shield to keep my own Mana from seizing control……but if I directly touch someone, then it's a different story……I haven't actually done it, but it feels like I can either freeze their blood or make it boil into steam when I touch someone."

  He's way too casually OP……I mean, sure, I'm probably still a bit stronger at full power than he is, but that only means that I'm at his level or higher for five minutes per day, my time limit with Diablo Mode. In other words, my full power that I can only maintain for five minutes, he's more or less at that level twenty-four-seven. The only reason it hasn't seemed that way till recently is literally because, by his own admission, he hasn't made an effort.

  "No doubt about it……you're the strongest person in this world," I declared with a grin, patting his shoulder.

  "Quit it," He sighed in exasperation.

  We were currently in the forest area, and I'd asked him what exactly he wants to work on, and he said that he wants to fine-tune and sharpen his control……and then he proceeded to form literal tons of ice in a matter of a second or two. Most opponents would be frozen in an instant before they even realized that he'd done anything.

  His control is pretty much perfect, I don't know what he's trying to improve or sharpen……I mean, the guy can literally spread thousands of tiny water droplets throughout the air and then sense anything that comes into contact with the droplets……or if it's a humid day, he can just use the moisture and droplets already present in the air.

  "Alright, well……let's put up a safety barrier and duke it out……let's both go all out, since we're on relatively even footing at full power, we should be able to help each other. Cool?" I suggested, as I stretched a couple of times.

  "Yeah, let's do it."

  "Wow, I feel like I'm getting all emotional again……normally, you'd just say something like 'do I have to?' or."

  "Cut that out already," He groaned, before taking out a Spell Card, "Is right here okay?"

  "Yup, activate it here, let's then put some distance between us and I'll toss this stone up, the duel starts the instant that the stone hits the ground, got it?"

  "Yeah, I got it."

  He then activated the barrier and we then took our places, keeping an even amount of distance between us. The only time we've fought before was when I sealed my emotions and broke into the Rustlands to kill Shiro……this time, he's much, much more powerful than he was back then, so I need to keep my guard up.

  Obliteration Magic is going to be crucial against his ice……though I need to make sure to use it in the right proportions, since when using an Obliteration Magic blast, the amount it obliterates depends on the level of output. For instance, a small blast that's just big enough to eradicate a stone isn't going to be enough to eradicate a boulder, it'll drill a hole through it, sure, but it won't eradicate it.

  Another example would be a thick wall, if I use a small amount of Obliteration Magic, it won't go all the way through the wall……though realistically, that'd have to be an incredibly thick wall or a pitifully weak blast of Obliteration Magic, but you get my point. Anyway, time to start……I entered Diablo Mode as I tossed the stone up, getting ready to attack as it began to plummet back down……

  I immediately flew up as the stone hit the ground, a massive wave of ice bursting forth towards me as I flew back, the grass and surrounding trees were all covered in frost and the air was growing colder and colder.

  I then used Teleport to get closer to Az, and as soon as I did, a massive ice spike pillar burst up towards me from the ground, I rapidly flew up to avoid it, but it branched out and followed after me at a blinding speed.

  I fired out an Obliteration Magic blast to blow away the ice and then used Teleport to try and close in on Az again, and once again, he instantly responded with a burst of sharp ice spikes from right in front of him straight up towards me. I swiftly countered with an Obliteration Magic blast and then fired out lightning from my mouth at him, he swiftly countered with a shield of ice, before shattering the shield into several tiny needle-like shards and shooting the projectiles towards me rapidly.

  I blasted out a stream of acid venom from my mouth to wipe out the projectiles, he blocked the acid with a wall of water, before I used Teleport to appear to his right. Several ice spikes immediately burst out towards me from all sides, I swiftly flew up to narrowly avoid getting impaled. Two arms aren't enough to keep up with and counter his ice……I'll grow two more.

  "Oh, I forgot that you could do that," Remarked Az with a wry smile, as I grew out two more arms from my shoulders.

  "Your insane reaction time each time I teleport doesn't really give me much choice, dude," I replied with a grin.

  I then fired out Obliteration Magic blasts from all four hands as his spikes of ice burst up and chased after me, eradicating them before firing out a massive ball of fire and wind down at him, he responded with a large blast if water, canceling out my attack and creating a large screen of steam between us.

  My vision was sharp enough to see through the steam though……so I used Teleport to appear behind him and fired out Obliteration Magic from all four hands right as a massive wave of razor-sharp icicles burst out from behind him.

  One of the icicles pierced through my midsection and several others grazed my sides and arms, as my Obliteration blasts cut through the ice……and teleported Az out of the barrier. I pulled out the ice from my body and healed myself while returning to my normal state, as he took down the barrier and walked over.

  "Even though I know injuries like that are nothing to you, I still feel bad," He remarked with an apologetic look on his face.

  "Don't be, we did agree to both go all out, after all."

  "True, I guess……so, any ideas on where I can improve?" He asked, looking at me expectantly.

  You kidding me?

  "Your reaction time and then your speed in casting your Ice Magic is astounding, I doubt that you can improve that, you react instantly everytime I teleport……I kept trying to go on the attack, but you kept forcing me back onto the defensive. Well, if there's one area that you can improve, it's your physical skills, I guess……move around more instead of staying at the same spot the whole time. But I feel like that's more nitpicking that actual feedback," I replied with a sheepish grin.

  "No, that's actually a good point……I did feel a bit stuck and cramped when you kept popping up near me at close range with teleportation."

  "Well, yeah, that's what I was going for, but besides me, there's barely anyone else in this world that's capable of pushing you in that way," I pointed out.

  "You forget that one of those is leading our current enemies," He countered with a sigh.

  Oh, right……Belia's Dimensional Magic defense is a handful on its own, but she can freely cast General Magic spells without needing any of the special parchment, which means she can regular teleport too.

  "Her General Magic gives her way too many options, her only real limitation is her imagination when it comes to that," I mumbled with a frown.

  "That's right, I almost forgot……actually, I have a counter against her General Magic," Suddenly recalled Az, "A barrier spell that jams all General Magic spells, even she can't overwrite it. Oh, and it can't be taken down either……the one I cast when I fought her, it's gonna be active for a long time, and I have no idea how long it'd take to deteriorate……in my defense, I came up with and created that spell while fighting her, so I didn't have time to fully think it through. After the fight, I modified the spell so that the barrier fades after an hour, otherwise we'd wind up with a bunch of dead spots where General Magic doesn't work at all. Anyway, I used it against her and cut off her General Magic completely."

  "……and why didn't you say so before?"

  "I, uh……forgot."

  "Well, whatever……if we have a way to nullify her General Magic, then it's just a matter of pushing the limits of her Dimensional Magic and creating an opening. You said it was twenty seconds continously, and if it reaches that limit, then she can't use it for five seconds, right?"

  "Yeah, more or less."

  "You know, the fact that she uses Restoration Magic almost immediately whenever her body receives enough damage to be 'killed' probably means that even though she can restore any level of damage, to the extent that she can come back from being completely wiped out……that probably means that she can't leave her body 'dead' for too long. Her soul, or whatever, can cast Restoration Magic even if her entire body is turned to dust, so it stands to reason that she can probably cast other spells without a body too……in which case, I'm willing to bet that her soul can't survive without an intact body for too long. Which means that our most straightforward option is to keep making her use Restoration Magic until she uses up all her Divine Magic and dies," I surmised with a sigh.

  "Which means that we can definitely beat her, especially if we can outnumber her," Replied Az, before frowning and adding, "We'll probably have to force her to use Restoration Magic a whole bunch of times before she starts to run low on it, huh?"

  "Yeah, we'll have to train to work together, along with anyone else who's on our level……I still don't know exactly how much stronger everyone who got power boosts are right now, I'm supposed to go find out later and help the Guild reassess the current Adventurer rankings. Well, anyway……wanna go around round?"

  "Hm……sure, why not?"

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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