Thwack! Arad punched the monk in the face, sending him rolling on the ground, digging a trench.

CRACK! As the monk looked forward, struggling to stop, he saw Arad leaping toward him with a passive face and purple glowing eyes.

“You!” Garnt growled, staring back at Arad.

Thwack! Arad kicked forward, hitting Grant’s face and sending him back a second time with a shockwave.

^He’s hitting me, but my vow isn’t activating. How is he doing it?^ Grant thought, blood dripping from his nose as he crashed into the trees.

^It doesn’t matter. I should be able to kill by only using one spirit at a time. No need for more than one.^

Thud! Grant flipped back, landing on a large boulder. “Spirit of stones! Zakar!” He touched the boulder, smiling as his body got engulfed. ．

CRACK! Arad landed a fair distance ahead of him, “You had another spirit hiding underground?”

“Not exactly hiding. I called her when you took Arethusa away.” Grant smiled, “So you call yourself a wyrm, so let’s see if you can hold the wrath of the ground which you walk upon!” He shouted, lifting his fist up, and the ground exploded. The whole forest ripped from its roots and flipped upside down.

SWOSH! Arad teleported into the sky and flapped his wings, flying as fast as he could. Shards of stones ripped across the sky, as red as meteors.

Arad tried to get closer to Grant to punch him again, ^I can’t use magic or the void while my barrier is out. Do you two have any idea?^ Arad growled inside.

Find a way to retreat. We don’t need to win this fight,

“You’re only using about a quarter of your brain, so you should be able to pull more.” Doma looked at Arad’s mind, “But that would be like asking a random person to do a triple backflip. It’s a miracle if they managed one.”

Arad understood what Doma meant. Even now, he’s barely able to grasp the edge of his void.

ZON! Arad teleported toward Grant, swinging his fist as that is his only way of dealing damage now.

SWOSH! Grand dodged the strike and swung a punch at Arad using the stone spirit armor. BAM! The punch hit Arad in the stomach, unable to reach his skin, but the force still blew him back.

Grant smiled, “You can prevent direct hits but not the force and momentum behind them,” He lunged forward, “Then all I need to do you crush you between two boulders, and that would be all you’re worth.”

BAM! Arad bounced off the ground, rushing at Grant with a clenched fist.

CRACK! Stone spikes rushed from the ground, racing to impale Arad in his tracks. Thud! Thud! He jumped between them, only to be faced with two massive slabs.

“Be crushed,” Grant shouted, but Arad slipped out before the slabs could close.

BAM! Arad delivered a punch directly toward the monk’s torso, smacking him on the ground.

Grant smiled, “You know, kid,” He laughed, “I noticed something interesting. You’re stepping on the ground, aren’t you?”

Arad looked down, sweating.

Grant lifted one finger, “Death by a thousand stabs,” The ground crackled, crumbling into gravel. Gravel Storm

With Grant’s scream the ground exploded, blasting Arad with all the gravel.

CLACK! CLACK! A large portion of the gravel got deflected by Arad’s barrier, but some managed to push through with the sheer numbers.

“You can only sustain the barrier consciously! Having to deal with multiple attacks must be hard, isn’t it?” Grant shouted as Arad’s body started getting torn by the gravel.

BAM! Arad’s body flew back, bleeding. Thud! Grant landed on his way, smiling as he removed the armor, “Come to me,” He opened his arms.

CRACK! Arad’s rolling body hit Grant’s torso, throwing him to the ground.

“You hit me, didn’t you? It dealt damage as well, as small as it may be,” Grant laughed as tiny orbs of light gathered around his body.

Seven shadows emerged behind his back as he laughed, two butterfly-like wings spreading from his back as he floated, his skin shifting into a pure white shade akin to milk. “I’m the spirit king, the one who dominates all the spirits of nature.”

Spirit of Earth

Spirit of fire

Spirit of Lighting

Spirit of Beauty

Spirit of forest

Spirit of life

Spirit of water

Grant lifted his hand, causing Arad’s body to start floating, “It’s over for you, wyrm kid.” CRACK! With a single palm swing, he pierced Arad’s chest.

“When I get hit, I can use all my spirits at once, and on top, My personal physical power combines to match them.” He threw Arad on the ground and turned to walk away.

“I don’t even need your head. I will take the wind spirit girl and leave, as a sign of respect to someone who pushed me this far,” He started floating away.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Grant stopped, hearing drums behind him. He stopped, glaring back, “Heartbeats? I pierced your heart!” He growled, seeing Arad standing.

“What a rowdy age, kids like you dancing with fairies. You should’ve gone for the soul, avatar of the world tree.”

Arad smiled, black tattoos covering his skin as his wounds healed.

“Herald of the world tree. I’m not as mighty as to be called an avatar.” Grant growled, “I’m surprised you’re still standing.”

“Let me tell you something, kid. Don’t go around boasting such a title like it’s yours, fake herald.”

Grant growled, veins bulging on his head, “Your attitude changed, wyrm.” He extended his hand, creating seven pillars of molten stone by mixing the powers from the earth and fire spirit.

CRACKLE! Lightning started flashing between the pillars as Grant smiled, “Let me erase your whole body.” BOOM!

The seven pillars flew at Arad at a blinding speed, ripping the ground to shreds as they landed.

“Dead in one hit. Not amounting to much,” Grant started flying toward Aella.

“Was this supposed to do anything?” Arad stood, waving his hand to remove the dust from his shoulders. “How about you use something sharper?”

Grant blinked twice, ^With how much magic and elements I mixed into the attack. I should have been twice as hard to block as the gravel storm. How is he still standing? Did his barrier grow stronger?^

Arad smiled, lifting one finger. “Void exists within the tiny particles forming our universe itself. With enough mastery over magic and some experience, I can cause that void to collapse, destroying the particles.”

A brilliant blue light flashed from the tip of Arad’s finger, blinding Grant on the spot, “The result is a massive surge of energy that can be easily directed by controlling which particles I collapse first.”

ZIP! A blue beam of light exploded forth, evaporating the ground as it hit Grant, disintegrating his body. Even the ashes were erased.

CRACKLE! A tree root emerged from the dirt to the side, forming a humanoid body as the dust settled from Arad’s attack.

The body quickly turned into Grant, and he fell to his knees, gasping for air, “Thanks Atlanteia, Jarozo, I wouldn’t have survived without you two,” Grant stared at Arad after thanking the spirit of the forest and the spirit of life. “Who are you?”

“Me? Sorry, I only answer questions from a single man…And a few girls… Ok, probably Jack also counts, he’s helping us after all…” Arad scratched his head and then looked at Grant with a passive face. “Doesn’t matter anyway,”

Grant swung his hand, sending a massive lightning bolt toward Arad.

Arad extended his arm, “You can teleport up to 400 meters with a void step. That means you can control the void up 400 meters, otherwise, you won’t be able to teleport without setting a waypoint beforehand.”

Arad smiled, “What I’m saying, is that as long as it exists in that range, you should be able to control the void inside. Including this fraud of a herald.”

She got her palms closer, and rubber them. CRACK! Grant’s body twisted, shrinking into a tiny ball. “See? It’s the same when water mages draw moisture from their targets, causing them to shrivel. You just draw the void out, causing them to crumble.” Arad laughed as Grant got a new body.

“I spent over a hundred years studying void magic after I saw you. I’m trying to condense all of that knowledge in an easy-to-learn format, so open your mind and memorize every feeling your body goes through,”

Grant barely stood, glaring at Arad, “You monster, what is this magic?”

CLAP! Arad clapped, putting his palms together with a smile. “Condense your void in a single spot, creating a vacuum that pulls things toward it. Now mix it with a bit of gravity magic, creating a small sphere of destruction.” A tiny black orb emerged ahead of Arad, ripping the ground to shreds and sucking it directly into his stomach.

Sphere of Annihilation