Flying backwards less than ten meters, Milim erupted, vast mana surging forth as she halted her momentum midair.
"Take this, Drago Nova!" Countless blue mana threads, intertwined with cross-shaped light points, spread across Takeru and his surroundings.
Boom! Boom!
Successive explosions resounded. Takeru's vicinity was engulfed in torrents of flames, layer upon layer of shockwaves rippling outward.
"Takeru!" Watching the terrifying explosion, Emilia and the others observing grew intensely anxious.
"Rest assured. An attack of this level will not harm Master." Compared to the anxious Emilia and the others, Diablo remained remarkably calm, filled with confidence in Takeru.
He understood clearly that while Drago Nova was incredibly powerful, even he would sustain only minor injuries from it. As for Takeru, there was absolutely no issue.
Indeed, as the flames and smoke dissipated, Takeru's completely unharmed figure appeared before everyone.
Seeing Takeru's condition, Emilia, Rem, and the others finally breathed sighs of utter relief.
"As expected of my master, without a single scratch!" Confirming the outcome, Diablo once again praised.
"Milim, that was rather underwhelming." Looking at Milim, Takeru spoke with narrowed eyes.
The explosion had indeed appeared devastating, and his equipment had been completely blown apart. Yet Takeru, who employed no defensive measures whatsoever, had sustained zero damage. Takeru clearly understood this was entirely due to his immense base defense.
"Ahhh, I'm angry now!" Hearing Takeru's words, Milim shouted loudly, then erupted completely.
Immense mana continuously surged forth. Her form rapidly transformed: wings spread from her back, her appearance matured slightly, a crimson horn emerged from her head, purple armor materialized over her body, and golden patterns adorned the edges of her collar and sleeves.
"Ahahaha... How amusing! It's been so long since anyone called me weak!" Fully transformed, Milim cackled wildly.
In this state, Milim had fully unfurled her magical energy… her complete form. Takeru roughly estimated her mana reserves now exceeded three million.
"As thanks, let me show you my ultimate trump card!" Looking at Takeru, Milim spoke with a captivating, dangerous smile.
As her words fell, immense magical energy began to surge forth. Pink mana coalesced around her, even devouring the ambient magical particles in the vicinity.
Subsequently, the mana formed an illusory dragon-shaped silhouette upon her.
"Drago Buster!" With the condensation complete, this ultimate magic, a supernova eruption caused by proliferating ultra-high-density mana, hurtled toward Takeru.
"How interesting!" Sensing the terror of her attack, Takeru was certain: if he evaded, his Ultimate Barrier would be shattered by this blow, causing massive destruction below.
Yet this was also the most powerful attack Takeru had ever witnessed… an ideal opportunity to test his own durability. Enveloping himself in Armament Haki and Nen, he spread his arms wide. A pitch-black vortex formed before him… his unique skill, Devourer.
Swiftly, the azure beam collided with the black vortex. After devouring a portion of the azure beam, the vortex was completely breached. The beam then struck Takeru directly.
Piercing through his Ken, it then impacted Takeru, his body clad in Armament Haki. The beam's immense propulsive force slowly pushed him backward.
Boom! Boom!
Terrific explosions continuously erupted. The ground traversed by Drago Buster was scorched to a molten, magma-like crimson by the horrific heat.
Fully thirty seconds passed before the energy beam completely dissipated. Takeru's figure had vanished from sight amidst her attack.
Beyond the vast clouds of smoke, the most striking sight was the enormous crater and the glowing, red-hot earth within.
"Takeru-sama!" Witnessing Milim's merciless assault, even Diablo was now shaken, filled with dread for Takeru.
Even he, if struck directly by this attack, would likely be either dead or gravely incapacitated. Among Demon Lords, barely three could withstand Milim's assault head-on.
And those were the most ancient and top-tier of Demon Lords.
"Takeru-sama!" Seeing this, Ram bit her lip, her hands clenched tightly. Her gaze toward Milim blazed with fury.
Emilia and the others stood frozen, their hearts filled with anguish.
"Ah, I messed up!" Coming to her senses, Milim noticed the devastation she had wrought and scratched her head.
"To be able to breach my Devourer, Milim, you are truly impressive!" Yet, amidst despair and grief, Takeru's figure emerged from the earth, completely unharmed, appearing before everyone.
He had been driven into the ground not by damage, but by the sheer propulsive force of Drago Buster. Without fully exerting himself, Takeru could not resist its thrust.
As for damage, after Predator devoured a portion of the energy, and with Nen and Armament Haki mitigating the remainder, the force reaching Takeru could not breach his defenses.
In other words, even Milim's full-power Drago Buster, while capable of penetrating Takeru's base defense, could not overcome his defense augmented by other abilities.
Takeru even felt that standing still and completely unresisting, he would sustain no damage from this Drago Buster.
As for Devourer, though it had only devoured a sliver of energy, it had still increased his mana reserves by over one hundred thousand.
"Takeru!" Seeing Takeru reappear, the anxiously watching group was overjoyed.
"Eh? Wh-why?! You took my attack head-on, didn't you?!" Seeing Takeru completely unscathed, it was now Milim's turn to be stunned. She knew all too well the devastating power of her own assault.
Judging by the scale of her attack's aftermath, Milim was certain Takeru had not dodged midway. If he had evaded, the impact range would not be this confined.
"The facts speak for themselves, Milim. You are no match for me." Looking at the astonished Milim, Takeru said with a light laugh.
"Impossible!" Hearing Takeru claim she was inferior to him, Milim's fighting spirit reignited.
"Milim, be careful now. I'm going to use a little more power." Looking at her, Takeru spoke seriously.
"Hmph! Bring it on!" Hearing Takeru's words, Milim retorted defiantly.
Subsequently, Takeru's entire body turned pitch-black, visibly enveloped in Nen.
"What is that!" Noticing Takeru's state, Milim was bewildered, yet instinctively sensed a trace of danger and grew more solemn.
"Here I come!" With a single Soru, Takeru appeared before Milim, his blackened fist unceremoniously aiming for her head.
Milim, still stunned, had not anticipated Takeru erupting with such incredible speed. Before she could react, accompanied by a sonic boom, she was once again sent flying.
Takeru's base speed was already immense, so augmented with Soru, it was nearly equivalent to teleportation.
"That hurts!" Sensing the pain emanating from her head, it was clear Takeru's attack had breached her defense.
Before she could recover, Takeru reappeared behind her and kicked her flying once more. Thereafter, Takeru treated her like a volleyball, playing a one-man aerial ball-bashing game. In a mere instant, Milim was battered flying over a dozen times.
"Ahhh, so dizzy!" Repeatedly violently knocked about, though largely unharmed due to her defense, Milim instinctively felt dizziness and nausea.
Yet Takeru's assault did not cease, continuously raining punches and kicks upon her.
"What's wrong, Milim? Is this the extent of your power?" While attacking Milim, Takeru spoke to her coldly.
"Damn it, damn it!" Hearing Takeru's taunts, Milim erupted once more, enveloping herself in vast mana, barely pushing Takeru away. She then recomposed herself and counterattacked.
Yet against her attacks, Takeru effortlessly parried with a few simple punches. Conversely, facing Takeru's assaults, Milim could only retreat, losing ground.
Soon, Milim was once again reduced to a punching bag, continuously pummeled.
After ten minutes, Takeru finally ceased. The reason: Milim had been beaten to tears.