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On the rooftop engulfed in roaring flames, Stiyl lay sprawled on the ground, completely motionless.
"Sss…"
A thin trail of smoke drifted from the barrel of the gun in Fang Li's hand, the air around it warping unnaturally from the heat as the haze scattered into the distance.
Fang Li stared coldly at Stiyl lying not far ahead, his gun lowering slowly.
From his lips, a murmur slipped out.
"Didn't expect this Blast Warhead to work so well."
'Blast Warhead.'
These were special bullets engraved with precise grooves using unique techniques, allowing control over air resistance to create razor-sharp shockwave spears.
Once fired, these rounds not only increased their lethality several-fold, tenfold, even, through manipulation of air resistance, but after traveling a certain distance, the compressed air itself would form a shockwave spear trailing behind the bullet, striking the target.
So even though Stiyl's flames melted the bullet, the shockwave spear following closely behind pierced straight through, slamming into him.
If not for the intense heat of the flames evaporating and distorting the air currents, that strike would have been enough to impale Stiyl's body outright.
After all, these specially designed rounds were meant to suppress Ability-users during rebellions or riots. They were created specifically to counter powerful espers. Even Anti-Skill hadn't been equipped with them. Fang Li had stumbled upon these bullets a year ago, hidden within the base of an armed Level 0 Esper organization, said to have been stolen from a research institute.
In other words, if this were the world of Hidan no Aria, this would be a genuine Butei Bullet.
And Fang Li had just used it.
"I've heard that battles between magicians are basically battles of intellect, right?" Fang Li said to Stiyl, who lay unmoving. "If your opponent was another magician, I'm sure you'd have drawn up countermeasures and prepared a variety of defensive and offensive spells. Unfortunately for you, this time your opponent is science, something your magical knowledge can't address. Meanwhile, I know full well that all your spells are Flame-based."
"So, you can't win against me."
The moment those words fell, Stiyl's fingers twitched slightly.
"MTWOTFFTO (One of the five great elements from which the world is constructed)…"
A low chant began to echo from Stiyl's body.
"IIGOIIF (The great flame of the beginning)…"
Stiyl's body stirred, struggling to rise.
"IIBOL (It is born of life)…"
Magic power rippled from within him.
"AIIAOE (And it is arbiter of evil)…"
Flames swelled around him.
"IIMH (It is mild happiness)…"
At that moment, faint lights flickered from every corner within a three-kilometer radius.
"And it is the destroyer of the icy darkness and freezing misfortune (AIIBOD)…"
The wall of fire surrounding the rooftop flowed together like liquid.
"IINF (It is named fire)…"
Flames gathered before the struggling Stiyl.
"IIMS (And it is my sword)…"
The air around the growing mass of fire burned with intense heat.
"ICR (I call thee into reality)…"
Stiyl slowly raised his head.
"MMBGP (Masticate my body for great power)…"
The chant to summon a guardian rang out from his lips.
"Innocentius, King of the Hunting Witches!"
With a cry of all his might, the blazing monster was born. It was a giant completely wreathed in flames, as if its body were made of black oil.
"ROOOAAAAAAR!"
The flaming giant let out a thunderous roar that shook the very air, the sound forming a shockwave that seemed powerful enough to blow the entire rooftop away as it swept toward Fang Li.
"Whoooosh--!"
The oppressive blast of wind rippled across Fang Li's body, making his clothes snap and flutter violently.
Having witnessed the entire process of the flame giant's birth with his own eyes, Fang Li stood calmly against the incoming shockwave and murmured in a voice only he could hear:
"The King of the Hunting Witches, huh?"
This was Stiyl's trump card.
"Cough… cough…!"
Clutching his chest, Stiyl stood shakily behind the King of the Hunting Witches, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he coughed and glared stubbornly at Fang Li.
"I never thought I'd actually have to use this against an outsider like you."
He bit down hard, as if swallowing the blood back into his stomach.
"This is a powerful spell even the Pope would use with caution. It creates a monster of fire condensed to over three thousand degrees Celsius. As long as its runes aren't destroyed, it can revive infinitely, track its target automatically, and melt through every enemy and obstacle until its target is completely annihilated."
Though Stiyl's face was drenched in cold sweat, he still forced a mocking grin as he continued:
"The strength of this magic is directly tied to the number of rune cards deployed. Right now, all the power of 210,000 rune cards is concentrated in its body. It could wipe out an entire squad of magicians without effort. There's no way you can destroy every rune within a three-kilometer radius in one go. You'll be hunted to the ends of the earth by the undying King of the Hunting Witches."
As if to emphasize Stiyl's declaration, the fiery monster let out a low, rumbling growl.
But Fang Li simply watched silently.
Then he sighed. The sigh was soft but audible, and Stiyl heard it clearly.
The feeling it carried was pure contempt. Yet Fang Li gave Stiyl no time to lash out in anger.
"Since I already know exactly who you are, do you really think I wouldn't know about this spell?" Fang Li's tone was almost indifferent as he spoke. "I told you before, don't think you're the only one who came prepared."
With that, Fang Li suddenly shifted the topic, smiling faintly at Stiyl.
"That device you saw earlier, the one that absorbs flames, originally, when configured properly, it would have an 'Absorb' and a 'Release' function."
"But right now, it's been stripped down to a single function: absorbing your flames. And as I already said, its capacity is limited."
"So here's the question."
Fang Li locked his gaze on Stiyl, speaking with a faint smile.
"If a device with limited capacity is filled to the brim with your flames… and then it goes beyond its limit… what do you think will happen?"
Those words made Stiyl's eyes widen in shock.
At that moment, he finally noticed it.
The black canister that had been absorbing the flames had somehow been kicked right next to him.
And it was still greedily absorbing the fire from the King of the Hunting Witches, swelling larger and larger.
"--!"
Stiyl's expression changed drastically. But by now, it was far too late to react.
At the very instant the device reached its breaking point,
"Nanasen!"
A sharp, feminine shout rang out, followed by a sudden explosion of torrential wind.
(End of Chapter)