Pursue him? Or not?
Two choices immediately surfaced in Li Ye's mind.
At Magie's current speed, he could use Thunderclap Flash to destroy the Chimera's corpse before Magie Friedman reached it, and capture Magie as well.
Or he could let Magie Friedman absorb the Chimera, completely destroy Aleka's body, and stage a battle with no suspense whatsoever.
In short, save her or not.
Tch.
Li Ye spoke rapidly. "Miss Nitocris, do you think Aleka can still be saved?"
Aleka's body had been occupied by Magie Friedman, who was recklessly using magecraft to bolster his strength. He was undoubtedly draining Aleka's life away. Her body was barely maintaining a human shape, but Li Ye had no idea what state she was in internally.
But Nitocris, also a Magus, could certainly see more and make a judgment.
Nitocris had been observing from Li Ye's side while he fought Magie Friedman. Now that Li Ye asked, she immediately replied, "She cannot be saved. That insolent wretch has already exhausted every last bit of magical energy in her body. Even her insides have been utterly ruined. There is no possible way she could survive."
"What if we turn her into an undead? As long as we preserve her Mage Circuits and basic ability to think, it doesn't matter if she isn't among the living."
Just as their conversation ended, Magie Friedman charged into the Chimera's corpse!
In an instant, blood burst forth like a fountain. Ever-growing flesh enveloped Magie Friedman.
Most striking of all was the surging magical energy reaction!
It had already reached Li Ye's level, perhaps even faintly surpassed it!
My magical energy is at B-rank. After merging with the Chimera's corpse, the enormous magical energy he gained by burning through his life can reach this level too—
After receiving Nitocris's death sentence, Li Ye decisively gave up on saving Aleka and instead began analyzing Magie Friedman's objective.
Taking over Aleka's body and fighting them now was completely unnecessary. He could clearly have remained hidden within Aleka and waited for an opportunity.
Yet he had chosen such an irrational course of action. Li Ye did not understand.
What is he hiding?
The only possibility Li Ye could think of was that Magie Friedman had personally stepped in to prevent Aleka from revealing information she should not reveal.
Interesting—
With that thought, Li Ye calmly looked into the distance.
Scarlet fluid, like ruptured amniotic fluid, gurgled across the yellow sands as the newborn monster freely stretched its body.
There was no obvious change in appearance. Only Aleka's clothes had completely melted away, and threads of scarlet liquid hung from her body, exposing her small frame to the sandstorm.
What truly concerned Li Ye was the magical energy fluctuation that rivaled his own, along with that strange aura.
The next moment, flames ignited.
They were the Flame of Burning Li Ye knew all too well. Vivid memories of slaughter flashed through his mind.
Beginning with Magie Friedman, the fire rapidly spread as though it intended to claim this entire desert!
The curse saturating the air had nearly become tangible.
Thus, the demon was born.
Magie Friedman's alteration of Aleka's body was finally complete. After absorbing the Chimera, his body had been greatly strengthened, and every injury Li Ye had inflicted upon him had healed!
Staring at Magie Friedman, Li Ye slowly lowered his stance.
There was no need for Nitocris to act. He alone could end this farce.
Thunderclap Flash
Crimson Lightning surged like a dragon, closing in on Magie Friedman in an instant!
"What?!"
Magie Friedman did not react at all. It was as if he had been struck head-on by a speeding train, the explosive force so immense that he could not resist it!
Boom!!
A terrifying force completely unlike their previous clash crashed down upon him!
Splat—
At the instant of contact, Li Ye felt an unexpectedly soft sensation, as though he had struck a heap of rotten flesh. With no resistance at all, he pierced straight through it!
As a result, Li Ye passed directly by Magie Friedman!
And Magie Friedman, having successfully evaded Li Ye's strike, was instantly blown several meters away by the shockwave!
Did he specially modify his body?
Li Ye stopped and carefully recalled that sensation. If he had not been moving too quickly, he might have been wrapped up by that mass of flesh afterward.
What would have happened then?
Digestion, or assimilation?
Li Ye slightly turned his head, glancing sidelong at Magie Friedman as he rapidly approached. "You barely managed to evade my attack, yet you're still charging at me? Do you want to die that badly?!"
Bang!
The purest collision of flesh against flesh rang out in dull explosions like thunder!
Li Ye also witnessed the horrifying strength Magie Friedman had gained by recklessly burning through his life force!
Even if it was only the fleeting brilliance that bloomed after an ultimate burn!
Not only that, the flames Magie Friedman wielded seemed capable of burning the spirit through the flesh!
Li Ye could clearly feel a faint, maddening curse trying to twist the structure of his mind!
As though it wanted to turn him into one of the Crusaders!
But those curses had absolutely no effect on Li Ye!
With his Magic Resistance, Li Ye possessed extremely strong resistance to such curses!
After several exchanges, Magie Friedman was beaten until flesh and blood flew everywhere. Even strengthened, he was still no match for Li Ye!
He was sent flying by a single punch!
"Is that all you can do?! Hahahaha—"
"At this rate, you can't even kill Aleka! Of course, even if you kill Aleka, you still won't get what you want!"
Magie Friedman, having escaped death, laughed wildly. He had completely given up on communicating with Li Ye. Now, all he wanted was to viciously humiliate Li Ye before Aleka died completely!
Faced with Magie Friedman's taunts, Li Ye expressionlessly activated the Eyes of Death Perception.
The world once again lifted its veil before Li Ye. Death was within reach.
And at the center of his vision, within the monster named Magie Friedman—
Distinct from the Lines of Death belonging to Aleka herself, an incredibly tiny point of light drifted there.
The endpoint of death, entirely different from the Lines of Death!
Without question, it was Magie Friedman's death!
This time, Li Ye was no longer limited to the death of the flesh. He had finally seen the death of soul information!
Shing—
Drawing his sword, Li Ye pointed its blade at Magie Friedman and slowly said, "I will kill you—"
Before his words had even faded, Li Ye vanished from where he stood.
Seeing Li Ye suddenly attack, Magie Friedman did not wait helplessly for death either. He counterattacked with all his strength!
But now, all resistance was futile before Li Ye!
In the blink of an eye, severed arms flew through the air, and the spraying blood mist instantly erupted into raging flames!
A cold flash cut through the windblown sand, reflecting Magie Friedman's stunned expression.
Splat.
The sword pierced through his body, striking the death point dead-on.
All magical energy fluctuations vanished in an instant, as though they had never existed.
"What... is this?"
Magie Friedman's laughter came to an abrupt stop.
Li Ye's chilling whisper echoed beside his ear. "I really want to know whether your true body can survive?"
There was no response. The moment the sword pierced his body, Magie Friedman had already died.
What remained standing there was merely a corpse.