Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 254: Chapter: 253 Dueling Magnus.[3]

"Ugh!"

Painful groans escaped both Kavin and Jasmine as they slowly pushed themselves back to their feet.

Their expressions twisted into grimaces while aching muscles and battered bones protested every movement.

The force behind Magnus’ punches had been monstrous. Even now, pain pulsed through their bodies with every breath they took.

As they straightened, their gazes lifted toward the figure standing across the arena.

The sight before them was nothing short of majestic.

Magnus stood proudly amidst the shattered battlefield, a broad grin stretched across his face as though he was enjoying every second of the exchange.

The wound on his shoulder was still visible, fresh blood staining part of his clothing, yet he appeared completely unaffected by it. Instead of weakening him, the injury seemed to have only fueled his excitement.

Behind him stood the enormous golden lion.

The beast remained motionless, its massive body radiating authority.

Golden flames danced along its mane while its eyes watched the battlefield with calm indifference.

Despite the intensity of the battle, the lion looked completely unbothered, as if nothing happening around it was worthy of concern.

Kavin’s eyes narrowed slightly.

From the appearance of those flames alone, it was obvious that the lion followed the Fire Path.

The contradiction would have confused most outsiders. Magnus himself was a Wood Path spell caster, yet his bonded beast possessed a completely different Path.

Among the Zlycons, however, such things were normal.

Their children bonded with beasts from a young age. The relationship was far deeper than a simple contract.

They grew stronger together, fought together, and spent their entire lives side by side. To most Zlycons, a bonded beast was not a servant or a weapon. It was family.

Many even referred to the relationship as a life partnership.

When one died, the other rarely moved on.

There had been countless stories throughout history of warriors who refused to form another bond after losing their lifelong companion.

The reverse was equally true. Some beasts wandered alone until death after losing their partners.

Only bonds formed shortly before a beast’s death were viewed differently.

Outside of those rare circumstances, abandoning a bonded partner was considered dishonorable.

Those who did so often found themselves looked down upon by Zlycon society.

Because of that tradition, differences in cultivation Paths were extremely common. Many even viewed it as an advantage.

A warrior and their beast could complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to wield abilities that covered a much wider range of situations.

’Fucking...monster.’

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed into a scowl as frustration churned inside her chest.

The words echoed only in her thoughts.

Under normal circumstances, she would have gladly shouted every curse she knew at the giant standing before them.

Unfortunately, she had long since sworn an oath of silence. Until she avenged her supposed son and killed those responsible, she would remain mute.

As for Kavin, he quietly rolled his shoulders and suppressed another groan.

The giant’s fists had felt less like punches and more like battering rams. Every bone in his body ached from the impacts.

Even so, both of them remained standing.

The problem was obvious.

Surviving five minutes against Magnus had already seemed difficult. Now there was an additional threat standing beside him.

The golden lion was no ordinary beast.

It was a Fire Path Supreme Beast known as a Golden Lion.

Its strength was comparable to a spell caster who had recently stepped into the Void Core Stage.

In other words, it was roughly as powerful as Kavin and Jasmine themselves. They were no longer facing one overwhelming opponent.

They were facing two.

Magnus rolled his shoulders and looked at them with obvious amusement.

"Are you done?"His grin widened as he spoke.

In response, Kavin bent down and retrieved his wakizashi from the ground.

Without saying a word, he lunged forward.

Jasmine followed immediately behind him.

The giant’s smile grew even larger. "Good."

The moment the word left his mouth, the golden lion stepped forward and its enormous jaws opened and then it roared.

Golden fire erupted from its mouth.

The torrent of flames was immense, nearly as wide as a bus and stretching across the battlefield like a blazing river. Worse still, the attack moved with terrifying speed.

One moment the lion had opened its mouth, the next, the flames were already upon them.

Kavin’s eyes widened, the attack had appeared too quickly, there was no time to cast a spell, there was barely enough time to think.

Instinct took over.

The wakizashi vanished from his hand and dissolved into mana. In its place appeared a massive shimmering mace.

Without hesitation, Kavin thrust the weapon forward. The round metal head intercepted the torrent of golden flames.

The result was immediate.

The fire crashed into the curved surface and split apart in every direction.

It resembled a powerful stream of water striking a rounded stone, scattering outward instead of continuing forward.

Even so, stopping the attack came at a cost. The flames carried tremendous force.

Heat spread through the weapon almost instantly, the metal became scorching hot.

Kavin felt the burning temperature travel directly into his palms, the burning sensation shot right through his hands as the skin began to redden.

He gritted his teeth and refused to let go.

Muscles trembled under the pressure while golden flames continued crashing against the mace.

The heat was becoming unbearable, yet Kavin held firm.

"Are you done?" he muttered through clenched teeth.

---

Magnus watched the scene unfold with genuine fascination. These two juniors were proving far more capable than he had initially believed.

The praise he felt toward them was difficult to suppress, they had managed to wound him.

They possessed abilities he had never seen before, their coordination bordered on absurd.

Their arsenal of spells felt less like techniques possessed by young spell casters and more like the treasured inheritances of those ancient clans.

Even so, the battle was approaching its conclusion.

At least, that was what Magnus believed after all Kavin was injured and so was Jasmine.

They were now exhausted. The strain of their techniques was becoming increasingly obvious.

At this point, even his bonded beast might be capable of defeating them.

A sigh escaped him.

It was a shame.

Had they not been burdened by whatever curse prevented their rank from progressing normally, their future would have been terrifying.

With that thought, Magnus lowered his stance.

His muscles coiled. He prepared to launch himself forward and end the match.

But right then....his instincts exploded.....zomething was wrong.

The smile on his face vanished.

The fire.

The fire currently engulfing the battlefield was not being blocked....at least, not physically.

There was nothing standing behind it, the flames passed straight through empty space.

Magnus’ pupils contracted.

Danger.

His instincts screamed so loudly that every hair on his body stood on end. From the corner of his eye, he saw movement.

A wakizashi appeared beside his neck.

On his opposite side, a tachi flashed toward his waist.

At the same time, Jasmine’s shorter blade shot toward the tendons of his leg.

The attacks arrived simultaneously.

Perfectly timed.

For the first time in the entire battle, Magnus felt genuine shock. The realization hit him instantly...the flames had been a distraction.

They had hidden themselves within the lion’s attack and used the chaos to reposition.

If he had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, those blades would have killed him.

His lips slowly curled upward....the key word, however, was would.

Magnus vanished.

The three blades cut through nothing but empty air. Not a single drop of blood followed.

"What the—?!"

Both Kavin and Jasmine’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The three attacks had been perfect.

Every movement had been calculated beforehand. Magnus’ reactions had already been measured throughout the battle.

Kavin’s temporal spells had repeatedly reduced the giant’s margin for response, forcing him into increasingly narrow windows of action.

The attack they had just launched should have worked. Their blades had been less than an inch away from their targets.

Yet in that tiny fraction of a second, Magnus had simply vanished.

Kavin’s mind raced.

What kind of speed was that?

Even with Magnus’ monstrous physique, moving that quickly should have been impossible.

Their entire strategy had revolved around exploiting his reaction speed. They had accelerated their attacks to absurd levels and synchronized their strikes so that no normal cultivator could respond to all three at once.

The fact that Magnus had escaped was already shocking. The fact that he had done so effortlessly was even worse.

"Surprised?"

Magnus’ voice echoed across the arena.

Kavin and Jasmine immediately turned.

Their gazes landed on the giant, who was now casually sitting atop the golden lion’s back.

One large leg hung lazily over the beast’s side while a grin stretched across his face.

A very smug grin.

For some reason, both Kavin and Jasmine felt an overwhelming urge to wipe that expression off his face.

The giant, however, appeared completely unconcerned.

Instead, he observed them with open curiosity. His eyes slowly moved across their figures.

He studied Kavin first and then Jasmine, finally, his gaze stopped. The amusement in his expression faded slightly.

"So that’s your beast..."

His voice carried genuine interest. Kavin and Jasmine instinctively followed his line of sight.

Perched upon Jasmine’s right shoulder was a small wolf. The creature was tiny, no larger than the palm of an adult Zlycon.

Its fur was pure white.

Unlike ordinary Time-Rewinding Purple Wolves, whose coats carried varying shades of violet, this one’s fur looked almost snow-like beneath the arena lights.

Only a single marking broke the pristine white. A small purple star rested upon its forehead.

The symbol glowed faintly as though it had been carved directly into its fur.

The tiny wolf growled.

Its miniature fangs were fully exposed as it stared at Magnus with obvious hostility.

Despite its size, there was not the slightest hint of fear in its eyes. Magnus stared at the little creature for several moments.

Then his eyes widened.

For the first time since the battle began, genuine astonishment appeared on the giant’s face.

"A Supreme Grade Time-Rewinding Purple Wolf?"

The words escaped him almost involuntarily.

The spectators looked confused too, many of them had no idea what they were looking at.

To them, the creature appeared harmless, tiny, almost cute.....and cute it was...

Magnus, however, knew exactly what he was seeing, his gaze remained locked on the wolf.

"No wonder..." he muttered.

The pieces rapidly fell into place inside his mind.

The impossible positioning, the sudden disappearances. The attacks emerging from locations they shouldn’t have been able to reach.

The timing that seemed almost supernatural. A normal Time-Rewinding Purple Wolf was already considered extraordinarily rare.

A Supreme Grade specimen was the kind of beast most people would never encounter in their entire lives.

Such creatures possessed frightening control over temporal abilities. When fully matured, they were capable of turning battlefields into nightmares.

Magnus slowly exhaled and then he laughed, a deep, hearty laugh filled with excitement.

"Hahahaha!"

The sound echoed throughout the arena.

The more he learned about the couple, the more ridiculous they became.