Chapter 340: Not Again

[Lux Aeterna]

A chant escaped Regis’s lips as he turned into a figure even faster than the lightning god.

He instantly arrived above Killian and struck the back of his neck with the handle of the Shard of Tinateria, rendering him unconscious.

WOOOONG—!!!

[Grand Magic]

"Huh?"

Feeling the violent fluctuations of mana that could be compared to that of a world-ending storm, Regis raised his head in surprise.

[Devastatio Vorago]

A horizontal colossal white pillar of compressed mana instantly swallowed Regis.

However, there was something different this time.

Earlier, he was still carrying Marzana, so he needed to be careful.

Now, even though the magic spell seemed to be much more powerful than before, Regis did not dodge despite his surprise.

"Interesting...!"

Instead, a wide smile spread across his face as he directly walked into it.

BOOOOMMMM!!!!

A loud explosion sounded as Regis directly bathed in the powerful white beam of the grand magic.

The destructive magic continuously tried to erase him, yet each passing second became less effective than the last.

The smile on his face widened even more as he walked leisurely inside it, a peculiar feeling washing over every cell in his body.

This peculiar feeling was a sign that...

He had already adapted to it.

"Haha!"

Regis chuckled as he continued his relaxed pace, looking like he was merely taking a stroll.

The tremendous power of the white pillar of mana continued for a minute before it slowly dissipated.

At this point, he had already arrived in front of the mages with a wide smile that had not left his face for even an instant.

"Hmm? Mana Link? So that’s why that magic spell was much more powerful than before..."

Regis muttered in wonder as he keenly noticed a translucent line that connected Pandora, Aurelia, Auryn, Lesfera, and Aeola’s hearts.

Mana Link was a magic spell that, as its name suggested, connected multiple people’s hearts.

Through this, they could share their mana reserves or choose to direct it to one person for a more devastating increase in power.

However, this also came at a consequence, as it severely strained the participants’ minds and mana, making them incapacitated after much exertion.

"This is kinda anticlimactic..."

Regis could not help but mutter to himself as he was expecting a grander fight using magic.

"Eek!"

A yelp suddenly resounded in the area.

"Hmm?"

Regis, with an expression of both confusion and surprise, looked down and saw the blushing Pandora, who was covering her face.

However, there was still a gap between her fingers in which her ruby-red eyes were faintly visible.

Regis noticed that the pink glow on her eyes had disappeared.

He smiled and waved, "Oh, you’re back?"

"B-Brother..."

Sensing something wrong with her tone, Regis asked as he frowned in worry, "What’s the matter? Is there something wrong?"

"W-Why are you naked..." Pandora’s soft voice sounded as she stuttered.

"H-Huh?"

Regis looked down at his body as he covered his private areas in the next second.

"So that’s why it suddenly became cold and airy!"

***

On the other side of the battlefield...

"Why the hell is that bastard so slow!? And why the hell is he walking like he’s drunk!?"

Aziza gritted her teeth in frustration as she used every ounce of her power to fight the destabilization brought upon by Marzana’s chaos energy.

She looked at the young swordsman, who was one of the people under her control, with a dissatisfied gaze.

"I should have ordered another one, tsk!"

Aziza clicked her tongue, her eyes turning bloodshot as she stared at the young swordsman she called a bastard.

That bastard was none other than Zild.

Zild was among the ones who got controlled.

However, unlike the others, he did not immediately lose consciousness.

Despite his calm appearance, the reason he was walking slowly and stumbling every few steps as though he was drunk was because of the fierce battle raging inside his mind.

From the moment the demon lord used a peculiar power to forcefully put them under control up to the present, Zild was still maintaining a sliver of consciousness.

’I must remain awake! I can’t fall asleep!’

Even now, he was still screaming desperately in his mind, ’No! No! No! Not again!’

Zild’s footsteps slowly became stable as he arrived near the demon lord and Marzana, who was suspended in mid-air above her, right in front of the portal.

"You bastard!"

Aziza directly lashed out as veins popped across her face, "Kill that wretch who dared to interrupt the Great Devil’s descent!"

Zild ran and prepared to leap as he built momentum, his pink-glowing eyes locked on Marzana’s figure above.

’No! Regis has already trusted me!’

Seeing him unsheathe his sword, Aziza felt at ease. "Ugh, thank goodness..."

’I’ve been forcefully stabilizing the Evil Realm Portal since earlier; I’m already close to my limit!’

Just as she was feeling relieved, she noticed something strange.

There was a thin stream of blood on the corner of the bastard’s lips, which made goosebumps cover her body.

’I refuse... to be controlled again!’

The pink glow covering Zild’s eyes shattered like fragile glass as he gritted his teeth, his face contorting in the process.

"Die!"

He forcefully changed direction as he dashed towards the naked woman, driving his sword straight to her throat.

Why was Zild the only one who was able to fight against the demon lord’s control?

He was not as talented as Killian.

He did not have Perfect Adaptation like Regis.

He was not the only one with aether, so nothing really makes him stand out...

...except for one.

The memory of him attacking Killian remained vivid in Zild’s mind.

Among all the members of the Sanguine Order, he was the only one who had already experienced being controlled.

What came with it were guilt, regret, indignation...

...and extreme hatred towards himself.

Zild was not special in the general sense.

He simply refused to make the same mistake again.

And so, with his sword raised up high, Zild attacked the demon lord with all the power remaining within him.

CLANG—!

Unfortunately, this was not a fairytale where a sudden burst of emotions would translate to the power required to kill one’s adversary.

Zild’s eyes widened as he saw his sword being stopped effortlessly by a black-red barrier surrounding the naked woman before him.

"Haha... Did you really think you could kill me?"

Aziza smiled provocatively, "Not to mention my throat, you wouldn’t even be able to touch a single strand of my hair!"

"Sure, the energy you’re wielding is strange, just like that elven girl’s, but..."

Wooong—-!

Black stars began ’shining’ on her chest.

There was something that Zild had overlooked.

And that was the fact that, no matter how Aziza appeared...

...at the end of the day...

She was the Demon Lord of Lust.

"Playtime’s over."

Aziza spoke with a serious expression as six black stars appeared on her chest.

’T-This can’t be...’

Since the battle started, this was the first time Zild felt hopelessness enveloping his very soul.

"S-Six Star...!"

That was right.

Aziza was currently at the Peak Stage of the Six Star Realm.