Charles had indeed encountered a worthy opponent. The man wearing the hamrhead shark mask before him was likely the strongest individual in the Undersea Temple aside from the High Priest himself.
He was the High Priest's son, father of Kahono—the girl Charles had previously t on the beach—and the current High Priest of the temple, Geo.
Geo addressed Charles, "Sorry for dragging you all into one of my old man's dumb gas. But it's been ages since I've seen any mages from the surface. I've been idle too long—not bad to have a little fun now and then. You've got impressive mana... probably the strongest one of the bunch, huh? Guess I got lucky."
"The strongest?" Charles replied indifferently. "You shouldn't underestimate the other Black Bull seniors. But if we're talking luck... I'd say I'm the lucky one."
As he spoke, flas ignited on both of Charles's fists, which he brought together in a sharp clash.
Geo gave a slightly troubled smile. "Ah, a fire magic user, huh? Bad match-up for you in the Undersea Temple. By the way, I'm a water attribute mage."
He opened his grimoire, and a swirling stream of water began to circle around him. The battle was ready to begin.
"Water Creation Magic: Sea God's Warhamr!"
The water condensed into a massive arm, and from the palm poured an enormous, mountain-sized hamr.
The watery limb swung the hamr down at Charles with imnse force.
Geo wasn't just bluffing—this environnt did put Charles at a disadvantage. For mages, surroundings greatly influenced performance.
Especially for natural-type magic, casting drew not only on one's own mana but also on the ambient mana of the world—natural mana. The more abundant the elent, the stronger the spell's output. Conversely, the more scarce it was, the more personal mana had to compensate.
And here, deep beneath the ocean, water mana was plentiful while fire mana was scarce.
Geo's spell was at least 30% more powerful than it would be on land. But fortunately for Charles, he wasn't just any fire mage.
"Fla Dragon's Iron Fist!"
His blazing flas clashed with the descending water hamr, producing a massive plu of steam.
"Incredible!" Geo praised sincerely. The fact that Charles could counter his enhanced water spell with fire magic spoke volus about his power.
As the steam cleared, Charles—engulfed in fla—had already appeared before Geo in a flash and threw a punch.
"Water Creation Magic: Sea God's Shield!"
Charles's fist slamd into a square-shaped water shield, which broke almost instantly under the pressure.
But instead of pressing the advantage, Charles backed off and shook his head slightly with a tinge of disappointnt.
To be honest, he was a bit let down. Geo wasn't as strong as he'd expected. Though his mana was as vast as the sea, power alone didn't equate to real battle experience.
Thinking back, the temple residents had ntioned it had been ten years since any outsiders had co. And since the temple folk weren't allowed to enter the towns above, Geo's only sparring partners were likely other priests.
But real combat was different from playful training. Despite being the temple's strongest, Geo was a mage with little actual experience.
And it wasn't just him. The other temple priests were the sa—that's why four of them had already been eliminated at the start of the ga.
Just as Charles was about to end the battle, he suddenly sniffed the air.
"…This scent…?"
He frowned. His keen nose picked up a familiar sll—one he'd encountered before. It belonged to Vetto, the Despair of the Three Eyes.
And right alongside that scent, Charles also detected Vetto's powerful mana. So he had made it to the Undersea Temple.
In the original story, Vetto had also invaded the temple, aiming to steal the magic stone. Charles wasn't surprised by his appearance.
What did surprise him, however, was the additional scent of blood.
He suddenly rembered: to reach the Undersea Temple, one had to pass through the seaside town of Rakye.
Rakye was a popular resort destination for royals, nobles, and Magic Knights. Vetto must have encountered so of them on his way through—and knowing his violent nature, it was unlikely he had simply passed by.
Charles didn't particularly care for most Magic Knights from other squads. But what Vetto had done disgusted him far more.
Charles could understand Vetto's hatred for humanity. After all, humans had once hard his kind purely out of vile desire.
But under the influence of demonic magic, Vetto had beco a complete lunatic. That's why Charles would have no qualms about taking him down.
Just as he thought this, Yami's voice suddenly echoed through the area, cutting short Geo's attempt to counterattack.
"Mic test, mic test—
Oi, dumbasses, listen up! We've got a real pain in the ass crashing this ga. A bigwig from the Eye of the Midnight Sun. This guy's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a Magic Knight captain and fights like a damn wild animal.
He's also brought along three of his grunts. But for... reasons... I can't go help. So you'll all have to figure it out on your own.
You hear ? Every last one of you better push past your limits here! If anyone dies, I'll kill them again myself!"
Charles couldn't help but smile. Their captain was as reckless as ever—but sohow, he didn't mind at all.
Then ca the High Priest's voice.
"Ga update: Ti limit removed. New victory condition—defeat the Eye of the Midnight Sun's team.
Anyone who contributes to victory may make any wish they desire—if it lies within my power, I shall grant it!"
Charles turned to Geo. "Uncle, you still want to fight? Just so you know—I'm in a hurry to deal with another guy. If you try to stop , I won't be able to hold back."
Geo sighed and shook his head. "You talk big, kid... But if the old man's saying that, then beating this so-called Eye of the Midnight Sun guy takes priority."
Fla wings burst from Charles's back as he shot down a corridor like a fireball—the scent of blood and Vetto's mana ca from that direction.
As he sped through the hallway, a chain suddenly shot out toward him.
"Chain Magic: Scorpio Chain!"
Charles flipped midair, narrowly dodging it—but the chain curved and ca chasing after him again.
"Tch—damn it! I really don't have ti for this!"
He extended his hand and smacked the chain aside with brute force.
Now freed, he finally glanced at the idiot trying to delay him.
The mage looked exactly like a background extra—big round face, terrible haircut, and a gut that stuck out like he was smuggling barrels.
"I am one of the Eye of the Midnight Sun's top chain mages! You'll go no further!"
Charles seriously wanted to ask how many chain mages the Eye had. Was this so kind of gimmick like in that red demon village where everyone claid to be number one?
But there was no ti for sarcasm. The situation was too urgent. Charles focused, ready to end this quickly.
The mana signatures had beco clearer—Vetto had already engaged the others.
In the original story, Asta had paid a heavy price to defeat Vetto—his arms were nearly crippled.
Charles would not let the fight beco that tragic. Not this ti.
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