Black flames imbued with intense corrosive power surged forth like an impassable chasm, keeping Toran at bay in the distance.
As for the other Tier-3 Wizard? He was dealt an even more grievous wound in an instant by those flames, screaming as he scrambled to the side.
"You... what are you trying to do?"
The Tiger-Headed Wizard was truly terrified now. Feeling the increasingly horrifying power emanating from both of Leilin's hands, along with the savage Spiritual Power that had sealed off his Sea of Consciousness, for the first time in his life, genuine dread took root in his heart.
He deeply regretted not fleeing the very instant Leilin had arrived, instead allowing himself to become trapped in this desperate situation.
"What do I want to do?"
The smile on Leilin's lips grew wider and wider as shadowy arms sprouted from his back like bamboo shoots after rain. Massive muscle groups rippled faintly across them, all channeling their power into Leilin's hands.
Crack! Crack! First the skin tore, then the muscle, and finally the bone.
The Tiger-Headed Wizard's face twisted in agony so extreme he couldn't even scream. His entire body seemed to stretch, pulled longer by Leilin's grip.
"Let him go! Oh! No—"
At last, amidst Toran's anguished cries, the Tiger-Headed Wizard was torn in two by Leilin. A torrent of blood rained down like a downpour, mingled with entrails and other organs.
"Saying that now — don't you think it's a little late?"
With practiced ease, Leilin sidestepped the spray of blood, not a single drop staining his clothes.
He tossed the two halves of the corpse aside like garbage, then turned to Toran with an expression devoid of either pity or joy. "When you chose to resist our Ouroboros Circle, you should have accepted this outcome!"
"That's right! You will perish here today — this I swear to Burkjin!" Toran's face settled into an eerie calm.
But Leilin could clearly see the hatred burning in the other man's eyes.
It wasn't simply because of what had just happened — it ran far deeper, stemming from the previous hunts and purges.
Many of Toran's friends and family had surely perished during the Ouroboros Circle's earlier crackdowns, and Leilin's actions had finally ignited the full force of his rage!
"In this state, your resolve still isn't enough!"
Leilin shook his head.
"In your current condition, you hardly qualify as my opponent. Allow me to give you a little push!"
Almost the very instant his words fell, another black-robed Wizard who looked exactly like Leilin materialized before the severely wounded Tier-3 Wizard from the Hand of Vengeance.
Several vials of brilliantly colored potions were hurled out expressionlessly by "Leilin."
The potions collided in midair, and terrifying waves of energy erupted outward.
“Third-tier potion combination spell—Heavenly Fire Prairie!”
The vast sea of fire instantly swallowed the Third-tier Wizard, and even the other Rayling was within the attack range.
Surrounded by the overwhelming heat waves, "Rayling" suddenly gave a strange smile, dissolving into numerous shadow chains that locked the Third-tier Wizard firmly within the flames.
"Lord Torran! Save me!"
Despair filled the Third-tier Wizard's face as he cried out desperately. At this moment, Torran was his last hope.
But the Rayling blocking Torran's path ruthlessly snapped that hope in two.
"You're the only high-ranking Wizard left in this outpost, aren't you?" Once the Third-tier Wizard's life aura had completely vanished into the sea of fire, Rayling looked at Torran before him.
"If you can't stall me long enough to make the upcoming fight enjoyable for me, I'm afraid I'll have to go hunt down those other Wizards below!"
"That female Wizard—she's your apprentice, isn't she? There's even a bit of blood relation. Don't bother lying; both the similar bloodline fluctuations and the Spiritual Power frequency scream your connection..."
Rayling suddenly glanced at a spot among the wreckage on the ground, speaking words that made Torran's expression change drastically.
The instant Rayling's gaze swept past, the plump-faced female Wizard hidden behind the ruin wall felt as if she were being stared at by some primordial beast, and even her limbs began trembling uncontrollably.
"T-too... too terrifying!"
Realizing she had been discovered, the female Wizard immediately began to flee.
A pale blue aura surged from her body, carrying her as she plunged deep into the Doro Forest.
"Not just Nina... even Lord Borkin..."
As she ran, tears streamed down the female Wizard's face.
When Rayling unleashed his venomous attack, the low-ranking Wizards in this outpost had been doomed. Apart from the three Third-tier Wizards, almost everyone had perished in an instant.
No antidote potions, no defensive spells had any effect whatsoever.
Before the terrifying toxins of the Komoi Giant Serpent, all those things were as flimsy as paper.
Her innate defensive spell had not worked at all against Rayling's attack. If not for a protective item her teacher had given her, she likely wouldn't have survived either.