The little cat yowled frantically on Kael's shoulder, and though the situation was tense, her antics eased some of the pressure in Kael's heart.
Yet Kael remained vigilant. He glanced back—and his blood ran cold.
Damn it, Zev is almost upon us!
Kael hadn't expected Zev to be this fast. In the blink of an eye, the man had closed the distance, his speed terrifying, his power as a tenth-tier mage even more so.
This was Kael's first time facing a tenth-tier mage head-on—a true powerhouse of the era. Even in the Water Dragon Dungeon, when he'd encountered the tenth-tier Puppet General, he'd avoided direct confrontation. But the sheer might of that foe still haunted him to this day.
And Zev? He was no less formidable than the Puppet General.
One had to understand: once a mage reached the eighth tier, their individual combat prowess, bolstered by their domain, matched that of warriors of the same rank—while their area-of-effect attacks far surpassed them. By the tenth tier, a mage's power became monstrous, their spell range reaching absurd proportions.
In other words, Zev didn't even need to catch up to Kael. All he needed was to get close enough to cast a single spell.
As Zev's oppressive aura drew nearer, Kael's frown deepened.
"Damnable human! Ugh, I hate this! Meow—this young lady is doomed!" The little cat lamented miserably. "To think I'd die alongside some insignificant human… What a disgrace to the Dragon-Cat lineage!"
Kael rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, Zev shot forward like an arrow, unstoppable, his mana surging violently. The sheer pressure alone made it hard for Kael to breathe—it was overwhelming.
With a sharp turn, Kael realized: if he didn't act now, Zev would slaughter him where he stood.
Thunderflame Eyes!
Once again, Kael activated his Thunderflame Eyes. The shape of a staff flickered in his pupils, a magic circle glowing within as his mana locked onto Zev.
Zev's heart lurched. There was something deeply unsettling about the boy's gaze—he instinctively tried to evade, but it was already too late.
Kael's Thunderflame Eyes were instantaneous magic.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as Kael's Thunderflame Eyes unleashed their devastating power. Frostfire and violet lightning wreathed Zev's body, and before he could react, a pained roar tore from his throat.
"Damn it, what kind of magic is this?!" Zev's mind reeled in shock as the violet lightning and frostfire coiled around him like parasitic worms, clinging stubbornly to his body no matter how violently he tried to shake them off.
The two magical forces ravenously devoured his defenses, and Zev's heart pounded with alarm. He'd never expected Kael to wield such bizarre and insidious magic.
Acting swiftly, Zev chanted an incantation, summoning a watery shield that enveloped his body. Only then did he manage to seize a brief respite, gasping for air as the shield mitigated the assault.
The power of the Thunderflame Eyes gradually dissipated, but Zev was left in a wretched state—his robes torn in multiple places, his hair disheveled, as though he'd just been thoroughly thrashed.
"You damned brat, I'll tear you to shreds!" What infuriated Zev even more was the lingering agony from the dual assault of flame and lightning. His arms trembled with numbness, nearly causing him to drop his staff.
This kid is downright unnatural. If I hadn't reacted in time, he might have actually killed me in that instant! No wonder even Lucian was no match for him. He's terrifying.
Kael, meanwhile, felt a chill run down his spine. This was the first time his Thunderflame Eyes had failed to annihilate his foe outright—proof of just how fearsome Zev truly was.
A tenth-tier mage's power is on an entirely different level!
While Kael marveled at Zev's strength, Zev himself was even more stunned by Kael's lethality. Never before had a ninth-tier mage—even those at the very peak, just a step away from the tenth tier—managed to so much as scratch him, let alone inflict serious harm.
This boy is a If he's allowed to grow unchecked and eventually breaks through to the tenth tier, no one in the Renault family will stand a chance against him! The realization filled Zev with unprecedented wariness. Never in his life had he felt such apprehension toward a mere ninth-tier mage.
"That spell was amazing! Finish off that gloomy old mage! This young lady bestows her power upon you—you can do it!" The little cat's eyes sparkled with renewed hope as she cheered Kael on.
Kael, however, had no time for her antics. He poured all his focus into his Levitation Flight, weaving through the air with masterful precision. Had he not trained relentlessly in this spell, Zev would have caught him long ago.
"Stop with the empty encouragement. This guy is no joke—one misstep, and neither of us is walking away alive today!" Kael's brow furrowed deeply.
A tenth-tier mage was not an enemy to be taken lightly. Worse yet, after suffering Kael's Thunderflame Eyes, Zev was now on high alert, his murderous intent honed to a razor's edge. Any chance of catching him off guard again was virtually nonexistent.
"What am I supposed to do? I'm just a delicate maiden—are you expecting me to fight a tenth-tier mage?!" The little cat whimpered, casting a glance at Zev's ferocious approach before her tone turned despondent. **"Though I am the pride of the Dragon-Cat lineage, a peerless genius the world has never seen... that shadowy brute does look rather terrifying..."** Even in this life-or-death moment, she refused to relinquish her self-proclaimed title of 'genius.'
Zev accelerated, closing the gap to mere hundreds of meters in the span of a breath!
Both Zev and Kael streaked across the sky like lightning bolts—to ordinary eyes, they might as well have been twin meteors.
As Zev drew nearer, the distance between them had now entered his effective casting range. Kael could even sense the fluctuations of Zev's mana, deepening his scowl.
"Faster, faster! Hurry!" Amid the little cat's frantic cries, Kael gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to even greater heights, reaching a velocity so terrifying it nearly matched that of a tenth-tier expert!
Zev's eyes widened in shock. Only now did he fully grasp that the boy before him was a once-in-an-era prodigy. Lucian might have been strong, but against this kid? He wouldn't have stood a chance.
"With such monstrous talent at your age, letting you live is out of the question!"Zev sneered, his staff flashing as he locked onto Kael.
Kael felt an immense, mountain-like pressure bear down on him, the sheer weight of it making his heart pound.
A tenth-tier mage is even more fearsome than a warrior!
"Such overwhelming presence still a smidge inferior to this young lady's!" the little cat yowled, her bravado laced with panic.
"Aquatic Prison!" Zev's staff flicked, and to Kael's horror, the spell he unleashed was a binding magic—he intended to immobilize Kael!
Damn it all! If this spell lands, I'll be completely at his mercy!
As Zev completed his incantation and raised his staff skyward, a torrent of mana surged forth, enveloping Kael in an overwhelming tide of power!
The water elements in the air coalesced, forming an Aquatic Prison that closed in on Kael from all sides. A single misstep, and he would be trapped within its watery confines!
Kael's nerves tightened to the breaking point. Reacting instantly, he summoned a Lightning Shield and pushed his speed to the limit, desperate to escape.
Yet the Lightning Shield, though formidable in defense, stood no chance against the crushing pressure of a tenth-tier spell. The sheer dominance of Zev's water magic was terrifying—Kael's barrier shattered with a thunderous BOOM!
"Damn it, I can't die here!" Kael's heart pounded as the watery prison loomed closer, but instead of despair, a fierce determination blazed within him.
The little cat's fur stood on end, her usual bravado replaced by genuine panic. This was no longer a game—their lives truly hung in the balance.
"How can a prodigy like me perish here? No, no! Some mere human can't possibly defeat this genius!" She shook her head frantically, claws digging into Kael's shoulder as she yowled, **"Listen, kid! I've got one last trick up my sleeve—just buy me a little more time!"**
Kael's eyes flashed with surprise. Could this ridiculous cat actually have a hidden ability?