Looking surprised, Serion looked back at Reed:

You?! How come you are here?! And why are you still alive?! Serion…!

Brimming with hostility for each other, the two of them glared at one another. Reed didn’t know how Serion was here and why he was here, but he didn’t care. His surprise at his presence was shadowed by his hate at seeing that figure

Meanwhile:

Do they know each other? …Seems so. Uwah, that’s some bloodlust right there. More importantly, is that the demon lord?

Leon, Anna, Sylfina and Adris seemed to be confused by the developments.

Serion grinned at Reed’s appearance, seemingly happy, and said:

You know, I did dislike the fact that you escaped. You were a great guinea pig for me. Bastard!

With those words as the trigger, Reed went forward at maximum speed. He could finally obtain vengeance for everything Serion did to him.

So fast!? Is that body enhancement!?

Serion got shocked at the speed of Reed and his ability to use body enhancement.

However, the surprise was only temporary. He lifted both his arms up and blocked the powerful blow from Reed.

*BAAM!!*

The blow made Serion go back a few steps, and he could feel the pressure from that single attack.

To be able to use enhancement so powerfully… How much mana do you have? How powerful did you become in the time I didn’t see you? …!

Reed didn’t think Serion would be able to block that strike, making him stop in his tracks.

Let’s use this chance to attack! Everyone, come with me! “YES!”

Then, Leon and his group decided to attack Serion all at once.

Leon came forward with his sword lifted and shouted:

HOLY SLASH!

When he swung his sword, a blinding flash of light came out, going in the direction of Serion.

In response to that, Serion:

Held one of his hands up, making the attack disappear.

Tsk! That must the degeneration power we heard so much about!

Leon, unflinching still came forward and started slashing at Serion.

Serion, in turn, blocked every strike of his sword with a single a hand.

While Leon and Serion battled, behind them Leon’s group started to work. Anna started her chanting for a big magic, Adris nocked an arrow in his bow, and Sylfina collected mana from the air.

Adris released his arrow, shouting:

AIR STRIKE!

Reed honestly didn’t know why they were shouting technique names like that, but now was not the time.

Adris arrow came towards Serion at an incredible speed, almost invisible to the eye.

Serion lifted the hand he wasn’t using to block Leon’s attacks with and pointed it towards the arrow.

When the arrow came in contact with his hand…

It disintegrated.

Ugh!

Reed looked on at that scene trying to understand Serion’s power, but couldn’t. He had never heard of magic that does that.

Serion, seemingly bored, grabbed a hold of Leon’s sword with his bare hand, and said:

Be gone.

Reed, knowing he was about to disintegrate the sword, interfered. Making three black tendrils from his cape, he sent them towards Serion.

Serion, seeing the tendrils coming in his direction, jumped back.

The tendrils hit the ground, creating a hole in the middle of it. Reed made the tendrils come back to him, frustrated with Serion’s ability to avoid his attacks.

Is that my cape? I knew I shouldn’t have left it out in the open like that.

Serion said, amused. He lifted one of his hands, and out of it came a gigantic blast of air.

Leon was knocked back, but Reed managed to stand his ground with body enhancement.

Reed disappeared, and tried to come up behind Serion, sending his tendrils to attack him behind his back.

Serion evaded the Tendrils with the smallest body movements possible. Reed jumped forwards and tried to punch the back of Serion’s head.

Serion got down to his knees, avoiding Reed’s attack, and place one of his hands on Reed.

This time around, he sent a blast of energy towards Reed, making him fly backwards.

Reed might have good physical defense, but he never trained his magical defense.

I see you mastered body enhancement, but it’s too bad you never learned how to use magic, huh?

Serion said, mocking Reed. Leon, recovered, went forward and once again used holy slash, only to have it blocked again.

At that instant, Reed got back up, and him and Leon both went forward and started attacking Serion, one from the front and the other from the back. Serion, with quick small movement, evaded all of Leon’s slashes and Reed’s punches, attacking them whenever he got the chance.

Adris started firing arrows, but somehow Serion always managed to disintegrate all of them while still avoiding attacks and attacking Leon and Reed

The good notice is that Serion seemed incapable of doing anything else in that state, transforming the fight in an impasse. Serion kept avoiding attacks and reviding, and Leon, Reed and Adris kept attacking.

It was then that Anna finished her chant.

Anna pointed her staff at Serion, and out of it came multiple lighting bolts, all attacking him at once.

When Reed and Leon saw that, they both jumped back to avoid the attack.

The lightning hit Serion square on, shocking him multiple times over.

While Serion was being attacked, Leon and Reed were both being healed by Sylfina, who had been in the back waiting for a chance to be useful.

The lighting finally stopped, revealing…

A barely hurt Serion.

Seems like we need to repeat that a few more times…

Adris said, sounding nervous.

…

Through the repeat of the method they used before, of stopping Serion with Leon, Reed and Adris attacking, Anna dealing a huge blow, and Sylfina healing Leon and Reed during their attack.

Now…

Ha…Ha…Ha…

Serion was tired and hurt beyond doubt, not to mention sprawled on the ground, but, on the other hand…

Ugh…

Reed, Leon and his team were hurt and tired as well. Sylfina had exhausted her mana, making healing impossible since a while ago, Anna as well couldn’t fire anymore magic, Reed and Leon were already tired out and Adris exhausted his arrows and couldn’t do anything from afar.

Reed knew they were close to defeating Serion after many hours of battle, but they needed a new finishing blow now that Anna was out. Anything less powerful than that lightning would be disintegrated or blocked by Serion

Reed tried to come up with some kind of plan to finish Serion, and came up with only one finishing blow he could use.

During the battle against the dragon, he was infuriated so he didn’t notice at the time, but he was several times stronger than normal. If he had a way of using that power once again, he could finish off Serion right now.

The problem is, he didn’t know how. And he couldn’t take too long thinking unless he wanted to be killed by Serion.

Serion started to get up, and Reed frantically tried to come up with something using his brain.

Wait…

Remembering the times Serion used to tell him about the “organs” of the human body, Reed thought about one specific organ.

The brain. The control center of the human body. The principal thing responsible for what we call “thinking”.

What if… He enhanced such an organ with mana? What would happen?

Left with no other option, Reed tried to send mana over to his brain and enhance it. He didn’t know if enhancing worked on things other than muscles, but he had to try.

He tried once and it failed. He tried twice and if failed. While he was trying, Serion was getting closer and closer from getting up from the ground.

Reed tried and tried and tried, and when he was about to give up…

He finally succeeded.

At once, Reed felt the surroundings get more and more slow, and he started to feel things inside his body moving and working.

He could see each muscle moving on Serion’s body.

He could feel the mana flowing through his body much clearer.

He could think at a speed beyond normal.

Taking advantage of his speedy thinking and his heightned senses for mana, Reed decided to focus, and try find the font of the power he had displayed during his battle against the dragon.

He focused more and more, trying to find something powerful that he didn’t know he had inside his body.

He came upon various things. But none of the what he wanted.

Going through rivers and rivers of mana, Reed hit a rock inside those rivers. He had seen other rocks during his journey, but none quite like this.

A gigantic rock made of the purest form of mana. Large and imposing, Reed could feel something hot and powerful coming out of it.

Reed knew what this was. It was the dragon’s ether.

Reed tried touching the surface of the rock, and then…

A mysterious surge came upon his body.

Reed couldn’t describe it if he wanted. It was a surge of pain, power, pleasure and hate all at once.

He remembered this feeling. He had felt the same at that time.

Letting those emotions take hold of him, Reed let the surge flow through his body, mixing it with his rivers of mana, making a new kind of power go through his body.

Reed’s vision went Red.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! “!?”

Shocked at the sudden scream, everyone present looked to Reed.

What happened to your eyes!? Wait, if you have those eyes, that means…

Seemingly figuring something out, Serion paid close attention to Reed while he screamed.

Together with his scream, a huge burst of mana came out of Reed.

AAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhhh…

Reed’s scream died out, and for a while, everything went quiet.

The huge burst of mana coming out of Reed made everyone get shocked in place.

Calmness reigned over the room, until…

Reed’s figure disappeared, even faster than he was before.

Suddenly, in that moment, Serion got throw back towards the entrance of the room.

No one saw what happened. Serion tried to stop his fall by using magic, but when he tried, he felt something hit him in the head.

He was then smashed against the ground.

*CRUSH!*

Making a hole in the tower floor, Serion tried to recover and get back up once again. But once more, he felt something hit him, this time on his back.

Being throw over to the place he was originally at, Serion instead of panicking because he was being attacked by some unknown force, started laughing.

HAHAHAHAHA! I can’t believe you are so fast I can’t see you even with enhanced eyes!

Serion then lifted one of his hands up into the air, and let out a blow of mana towards nothing.

But, in the place where there was nothing before, suddenly Reed’s figure appeared.

He then got blasted into the air, towards the roof.

When Reed reached the roof, he positioned both his feet on the roof, and launched himself!

*CRASH!*

Reed threw himself towards the ground, going directly where Serion was, down on the ground.

He went with with all, his speed and…

Punched him In the stomach.

GUH!

Serion felt an enormous pain in the center of his body, and started to vomit blood.

But Reed wasn’t done yet.

He lifted his arm up high, accumulated energy into the arm, and launched another punch into Serion’s stomach.

*CRUSH!*

The punch was so strong, it formed a crater on thee ground where Serion lays.

But Reed still wasn’t done.

He lifted his arm and punched again, making the crater deeper with his punch.

Reed was not satisfied.

Once more lifting his arm up, he let it come down onto Serion’s stomach, making the crater bigger and deeper.

For the last time, Reed again lifted his arm.

His arm came down onto Serion’s stomach, but this time Reed felt some kind of mana barrier break, and his fist started to go down more than before.

It went down. And down. And down.

When Reed noticed his fist had gone through Serion’s stomach.

Reed’s pulled his hand out dragging with him blood, entrails and organs out of Serion’s body.

Reed looked one last time at Serion’s face…

And saw him smiling.

Goodbye, son.

Serion said, before calmly closing his eyes.

And then he died.