From the moment they secretly followed, conflict had been inevitable. From the moment spell fluctuations erupted, casualties had become a price that had to be borne. Everything had seemed to happen quickly, but there had actually been many different choices—for instance, turning around and leaving when they saw Big Guy running across the sea, or revealing themselves to explain the misunderstanding, rather than diving deeper underwater and continuing to lurk behind the small boat.
"Lord Mahama seems to be in pain?" Kurt said as he looked into the distance.
Ruger nodded. This God of Sorrow seemed particularly adept at noticing other people's pain—at least, much faster than Ruger was.
"He doesn't look injured. It's probably some kind of spell—" Ruger said.
He still had no intention of making a move. Mahama was probably craving injuries sustained in battle right now; that too was part of testing himself, seeing what he was truly made of.
At the same time, as the inheritor of a complete spell sequence, Mahama must have prepared for his own strengths and weaknesses. This strange Big Guy already looked extraordinarily tough, so those wizards would certainly choose all sorts of bizarre spells to deal with him.
Of course, as friends, Ruger and Kurt had also come to the open window. Ruger was already prepared to spread his dream demon wings and dart out at the first sign of trouble.
Big Guy's unexpected display allowed him to instantly deal with one wizard.
Yet the remaining two still had not produced a result for some time.
It seemed neither side could do anything to the other.
But Ruger knew the other side was more flustered. For example, the frequent glances they cast toward the small boat were enough to explain it. Their worries were entirely warranted: one man alone