Chapter 527: Never Mess with the Supreme Magus!
Chapter 527
"I know you want to awaken your lightning magic by using the phoenix, but that will kill you. Its power is far more destructive, which is why," Thalos said as he swung his sword in the air while his golden eyes stayed locked on the beast above. "Stay back and don’t get involved. I will help take it down."
As if annoyed by the gargoyle’s words, the phoenix shrieked furiously. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into shimmering light. To the naked eye, it looked less like movement and more like teleportation, leaving only a faint ripple in the air where it once hovered.
The next second, it reappeared directly in front of Thalos with its beak wide open, ready to unleash a devastating close-range strike. But Thalos wasn’t about to let that happen.
He swung his sword aside with one hand, then immediately swung his fist forward with the other. His knuckles glowed as his massive fist tore through the air, and the distortion in the atmosphere made it look like the air itself cracked under the pressure. The glow inside the beast’s mouth grew brighter, like a star about to collapse and explode.
But the gargoyle was faster. His punch connected squarely with the phoenix’s beak, and the impact was monstrous. The beast was smashed into the ground, stone and soil erupting in all directions. The ground beneath Thalos caved in from the sheer force, as though the mountain itself trembled.
He prepared to press the offensive, but before he could move, the phoenix vanished again, slipping into the same shimmering displacement that left no trace of where it had gone. Thalos gritted his teeth, scanning frantically.
’I need to help, I want to help. You can’t just bench me like that!’ Grey roared in his mind, glaring at Thalos’ back with frustration burning in his chest.
SHRIIIEK!
The cry came from above. Both of them snapped their gazes skyward just in time to see a massive sphere of lightning shoot out from the phoenix’s beak, streaking downward at blinding speed.
’Crap! That lightning might actually hit Grey if I fail to stop it. What do I do?’ Thalos thought as panic flickered through his golden eyes.
"Fuck this!" Thalos muttered as he slammed his gauntlets together and crouched, the ground beneath his feet splintering like fragile glass. He was about to leap when something unexpected happened.
"Wind magic: Aerius Ultra!" Grey roared furiously, his palms spread wide as the air around him howled in violent response.
Debris ripped free from the ground and swirled into the growing tempest. A deafening bang followed as his attack erupted from his hands, colliding with the oncoming lightning sphere.
BOOOOM!
The explosion was catastrophic. The sky itself seemed to ripple, and shockwaves tore through the battlefield. Lightning fractured in every direction, bolts raining down like falling stars. Grey barely managed to swing his sword fast enough, deflecting each strike to the ground before they could fry him alive. Sparks scorched his skin, but none landed fatally.
Thalos dodged with terrifying speed, weaving through the chaotic strikes without even a scratch, though his gaze never left Grey’s back.
Grey’s chest rose and fell heavily as he huffed, staring upwards at the phoenix that hovered with eerie calm. Its wings flapped slowly, arcs of lightning cascading off each feather, and its glowing blue eyes bore down at Grey as if trying to pierce into his very soul.
"There’s a saying that goes around," Grey said, his sword humming as he swung it once, the blade ringing with a sharp shing. His lips curled into a light smirk despite the chaos.
"Never mess with the Supreme Magus, because he is a dangerous foe from two worlds."
"Huh?" Thalos muttered under his breath, utterly confused by Grey’s sudden grandiose declaration.
"Now, where were we?" Grey asked, his face shifting into a faint frown as wind instantly coiled around his feet. With a deafening crack, the currents launched him directly into the air at frightening speed, his body becoming a streak cutting toward the beast above.
"Wait!" Thalos tried to call out, his voice booming through the storm. But it was already too late. The young mage was high in the air, his defiance carrying him closer to the phoenix that radiated storms like a living catastrophe.
His sword was raised high above his head as he prepared to sigh in relief when he saw the beast slowly begin to open up its maw.
Seeing this, Grey immediately switched straight to defense while darting towards the beast, but then something strange caught his attention. He didn’t know if he was imagining things or not, yet for a split second, he swore he saw a smirk flash across the phoenix’s maw.
Then...
The creature vanished. It was nowhere to be seen as it immediately teleported, causing Grey to halt his flight midair in sheer confusion. He quickly darted his eyes around, trying to catch sight of it, but unbeknownst to him, a shimmering white light had already begun to form directly behind his back.
"Look out!" Thalos roared with urgency as he held out his hand, and his sword immediately flew out from where it had been lodged, snapping into his grasp with a metallic ring.
Without losing a beat, the gargoyle hurled the weapon forward with every ounce of his monstrous strength, causing a loud, deafening bang to echo across the skies. The blade shot forward almost at the speed of light, whooshing past Grey’s face in a deadly blur.
The beast, upon seeing the sword streaking toward it, instantly folded its massive wings over its face, covering its entire body as though armored.
The blade struck with a deafening boom that rippled through the air, but when the wings swung back open, they were in pristine condition, not even a scratch on them. With a sudden motion, the phoenix unleashed a powerful gust of wind and lightning, expecting to obliterate Grey where he hovered.
Unfortunately for the beast, the young mage was nowhere in sight.
"Breathing Technique: Second Formation," Grey muttered under his breath. His eyes shifted, his breathing slowed to a calm rhythm, and faint, invisible steam seeped from his nostrils and mouth. Then...
BANG!
Grey shot forward like a cannonball, swinging his sword down in a vertical arc towards the phoenix.
"Wind Wheel!" he called out softly. The wind instantly howled in unison with his strike, condensing around his blade before spiraling outward.
The phoenix spun in midair, wings flapping as it tried to break free from the incoming strike, but before it could do so, Thalos blurred forward like a flash of stone and shadow.
The gargoyle’s massive fist connected squarely with the phoenix’s back, the impact reverberating through the air as he forced the beast straight into Grey’s strike zone.
The Wind Wheel tore free from Grey’s sword with blinding speed. For a split second, it seemed destined to carve into the beast, but at the very last moment, the phoenix flickered and teleported away.
The attack instead smashed into the ground with devastating force, cracking the mountain so violently that the earth split apart in jagged fissures.
SWOOSH!
That was all Grey felt behind him. He spun instantly, eyes widening as he found himself staring into the glowing, merciless blue eyes of the phoenix.
Before either he or Thalos could react, a sound-breaking bang rang out. A lightning bolt, blinding and vicious, erupted from the beast’s maw and lanced straight into Grey’s chest at point-blank range.
BANG!
The strike smashed into him with unrelenting force. His eyes went wide in horror as a mouthful of blood burst violently from his lips. His hair fizzled and sizzled under the electric surge, his entire body spasming uncontrollably from the shock.
But that wasn’t the end. The sheer impact hurled his body like a ragdoll out of the sky. He slammed into the ground with bone-crushing force, carving a massive crater deep into the side of the mountain.
"Grey!" Thalos thundered in shock, his voice echoing like rolling thunder as a thick cloud of dust exploded outward, obscuring his view of the fallen mage.