"I guess so."

There was no need for him to pretend otherwise; it was a simple conclusion to come to. And he had already checked all three of their levels.

If he wanted to, he could tell Aeron and the others to let him handle this alone, though it would no doubt be a tough fight. Still, he was confident that he would easily win in the end.

The biggest reason was that he could see the "invisible" hands that had given them so much trouble.

Even though these guys were all at his level or higher, Elion was always confident in fighting people at his level of strength, given his repertoire of affinities, unique skills, and overpowered stats.

It was unfair for the enemy, so unfair that there would be no suspense.

No doubt they were formidable opponents, since they had given the others so much trouble...

But this was the end of the rope for them. Elion looked back at Aeron and Yakuza.

"You guys should let me handle them. I need to stretch my limbs a bit," he said, rolling his shoulders lightly as if to make a point.

Yakuza frowned.

"Are you sure? They are very difficult opponents."

Elion nodded.

"I can see the boy’s ability, so their advantage should be void. I can handle it... But I’ll let you guys jump in if you think I need help, for your peace of mind."

Yakuza held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, giving the others a look. Without another word, they all jumped back, creating space.

The swordsman frowned.

"You should heed your allies’ warning and not underestimate us, even if you can see Uta’s akuma."

Elion smiled faintly.

"I think you should worry about yourself."

Uta’s glare sharpened.

"You talk too much," he hissed.

In that same instant...

Elion saw it.

Three of the grotesque hands elongated and stretched before shooting toward him with blinding speed, seeking to impale him.

He moved just in time and easily dodged the sneak attack.

Boom!

The ground where he had been standing exploded, dust and debris rising into the air.

Uta clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Calm yourself, Uta," the swordsman said, stepping forward slightly. "Let’s work together. He clearly has the strength to back up his arrogance... so we should properly teach him a lesson that he won’t forget."

Uta nodded reluctantly, and the three of them moved in synch, spacing out and forming a loose formation in front of Elion.

The girl smiled again, that same unsettling smile.

"It’s only fair that a lady gives her name to her beloved," she said, dipping into a small curtsy, which looked oddly out of place with her loose pants and oversized clothes instead of the usual dress that noble women wore when they curtsied.

"My name is Yaana."

Her eyes gleamed affectionately, "I should warn you though... I kill all the men I fancy." She laughed maniacally, "The most fun part is slicing their bowls open with my kuroumi..." She brushed the blade of her scythe lovingly with her lengthy nails.

’I guess that’s kuroumi.’ Elion thought. This was a rather odd situation that he found himself in. It seemed like the pair of youngsters was unhinged, to say the least.

"You’ll be a nice addition to my collection."

She licked her lips slowly, and then she vanished.

No.

Not vanished.

She moved so fast that it looked like instant teleportation.

She appeared right in front of Elion, her massive scythe already mid-swing, cutting through the air toward him.

What the...!?

Elion’s eyes widened, and he twisted his body at the last possible second.

Whoosh!

The blade passed by him, close enough that he felt the wind shear against his skin.

Behind him, Aeron frowned grimly.

"She didn’t use that before..." he muttered.

Maya and Zenovia both nodded.

"They were holding back the whole time," Maya added quietly in realisation.

Elion narrowed his eyes as his feet skidded across the ground. The only advanced mage he had ever seen move that fast...

Was himself.

And if it wasn’t for Discerning Eye, he wouldn’t have even been able to see her movement at all until he was cut to ribbons by that deadly scythe. It didn’t help that he had deactivated Enhanced Cognition a while ago.

"Tch..." He clicked his tongue lightly. That was a mistake. He activated it again instantly, and the world slowed, if only a little.

Everything became clearer once again as he shifted his stance, gripping his sword more firmly.

He wasn’t given the time to gather his thoughts; more hands shot toward him from all directions, and at the same time, the swordsman quickly lunged forward in quick succession, sword and shield in hand.

A perfectly synchronised attack.

’They’re coordinating well...’

Elion’s eyes flashed. Just as the grotesque hands were about to grab him, he used one of the new spells.

"Substitute."

His body blurred and vanished, and in his place, a large rock appeared as a replacement. The hands closed around it, crushing it instantly in a loud boom as the swordsman closed in, looking at the scene in shock

Unbeknownst to him, or any of them for that matter, Elion appeared a few metres behind Uta.

It took no more than a second of quick glances, looking for where he had gone to spot his new location; however, the target of Elion’s action was the last person to realise it.

Everyone’s eyes widened, and shock rippled across the battlefield. He didn’t waste a second. His right leg lashed out.

Bang!

The kick connected cleanly with Uta’s right shoulder.

Crack!

The sound of bone snapping echoed clearly as the arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and Uta’s body was sent flying like a rag doll, straight into one of the few standing trees.

Boom!

The impact shook the trunk violently as splinters burst outward. The blow had been brutal and merciless.

Yaana and the swordsman both turned their heads, watching Uta crash, then they slowly looked back at Elion, looking at him like they were staring at a monster.

"...Oops," Elion said casually, a faint, triumphant smile forming on his face. "You said something about teaching me a lesson?"

Inwardly though, he was stunned by his own power.

’Wow!’

He had switched places with a rock from behind Uta.

’What the actual fuck...’ His excitement surged.

Yaana was the first to snap out of her shocked daze.

"Uta!" She rushed to Uta’s side, grabbing him and helping him back to his feet as he coughed up mouthfuls of blood, his body trembling slightly from the impact.

"I’m... okay..." he said between breaths.

Elion raised a brow as he witnessed wisps of darkness peel away from the grotesque hands surrounding Uta and drifting toward his broken arm, wrapping around it like threads...

Stitching, reconnecting, and mending the twisted limb. The arm straightened slowly, and the broken bones snapped back into place as the dark energy fused everything together until it was perfectly whole again, as if nothing had happened to it.

To anyone else, it would have looked like Uta had simply healed himself instantly by some invisible means.

But Elion could see exactly what was happening.

"You can heal yourself with that too?" Elion asked curiously. "If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re feeding off dead souls to give yourself such power."

Uta’s expression twisted again. He looked like he was having great trouble keeping himself calm.

"Wait... Is that it?" Elion asked with a light smile.

"I will kill you... slowly... Very... very slowly," Uta hissed, as he got up and sent out another burst of arms.

"Looks like I touched a nerve there."

This time, about twenty long arms were bursting toward him.

Elion had to run, twist, turn, jump, and weave through the air, using water spells to aid his movement as he dodged the entire flurry.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Each hand struck the ground with devastating force, tearing up the battlefield around him. And when he finally landed after dodging the last hand, Yaana was already there waiting for him.

Her scythe was mid-swing into him. Elion reacted quickly, using the length of his sword to block the curved blade.

Clang!

Sparks flew as their weapons collided.

She leaned in slightly, peering at him through the clash with that same crazed smile on her face.

Elion’s eyes narrowed. She was surprisingly strong for someone so small.

He couldn’t push her back unless he used more than half his strength, since he usually only used around thirty percent when wielding his sword.

She scoffed lightly.

"I thought you were kind of cute before... but look at you now, you’ve made Uta angry..." Her grip tightened as her eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Maybe I should cut all your limbs off?"

Elion blinked once, ’...Why did that sound like she was asking me?’

"...You can try," he said calmly.

The moment the words left his mouth, he moved. His blade twisted at an angle, redirecting the pressure of her scythe just enough to slip past it, his body shifting to the side as he stepped in closer instead of retreating.

Yaana’s eyes widened slightly, then curved into a delighted expression.

"Hehe..."

Clang!

Their weapons met again, faster this time, the clash echoing as sparks scattered between them.

She swung wide, and he ducked under. She reversed the motion mid-air while he stepped back just enough for the blade to graze past his chest, the wind pressure alone biting against his skin.

She was ridiculously fast, but now, he could see it.

With Enhanced Cognition active and his senses fully sharpened, her movements were no longer blurs, but sequences that he could see and predict.

’Got you.’

He pivoted, and his sword came up from below...