A violent gale erupted, and the flames caught the hurricane, surging into a towering blaze that tore apart the shrouding storm clouds in one stroke.
Scattered sparks splashed through the air. After Morgani's magic was broken, the remains of poisonous insects covering the ground vanished like smoke, and the toxic miasma in the air dissolved with them.
Balthazar formed an Ion Cannon with his bare hands. A beam of intense light shot forward as he shoved it fiercely toward Morgani, who was in the midst of casting a spell.
Calling it spellcasting was generous. She was really performing some bizarre ritual—throwing her head counterclockwise one moment, prostrating herself the next, and occasionally doing the splits. Her movements were as exaggerated as they could be.
The instant the Ion Cannon left his hands, it struck Morgani squarely in the chest and abdomen. She ignored it completely as Maxim raised his staff and blocked the attack for her.
"Balthazar, I take back what I said. You're not as inflexible as I imagined. You've accepted this strange new world."
Maxim's gunshot wounds had already healed, though the lingering pain on his face made his smile look somewhat savage.
"Of course. It's not like I've been locked in prison this whole time."
Balthazar sneered. He thrust his left hand forward and fired an air cannon, while his right hand slipped into his coat and pulled out his revolver.
Almost at the same time, Maxim made the same choice. The gemstone at the tip of his staff flashed, and a shockwave swept toward Balthazar as his other hand drew the pistol from his clothes.
A cold glint flashed in their eyes. Both aimed at the other's head and pulled the trigger, each fully convinced he could finish the other first.
Bang! Bang!
"Ahhh—"
The shots