Granny Iho attacks!

Clang!*

Clang!*

CLANG!*

Shuuta slashed masterfully as he gripped his infamous Katana, on the other hand, Granny Iho was parrying every blow that came towards her.

Shuuta felt like he was slashing at a metaled wall! He couldn't dent or even leave a mark, she was stronger than all the opponents he'd faced before, that's for sure.

Granny Iho remained quiet with a stern face, fighting to the fullest she's been.

Shuuta then grabbed his scabbard from his back and carried it with his left hand.

Shuuta suddenly sheathed his Katana back and unsheathed it with one single motion, slashing upwards and aimed downwards, making a crescent moon.

Clang!*

Granny Iho then started a dance streak, with her twin blades at hand, almost slicing Shuuta like meat.

Shuuta was able to parry the top part of the twin blade, with that, he swooped Iho's legs and attempted to bonk her with his scabbard but she flashed away like a light bulb being turned off.

"Tch." Shuuta almost had her.

"[Sage Magic: Gold Star Barrage!]"

Various golden shards began a pouring barrage, like a thunderstorm, they darted toward Shuuta who started slashing the shards, cutting everything in his path.

'It's that...A Muramasa blade?' Granny Iho was flabbergasted, Shuuta was the one that owned such a legendary sword.

She was told that Muramasa was a renowned smith, one who created swords that could slay deities, its sharpness was infinite! There was nothing the sword couldn't cut!

The Katana can split Magic like thin sheets of paper.

Shuuta flickered his eyes all around because Granny Iho had disappeared once more from his view.

Meanwhile, Shuuta looked for his opponent he only felt a freezing breeze blowing on his back.

Only after Granny Iho brandished her overwhelmingly sharp twin blade, did Shuuta notice that blood had escaped his chest.

"Iho-sensei never holds back...she's always brutal," Azula remarked, crossing his arms and trumping.

"Tch. So fast!" An expression of pain decorated his face.

Almost immediately, he returned a blow and landed!...on a mirage.

Granny Iho gave Shuuta no time to react, she instantly leaped forward and brandished her twin blade.

One slash. Two slashes. Five slashes!

Shuuta desperately tried his best to block every hit, but, each blow knocked his body some yards back. This made Shuuta lose his balance from all the blows, the last attack landed and sent his body flying towards a torii, completely obliterating it, he landed on a shallow lake, splashing water as if a bomb had detonated.

This left Kento a bit concerned for Shuuta's life, she was using excessive force for a little sparring.

Pepo also felt worried, he had never seen Granny fight to such an extent.

"She's trying to push the boy to his limits and break through them. You saw it, didn't you? She hit the boy with the handle instead of the blade, she isn't trying to kill him, she's trying to corner him...so he unleashes his Magic once more."

Splash!*

A red aura coiled the lake, creating strings of water above him, the blue azure sky was covered by dark clouds in an instant, and lighting suddenly thundered.

Shuuta had regained the use of Mana from all the bloody beating, his body was coated with Devour Mana.

Kento and the audience got closer to inspect the negative energy that just popped out of nowhere.

"That's his level one? No wonder he was able to survive Sheol, this kid is on a whole different spectrum." Granny Iho suddenly flew high in the air, she then dispersed the clouds with her aura, smiling at Shuuta.

Iho decided to test Shuuta's abilities to the maximum with a powerful skill of hers.

Shuuta suddenly felt a shiver on his body, it told him to look up, he did and flinched at the sight.

A planetary ball of Mana was hovering above Iho, she was still increasing its overwhelming size.

"What the hell are you doing old hag?! You're going to kill us all!" Old man Azula had lost his composure, he knew exactly what skill she was about to destroy the whole domain with.

"[World Destroyer]...S-she's not serious, right? O-old man Azula?" Pepo was terrified to the core.

Azula started sweating uncontrollably as his eyes glued on the colossal ball of Mana.

"I might have to intervene!" Azula then tried to leap forward, but, Kento suddenly stopped him.

"What the hell are you doing?! You want to die that badly?!" Azula barked with a pinch of fear.

Kento remained silent and with his eyes indicated to watch.

Kento then crossed his arms and glanced at Shuuta.

Azula was still mortified, yet, he felt assured by Kento's reaction.

Pepo, on the other hand, was scared shitless! He almost passed out by the sheer amount of energy being generated in the sky.

'He has the same power as the King of Kings. Magic is useless against his Magic.' Kento then smiled excitedly, waiting for the outcome. 'Show her what you can do, Shuuta!'

Shuuta focused and closed his eyes.

'Shuuta!...Wait! if I go too?... And you're one of them!... Do your best! And...don't forget to protect me. You will change the Mystic society as we know it! You have what others don't have as a Mystic. You have a heart. A true Mystic, not molded by prowess and glory, but, one coated by grace and forbearance. Shuuta, my dear son, I have a gift for you! Take this and hold onto it with your life... 'cause it is.'

Many voices from his past came up, he then opened his eyes and released all the Mana residing on his body, he then coiled all the Mana on his left hand.

"I won't lose!" As he yelled that, he leaped with extraordinary force, creating a hole where his feet stood.

"[World Destroyer!]" Granny Iho sent the ball toward the Earth!

The ground shook! The skies trembled! Reality itself is convoluted with other realities, shattering like weak glass!

"[Devour!]" Shuuta yelled and grasped the ball of energy with his left hand, a huge gust of wind washed over the domain!

It destroyed everything in its path!

Shuuta growled as his hand started burning from the Divine energy.

'It's so much Mana...this...will be risky.' Shuuta then expanded his mana to his whole body, and by such action, the ball swallowed him whole!

"W-what?! He was swallowed?! We are going to die!" Azula prepared to leap once more.
Granny Iho stared in disbelief, she wondered if Shuuta was killed accidentally...

Kento just grinned as he noticed the ball convulsing and contouring from its circular shape.

BOOOOM!!*

Shuuta came out unscathed, showing a bright radiance of Mana, his body was like a comet that just entered the stratosphere and was about to explode.

"This boy..." Her eyes shone with interest, she had never met someone that could counter an Advanced Skill, only one could do such a thing, Shigeo was the only one until now.

Shuuta suddenly heard a light voice ring inside his head.

"Reached Level 2."

"Reached Level 3."

"Reached Level 4."

"Reached Level 5. Five thousand Xuvia coins were sent to your Upgrade Menu."

Shuuta's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. This was...cheating. Why would Devouring a skill bring him XP? And... Why didn't it happen before?! This was outrageous, it didn't make sense!

It didn't...

Suddenly something unlocked within his body, a sound of metal rubbing with metal echoed as an abrupt 'click' made him realize what had happened.

His passive skill simply upgraded.

"Is this even fair? I can farm levels like this...Mmm." Shuuta rubbed his chin as he floated in the sky, unbeknownst to him, when did he get the ability to fly?

Granny Iho sensed the growth of his Mana, he suddenly became stronger! She then closed an eye and left the right one open. "Appraise."

"...!"

Granny Iho saw the sudden upgrade of 5 levels! The fuse on Granny Iho's head blew out completely.

Normally it takes weeks, even months of hard work to raise a single level, but this kid right here...raised 5 in one go! She had never heard of such circumstances, not one Mystic had a cheat-like ability. Shuuta was a one-of-a-kind Mystic that appears every 1000 years! He was probably as rare as finding a phoenix feather!

"Interesting...He raised 5 levels with that attack?" Kento murmured but everyone close to him heard exactly what he said.

Old man Azula could not believe it, Throughout all his life, the most he leveled up in one go was 2 levels, it was a feat worth of glory within the Mystic society, though, he chose not to boast about it, he didn't care for such useless things, fame, glory or wealth, it was all the same for him.

"I-incredible..." Pepo was astonished! Before he only saw Shuuta as a mere prey, but, now he seemed more than a puny prey, he was becoming a predator himself!

Shuuta was improving at an alarming rate, right before everyone's eyes!

"Oh...Skills are turning white, so I can buy them whenever I want?" Shuuta was running through his Upgrade Menu, seeing skills that hadn't shown up before.

'[Devour Seeker]? I remember using that skill before...Even though I didn't buy it. Did Father help me with that too? There are a bunch of skills that I used without buying them...'

Shuuta imagined his father laughing and giving him a thumbs up.

"Well then, I guess using more force shouldn't be a problem anymore. I'm going to show you the true power of a Sage!"

Shuuta glanced up and glared at her, he waited for Granny Iho to attack.

"[Maiho: Sage of Deities!]"

"That's…!" Shuuta remembered something similar, he used a skill that sounded almost the same.

"[Maiho: Devourer of Deities!]"

Shuuta recalled how he used a skill that completely enhanced everything about his powers, it was a godly buff that made him unstoppable.

And it was thanks to that power that he created the rift in the sky.

Not to mention, the colossal worm monster that he slew in one blow.

Now, Granny Iho used her own version, this made Shuuta lose his cool, he knew how powerful it was, so, he decided to battle it head-on!

"This will be a good way to test out my powers!"

Shuuta had bought some skills that picked his interest.

"Here I come!" Granny Iho had just spoken, but, in an instant, she leaped in front of Shuuta.

"Fast!" Shuuta barely even reacted at that moment, all he was able to do was hinder the blow with his arms crossed out.

His body became a meteorite as it crashed onto the ground, a huge crater shook the ground.

"Granny Iho is fighting at her 100%?! Is she trying to kill that boy?!" Azula didn't know anymore, before it was noticeable like a sore thumb how she was just trying to push the kid, now, she reeks of seriousness…almost the same as killing intent.

"[Devour Seeker!]"

Red orbs suddenly darted from the crater at an incredible speed.

"Hmph." Granny Iho brandished her twin blade and cut every single orb.
But then!

"What? How did you?" Granny Iho was stunned, Shuuta appeared out of nowhere and landed a hit on her abdomen.

Shuuta grinned as he spoke. "[Devour Transmutation], very handy indeed."

Granny Iho comprehended his words, she wore an expression of surprise. "You transformed into an orb and turned back to surprise attack me? That was sneaky of you." She then grinned as well, it was a first for her, falling for a trap.

"My win." Shuuta then opened his hand and yelled: "[Devour Shockwave!]"

A wave of reddish vibrations sent the little granny darting toward the bamboo forest, breaking the land itself!

"Gaak!"

"Wha-?!"

"Oh."

The audience was left stupefied, no one believed that Shuuta would land a serious hit on the Sage of Deities! Even Kento thought it was too hard to accomplish.

"I already won, but I want to continue…will she stop the fight-"

Fiush!*

Granny Iho was like a golden light, she reached Shuuta with a mighty swing of her twin blade.

Shuuta appeared his Katana from nothing and parried the blow.

Boom!*

"I guess we'll continue!"

Shuuta was pushed with overwhelming strength, she exerted power ten times stronger than Shuuta's.

However, Shuuta had a trick up his sleeve.

He had already acted upon it.

"[Devour Magic: Devourer's Mark!]"

A scribble of an ancient language appeared on Granny Iho's abdomen, suddenly a bright red light shone from the scribble.

"What? My Mana…is being seeped away from my body." Iho felt her body weakening at a slow pace, she sensed a demon eating at her mana reservoir, it was creepy to the core.

'This skill is broken, [Devourer's Mark] inflicts debuffs on the opponent afflicted. It's perfect for 1v1s, it renders the opponent's strength to 50%, their mana is being sent to my body at a snail's pace, and their cast time is slower too. Another cheat-like skill!'

Granny Iho felt the presence of Shuuta rapidly getting near her, the lad viciously bombarded the granny with powerful blows brewed with Devour Mana.

"..!" Granny was shocked to find herself becoming weaker with every blow, even if she blocked or parried, Mana was still leaving her body!

It was a sight to behold!

The audience was shocked to see that both were equally matched, both bombarded each other with powerful blows and powerful Magic, lights of red and gold collided with each other in the sky, it looked like somebody was drawing in the sky shapes of light as they collided.

Boom!*

Boom!*

Boom!!*

"Incredible...So this is Shuuta without any debuffs or restraints. He seems like a new person, like a seasoned warrior with years of experience...no. Like a King of old, fighting like his Kingdom is at stake." Kento was satisfied with Shuuta's performance, it seemed his training brought fruition.

Now with further nurture, Shuuta might just surpass Commander level in no time, thus, Kento has decided to keep his relationship with Shuuta a secret from his other Heavenly comrades.

'If Shuuta becomes the full center of attention…there's no telling what might happen to him, especially if he meets Kaede…dear god, don't let Shuuta meet Kaede at all costs.' He lost his facade and his face lost expression.

Nightmares of her experiments still haunted the poor guy, Kento gripped his scarf harder as he remembered that time he let her play around with his constitution, and test his durability…

I can't even begin to describe what she did to Kento.

All Kento could describe of Kaeda was her enthusiasm…to hurt others. And her cute yet terrifying smile before she starts her experiments!

"That girl sure is my only fear." Kento's attention suddenly was snatched by the fierce battle in the sky, various lights sparked like explosions of missiles, and it reverberated through everyone's ears.

"Thank god it's just us in here, if they fought outside the domain, the whole city of Hiroyama would've been alerted." Azula crossed his arms as he left a sigh of stress, only to sit cross-legged next to a bamboo tree.

"Azula-san, are you okay?" Pepo snuck to his side and kneeled.

"Why, yes. It's just…baah! I will not lie, my body is gettin' old! I'll tell you what! I'm tired from all this ruckus. I thought I would die a lot of times today… Buah ha ha ha!" Azula then glanced up seeing fireworks.

'Time sure is fascinating. A new generation of youngins might take over our seats very soon…haaa…how time flies.' Azula then fell asleep, his mind was tired from all the 'We are going to die' situation.

"Ah. He fell asleep." Kento remarked playfully.

"It makes sense. I'm also a bit tired, but…-"

"But?"

"I'm a bear."

"You're still on about that?!"

"That guy…is he really the Demon King's son? You know what'll happen if they find out."

"I know full well. My position is at risk, and they will give an execution order for treason. This Mystic society is rotten and very untrustworthy. I can't fathom how many times I wanted to destroy the city out of pure disgust. But I decided to take a bright route, one that will have no casualties and will be for the better of the city."

"W-wow…I didn't know you wanted to destroy the city…you're not thinking of actually doing such a thing are ya?"

"No….maybe, look. I'm creating a new faction of Mystics under the name of "Hope". A faction that will protect the rights of others, a faction that knows the meaning of righteousness, a faction that has only one goal! And that goal is to abolish the Power Council."

"…!"