As Charles closed in, Anmu raised his hand and unleashed a massive surge of black spell power in defense.

But to his shock, five points of light appeared on the surface of the spell wall. Before he could react, those points of light pierced straight through it.

They were the sharpened claws of Evil Dragon, and Anmu could even see the glowing red runes etched into them.

After digging his fingers into the wall, Charles dragged them sideways, ripping the barrier apart and exposing the figure behind it—Anmu.

Before Charles could deliver a punch to shatter Anmu's new mask, a massive, twisted claw came crashing down at him.

Charles twisted his body and narrowly dodged the claw, while Anmu took the opportunity to escape.

Charles glanced down in the direction the claw had come from, wondering who was foolish enough to make a move at this moment.

It was a massive Filth. Although its spell power was undoubtedly of the True Serpent class, its appearance was grotesquely deformed.

The higher a Filth's spell power, the more human-like its appearance should be. The reason for this one's distortion was clear—the figure atop its head.

Though his eyes were hidden behind toad-shaped sunglasses, his skin tone betrayed him as a Basara.

"A second Basara as backup? He's really pulling out all the stops," Charles muttered.

Thanks to Charles disrupting the plan, Anmu had been forced to improvise. As a precaution, he had brought two Basara along for backup. That caution had just saved his life.

The Basara—who looked suspiciously like a certain Warlord of the Sea—shouted arrogantly, "I won't let you interfere with Anmu's destruction!"

As he spoke, he once again directed the Filth below him to swing its massive claw at Charles.

This time, Charles didn't dodge. He raised his hand and chopped downward with a knifehand strike.

As his arm swung down, fire extended from his palm and formed a massive blade of flame, slicing clean through the Filth's claw.

Flames reflected in the Basara's sunglasses. "What the hell is that?!" he exclaimed in shock.

But before he could marvel any further, the blazing blade came crashing down.

A deep slash appeared on the ground, filled with molten lava. The Filth had been bisected and quickly crumbled into ash.

The Basara landed beside Anmu. "Anmu, if we're up against something this dangerous, you could've warned me earlier!"

"Got a problem with that, Sanmon?" Anmu replied coldly.

The Basara named Sanmon just laughed. "Nope. Opponents like this… now that's fun!"

Anmu warned, "Be careful. One moment of carelessness against him, and it's all over."

"Are you two planning to chat all day?!"

Before they could continue, both were forced to split and dodge as a column of fire roared past, taking a chunk out of the tower they'd been standing on.

Sanmon cackled, "Pure brute force… I love it!"

But before he could finish his thought, Charles appeared right in front of him.

"You don't even have a flamingo-feather coat—who gave you the right to act this arrogant?"

With that, Charles slammed a punch into Sanmon's chest, launching him like a cannonball.

Sanmon crashed into the ground with a thud, shaking the area so violently that nearby Filth leapt into the air from the impact.

Charles didn't chase after him. Instead, he raised a hand and conjured flames to block the wave of dark spell energy launched by Anmu.

Among the Basara, Anmu was the strongest and oldest. His power came from his unfathomable spell energy.

At full release, even the Filth's spell energy could withstand the purifying blaze of Charles's fire.

Meanwhile, Sanmon had already found a new host.

He manipulated several Filth to devour one another, merging into an enormous ape-shaped Filth, and then burrowed himself into its chest.

The color of the giant Filth's body changed, and its spell energy increased by orders of magnitude.

It swung its massive arm and sent Charles flying with a single blow. At the same time, Anmu wove a large wave of spell power to follow up.

Charles brought his hands together, forming a ball of fire between them.

"Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon!"

The fire left his palms and rapidly expanded, growing into a small sun as it surged toward Anmu's spell energy.

Dragon Flame Combat Gear combined with Spirit Assimilation—true Spirit Assimilation was another name for Holy Domain Magic, which meant Charles's flame now counted as holy fire.

As such, Charles's flames carried both purifying and evil-busting properties—just as they had when he purified fallen fairy spirits in the DanMachi world.

His magic tore straight through Anmu's spell power. Had Anmu not dodged in time, he would have been completely engulfed in the blaze.

But Sanmon, piloting the gorilla-like Filth, charged forward. Bringing its colossal arms together like a hammer, it came crashing down.

The arms slammed into the ground with thunderous force, forming a huge crater. Apparently unsatisfied, the Filth pounded the earth again and again, a dozen times or more.

Cracks spread rapidly across the ground, widening until the earth itself began to collapse. Under Sanmon's control, the gorilla Filth possessed terrifying destructive power.

From within the creature, Sanmon laughed wildly. "See that?! That's my power of destruction! You can't top that!"

At that moment, a pillar of fire erupted, blasting through the Filth's arms.

The sheer force lifted the gorilla Filth off the ground, making it stumble backward.

Charles now stood directly before it.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

His punch smashed into the Filth's face, twisting its neck like a corkscrew before exploding its entire head.

Charles pulled back his fist. As he sensed a presence behind him, he raised his armored forearm to block.

Anmu's foot struck Charles's arm, sending out a shockwave that blew away the lingering miasma and smoke.

With his immense spell power, even Anmu's basic attacks packed devastating force. But it still wasn't enough to surpass Charles. It seemed Yukito Ishikagami hadn't warned Anmu not to engage Charles in close combat.

Charles deflected Anmu's kick and spun, delivering a roundhouse that struck Anmu in the head.

Anmu's newly repaired mask shattered into shards, revealing a reasonably handsome face—now twisted with hatred and pain.

Charles moved in to follow up, but massive hands came crashing down, clapping him between them.

The gorilla Filth, whose head Charles had just obliterated, hadn't fallen. Instead, tentacles burst from its body and dragged in nearby Filth.

After devouring them, the Filth's head had already half-regenerated. Then it struck, clapping its massive hands together like swatting a mosquito—with Charles in between.

With a whoosh, fire exploded outward, instantly reducing the Filth's fused palms to ash.

Charles appeared at the center, arms outstretched—the same posture he'd used to pry the hands apart.

"Almost forgot—your head isn't your weak point. I won't miss next time," Charles said.

Both Anmu and Sanmon, inside the gorilla Filth, now wore grim expressions. A strange, creeping emotion welled up inside them.

It was something all living beings felt in the face of death...

Fear.

------------------

Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!

Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter

You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.

Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)

I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)

Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)

Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)

Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)

Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)

American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)

American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)

I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)

Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)

[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]