Ifrit: When Did You Forget How to Cry?

Ifrit rose to his feet and said, "Keep moving. I'll catch up soon."

"If there's an enemy, we should face them together!" Gray hurriedly said.

"Meh, it won't take much time." Ifrit said, "Gray, make me a block of ice."

"Okay."

Gray casually froze part of the sea surface and solemnly said, "Be careful."

Gray and the others left.

Ifrit said, "Stop hiding. It's pointless. My magic locks onto individuals."

"Boohoo. What... terrifying magic." A figure slowly emerged.

The mage who was always crying and pleading for "peace"—Pudding.

Ifrit looked at his left hand. The left hand that had been cut off last time had now been replaced by a mechanical one.

"Ifrit de la Valier." Pudding cried, "You are someone who destroys peace completely and utterly. I am—"

"Ansa's faithful follower—"

"One of the Eight Knights who uphold peace in this world under Ansa's command."

"The Knight of Mercy—Pudding."

Pudding opened the brown leather book he had been holding and showed Ifrit one of its pages.

"Look. Your name is in the Book of Judgment."

"Ifrit, I shall judge you."

"Repent while feeling God's mercy. Though even so—"

"You will never reach heaven."

Boom!

The instant Pudding finished speaking, the attack began.

Seawater turned into long spikes and pierced through Ifrit's body.

"Deception?" Pudding cried. "I'm so sorry, but my magic happens to counter yours."

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Rows upon rows of seawater transformed into long spikes and spread outward, like a giant beast with a mouth full of sharp teeth swallowing its food.

Yet Ifrit appeared before Pudding and slashed down with his blade.

"Where's that gun of yours?" Pudding asked. He was quick to react. The seawater before him condensed into a long spike and struck toward Ifrit's back, only to suddenly stop at the last moment.

"I almost fell for it."

Pudding shook his head. The scene before him changed. Ifrit had not been standing in front of him; instead, Pudding himself was one step farther forward than he had thought. If the seawater spike had truly struck where he planned, the one killed would have been himself!

From the floating block of ice in the distance, Ifrit gave a quiet laugh—

Was Pudding's will really this weak?

"Just as I thought." Pudding said smugly, "With Deception Magic, as long as the mind recognizes that it is being deceived, the magic can be broken. After all, it's only—"

Ifrit instantly appeared before Pudding again and slashed with his sword.

"Deception."

The illusion shattered once more.

Ifrit was still standing where he had been.

Pudding laughed. "But even if you break through one layer of deception, a second follows immediately. As long as one remains within a certain range, they'll keep being affected by the magic, won't they?"

Whoosh! Ifrit appeared in front of him for the third time and swung his blade.

"Real." Pudding decisively retreated and used seawater spikes to stab at Ifrit.

Ifrit twisted his body, tossed a card beneath his feet, stepped on it, and returned to the ice block.

"Truth and falsehood intermingled—it really isn't easy to distinguish them completely." Pudding said with a smile. "You have to be utterly certain that you're being deceived. Only courage enough to gamble with your life can break the deception!"

"But that confidence and courage will instead get you killed by reality!"

"If you approach reality, you need not fear deception. But if you truly approach reality, you'll suffer deception from reality itself!"

"How terrifying. Even knowing the principle behind your magic, it's still difficult to deal with."

"But."

Pudding raised his left hand and said smugly, "With this thing, it's different."

"You can deceive people, but you can't deceive magic."

"The Knight of Honor, the one among the Eight Knights most skilled at creating magical tools, made this prosthetic hand for me."

"It has only one simple, but one hundred percent accurate, ability."

"It senses your distance—"

"The closer you are, the more intensely it vibrates. I can receive feedback from your magic power."

"So."

"Your deception is already useless, Ifrit. Let's fight face-to-face!"

"HAHAHAHA—"

Pudding laughed wildly.

Rumble!

The coffin he had been carrying on his back opened, and a long spear with two pointed ends flew out from within—a weapon shaped like a cake fork.

Its entire body was spiraled. If an ordinary person gripped it, it would probably cut their hands badly.

Yet Pudding wielded it with great force.

Boom!

Pudding leaped into the air. The seawater stretching several hundred meters behind him began to boil, then transformed into countless spikes that bore down on Ifrit from all directions.

"..."

Just a little more. Hold on a little longer.

Ifrit adjusted his glasses. Physical stamina was what he was worst at.

But fortunately—Pudding was not Jose.

Otherwise, he would never have stood here listening to him show off. He would have turned and run, only to hear things like, "Stop right there! Don't run!"

Close!

Ifrit waved his hand and also "created" countless seawater spikes, launching a counterattack.

"Deception!"

Pudding said smugly, then charged straight into the seawater spikes. But in the next second, alarm flashed through his heart, and he hurriedly twisted aside.

Squelch!

He did not evade completely.

A long blade pierced into his shoulder—straight through it!

Ifrit slowly lowered the arm he had used to throw it.

"..." Pudding looked at him. After several seconds of silence, he instead burst into even more arrogant laughter.

"HAHAHA—"

"Ifrit!"

"You even threw over your last weapon!"

"That was your all-or-nothing strike, wasn't it?!"

"What a shame. Though it was very faint, I still sensed the magical fluctuations on it!"

"You lost!"

"Now, accept my judgment!"

"Don't worry. I am the Knight of Mercy. I won't deliberately torture you!"

"It will only take an instant. It will be over in an instant!"

"Deceiver mage—"

"Allow me to grant you the most exalted judgment!"

"Spike Hell!"

Rumble!

The entire sea began to boil.

The seawater rose up, forming slender spikes hundreds of meters long. By rough estimate, there were at least a thousand of them!

"HAHAHA—"

"Judgment begins!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Over a thousand seawater spikes stabbed toward Ifrit at the same time!

Ifrit remained where he was without moving. Completely at ease, he took out an umbrella and opened it with a rustle.

Pudding was somewhat stunned.

Was he still so calm with death at hand?

Truly worthy of the name of elegance—

Ifrit!

Can I really kill you?

A man as exceptional as you.

If you died, what a great regret this world would suffer.

Should I... not kill this man?

Splash!

The thousand-plus seawater spikes suddenly shattered, turning into a torrential downpour over the sea.

Pudding was drenched like a drowned rat, looking utterly miserable.

But Ifrit, beneath his umbrella, was untouched by a single drop.

Pudding could not believe it—

Why?

Had the magic suddenly been undone?

Or had he undone it himself?!

Ifrit took out a card and placed it on the ice. The card blew a gust of wind toward the sea, pushing the ice block toward Pudding.

"Ifrit, you still dare to come closer!"

"Are you seeking death?!"

"HAHAHA—"

Pudding suppressed the confusion and panic in his heart, forcing himself to maintain an arrogant posture.

"Haven't you noticed something is wrong?"

Ifrit tilted his head. "Pudding, when did you forget how to cry?"