Starting off the encounter with a sharp insult was a classic Eve move, designed to get under the opponent's skin immediately. It clearly worked, seeing the majin's expression twisted and crumbled under the weight of her mounting rage.
"You're just kids... Why are you all getting so full of yourselves..."
She mumbled those words, her voice trembling with a mixture of hatred and disbelief. I was about to retort and keep the pressure on her, but before I could even open my mouth—
"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME WITH JUST THESE?!!"
F W O O O O O O S H—!!!
She exploded in a fit of pure fury, a massive surge of power erupting from her body. A suffocating pressure of dense demonic energy began to flood the entire area, thick enough to make the air itself feel heavy and stagnant.
I unconsciously frowned, the overwhelming sensation serving as a grim reminder of the steep difference between our respective ranks. Alec and the others sensed the danger immediately; their guard rose as they prepared for the worst.
The oppressive demonic energy was actually starting to restrict their physical movements, making them sluggish. Seeing them struggle, I parted my lips—
"[Emperor's Aura]"
Then I mumbled that.
S W A A A A A A A H~!!!
I released the strongest aura I could possibly muster, and to my own shock, it was actually on par with the majin's presence! The two invisible forces collided in the air— FOOWP! They slammed into one another and effectively canceled each other out.
"?!"
Everyone in the group turned to look at me in absolute surprise. The majin herself was in a state of pure disbelief, clearly having not expected a human, let alone a student, to match her pressure. To be honest, I didn't expected this result either.
'Is this the true effect of the [Crest of the Hidden Monarch]?'
I thought to myself. I haven't really had the chance to use it to its maximum capability since I only recently acquired it. But when combined with [Emperor's Aura], it seems this artifact will shine even more than I imagined.
Anyway, I decided to break the stunned silence—
"We're more than enough to deal with someone like you."
I declared that with confidence as I took out [Nyx] once more and pointed the tip of [Emmeranne] directly at the majin.
The majin finally snapped out of her stupor, her face contorting as she ground her teeth together in frustration— FWOOOSH!!!
"DIEEE!!!"
Then with a roar of madness, she summoned a gigantic black fireball that was easily ten meters wide and shot it at us!
"Blake!"
Curtis called out as soon as he saw that, and immediately— FWIP!
"I'm here!"
Blake appeared in front of the group, a huge, fearless smile plastered on his face. Then, from behind us, I felt Adelle rapidly gathering a massive amount of mana, and in the next moment— FWOOOOH~!
A shimmering, bluish suit of armor completely covered Blake's body; it was a protective layer made of pure, high-density water!
'Damn, just how great is her mana control to be able to pull off something like that? I have to rely on a specific skill and artifact just to imbue my bullets with mana.'
I thought to myself, feeling a genuine sense of admiration for Adelle's natural ability.
Just then— TAP!
Blake took a massive step forward, planting his feet firmly. With his shield held out in front of him— B O O O M-!!! He slammed his entire weight against the incoming fireball!
A massive explosion occurred upon impact, followed immediately by a violent shockwave that tore through the air. I squinted my eyes against the debris and the heat, but I didn't dare look away for even a second.
Then, from the center of the dissipating explosion— Bam!
Blake stepped out of the smoke, casually rotating his right shoulder as if he were simply trying to stretch out a minor cramp.
"Oof, that actually hurt a bit."
He said, his smile never wavering. I watched as the majin's face contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated anger upon hearing his casual remark.
'I can actually understand why she's so mad. Blake is just naturally annoying to deal with.'
*****
After Blake successfully blocked that gigantic fireball, we wasted no time in launching our coordinated counterattack.
"[Blessing of the Sea!]"
Adelle cast a support spell on all of us, providing a magical buffer that would allow us to tank a significant portion of damage from the majin's future attacks. As soon as we received the buff—
FWISH— SLASH!
Alec teleported directly in front of the majin and immediately swung his sword in a lethal arc. However, the majin had already witnessed his trick earlier and was on high alert for his [Teleportation] skill. Because of her vigilance, she was able to narrowly dodge the blade by flying quickly to her left.
I saw the opening she left during her dodge, and without missing a single beat—
"[Flash]"
I muttered that. The world around me seemed to distort as my speed reached its limit. And in the next moment— I was positioned right in front of the majin, leaving a trail of violent wind and crackling lightning in my wake!
ZOOSH—!
I swung my lightning-covered sword upward in a sharp vertical strike, but unfortunately, I missed my target. The majin was clearly surprised by my sudden speed, but she responded with fast reflexes and flew straight upward.
Though, that outcome was perfectly fine for our strategy.
BOOM!
A massive spear went flying through the air, aimed straight at the majin's center; she was forced to stop her ascent in mid-air to dodge the projectile.
But by doing so— she gave us another opportunity to strike.
"[Rising Waterfall]"
And Curtis didn't miss that golden chance.
He jumped upward with incredible force, swinging his sword at the same time. The blade of his weapon was instantly covered with a dense, swirling layer of water produced by his concentrated mana.
The majin saw the incoming attack and frowned deeply. She immediately decided that a water user like Curtis was a major threat to her fire-based abilities. She began accumulating a massive amount of mana in her hands, clearly ready to kill Curtis in one fell swoop, even if it meant taking a wound herself!
But just before she could finish conjuring her lethal spell— SWOOSH!
A raging arrow flew straight toward her, aimed precisely at her head!
"...?!"
The majin was forced to bend her head backward in a sharp movement to avoid the arrow, which passed by her safely. But because she had to shift her focus to avoid being shot—
SLASH!
"KEUK?!!"
Curtis was able to land a clean, deep hit right across her body!
"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"
BOOM!
The majin quickly materialized a fireball to blast him away. It was a powerful, desperate attack, but Curtis simply covered his sword with mana and shifted the water density to block the brunt of it.
Though he blocked it, the force of the impact was still strong enough to send him spiraling back toward the ground.
BAM!
Blake expertly positioned himself and caught Curtis with ease, preventing any fall damage.
I looked up at the majin as she hovered there, her eyes meeting mine with intense hatred. I just smiled at her, and opening my mouth—
"Hah, where did all that bravado go? You can't let yourself lose to a bunch of kids after all that big talk you did earlier."
I said that, my eyes turning into crescents as my smirk widened into a mocking grin.
