A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World Chapter 2480
Mag streaked across the firmament like a soaring eagle, plunging directly toward the small island located at the edge of the Mala Archipelago.
Having bypassed the zones of concentrated fire, Mag tore through the protective defense shield enveloping the island at the final moment and touched down on solid ground.
Though he referred to it as a small island, its scale was actually quite significant.
The Mala Archipelago consisted of 32 islands in total, and this particular landmass ranked fifth in terms of total surface area.
The island's security alarms shrieked instantly.
!!
"Who dares to trespass upon this island?"
A commanding voice boomed like a clap of thunder. A muscular man, standing two meters tall with a thick beard, leaped from a high vantage point while wielding a heavy, black long saber. He glared at Mag with eyes as wide as bells. Narrowing his gaze, he demanded, "The Adjudicator?"
Mag flashed a brilliant grin and replied in a deep tone, "Indeed, it is I, your master."
"You clown, how dare you show your face here? I’ll skin you alive today! We will expose your cowardice for all to see!" Buckle roared in fury. Blazing flames erupted along the blade of his long saber as the stone beneath his feet shattered under the pressure. His massive frame launched forward, swinging the saber toward Mag with lethal intent.
An Almost-Extraordinaire. His Cultivation was on the same level as Mag’s.
Since reaching the demi-god realm, Mag had yet to engage in a true life-and-death struggle with a powerhouse of equal standing. Finding such an opponent in the Underground City was a rarity, so he naturally intended to seize this precious chance.
"That bastard actually had the nerve to come!"
Inside the villa’s fortified safe house, Fergus stared at the screen showing Mag in his black attire, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and dread.
His family had abandoned him, which was why his shadow had been handed over to the Justice Investigation Bureau. Everything he had built over the years was ruined in a single day because of this man. He wanted nothing more than to see him dead.
Yet, fear gnawed at him—how had this person tracked him here? How did he discover his hiding spot? If this information leaked, the consequences would be catastrophic.
The butler served a glass of wine and remarked composedly, "Rest easy, Third Young Master. Master Buckle is an Almost-Extraordinaire powerhouse. That man is merely a jester. Once he is dead, we will simply dump his remains into the ocean."
Fergus felt his nerves steady slightly at those words. The butler was correct. Why should he be afraid? His family had specifically employed Master Buckle for protection to handle exactly these kinds of threats.
Could this masked man truly be more formidable than a god?
Mag observed Buckle, who was charging at him like a runaway heavy truck. A suffocating pressure radiated from the man—a distinct, oppressive aura born of pure, absolute power. Had a 10th-tier combatant been standing there, they would have been paralyzed, unable to even flinch.
Based on the intelligence Xi had provided, Buckle was a fire-element close-combat expert. He was renowned for his devastating explosive force and raw physical strength, making him nearly peerless in melee combat within his rank.
"What a coincidence. I also happen to excel at close-quarters combat." Beneath his mask, Mag’s expression shifted into a confident smirk.
Buckle’s intimidating form closed the distance in a heartbeat. His heavy black saber swung down, trailing a tail of fire ten meters long through the air.
The moment the blade was about to connect, Mag shifted slightly and vanished. Simultaneously, he lunged with his longsword, delivering five rapid stabs in a single second, the force of which caused the surrounding space to warp and fray.
Boom!
The saber crashed into the earth, carving a trench dozens of meters long and several meters wide into the bedrock. The intense heat liquefied the stone into glowing lava, and the entire island trembled from the impact.
Such was the terrifying might of an Almost-Extraordinaire powerhouse!
Fortunately, Mag’s reflexes were superior. Aside from two small singe marks on his sleeve, he remained entirely unscathed.
On the opposite side, Buckle skidded to a halt as five bloody punctures opened across his chest, stomach, and thighs.
"Almost-Extraordinaire." Buckle’s gaze turned heavy with seriousness for the first time. As he spoke, the wounds on his flesh began to knit back together at a visible speed.
Does his innate talent include rapid regeneration? Why didn't he just focus everything on defense? Mag mocked him silently. An Almost-Extraordinaire was indeed incredibly resilient. If he were fighting a standard 10th-tier opponent, those five strikes would have ended the duel instantly.
"That man is also an Almost-Extraordinaire!" Fergus gasped in shock. His hand shook so violently that wine splashed across his trousers.
The butler was also visibly stunned, yet he maintained his professional facade. "Do not panic, Third Young Master. I have already alerted the family. Extraordinaire powerhouses are being dispatched to support us. We only need to hold out until they arrive."
Mag raised his sword horizontally across his chest and said with an air of arrogance, "I don’t have all day to play with you. Your Young Master is waiting for our meeting."
"You'll only reach him by stepping over my corpse!" Buckle roared, his eyes burning with fury. No one of his own rank had ever treated him with such blatant disregard.
Mag declined further conversation. With a single thought, he flickered out of sight. In an instant, the air was filled with crossing sword projections, turning the area into a lethal web of steel.
Buckle’s expression grew grim. A shield charm hanging from his belt glowed, manifesting a suit of black armor over his body. He swept his saber in a wide arc on the ground, conjuring a wall of fire that circled him as he scanned his surroundings with hyper-vigilance.
Suddenly, his eyes sharpened. He spun and slashed his saber behind him, causing the space to distort as the flames erupted in a violent explosion.
The firewall was torn open as a dark shadow lunged forward with a sword thrust.
Buckle’s saber cut horizontally, slicing the shadow clean in half—but his heart sank. He had hit nothing but air; it was merely an afterimage!
"Damn it!"
Buckle’s soul shuddered as the sharp whistle of a blade reached his ears. He yanked his saber back and activated every piece of defensive gear he possessed simultaneously.
In a battle between top-tier experts, the outcome was decided in the blink of an eye—especially in the brutal realm of close combat.
The razor-sharp sword pierced through his defensive barriers as if they were nothing more than a series of balloons. It bypassed the supposedly unbreakable armor and buried itself deep into the soft flesh of his neck.
Even on the brink of death, Buckle unleashed the final explosive power of an Almost-Extraordinaire. His armor shattered outward and his entire form transformed into molten lava. His defensive density spiked, trapping the sword tip within his body.
Driven by a desperate will to kill, he swung his saber in a final, devastating arc.
With Buckle at the epicenter, the temperature within a hundred-meter radius surged to incredible heights. The very air began to ignite.
Flame Domain, activate!
"Now things are getting interesting," Mag remarked, releasing his grip on the trapped sword and retreating with incredible speed.
Within the confines of the domain, Mag’s movements were noticeably hindered.
Hidden from view within his sleeve, he suddenly gripped a chef’s knife and slashed at the space behind him.
The fabric of reality buckled, and a literal rift was carved into the Flame Domain.
Mag slipped through the opening like a fish returning to water. A silver longsword appeared in his grasp, and he unleashed a strike. A vibrant green sword projection arched through the air like a rainbow, colliding with Buckle’s flaming saber.
The green and red energies clashed with equal ferocity, locked in a stalemate!
"Sword, return!"
Mag uttered the command softly.
At that moment, Mag’s eyes shifted, revealing double pupils that caused Buckle to recoil in confusion.
The black heavy sword tore itself free, traversing hundreds of meters in an instant. It plunged into Buckle’s back and erupted through his chest!