"Who is the strongest magic user besides me and the Demon King?"
Serie murmured as she was momentarily stumped by a childhood question from Flamme.
Faced with the expectant gaze of her disciple whom she had taken in—
Though she had never considered this question before,
Serie unusually quieted her heart and slowly recalled all the mighty individuals she had encountered through the ages.
"Hmm… Probably Agusheed."
In the end, the strongest archmage in history hugged her disciple and gave her answer.
And over the next twenty years—
Flamme would ask that same question to many powerful magic users she encountered.
But among them—
Whether it was a great demon about to die by her hand,
Or an elf rescued from the Demon King's army,
The answers were surprisingly consistent:
"Depends on the situation… But if it's my personal opinion, probably Agusheed."
"Definitely Agusheed. Although if that martial monk of my race could use magic, there might've been some suspense…"
Later, during her journey with Agusheed, Flamme asked him the same question.
She remembered that Agusheed had fallen silent for a long time, as if carefully pondering something.
"Probably someone other than me and Schlacht."
Under the night sky of the Voll Basin, the strongest demon gave his answer.
"That's very different from what everyone else says…"
Lying on Agusheed's lap, Flamme sighed, thinking he was just brushing her off.
Then she cleverly rephrased the question—
"Agusheed, do you think any magic user could defeat my teacher if she wasn't fighting seriously?"
"Probably not… After all, that old hag is the only one who can rival His Majesty the Demon King."
"Then what about you?"
"Hmm… let me think… If she's not serious, meaning she's not using lethal intent…"
"Would you lose?"
"I'd win."
————————————
The instant the fifth round of magical clash ended—
Staring at the dissipating Destructive Thunder Release Magic in front of him—
Agusheed knew there was no need for further probing.
It was time to get serious.
Severance Magic—
Activated!!
Thousands of slashes appeared around Serie, completely sealing off all escape routes and blind spots.
Even though her Heavenspan Mirror Anti-Magic guarded her closely, the gleaming mirrors shattered within moments—
Crack— The mirror broke.
But just as the Severance slashes were about to reduce the entire mountain to fragments—
Serie had already vanished.
"Unblockable slashes… Your magic surprises me every time I see it."
"But like I said 150 years ago—if you can't hit, it's meaningless."
Serie's voice came from the mountaintop to Agusheed's side.
She sounded almost disappointed.
"You still haven't fixed that flaw after 150 years?"
"If this is all you've got, it's far from satisfying…"
She gazed at Agusheed descending slowly from the sky and sighed with regret—
Then—
Snick—
A fine line of blood appeared at her neck.
The faint sting from what felt like a razor's touch brought a smile back to Serie's lips.
She looked straight at Agusheed, whose finger was still lifted, and asked with subtle excitement:
"How did you do that?"
She gently wiped the blood away—instantly healed.
But she was clearly savoring the feel of that strike.
"Even if your slashes don't carry magic signals and can't be sensed…"
"How did you hide their trajectory?"
"I didn't. You couldn't detect or react to it because it appeared directly beside you."
Agusheed explained calmly, retracting his finger.
"As you said 150 years ago—if I can't land a hit, it's meaningless."
"So from that moment on, I've focused on improving my magic."
As he spoke, his gaze flicked to a strand of Serie's golden hair—
Which, like the attack, had been sliced clean through midair.
"As you can see."
He held out his hand and continued:
"Now, under my control, it has a guaranteed hit effect."
"To be precise—so long as the target is within my magic sensory range—"
"The slash can materialize at will."
Serie's lips curled upward, intrigued.
She fingered the end of the strand that had been cut.
"Guaranteed hit slashes?"
She echoed with amusement, golden eyes glimmering with rare curiosity.
"Hmm…"
She pondered for a few breaths, then lifted her head, smiling brightly.
"I see, I see…"
"Such a creative refinement. I'm starting to feel glad I didn't kill you back then."
Serie praised casually, but suddenly—
"Still… it has its flaws, right?"
"These slashes must demand extremely high precision in magic control."
"In other words, facing multiple targets at once would be overwhelming, wouldn't it?"
"In that case—"
She raised a hand. Magic surged silently into the air.
Duplication Magic—
In an instant—
Countless versions of Serie appeared across the landscape like illusions.
One, ten, a hundred, a thousand…
Eventually, over ten thousand.
Some floated high above, others stood atop peaks—
And some appeared less than an inch from Agusheed himself—
All with identical smiles fixed on him.
"Now, who can your 'guaranteed hit' really strike?"
Thousands of Series spoke in unison, their layered voices echoing across the battlefield.
Agusheed's brow furrowed. He scanned the area.
To his magic sense, every one of them had the same presence—
Even the flow of mana was indistinguishable.
—Indiscernible.
As expected of the greatest mage in history…
Maintaining tens of thousands of clones while making none distinguishable?
"Impressive, as always."
Agusheed murmured, raising his finger again.
But if Serie could spot the flaw instantly, did he not already anticipate it?
Of course he had.
Long ago, when he developed this spell, he foresaw this scenario.
And in all these years, he had prepared a countermeasure—
If precise targeting was impossible—
Then remove precision altogether.
Strike everything indiscriminately within sensory range.
That was the ultimate evolution of his magic—
Severance Magic: Total Law.
It rivaled even the famed Spatial Severance.
The cost? Nearly all his mana.
But it would suffice.
Because right after this move…
Came his finishing blow.
Agusheed's fingertip paused—and then—
Severance Magic: Total Law
Activated.
No hesitation. No reserve.
His magic surged like a tidal wave, slashes no longer targeting individual enemies—
But becoming a storm that engulfed everything within 30 kilometers!!
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK—
Under Serie's increasingly wide grin and astonished gaze—
Air tore apart, invisible slashes rained like a monsoon.
Earth, mountains, sky—
All shredded and reduced to ruin.
Peaks crumbled into rubble, which then disintegrated further into dust.
The ground shattered like glass, rifts spreading to the horizon.
Clouds were sliced. Airflow disrupted. Even light distorted among the chaos.
And at the eye of this annihilating storm—
All of Serie's clones vanished instantly.
They burst like bubbles, offering no resistance.
The only one left—
Was the original.
And to her, Agusheed prepared his ultimate technique.
Spatial Severance.
Had Serie been prepared, this spell wouldn't have worked.
That's why Agusheed didn't open with it.
But now—while she reeled from that storm…
Even Serie couldn't react in time.
Agusheed never intended to kill her—
So this strike avoided all vital points.
Spatial Severance
Activated.
The moment the blow landed—
Victory was decided.
The record of the strongest—
Etched into the back of the Dragon.
That's right—Agusheed won.