Sunburst

The three of them stumbled out of a subtle green cyclone of wind that appeared on top of a building.

『Haah… Haah… The pressure in that Domain… was too much…!』[Hanzo]

He fell to the floor, Fujin quickly disappearing into several bright green winds.

Derenne clutched at her chest, breathing deeply.

『...I thought he was going to attack at any time… Will dad be alright?』[Derenne]

Oswald looked back at the direction they came from with a conflicted look on his face.

『...If we go back there, we'll be nothing but a hindrance. If a rank 8 mage can't handle himself…. we'd be worthless there.』[Oswald]

They hesitated for a bit, but the three of them eventually gave in and went toward Raina's group's location.

....

Meanwhile, Reagan remained facing Nezha.

Despite the animosity in the air, neither of them seemed to have any intentions of moving yet.

Nezha smiled, as if he was under the influence of some drug.

『...So, my name is finally making it around the Kingdom of Craysol, is it?!』[Nezha]

Reagan kept a cold and analytical gaze, but responded to him.

『"Nezha", of the Cardinal Sins, alias: Trickster…. Incident one, a high ranking mage was doing patrols throughout the Kingdom when he reportedly met with a "strange looking boy".』[Reagan]

He gripped his spear a little harder.

『7th Circle Mage, Yarrel Trudite, died honorably in battle.』[Reagan]

When Nezha heard his name, he frowned.

『...Yarrel, huh?』[Nezha]

Nezha scratched his head.

『...Not an incident I want to be known for.』[Nezha]

This was the breaking point for Reagan, who thrust his spear directly at Nezha.

『Woah!』[Nezha]

Without too much trouble, Nezha smacked the spear to the side and jumped several feet away.

『I didn't kill him! The newb-!』[Nezha]

Reagan didn't give him a chance to talk, as he got close in a blink of an eye and thrust his spear at a speed that was hard to trace with the naked eye.

Despite that, Nezha quickly deflected most of them, dodging the rest.

『Enough. I'll bring you down, Trickster.』[Reagan]

Reagan moved much faster than when he had tested all of class B-1, at speeds that almost made him become a blur of black.

Nezha had finally begun to start getting hit, beginning with a kick to the side from Reagan that instantly shattered the transparent barrier around him.

『Goh?!』[Nezha]

Reagan didn't stop there, though.

『Xandis!』[Reagan]

He quickly flicked out his left arm, allowing Xandis to shoot forth and land a bite into Nezha's arm after coiling around it.

Nezha immediately tried to get back, but Xandis had managed to hold the grip.

『GRUAAAGH?!』[Nezha]

Black flames spouted from where Xandis bit into him, causing Nezha's face to contort in pain.

He pulled his staff out and quickly reversed his grip into a backhand one before thrusting it down at his arm.

This was when Reagan suddenly pulled back on his left arm, causing Xandis to rend more of Nezha's flesh before narrowly dodging the staff.

As soon as the attack from the glowing tip of the staff missed, it hit the ground and caused a massive explosion that blew up an incredible amount of dust, blowing both parties away, down the street.

『Tch.』[Reagan]

After the dust cleared, the state of the fight was obvious.

Reagan seemed to sustain almost no damage, whereas Nezha had injuries, burn marks, and a black flame still burning on his arm.

Nezha had struggled to hold himself up with his staff, which was increasing and decreasing in brightness, while he was sweating buckets with blood running down his arm and face.

...And yet, his smile only got wider.

『...I like it!』[Nezha]

He started running toward Reagan, stumbling every few steps.

Reagan raised his left hand up into the air in front of him.

『Reign of Chains.』[Reagan]

Silver chains formed in the shape of a ball on top of his palm, slowly moving and pulsating, similar to a snake.

The moment the chain orb finished forming, he dashed forth to meet Nezha.

Despite Reagan's lack of injuries, there was a strange sense of anxiety he felt, as if Raina's group was in trouble.

「...I'm going to finish this, then get to Raina as soon as possible…!」[Reagan]

The only noise was the sound of their footsteps meeting the ground.

Within a few seconds, they were only a few feet away from meeting each other.

Reagan extended his left hand forth, the ball of chains moving with him.

At that moment, there was only silence in the air.

He slammed the hand forth, the chains entering Nezha's stomach.

However, Nezha was the one with a satisfied smile.

『...Do you know what my power is?』[Nezha]

Reagan didn't speak, opting to furrow his brow instead.

『...Mirage.』[Nezha]

The bloodied Nezha faded from Reagan's vision before he felt an impact in his gut and heard a cracking noise.

『Ggh..?!』[Reagan]

He looked down to find Nezha's staff had penetrated a bit into Reagan's mana shield.

Nezha met Reagan's eyes before giving him a horrid smile.

With that, he shouted loud enough for echoes to ring out in the empty street.

『SUNBURST!』[Nezha]

The orange light at the tip of his staff condensed itself before an enormous explosion once again filled the streets.

...All that was left after the dust cleared was Nezha, standing bloodied, but standing, nevertheless.