Levi scoffed and his gaze flickered between Cedric and the woman still leaning against the wall. "So, you think because you happened to get lucky and manifest a bond, that things will change between us? That you’d finally stand on equal ground with me?"
"Lucky?"
At first Cedric arched a brow, but then he shrugged. "Maybe. Yeah, maybe I did get lucky."
He smirked. "But aren’t you deluding yourself to think that we are on equal ground?"
Levi narrowed his eyes. "What? You think you are better than me?"
"No no, brother." Cedric sighed. "I do not think I am better than you."
He looked Levi dead in the eye. "I am better than you."
At that moment, Aika leapt in a blur straight toward Levi with her fist pulled back. However, her target was not Levi himself; instead, she intended to force out that perverted bond of his.
Levi immediately raised his hand, and Ifrit manifested, catching the blow in his palm.
Then, Aika leapt back. Her eyes locked onto the arm Ifrit had used to catch her blow. When she saw him cradling the trembling hand like it had been broken, a smile tugged at her lips, then she muttered chillingly, "Did I give you a sense of déjà vu?"
Ifrit growled. "I see you have grown even stro—"
He was still speaking when Aika leapt again, and before Ifrit could react, her foot connected with his face, sending him crashing into the wall of the shelter.
Aika then landed softly, her expression indifferent. "Don’t talk. It’s annoying."
Stunned, Levi turned in disbelief to see Ifrit slumped against the rubble. Suddenly the fear he was trying to suppress resurfaced with a vengeance.
It was then that Cedric’s voice drew his attention, causing him to look back at the man he had once looked down upon.
"You’ve spent years making sure I knew my place," Cedric continued, putting on his mask. Then he tilted his head slightly. "I thought it was only fair that I came back to return the favor. So, brother... are you going to stand there and tremble, or are you actually going to try and do something about it?"
Levi’s face flushed a deep, angry red. At this point, all his hatred for his brother also resurfaced, and the control he had over his emotions finally crumbled.
"I’ll kill you!" He yelled as he leapt with his hand pulled back, aiming to strike Cedric’s masked face.
But when he got to him, Cedric merely tilted his head to the side and the fist passed harmlessly by. Levi struck again with his other fist, and to his horror, Cedric evaded in the same effortless manner.
Levi gritted his teeth and growled. He began lashing out with a frantic flurry of punches. This time, Cedric placed one hand casually behind his back and used the other to swat the blows away.
No matter how many times Levi swung, Cedric would simply deflect him. Levi would strike down, Cedric would bring his arm down to block. Levi would aim up, Cedric would intercept.
Again and again and again.
This annoyed Levi so much. But what made him snap was when Cedric spoke again. "Is that all you have? Tsk. I can’t believe you used to bully me with just this much."
Levi roared. He lunged forward and swung a desperate, heavy hook. But Cedric gracefully stepped inside his guard to push the hand aside and then, disrespectfully, he swung his arm, slapping Levi and sending him staggering back a few steps.
"Come on. You can’t best me with such amateur blows." Cedric remained poised with one hand behind his back and the other idly waving him on.
"Try something else."
At that moment, Aika dragged a beaten-down Ifrit by the hair to his master, then threw him carelessly at Levi’s feet.
Cedric gestured toward the broken bond. "Go on. Tell him to take your life so that you can use your bonded ability."
Levi hesitated, then looked at Ifrit and a small flicker of confidence returned to him.
His bonded ability required that his bond rip his heart out before it could be activated. Of course, Levi had a lot of faith in his bonded ability, which was why his confidence was surging once more. He began to see Cedric as being dumb for giving him this opportunity.
’Look who’s arrogant now. Tsk. I’ll make you regret this,’ he thought as Ifrit managed to get himself up. Ifrit staggered, and when Levi gave the silent command, he lunged forward and ripped his heart out.
Blood sprayed out of Levi’s chest and mouth as he dropped to his knees, lifeless before he even hit the ground.
It was silent for a brief moment, and during this time, a ripple ran across the entire grove. This was Alicia’s doing. With Levi now activating his bonded ability, Alicia’s power was definitely needed as it was the only thing capable of keeping the coming destructive energy contained.
Leon stood beside her and also watched the scene.
When Cedric saw that Levi’s body was almost bloated with raw energy, he stepped closer and kicked the corpse. It rolled several meters before exploding in a large torrent of flames.
Within that vortex of flames, the monstrous form of Levi’s bonded ability reared its head. He let out a loud roar and as he did, swirling red energy gathered in his mouth.
Cedric smiled and raised a hand casually toward the beast. In front of Cedric’s hand, a large black halo formed. It spun slowly like a ring from the void.
The seconds passed and both the swirling red energy in Levi’s mouth and the black halo in front of Cedric’s hand charged with violent intensity.
Suddenly, a massive beam of concentrated red fire shot out of Levi’s mouth straight toward Cedric. In the same heartbeat, a massive black beam of concentrated black flames shot from the ring in front of Cedric, straight for Levi. And then, both energies clashed, sending a chaotic explosion bursting outward in every direction.