“Strong!”
“But I’m just a little more powerful,” Loki said.
“Dammit!” Stephan Goldeagle had been standing next to Strong but dodged away quickly. It would be more than reckless to face an opponent who surpassed Strong in physical strength head-on. She tried to use her speed to put some distance between them.
“I also happen to be just a bit faster.” Loki’s voice came from the startled Stephan’s side. He’d caught up to her in the blink of an eye, and soon landed a vicious kick on her.
Stephan’s fate was the same as Strong’s. She went flying, folded in half like a piece of paper.
Loki spun his head 180 degrees to face the remaining four. “And here’s another thing.” Black mana began to gather at the tips of two of his right hand’s fingers.
“Here it comes!” Griffith shouted as he activated Onion Shell, his signature defensive spell.
“You’ll find my magic is better too. Black Magic, Number Forty.” This advanced underworld magic caused black miasma to spread from Loki’s fingers and ooze toward the four of them. The spell was superior to the one Leen had used, thanks to the high-quality mana of its shenmo user.
“Ungh!” However, Griffith’s magic still managed to stop the attack in its tracks. Onion Shell formed a resilient defensive wall by stacking thousands of thin, yet sturdy and flexible barriers upon each other. Griffith had improved the spell since the last fight by ensuring that each barrier had different flexibility or hardness. As a result, each barrier could compensate for the others’ weaknesses.
“Oh? Well, well, well, well!” Loki sounded genuinely amazed. “How interesting! You might actually be better than me in terms of defensive magic! Let me increase the intensity a bit!” As soon as he’d finished his sentence, the black miasma thickened twofold.
Even Griffith couldn’t stop Loki then. The four of the Great Six remaining screamed in agony as the barrier was shattered, and they were tossed away as easily as pebbles.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Loki turned his face to the sky and clapped away. “Yes, you bunch aren’t doing half bad! You might even be able to kill me. Come on, stand up! Let’s up the tempo of this dance!” His laughter was so intense it was like he’d lost his mind.
“You damn monster!” Griffith cursed from the ground.
Still not enough, huh? Yoshida thought as he observed the fight between Loki and the Great Six.
The six of them were not weak. Save for the Seven Heroes, they were by far the strongest fighters in the Seven Kingdoms. Even so, they were lacking. They had yet to reach the level necessary to stand against a shenmo. While they were each comparable to Loki in their field of expertise, he exceeded them by just enough. Defensive magic seemed to be the only area Loki was lesser at, but that was because he had no need for defense thanks to his immortal body. In a sense, his defensive power was already infinite. When they were outdone in every aspect of combat, victory was impossible for them.
“Ha! So what?” Griffith was the first to stand up. “Who cares if you’re better than us at everything? Even in a situation like this, the Champion would shout ‘Not yet!’ and get back on his feet.”
“You’re damn right!” Strong followed suit, and the other four quickly followed.
“I’m sure the Seven Heroes have faced countless hopeless battles like this one. This is just a trial. One for us to pass and prove we’re heroes too,” Griffith stated with confidence. The other five nodded in response, determination clear on their faces.
Ah, what reliable youngsters, Yoshida thought. He felt embarrassed at himself. He was a weak, gutless man who could do nothing but provide logistical support. Still, that was why he wanted to do the one thing he could. He ran up to Griffith.
“What do you want?” Griffith snapped. “You’re the only one among the Seven Heroes who can’t fight, aren’t you? It’s dangerous. You’d be safer if you took shelter at the rear.”
“I know that. But I can at least offer logistical support. Won’t you let me help you out?”