“Haa… haa…” Ivan Smith huffed and puffed.

He was currently standing before a formidable opponent, but he refused to back down.

“You’re quite strong for a human. You were able to last this long against me.” The voice of Ivan’s opponent tickled his ears.

It was none other than a Demon General—Lakyus, leader of the Nine Stars.

“I am the second most powerful Demon General, you know? The first belongs to the Crimson Demon Race, so it’s no competition. Still, you’ll find that among the Demons, I’m pretty high-end.”

For a moment, Lakyus looked at the chaos and carnage depicted around them.

He watched how his brethren were slain one after the other.

Still, he did not seem fazed in the slightest.

“We’re most likely going to lose this battle. This day will be the one where I die. However, I know my death won’t be by your hands.”

Ivan didn’t respond to the opponent’s words. He simply clung to his Wax Blade, and began repairing his Wax Armor.

He was currently using his Bond Magic for defense while utilizing his Fire Magic for offense.

Still, it hadn’t left a scratch on his opponent.

That was due to the nature of Lakyus, known as the Demonic Dragon.

This Demon General resembled a Dragon, having a scar on his face, and several black tattoos to match his green scales.

The darkness in his eyes, as well as the immense Miasma swirling within him, attested to his strength.

Ivan could tell that his opponent bested him in power.

“Your flames will never pass through my defenses, and my attacks are too ferocious for you not to utilize the entirety of your wax for defense.”

Ivan knew the Demon spoke the truth.

It was ‘Check.’

However…

‘No! I can’t let it end this way. I won’t!’

He hadn’t been playing around throughout the waiting time for the War.

While Jared and everyone else explored other strange lands, he had been training vigorously, doing his best to hone his skills.

His teacher, General Clara of the Elves, had given her best to properly train him. She gave her utmost effort to achieve the best results in a short while.

There was no way he could shame her… or lose sight of his goal beyond that.

If he couldn’t break past the wall before him, there was no way he would be able to achieve even greater heights.

“I must… get even stronger.”

Ivan had long realized that he couldn’t surpass Jared Leonard. He didn’t have enough talent or technique to do so.

However, what he could do was to become strong enough to overcome his challenges and best his opponents.

He didn’t want to be a burden.

‘I might not be the savior… but I won’t be among the saved.’

He was done being a victim. For the first time, Ivan wanted to have a taste of triumphing over a stronger opponent.

“This battle… I will win!”

“What did I just say? You can’t.” Lakyus murmured, now brandishing his claws.

The Demon’s body was covered in Miasma, and his offensive weapons were the ten claws he currently readied.

Lakyus had no specialty. He was good at both Martial Arts and Magic, and he was very adaptable in combat.

Best of all, he knew how to gauge an opponent’s strength.

That way, he never underestimated or overestimated them.

This made him the overall best Demon General—exactly why he was certain that Ivan would be the loser in their exchange.

“Let’s take this past the breaking point, then. I don’t plan on losing!”

With a ferocious roar, Ivan released a great amount of heat, causing even Lakyus to take a step back as a result.

“If you do that, you’ll burn out your Mana much faster.” The Demon General mumbled as he watched Ivan raise the intensity of his flames.

“We’re taking this past boiling point!”

Instantly, the earth itself started to melt, and then something started pouring out of the ground.

The entire surface became liquid—no, semi-liquid.

But, that wasn’t all.

“Not yet…” Ivan growled, increasing his flames even further as he pressed his body into the earth, filling it with more heat.

The bubbly ground was now nothing but whitish liquid.

If one looked closer, there could only be one description for it.

“W-wax?!” Lakyus noticed the composition of the very liquid that surrounded him.

It was melted wax!

How was there melted wax surrounding them?

Worst of all, the heat that passed through the wax made it dangerous—as it passed even the regular heat Lakyus was used to.

‘I better fly.’

Flexing his wings, Lakyus made to ascend to the clouds. However, there was no way the human would have accepted that.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

Instantly, a wave of flowing wax crashed upon Lakyus—like a massive wave—causing him to crash back into the puddle of heated wax.

“Harden!”

Instantly, the boiling stopped, and the liquid wax sharply returned to its solid state.

Ivan tightened his fist and concentrated on removing all forms of heat from the Wax that held down his target.

The result?

“U-uh? W-what is… this??” Lakyus was petrified—literally.

His body was completely submerged in solid wax, causing him to be trapped within the dense structure.

“You…”

“I’m not done!” Ivan roared, once again summoning all his strength and pouring it into the wax compartment that Lakyus was stuck inside.

“You won’t escape this prison!”

By making the interior harden while turning the insides to jelly-like heated wax, he could guarantee that his opponent would be trapped within his Wax Prison.

Lakyus would burn, drown, and suffocate all at once.

His body would be burned both inside and out thanks to the immense heat of the wax, and once it reaches a precipice, Ivan would harden all the Wax that was in and out of the Demon General.

“I can control the composition of Wax, and fluidly bend it to my heat.”

His Individual Magic—Fire—and his Bond Magic—Wax.

Combining those two was what he learned while he was with Clara. As a result, a new Magic emerged from within the young man.

“Fusion Magic… Burning Wax Emperor!”