Elaris's magic surpassed Elithia's, freezing the entire castle that had resisted attacks and spells. Even Elithia had managed to endure it, but she was overwhelmed when the expanding ice went beyond the already frozen sections and spread further. At that exact moment, Enrico and Victoria attacked Sairao together.
Victoria launched a cut across Sairao's shoulders, and Enrico followed with a kick that shattered the air like glass, striking Sairao's face. He slid backward, blood running down his face, his feet dragging across the ruined ground as his eyes burned with absolute fury. Crimson claws expanded around him like a living storm, lashing out in every direction.
"Crimson Storm."
Enrico advanced without hesitation, dodging on pure instinct, his body being cut as he closed the distance and drove a punch straight into Sairao's face. The impact echoed, but the evil god retaliated with a burst of curse energy that hurled Enrico backward.
"Spatial Cut."
Victoria appeared at Sairao's side, her blade tearing through space in a horizontal slash. Turning quickly, Sairao blocked with a crimson barrier, but the force made his arm tremble. Black chains erupted from the ground to bind Victoria, yet she vanished and reappeared above, descending with a thrust. Sairao twisted his body, barely evading, and kicked the air, releasing a wave of energy that slammed her into the ground.
Before he could continue attacking Victoria, Enrico appeared behind him, grabbing his face and dragging him across the ground, destroying everything in their path. Sairao roared and unleashed a massive crimson explosion directly into Enrico's face, forcing him to release his grip and be launched upward. Instantly, multiple magic circles formed around them, releasing monstrous arms that attacked both simultaneously.
Victoria teleported relentlessly, avoiding the strikes by mere millimeters, while Enrico twisted midair and shattered the arms with raw blows. Then Sairao appeared between them, his cold gaze fixed, and delivered a double strike that sent both flying in opposite directions. Without pause, he rushed Enrico, but Victoria rose and intercepted, her sword piercing Sairao's body once more.
Sairao endured the thrust despite bleeding, grabbing Victoria by the neck to kill her instantly, but Enrico moved faster. A kick forced Sairao to release her, and with a spinning motion, Enrico followed with another kick to his stomach, launching him across the city. Both Enrico and Victoria pursued immediately, with Enrico taking the lead due to his speed.
"You two are incredibly annoying."
Despite the irritation in his voice, Sairao smiled in a distorted manner and spread his arms, unleashing a massive crimson explosion that engulfed both—Victoria included, even from behind.
Curse chains erupted instantly, piercing Victoria's stomach and binding her while draining her mana. Enrico tried to advance, but a colossal arm emerged from a red circle and slammed his torso into the ground, bones cracking with a sharp sound. Blood spilled from his mouth as a crimson blast struck his back. Of the two, Victoria suffered more, her vision trembling as darkness nearly consumed her sight.
"With this, you won't be such a problem."
Sairao advanced slowly toward them, his hand filled with crimson energy. Before he could release another devastating attack, Enrico was already in front of him, eyes still dull. His head slammed into Sairao, launching him into the air. Victoria, still pierced, cut the chain and unleashed a slash that pushed the evil god back.
Sairao was slightly surprised but continued gathering energy in his hand, preparing to strike both at once. Suddenly, a blade knocked his arm aside, causing the attack to explode off course. The one behind him was pushed back while Sairao was thrown the opposite way.
'That boy… wasn't he with them?'
Sairao realized it was Kai. It seemed the boy had defeated a seventh circle opponent alone despite being only sixth circle. It didn't matter—Sairao was still stronger.
"Enrico, sorry for the delay."
"I'm here too."
"Sorry, I didn't see you, Victoria."
Kai apologized sincerely, but Victoria only scoffed and turned her focus back to Sairao. Kai wanted to ask why Enrico didn't respond, but decided to leave it for later—the enemy before them was far more dangerous than Volhit.
'Three… it seems humans have three.'
Biting his lip slightly, Sairao gave no more time for words and advanced at terrifying speed. His crimson hand pierced Kai's chest, sending him flying backward as blood scattered through the air. Before Victoria could react, black chains bound her again, and a curse explosion struck her abdomen, worsening her injuries.
'Three great threats to my complete descent…'
Enrico appeared in front of him but was struck by a direct blast to the face and thrown into ruins. Sairao appeared above him and descended with a crushing fist from a magic circle, smashing both Enrico and the ground beneath him. Even wounded, the three were overwhelmed, barely able to breathe under the crushing might of the evil god. And yet… why did Sairao feel uneasy?
The three youths rose again with unnatural speed, appearing at different angles. Enrico's punch struck Sairao's face, Kai slashed deeply into his thigh—one of the most damaging blows he had suffered—and Victoria cut across his back.
Watching this unfold, it felt as if Enrico was adapting to him… and the other two were evolving mid-battle. Now Sairao understood that feeling.
'I must kill these aberrations before I am devoured.'
Summoning his curse magic circle, the three were pushed back by the power that began to surge from within the circles, and then suddenly they started to merge into a larger and far redder one. From the center of the circle, a claw emerged, followed by a leg and a horned head, and finally a full body, crimson in color with magic circles engraved across it. Its size was greater than the distant castle, and it undoubtedly surpassed the power of a seventh circle.
"Curse Beast Zorg."
Sairao's breathing became irregular, as making this summoning was something his current body could not withstand very well. But what else could he do? The longer the fight lasted, the more those three would evolve. Therefore, he had to take the risk to finish them as quickly as possible.