"Council Members!"
Lahar's eyes widened; the council members were in a meeting inside!
"Quick, rescue! Face the enemy! Retreat!"
In a panic, Lahar's orders were chaotic, but no one cared at this moment.
The soldiers who had just stepped out of the main gate hurriedly rushed back.
Rhode and Makarov arrived almost simultaneously with them from a distance.
The majestic palace had undoubtedly become ruins, with the smoke lingering for a long time.
"Waaaa!"
"What happened?"
"Enemy attack!"
"Pull yourself together!"
Crying and screaming could be heard from within the remaining buildings, one didn't need to look to know it was chaos inside.
A moderate whirlwind, centered around Rhode, spread out, briefly dispelling the surrounding smoke.
The sight was shocking.
Among the piles of rubble, hands and feet could be seen extending out, and in some places, just isolated hands and feet.
Lahar, somewhat flustered, ordered his subordinates to rescue the ones who were evidently still alive.
He himself scanned for the enemies and the whereabouts of the council members.
Makarov and Rhode were most concerned about Mest.
Void Divination silently spread out, inconspicuous amidst the chaotic scene.
Rhode quickly found the person he wanted.
Mest, evidently caught in the blast, now had a bloodied head, but he could still stand, rushing towards an old man whose leg was pinned under a collapsed wall:
"Mr. Org!"
As Mest moved closer to Org, he stopped, finding all nine council members, including the speaker, lying among the ruins.
A few were clearly beyond saving.
"Dolanbart... is that you?"
The weak voice brought Mest surprise and joy: "Mr. Org, I'll..."
A figure leapt down from above, landing right beside Org: "Wahaha... There's still one alive, no way, you need to die too!"
The man had yellow hair, with canine ears atop his head, a sharp face, sturdy forearms covered in black flame-like markings, and a fluffy yellow tail behind him.
He bent down, pressed his hand against Org's head, aiming to eliminate the lone surviving council member.
"Stop!" Mest suddenly appeared behind him, landing a punch on the back of his head.
"Space Magic?" The man staggered slightly, but curled his lips into a mocking smile, emitting a single sound, "Boom~"
Mest was puzzled, but suddenly noticed his fist starting to glow, followed by a loud explosion.
"Whaaa!!!" The attack season arrived in a manner Mest had not anticipated.
He was blasted away, defying physics, and crashed into the ruins behind.
Org called out worriedly, "Dolanbart!"
"Don't worry, it's your turn soon." The man chuckled, "Listen up, my name is Jia Ka'er, the Wolf of the Nine Ghosts Sect, remember this name..."
Before he finished speaking, Jia Ka'er was struck hard in the face.
His cheek deformed severely, several teeth flew out with blood, and he himself was like a cannonball, crashing through a surviving outer wall, landing heavily on the ground outside.
Org strained his head to look up: "Are you... Rhode?"
"Don't move." Rhode crouched down, first applying Healing of the Ocean, then carefully moved the debris off Org using Earth Magic.
Makarov and Lahar rushed over: "Mr. Org!"
"Go check on the others..." Org was gravely injured, certainly unable to walk for a while.
Rhode entrusted him to Lahar's care, then dug Mest out, applying Healing Magic on him as well.
Makarov checked on the other council members, shook his head solemnly.
The other eight were beyond saving.
"Stone Beetle, Shadow Wolf, Golem..." Rhode summoned a group of monsters, "They'll assist you in rescuing; I'll go check on that guy."
With that, he spread his wings, flying out of the council's ruins.
Jia Ka'er climbed out of the pit, shaking his head vigorously while covering his right cheek: "Damn it, who is that guy?"
Rhode descended from above, pressing Jia Ka'er's head to the ground: "I also want to ask, why attack the council?"
"Bastard!" Jia Ka'er pushed against the ground, knees straining, but Rhode held him down firmly, making escape impossible.
"If you won't talk, you'll have to suffer." Rhode applied more pressure to his head.
Jia Ka'er felt his skull was about to be crushed, but he calmly said: "Fool!"
As he spoke, Rhode's right hand, like Mest's earlier, began to glow red, followed by a loud explosion.
Seizing the brief opportunity, Jia Ka'er successfully escaped, jumping out of the blast range.
He looked at Rhode shrouded in smoke, laughing loudly: "Wahahahaha... fool, the magic I use, 'Curse Technique', turns everything it touches into explosives!"
Just after he said that, he noticed the smoke's direction seemed odd, cautiously jumping back several meters.
But the familiar feeling returned, Jia Ka'er's back was grabbed again, slammed into the ground with a thud.
Suddenly, the ground had another crater.
Such explosive power could naturally not harm Rhode.
His right hand was now covered in crimson Dragon Scales, making his grip stronger than before:
"What is 'Curse Technique'?"
"Ughhh..." Jia Ka'er felt intense head pain, hearing faint cracking sounds, his skull cracking for real this time.
"Damn it..." Jia Ka'er struggled, but it only increased his pain, "How could a mere human mage be so strong!
"Die now! My Curse Technique is power beyond magic! Explode!!!"
This time, Rhode's right hand and the ground beneath Jia Ka'er's hands glowed red, followed by another series of explosions.
The earth shook, the ground within dozens of meters was entirely overturned, fire and smoke completely obscuring the two figures.
Lahar watched the distant fire-flashes anxiously, "Mr. Makarov, such an attack, Mr. Rhode... will he be okay?"
Makarov, already transformed into a giant, busy moving rubble, replied casually to Lahar's concern: "This level is not a problem, you saw the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, didn't you."
"..." Lahar thought, at the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts, he only saw Rhode beating people up, never seeing him getting hit directly.
Even Mr. Jura's attacks were through multiple layers of Defense Magic.
"So unyielding." With Purgatory Sub-Dragon's Dragon Scales, in the explosion's center, Rhode remained unscathed.
He waved his left hand, casting Restriction Magic Arrays upon Jia Ka'er.
But seconds later, explosions sounded again, accompanied by Jia Ka'er's furious roars.
The pit deepened several meters, expanding cleanly outward.
Amidst the smoke came Rhode's relaxed praise: "Getting more interesting, is this a power system entirely different from magic?
"Is it a power unique to demons from Jellal's Book? Do you know someone called 'Calamity', and another called Kuanghua? Do they use this power too?"
Jia Ka'er felt insulted.