"Oh, oh, this beard is unexpectedly soft, huh."
Nanoda grabbed a handful of Qual's grizzled beard. She had always been curious about the texture of these whiskers, which looked just like Guan Yu's sideburns.
To the touch, it was as smooth as a young girl's hair. It was a thick layer. Nanoda curiously parted it—swish—and Qual's beard separated into two halves like scissors, revealing solid muscle underneath.
"Eh? Why aren't you wearing clothes?"
Nanoda was quite surprised. Qual's upper body relied solely on a layer of hair on his shoulders, along with his hair and beard, for coverage.
Consequently, Nanoda curiously wanted to touch the hair on Qual's shoulder as well, but because Qual was too tall and large, she couldn't reach.
"You fellow! What on earth are you doing?!"
Qual was getting a bit angry. He wasn't some plush toy; this disrespectful kin of his was actually toying with him wantonly.
"I'm just going to touch it once, just once."
Nanoda stood on her tiptoes, but she still couldn't reach. Qual's height was at least over two meters; he was equal to two of her stacked up.
"Junior, tell this old man: how long has this old man been sealed?"
Hearing Qual ask this, Nanoda momentarily didn't know how to answer.
The Hero took ten years to subjugate the Demon King, but in which year was Qual sealed? Who knew? The author hadn't mentioned it.
"I don't know," Nanoda answered honestly.
"Then, is Lord Demon King still safe and sound?"
"He has already been killed by the Hero."
"Is that so..."
No expression could be seen on his face. After pondering for a moment, Qual exhaled a breath, and the corners of his mouth grinned open.
"Then this old man shall go and avenge Lord Demon King right now."
"Hey, I was the one who unsealed you. Is this the attitude you take toward your savior?"
Nanoda grabbed onto the cloth draped over Qual's lower body.
"Isn't clearing out humans our duty? You unsealing me was precisely for this purpose. Rest assured, this old man has suffered from that magic once; there will not be a second time."
Qual had a look of taking it for granted.
"Hah, why are high-ranking Demons all like this? Aura was better after all."
Nanoda somewhat missed the relatively 'obedient' Aura.
Compared to the unpredictable Solitir, Qual, who was obsessed with reaching the pinnacle of magic, actually had a method to be taken down.
"Qual, want to make a bet with me?"
"A bet? On what basis?"
"I bet that your attainments in magic are inferior to mine, this junior's."
Hearing this sentence, although he had no emotions, his arrogance as a Great Demon and his ultimate pursuit of magic made Qual unable to keep his cool.
"Hmph. Aside from Lord Demon King, no one can make me submit in the aspect of magic."
"What? Dare to bet?"
"Then you had best be prepared to be killed by this old man, Junior."
"And if I win?"
"Although this old man thinks it impossible, if you can make this old man submit, what harm is there in honoring you as the new King?"
On this wasteland transformed by war, Nanoda and Qual stood facing each other, a chilling atmosphere gradually rising.
"You chose a pretty good spot."
Qual was very satisfied with this battlefield-like location. He spread his arms, feeling extremely comfortable having regained his freedom.
"Shall I give you a handicap of a few moves?"
He did not put Nanoda, with her weak mana, in his eyes.
"After you."
Nanoda also wanted to test the strength of this Great Demon who had used Killing Magic to wipe out seventy percent of human mages.
"Killing Magic."
Qual opened his palm, and a beam of white magical light shot out violently. Nanoda dodged sideways; the Killing Magic pierced through the trees and rocks behind her, unobstructed.
This was also Nanoda's first time witnessing the piercing nature and destructive power of Killing Magic in person. If she had used the defensive magic Aura taught her to defend, she would have been blown through to be cool to the core long ago.
"Dodging is useless."
Qual waved his hands like the conductor of an orchestra. Beams of Killing Magic were fired at different arcs, looking extremely dazzling.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
The ground was smashed into deep pit after deep pit by the Killing Magic. Under the powerful and dense firepower, Nanoda fell into a passive state where she could only dodge.
"Sever!"
Severance Magic activated. The oncoming Killing Magic was split in two, smashing toward both sides.
While dodging, Nanoda activated Severance Magic, neutralizing all of Qual's attacks.
"Interesting. How about this?"
The mana on Qual's body surged high, his beard and hair fluttering. He floated into the air. At the same time, a barrier descended from the dome of the sky, and the sky turned dim. This was a barrier magic Qual cast in imitation of the village's barrier.
The moment the barrier wrapped around, magic circles for Killing Magic appeared in all directions, surrounding Nanoda in a hemispherical shape.
"Hey, hey, this is going a bit too far, isn't it?"
"You have nowhere left to run. This is the price for provoking this old man, Junior."
Unlike his rough appearance, Qual was a meticulous fellow. While releasing Killing Magic, he maintained a distance from Nanoda, using firepower to restrict her movements. Judging by Nanoda's skill in dodging the Killing Magic, he was already on guard.
"Do you have any last words? This is a privilege given to you as a kin; if it were a human, they would have died long ago."
Almost deliberately, the confident Qual did not activate the magic immediately.
"Does this count as your gratitude for me lifting the seal?"
Nanoda's expression was indifferent. Qual was indeed worthy of being the Sage of Corruption; no wonder the Hero's Party chose to seal him back then.
"No, this old man is merely somewhat curious about what a kin looks like when they die. I have already seen too many of the death states of humans."
Qual's tone was flat. He was already accustomed to slaughter; for him, combat was merely experimenting with magic.
"Sage of Corruption Qual, do you want to see me beg for mercy? I'm not injured in the slightest right now."
Looking at Qual looking down on her from high in the sky, Nanoda calmly spread her hands.
"Is that so? Then go to die."
Qual had great confidence in Killing Magic. That piercing power was effective even against the Demon Race, let alone being hit while surrounded. This white-haired kin with broken horns before him would undoubtedly die.
Boom.
The Killing Magic from all directions shot violently toward Nanoda. The ground seemed to tremble, and in an instant, a large cloud of smoke and dust rolled up.
"What a fellow with meager mana. Did she give up on defensive magic in the end? Though it would have been useless anyway."
The barrier gradually disappeared, and Qual slowly descended to the ground.
"That slash that could cut apart Killing Magic was quite interesting. Pity I couldn't learn it."
Looking at the rising thick smoke, Qual shook his head and turned, intending to leave.
His footsteps suddenly paused. Qual felt it inconceivable; within his mana perception, the surrounding mana had suddenly disappeared.
"How is this possible?"
Even a mage who relies on mediums could not make all mana particles disappear in an instant.
"Qual, standing before you is a Great Demon who has lived from the Mythical Era to the present!"
From within the thick smoke, a figure slowly walked out.
____
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