68-69

Chapter 68: Pure, Unadulterated Muscle!  

The Weeping Doll was fast.  

But Rayne was faster!  

With the enhancement of Giant Magic and his bare-handed combat prowess, his physical abilities and magical power had reached an unprecedented peak.  

"BOOM—!"  

The moment the ground beneath him shattered, his mountain-like frame appeared right in front of the Weeping Doll.  

His fist, encased in crimson gauntlets and wreathed in flame-like magic, shot forward like a cannonball.  

The air itself seemed unable to withstand the sheer force, howling under the pressure as wind and snow spiraled violently around his strike.  

Before his fist even connected, the Weeping Doll’s head was already flung backward.  

Cracks spiderwebbed across its energy-formed body, sending rippling waves through its form.  

The Weeping Doll’s grotesque, disjointed fist slammed into Rayne’s chest with a dull THUD.  

Its attacks were erratic—its hand moved independently from its head, as if each part had a mind of its own.  

The resonating impact proved Rayne wasn’t bluffing.  

Caught off-guard by its bizarre movements, Rayne had no time to dodge.  

A violent shockwave erupted, whipping up debris like bullets as it tore through the battlefield.  

Seizing the opportunity, Rayne unleashed his magic without restraint.  

Compressed air exploded from his fist like a cannon blast.  

Thanks to Kanna’s draconic influence, Rayne was no longer the same village boy from before.  

He met force with even greater force.  

His monstrous strength, capable of uprooting mountains, crashed into the Weeping Doll’s body—shaking the earth itself.  

The moment he retracted his arm, his right leg lashed out like a whip.  

But then—the mental assault struck again.  

Rayne’s muscles tensed, the ground beneath him splitting apart as crimson magic erupted like a blazing lotus.  

"CRACK—!!"  

"ARGH—!!"  

His magic power stuttered under the onslaught of cursed energy.  

Yet, even as its puppet-like body reassembled itself—  

"Then let’s see who’s tougher!"  

The Weeping Doll’s eyes widened.  

Rayne hadn’t budged an inch.  

In its calculations, Rayne should’ve dodged.  

But instead—  

"You call that a hit?! It’s like you’re tickling me!"  

Not only did Rayne not falter, he didn’t even spit blood!  

Who was the real monster here?!  

The Weeping Doll’s dangling head snapped back into place, its hollow eyes and mouth stretching into perfect circles.  

Before it could react—  

"RUMBLE—!"  

Rayne’s axe-like arm smashed down, cratering the earth beneath them.  

The Weeping Doll’s body buckled, its waist nearly snapping in half from the impact.  

"IMPOSSIBLE!!"  

Its disembodied arm shot out, trying to intercept Rayne’s kick—  

But Rayne’s draconic-enhanced body was beyond human limits.  

"You think some flimsy strings can stop me?!"  

With a roar, he yanked the Weeping Doll’s head down, slamming it into the ground.  

The earth screamed as it collapsed under the force.  

"DIE—!!"  

Green magical strings snapped like twigs, unable to withstand Rayne’s overwhelming power.  

Spectral faces, filled with malice, tried to invade his mind—  

But a deafening dragon’s roar echoed in Rayne’s soul, shattering the assault.  

"This is MY domain!"  

The Weeping Doll’s body lifted into the air, suspended like a broken marionette.  

"You’re just a puppet—!"  

Rayne’s crimson magic flared, burning away the cursed strings.  

"—And I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands!"  

The Weeping Doll screeched, its form distorting as its very essence was ripped apart.  

This wasn’t a battle.  

This was pure, unadulterated DOMINATION.  

Chapter 69: Burning Soul, The Final Magic!  

The earth shattered violently, chunks of soil hurtling into the air from the sheer force of the impact.  

"Useless. Mere physical damage means nothing to me—I can recover at any time."  

The pitch-black eyes of the Weeping Marionette peered through Rayne’s fingers, its distorted voice echoing with a hint of smugness.  

Not far away, the pair of hands controlled by magic strings tore free from the ground and shot toward Rayne. Countless emerald threads erupted from its fingertips, weaving into a cage meant to ensnare him. At the same time, its severed legs—also manipulated by the strings—lashed out in a vicious assault.  

Rayne’s eyes sharpened. Gripping the marionette’s head, he swung its massive body like a greatsword, smashing aside the incoming threads and limbs with a single sweep.  

Now holding the Weeping Marionette at eye level, he grinned.  

"You seem awfully confident. I wonder… what’ll happen if I tear you to pieces?"  

The marionette shuddered at his expression—a primal dread rising in its hollow core.  

The next moment, its fears were realized.  

Rayne hurled the marionette into the air. His crimson-gauntleted fingers curled like claws as he twisted his torso and slashed downward, leaving five searing red trails in the air.  

The razor-sharp talons shredded the magic strings controlling the legs, sending the limbs crashing to the ground. The marionette’s body now bore five savage gashes—as if mauled by a beast.  

Without pause, Rayne pivoted his wrist and raked upward, carving another set of intersecting wounds. The Weeping Marionette’s form grew more mangled by the second.  

But Rayne didn’t stop. His strikes only grew faster, fiercer—each blow keeping the marionette suspended midair, denying it even a moment to recover.  

Even when the marionette desperately tried to counter with its limbs or unleash its soul-rending "Lamentation" (a mental assault), nothing worked.  

For the first time, the Weeping Marionette—a being born of despair—felt true hopelessness.  

Its abilities were far from weak. Its puppet-like combat style, its mental shocks, even its soul-devouring grasp after immobilizing prey—any of these would overwhelm a typical B-class mage. Even an A-class mage would struggle.  

But Rayne hard-countered it completely.  

Despite its towering frame, the marionette lacked true martial skill. Against Rayne’s Giant Magic, its attacks couldn’t breach his defenses.  

And as for mental and soul-based assaults?  

"Ddraig", the guardian of his inner domain, scoffed. The will of a Dragon King eclipsed this pitiful dark mage’s malice.  

This battle had been one-sided from the start.  

The only "challenge" for Rayne was figuring out how to destroy it permanently.  

But now, he had his answer.  

"If your body means nothing… then I’ll shred it to atoms and erase every last scrap!"  

With that resolve, Rayne’s claws became a blur of crimson streaks. To the distant onlookers—like Conner and the others—all they saw were crossed red slashes filling the air.  

By the eighth second, just before his second power surge activated, Rayne swung with all his might, hurling the marionette’s shredded remains skyward with a burst of魔力 (magic energy).  

"I—AM—IMMORTAL! What can you do even now?!"  

The marionette’s voice, now fractured, echoed from the scattered flesh. Green threads surged, attempting to reassemble its body.  

"Immortal?"  

Rayne sneered. His crimsonManaboiled to its peak.  

Crackle—!  

Red lightning arced across his body like serpents.  

"Turn you to ash, and let’s see if you still talk!"  

A scarlet magic circle flared before him. The lightning grew denser, wilder.  

After discovering hisMana’s lightning affinity, Rayne hadn’t wasted it. He’d studied Laxus’s thunder magic in the guild library—making this his first true spell.  

Thunder magic was brutal by nature, a perfect match for Rayne’s tyrannicalMana. The synergy wasn’t just 1+1—it was multiplicative.  

(Though it did turn his magic circle red instead of the usual gold.)  

"Let the heavens tremble at thunder’s call—!"  

Rayne crossed his arms, chanting asManaerupted around him. The ground exploded wherever the red lightning touched.  

Normally, this spell Rayned down from above—but to ensure total annihilation, Rayne condensed it point-blank.  

The Weeping Marionette sensed doom.  

It had been smug, thinking Rayne only had physical attacks. Now, facing his second magic, the sheer killing intent in the波动 (waves) made its nonexistent blood run cold.  

In desperation, it abandoned reassembly.  

GreenManasurged as ghostly faces emerged—souls of the dead, even Marion’s—all glaring with pure malice.  

"If I die—YOU SUFFER WITH ME!"  

Their curses fused into a final spell, burning every last shred of their souls andManaas fuel.  

The magic circle that formed pulsed with cataclysmic energy.  

"Crash from the skies—reduce all to cinders!!"  

Ignoring the marionette’s ravings, Rayne finished his incantation.  

The crimson magic circle blazed, dyeing the world in hellfire hues.  

A massive orb of red lightning formed—its heat so intense the blackened earth below steamed.  

"THUNDER GOD’S RAGE—!"  

With a thunderous roar, Rayne thrust his hands forward.  

The red lightning erupted like a meteor, colliding midair with the marionette’s green annihilation beam.  

BOOOOOOM—!!!  

The world split into red and green.  

The shockwave atomized the frozen earth, uprooted trees, and sent snow exploding into a blizzard. Even the watching children staggered back—all except Conner, who stood firm, her eyes locked on Rayne with absolute faith.  

The marionette’s soul-burning attack was terrifying—it overpowered Rayne’s lightning, though at great cost. The remaining beam speared downward, aiming to erase him.  

But Rayne dug in.  

His right fist, sheathed in crimson gauntlets, reeled back. His left arm braced ahead.  

"HAAAAAAAA—!!"  

As the beam descended, Rayne punched forward, hisManacoiling like a dragon’s fury.  

The final clash—had only just begun.