The battle was about to ignite—and the combatants couldn't have been more contrasting. On one side was Vetto, the Despair of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, one of the infamous Third Eye.
On the other side stood four from the Black Bulls: Vanessa, Asta, Charles, and Finral (still hidden).
Numerically, the advantage seemed to be with the Bulls—but true battles were never decided by numbers alone.
Vetto, like a rampaging beast, radiated such overwhelming pressure that it drowned out the collective presence of his opponents.
Even Vanessa's threads had been brutally torn apart by his magic.
But his dominance was short-lived—Charles activated Dragonblood Mode.
Heat waves warped the air, sending Charles's dragon-scale scarf fluttering. His slit pupils locked onto Vetto like a predator zeroing in on its prey.
In the next instant, Charles closed the distance with explosive speed. Their fists collided, and the shockwave alone made the air feel suffocating.
Behind Charles, flames surged into the shape of a massive dragon, roaring at the shadow of a beast looming behind Vetto.
Their power clashed—so intense that the very ground beneath them cracked apart.
"Cursed human—hurry up and despair!" Vetto howled, beginning to overpower Charles by sheer brute strength.
Charles's arm bent back under pressure, but his expression remained calm—unshaken.
"I already told you—we don't despair!"
His arm ignited in flame again, reinforcing it with raw magical might. With one explosive heave, he smashed Vetto backward.
As Vetto soared through the air, Charles launched another attack.
"Flame Dragon's Roar!"
A searing flame pillar engulfed Vetto whole. The sheer heat made it hard to imagine anyone surviving.
"Amazing!" Vanessa and Asta both smiled. From the shadows, Finral sighed in relief—maybe he wouldn't have to step in after all.
Vetto, smoking and blackened, crashed to the ground—but remained standing.
"Now let me show you what true despair looks like."
Before their shocked eyes, his horrific burns rapidly regenerated. In seconds, he looked good as new.
Charles wasn't surprised. The way Vetto's mana flowed resembled his own Dragonblood Mode in principle.
His dragon power vastly boosted physical capabilities. Vetto's cursed beast-magic-infused mana gave him similarly monstrous vitality.
Fighting someone who refused to stay injured would terrify most—but not Charles.
"If that level of fire isn't enough…"
Charles's body blazed even hotter.
"…then I'll just crank it up until there's nothing left of you to heal!"
Vetto's right arm transformed into a monstrous claw of magic. "Insect! All talk!"
Charles leapt high, avoiding the descending claw that smashed boulders loose from the cavern wall.
The claw vanished, and Vetto raised his hand, summoning a beast head through a magic circle to fire at Charles behind the debris.
But just as it formed, Charles burst through the rock in a trail of fire and shattered both the beast head and the circle in a single punch.
Vetto blinked, briefly stunned by the force, but quickly broke into mad laughter.
"So you're not like the others—more of a close-quarters fighter, huh? Then let's break your arms! Rip off your legs! Let's see how long you hold out then!"
Charles's reply was another Flame Dragon's Iron Fist, landing squarely in Vetto's face.
"Come and try, if you can!"
The blow sent Vetto staggering, though the burns on his face healed rapidly again.
But Charles noticed something. His regeneration is slowing.
He'd suspected for some time that Vetto's regeneration didn't come from normal magic. Elves shouldn't be able to wield such forbidden energy.
The most likely source? The demon who had given them reincarnation magic.
Only a creature from the underworld could infuse Vetto with such cursed power.
In the original story, Asta's anti-magic sword left wounds that didn't heal—because anti-magic nullified demonic influence. In fact, anti-magic likely existed for the sole purpose of slaying demons.
Charles's Dragon Slayer Magic, blessed by World Magic, offered a similar—if weaker—effect. It didn't neutralize curses like Asta's blade, but it could still hurt Vetto in ways normal spells couldn't.
World Magic didn't grow stronger through training—but by traversing different worlds. Each new world visited bestowed an additional "blessing."
Charles had only traveled through two, so his blessing was still limited—but even so, it made a difference.
He wasn't powerless.
Which meant this was a fight he could win.
With renewed resolve, Charles's attacks grew fiercer.
Vetto's limbs pulsed with savage magic as he charged forward, refusing to back down.
"The hell kind of fight is this…?" Vanessa muttered bitterly.
Indeed, the two combatants seemed to have transcended humanity—Charles, cloaked in flames like a dragon, and Vetto, a brutal beast cloaked in dark magic.
Each blow was primal, claws and fangs tearing into one another.
Vetto took Charles's punches head-on just to land counter-blows. The two were briefly separated after a brutal clash.
Charles spat blood, the cursed energy lingering in his body finally being burned away by his dragon power.
But he knew Vetto had taken a hit too. He had to feel it by now—Charles's strikes weren't healing easily anymore.
And Vetto did feel it. Regenerating from Charles's wounds was far more taxing, draining his mana rapidly.
But neither showed signs of backing down—they charged at each other again.
"Flame Dragon's Wing Strike!"
Charles's arms whipped forward, launching arcs of fire like twin whips.
Vetto caught them with his bare hands, roared, and ripped them apart.
His counter: a volley of cursed magical fangs, fired directly at Charles.
Charles weaved through them, his body glowing with such speed that he left a comet trail behind.
"Arrogant insect!" Vetto bellowed. "I'll crush you where you stand!"
A massive magic claw slammed down. Charles blocked with a kick, but the force nearly shattered his leg.
He gritted his teeth. Isn't powering up mid-battle a protagonist thing? I'm the antagonist here! What the hell!
Worse, the battle was burning through his mana and dragon power far faster than expected. Dragonblood Mode was nearing its limit.
But it was too late to turn back now. This fight would be all or nothing.
Charles went wild—trading blow for blow more and more often.
Vanessa suddenly noticed Asta stepping forward, sword in hand.
"Asta, what are you doing?" she asked, concerned.
Asta clenched his teeth. "Charles is giving everything he's got. How can I just watch? I'm going to help him!"
Vanessa shook her head. "You can't. That's a fight we can't interfere with."
"I don't care!" Asta snapped. "I'm not giving up—on Charles, or on this mission!"
Vanessa paused—then smiled in understanding.
"Alright. Then let me help you fight."
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