"I'll kill you!" The man with the sharp visage bellowed, his voice reverberating through the air.
Gradually, his entire form underwent a subtle yet perceptible enlargement, causing his attire to burst asunder.
A keen observer might notice the swift formation of a sizable core near his chest, rapidly taking shape with an ominous pitch-black hue.
Strangely, this core seemed distinct, deviating from the elemental cores typically seen.
"Boom!"
The aura around him surged abruptly, an expanse of darkness cascading to shroud the vicinity in a tumultuous embrace.
Rian, quick to react, narrowed his eyes as he recognized a striking semblance between this man's aura and that of the assailants from the enigmatic Light Eater organization he had clashed with before.
"The Light Eater organization's capabilities remain enigmatically unpredictable," Rian ruminated, his thoughts winding intricately.
Despite his considerable experience, he found himself at a loss regarding the methodology behind such abrupt surges in strength.
And why was he so confident that such a technique was nonexistent? Because one of the fundamental laws governing the world explicitly forbade its existence.
The core within a person's body acted as a conduit for the manifestation of the world's elements.
When an individual awakened their core based on the four primary elements representing the foundations of the world's creation, they became inherently bound by the world's laws.
In essence, while they gained immense power, the world itself acted as a restraining force to prevent unchecked dominance.
However, exceptions did exist—those exempt from the world's laws.
These were the possessors of special elements, unique manifestations that lay beyond the world's jurisdiction.
These rare individuals, owing to their connection with unparalleled elements, stood as embodiments of exceptional and extraordinary talents, defying conventional understanding.
The number of individuals capable of generating such special elements was extraordinarily limited, making them truly scarce people that could be counted on one's fingers.
Yet the methods and machinations of this organization seemed to defy the logical principles upheld for countless millennia.
Their ability to create artificial elemental humans, the audacity to graft elemental nuclei, and now this instant power enhancement—each of these developments challenged the very fabric of established wisdom.
The sheer scope of their operations and the malevolent influence they wielded were sufficient to cast a shroud of despair across the human continent centuries ago.
"I pray that Carina emerges victorious from this encounter, but should she falter, I'll have no choice but to intervene swiftly and eliminate that man," Rian determined, firm in his thoughts and course of action.
As his plans took shape, his focus inadvertently shifted to the two elves, still in a state of stupor, their sight obscured by dark cloth.
"Even the elves, secluded on their distant continent, weren't spared from their reach," Rian exhaled deeply, a surge of heightened wariness toward the Black Skull syndicate and Light Eater organization.
The elven continent was situated as one of the most distant landmasses from the human continent, rivaled only by the demon continent in terms of distance.
Undertaking the journey across this span required an exceptionally protracted duration.
Even for a high elemental saint such as Rian, traversing this expanse at his swiftest pace would consume a full two months.
This staggering timeframe illuminated the sheer size of the elven continent.
Moreover, this calculation accounted solely for continuous, nonstop travel, neglecting the necessity for sleep and rest.
Factoring in these additional considerations would extend the journey to approximately four months in its entirety.
"Boom!"
Yet, Rian's attention was promptly drawn back to the scene of conflict, where the clash between the combatants appeared to have ignited.
He assumed a poised stance, prepared for any unforeseen contingencies.
"Hahaha! Your defeat is an inevitability!" The man with the sharp countenance erupted into unhinged laughter, his form pulsating with an unusual surge of strength.
"Earth Elemental Art: Destruction!" With his palms conjoined, the man executed a devastating maneuver.
A colossal tremor rippled forth from the ground, swiftly giving rise to a yawning chasm spanning an astounding ten meters in diameter.
"Boom!"
Instinctively sensing the impending danger, Carina swiftly unleashed her own elemental art.
"Wind Elemental Art: Soar!" With a fluid incantation, Carina managed to elevate herself, narrowly escaping the gaping hole's clutches.
Her elemental core resonated with the wind element, a coincidence that benefited from Rian's dedicated instruction in advanced elemental arts.
He had always been instrumental in refining and guiding her skillset.
Observing Carina's evasion, the man with sharp features curled his lips into a chilling smile and promptly raised both hands.
"Annihilate her!" Astonishingly, he seized control of the earth, forming the expansive pit, instantly elevating the soil and ensnaring Carina within its grasp.
"Hehehe! Perish!" His fists clenched, and the earthen matter obediently converged, exerting immense pressure on Carina.
"Boom!"
The resounding explosion marked the fusion of earth and force, with its impact reverberating through the air.
The man with sharp features erupted into callous laughter.
"Hahaha! Your frailty astounds me. You've met your swift demise," he jeered, gazing upon Carina, now enveloped in the crushing embrace of the earth.
To his satisfaction, he failed to anticipate that these unfamiliar intruders could so effectively challenge his dominion.
The prospect of bargaining for his life briefly crossed his mind as a potential compromise in the face of these unexpected adversaries.
Amidst the chaos of the confrontation, a memory suddenly resurfaced within the man's mind—the memory of the viscous black substance provided by the cloaked individual earlier. This liquid held the unique ability to bestow temporary strength, serving as an initial assurance in their agreement.
Initially, he had wavered, fully aware, as Rian had understood, that genuine instantaneous strength enhancement was implausible.
However, his resolve had crumbled in the face of the overwhelming might wielded by the cloaked figure, rendering him bereft of alternatives.
Yet, the unexpected reality lay before him: the substance had indeed bolstered his capabilities, endowing him with formidable might that could potentially vanquish one of the two intruders.
"This remarkable power defies my modest comprehension," the man with the sharp visage marveled, his right palm clenched in exhilaration.
His journey to elemental sainthood had been far from spectacular, especially given his relatively meager natural talent.
Reaching the early stage of elemental sainthood was a considerable accomplishment, signaling the extent of his potential.
Aware of the limitations set by his innate ability, he had long accepted his fate.
This resigned perspective was dramatically transformed as the newfound strength propelled him to the mid-stage of elemental sainthood, nearly breaching into the echelons of high-level elemental sainthood.
As the exhilaration of his newfound power surged, an abrupt agony tore through the core region of his heart.
"Argh! Cough Cough!" His left hand clamped onto his chest as he folded over in anguish, a torrent of blackened blood erupting from his lips.
"What is this?" With his hand muffled by the spews of black fluid, he watched in horrified disbelief as the darkened blood continued to gush forth in copious amounts.
"Damn it! I failed to remember that this strength is merely transitory, and my elation led me to overlook this crucial detail!" Bristling with wrath and vexation, he surged to his feet, his gaze now squarely fixed on Rian.
"Very well, your comrade's demise clears the way for your impending fate." His resonant and self-assured proclamation reverberated through the air.
However, upon hearing these words, Rian's response was one of wistful amusement.
He offered a slight, pitiful shake of his head.
"Huh! Still feigning strength in my presence?" The man with sharp features derisively snorted.
Despite the potent might emanating from his opponent, he retained an unwavering conviction in his capacity to overcome him.
"Very well! Your final moments are upon you!" As he poised himself to launch an attack at Rian, he was suddenly arrested by a gesture from Rian—a solitary index finger elevated, a smirk replete with disdain playing upon his lips.
His voice seemed to carry a whispered decree: "Your end is nigh."
In an instant, a frigid shiver swept through the air, the looming specter of death manifesting anew and surging toward the man with the sharp visage.
Panic gripped him, his eyes widening in apprehension.
"Shit!" As he attempted to evade the impending threat and invoke his earth elemental arts for defense, Rian on the other end raised his hand, orchestrating the cessation of mana flow within his own body.
"Whooosh!"
Out of the shadows, Carina emerged abruptly, materializing from above with a keen-edged dagger poised to strike.
She executed a swift and lethal motion, slashing the man's neck with precision.
"No...!" A desperate, disbelieving cry escaped his lips, though, alas, it proved futile in the end.
"Whoosh!" With a swift severance, the man's head was separated from his body.
His eyes mirrored a refusal to accept his imminent fate, but destiny was unrelenting.
The man with the sharp visage crumpled, his form descending to the ground as lifeblood flowed profusely from his severed neck.
Disbelief clung to his expression even in his final moments, his massive frame gradually succumbing to the earth beneath.
Conversely, Carina stood amidst the aftermath, her breath ragged and her cloak tarnished by earthy grime.
In due course, Rian, along with the two unconscious elves, materialized by her side.
"Are you unharmed?" Rian inquired, a playful grin adorning his features.
He was well aware that Carina had avoided death when ensnared by the earth, even if she bore the brunt of the impact, her limbs sustaining some injury.
Moreover, the man with the sharp visage had been too consumed by his early triumph to exercise due caution.
Carina responded with a simple shake of her head.
"I'm managing. However, we must swiftly liberate the captives and slaves within. Moreover, I sense an impending ominousness if we linger here further," Carina conveyed her apprehensions.
Rian, attuned to the same aura, nodded in accord.
His countenance grew vigilant and keen.
"Their arrival is more prompt than anticipated." Rian murmured under his breath.
He led the group—Carina and the two unconsiused elves—to depart from the scene.
