Sairao was getting up with some difficulty before being struck by Enrico's fist. His head slammed into the ground, causing an earthquake in that part of the continent. The pain was immense—and it grew even worse when Enrico summoned his ego weapon. Aiming an arrow at Sairao's stomach, he released multiple fire arrows into his body. Just as the last one was about to hit, Sairao's body was covered in a crimson aura that destroyed it.
"Crimson Explosions."
After breaking the arrows, he placed his palm on Enrico's stomach and unleashed wave after wave of explosions, launching his opponent into the sky. Stepping heavily on the ground, he advanced and struck both fists into Enrico's chest, piercing through the clouds.
'I can't believe I have to use this now.'
Sairao was using the soul of the dark elf he had captured, channeling it to strengthen himself. This was bad for him, since using a sacrifice's soul like that meant losing part of its essence—essence that could have further perfected his body. That was why he needed rituals: to extract the full potential of each soul.
'What a waste… all because of this brat.'
Enrico, being carried away into the sky, grabbed Sairao's arms and used his momentum to flip above him while still holding on. With force, he hurled the evil god into an abandoned dark elf city—one of the cities Elithia had used to gather sacrifices for him.
Crashing through multiple houses, Sairao floated to the side, using crimson magic to evade a flaming kick. As Enrico passed him, Sairao grabbed his clothing and slammed him into the ground, creating a crater. Jumping into the air, he summoned numerous human souls and pointed downward.
"Soul Explosion."
The souls detonated one after another inside the crater, expanding it until it swallowed the entire city. Sairao truly intended to kill this boy as quickly as possible before he became even more dangerous.
"I have to say… we really are clever."
Sairao's eyes widened as Enrico grabbed him by the face. His eyes had turned completely black again, except for his golden pupils, resembling a predator—like a panther. His teeth looked sharper, and his smile was disturbingly dark.
"He knew you wouldn't let him die, so he used me."
Sairao's head was dragged across the ground for a long distance. He didn't understand what this human meant—used by someone? To answer that, Enrico had originally planned how to defeat Sairao. First, he would use the item Kaedryn left behind, which Ocirne had retrieved. The plan was to lure Sairao toward a specific location—but because Enrico entered his limit-breaking state, he had to adapt.
So he came up with something else.
"He left the exit open for a few minutes… so please, entertain me. It's been a while since I fought a god, Sairao."
"LET GO OF ME, YOU BASTARD!"
Sairao's body exploded with red mana as he unleashed his curse magic. Poison curses flooded out of his magic circle while he amplified his power using sacrifice magic. All the toxins rushed toward Enrico—but something happened that froze the evil god in place.
"Devour."
Enrico absorbed all that curse magic into his body. Somehow, the poison had no effect on him. Steam escaped from his mouth as he continued forward. Sairao retaliated with explosive sacrifice magic, but noticed that water magic was constantly healing Enrico's body.
'He has two opposing affinities? Why didn't he reveal it—'
His face was struck by a flaming punch. It was Impact CC, and the explosion sent Sairao flying backward. Realizing he was being overwhelmed, Sairao summoned crimson spikes behind Enrico. One pierced through Enrico's stomach.
Even coughing blood, Enrico showed no pain. Instead, he created multiple fire threads that wrapped around Sairao's arm. Feeling his arm being sliced, Sairao used sacrifice magic, channeling orc souls to increase his resistance. Even so, he couldn't fully break free—he was now locked in close combat.
'Tsk… I hate to admit it, but I'm at a disadvantage in this kind of fight.'
He tried to evade the next kick, but the fire threads yanked his arm forward, opening his guard. His chin was struck, sending him airborne. With blood on his face, he clenched his fist and formed crimson blades that pierced through Enrico's body.
"Cough…!"
Enrico spat blood as the blades pierced him, but his eyes remained firm—wild, even. He advanced anyway, ignoring the pain, closing the distance instantly. His forehead slammed into Sairao's face with brutal force, distorting the air and cracking the ground. Without pause, he spun and drove a punch into Sairao's abdomen, compressing everything before it exploded, sending him flying through another ruined city.
Before Sairao could even stop, Enrico was already above him, striking again—and again—each blow deepening the crater until it resembled an abyss. Sairao reacted by releasing a crimson wave that pushed Enrico back, then reappeared with a descending strike. Enrico raised his arm to block—the bone shattered—but he still smiled as he advanced again.
'I have no choice.'
Placing his hand over his chest, Sairao released a wave of mana that engulfed the entire ruined city. He was activating his sacrifice ritual—still incomplete. A crimson aura covered his entire body, and he seemed to age, taking on a more mature dark elf appearance. He had sacrificed part of his future evolution just to survive now, forcing himself into the eighth circle.
"I'll make you regret interfering with my development, brat."
"Hah, as if that'll happen… especially now that you've covered the eyes of those watching from outside."
Sairao, enraged, hesitated for a moment as Enrico raised his hand toward the sky. Then he felt an immense magic forming in the boy's palm. He felt something immense emerging as a gray sphere began to float in his palm.
"Come… Basilisco."
From within the sphere, a gigantic serpent emerged, towering over the evil god. It stared deeply into his eyes as if it had found the perfect prey to devour after a long time without feeding. Its eyes were right in front of him, while Enrico's amused smile turned cold.
"Time to say goodbye, Sairao."