"Now... this is going to be hard."
Floating steadily mid-air, Damon muttered as the wings kept him aloft under the Commander's shadow.
Its feathers were soaked in blood, its body covered in bruises. After killing several high-level Advanced Mages, it had now appeared before Damon, witnessing the destruction he had caused to their side.
The aura of the beast was vast—it pressed down against Damon's mind, weighing on his heart as he faced the strongest foe he had ever encountered.
He had killed humans, yes—magical beasts too—but never a Commander. Commanders themselves were walking calamities, capable of destroying cities. Intermediate ranks stood no chance, and even groups of Advanced Mages would fall if not treated with extreme caution.
Damon gulped at the sight of the beast as he slowly descended to the ground. The sky was the Commander's territory; fighting mid-air would only be disadvantageous. His magical equipment was fast, but to be able to compete against the Eagle beast? No—it wasn't even close to enough.
His wings vanished as he held his claymore with both hands, the faint silhouette of the bird circling around him. Every flap of its wings was like a storm, and its four claws gleamed menacingly.
The stalemate was broken when the beast dove down. With all its might, its claws aimed at Damon as it approached at impossible speed.
His instincts, honed through countless battles, made him leap—barely dodging the claws.
Boom!
The ground cracked, hundreds of meters destroyed as the claws clashed with the earth. Mid-air, Damon dodged the flying stones as he widened the distance.
Wings half unfurled, the beast raised its head, eyes burning with fury as it let out an earth-shaking roar capable of causing shockwaves.
"GRRAAW!"
"Light Blessing: Shield Guard!"
The silhouette of a knight covered Damon's body just in time as the giant shockwave slammed into the golden dome.
Crack... crack...
The attack was too heavy—even for the shield—as the golden dome cracked under the might of the Commander. The summoned Shield Guard was of no help; its intimidation and debuffs had no effect. Under the relentless assault, its power weakened as the guard shattered into golden fragments.
Within the dome's protection, Damon watched as the sonic attack battered his defenses. His ears bled under the force of the roar, yet his mind held on.
Under regeneration, his ruptured eardrums repaired themselves, though the lost blood still dripped steadily down.
Forty-nine flaming stars instantly arranged themselves as an aura of fire enveloped Damon's body.
The bright red from the Rose Flame surged violently, the ground cracking and bursting with fire that splurted out in chaotic flares.
The flaming fist swept toward the Eagle Beast like a meteor, brilliant destructive sparks scattering everywhere. Since all forty-nine Stars were strengthened, the flames produced during the drawing of the Star Pattern were fiercer and wilder than ever before.
It was Fourth-Tier Intermediate Magic. Damon's arms were wrapped with several tiny fire dragons—vivid, lifelike, as though they were about to lunge forward from his arms.
"Fiery Fist!"
"Nine Dragons!"
Flames exploded from Damon as he threw his right fist at the Commander-class beast, the accumulated energy level peaking at its limit!
Following the punch, nine fire dragons engulfed in blinding flames jetted out from his arm with a flare of radiant fire. The loud, howling flames sounded like the cries of dragons echoing through the battlefield!
The dragons lunged forth, leaving a trail of fierce flames behind them. Rivers of fire rolled out across the ground, engulfing nearby beasts in the blaze.
The four-clawed Eagle was still mid-air, its bulging eyes fixed on Damon, driven by the desire to kill him. However, it saw formidable flames—bright red and deep crimson—engulfing the figure of the Magician, before nine spectacular fiery dragons flew right at it.
The sound produced by the flames converged into a massive explosion. All nine dragons rammed into its body simultaneously, the tremendous impact knocking the enormous creature flying into the distance!
The flames burst outward, spreading through the surroundings. The nine fiery dragons turned into hundreds of tongues of fire upon collision, dancing wildly along the scorched earth and turning it into a blazing red river of fire stretching over a hundred meters.
Meanwhile, the victim of the attack was hurled away from the fortress, rolling like a wrecking ball for several hundred meters, smashing low-flying creatures flat along its path.
The flames still burned fiercely on its body—especially its belly, where the hit had landed. Its thick, sturdy stomach had a hole blasted into it, where the flames continued to burn. The wound wasn't fatal, yet it left the creature in excruciating pain despite its tough hide.
Level 4 Intermediate Magic of the Fire Element!
This was its might. Though an Intermediate spell, its destructive power was unmatched among its rank. With the 2.5x boost from the Rose Flames and Damon's manipulation of underlying magical concepts, the Fiery Fist's destructive force was comparable to that of a low-tier Advanced Spell.
Even with a perfect hit, the beast wasn't dead—it burned, wounded, and furious, but still breathing, still ready to fight.
Seeing this, Damon wasn't surprised at all. If a Commander could be taken out with a single Intermediate spell, there would be no reason for Advanced Mages to die in battle.
Damon didn't wait for the Commander to recover. He lunged upward, Beelzeebub devouring the corpses in his inventory at full speed as he absorbed the magic of dozens of warrior-class beasts.
The conversion efficiency was low, but it worked—Damon recovered enough mana to launch another advanced spell. His casting was fast—maybe adrenaline, maybe fear—but the incantation completed in just a few seconds.
The Eagle struggled to rise as the hot flames burned its body, but being a Commander-class creature, its intelligence and resilience were nothing short of astounding.
It managed to stand once more—just as a massive fireball dropped in front of it, shattering the ground.
Then it looked up.
Hundreds of fireballs, each made from Rose Flames, were hurtling down from the sky toward its massive body.
Boom!
***
A/N:
Okay I have written a lot for 6 days I think. So do you think I should start daily one chapter with additional chapter with every 100 powerstones like others?
Should I?