[Marvel's Magic Master] Chapter 262: Sauron’s Retreat from the Canyon

"I will remember you, human!"

Sauron cast a venomous glare at George before issuing a full retreat order.

But how could George let Sauron escape so easily? Strike while the enemy is weak.

If he didn't kill Sauron today, the next opportunity might not come so easily.

"Your Highness, we can't let him get away!"

"Kill!"

Finrod had the same thought. Before George could even speak, Finrod had already charged forward with his sword.

"You are courting death!"

Seeing Finrod and George coming at him again, Sauron gritted his teeth, momentarily abandoning the effort to heal the fatal wound in his chest. Instead, he unleashed the majority of his dark divine power, a cloud of darkness surging toward them like a storm.

The oppressive force of the dark power pinned George and Finrod in place.

"The radiance of the Sacred Tree shines upon the elves! My holy sword shall sever your head—for the glory of the elven race!"

Finrod chanted an incantation, and the golden light around him grew even stronger. Defying the oppressive dark energy, he took another step toward Sauron.

George was not idle either. A golden magic circle lit up in front of him.

"Light Magic: Domain of Light!"

A brilliant holy light erupted from within him, pushing the dark energy away.

However, unlike Finrod, George didn't press forward. Instead, after resisting the dark suppression, he vanished from sight with Apparition.

When he reappeared, he was already some distance behind Sauron.

Apparition wasn't foolproof—against powerful opponents, teleporting right in front of them for a sneak attack could easily result in instant counterattacks. To stay safe, George left a small buffer zone.

His first priority was to break free from the dark energy's suppression.

"Accio!"

Summoning an elven longsword to his hand, George flashed behind Sauron in an instant. With his left hand, he brought the sword down in a powerful overhead strike, aiming directly at the back of Sauron's head.

Sauron reacted swiftly. While still suppressing Finrod with dark energy, he raised his magic sword to block the strike.

George took the opportunity to stab with his right-hand sword.

Clang!

The blade struck Sauron's demonic armor and failed to pierce it.

Without the blessing of the Sacred Tree, George's ordinary elven sword was not as powerful as Finrod's holy sword and could not penetrate Sauron's armor.

But that didn't matter—he hadn't expected to break through the armor anyway.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A sickly green Killing Curse shot out, striking Sauron's body with precision.

The soul-affecting curse made Sauron freeze for a moment, causing his dark suppression to falter.

George didn't expect the curse to kill Sauron, who was well-versed in dark magic. He only needed to interrupt Sauron's dark energy for a single second—

Because one second was all Finrod needed to close the distance.

"Damn it!"

Realizing he had fallen into a trap, Sauron immediately released his left hand from his wounded chest, grabbing George's elven sword pressed against his armor. He then ignited it with scorching demonic flames, melting the sword instantly.

As Finrod's sword neared his throat, Sauron prepared to unleash another surge of dark energy to blast him away.

Even though doing so would worsen his physical injuries, he had no choice—if his body was destroyed, it would take decades to reform.

"Light Magic: Light Explosion!"

Unfortunately for him, George interrupted his spell again.

With his right-hand sword melted, George summoned another golden magic circle behind him.

A massive pillar of holy light blasted straight into Sauron, paralyzing him once more.

The holy magic George had learned from Fairy Tail bore striking similarities to the power of the elves' Sacred Tree, both capable of countering Morgoth's dark magic and his forces.

"I need to become the Guild Master sooner so I can learn Fairy Law..."

If he had used Fairy Law instead of Light Explosion, it wouldn't just paralyze Sauron—it might have outright destroyed his physical form.

He could still remember the massive light magic array that once covered an entire city.

Splat!

A spray of blood flew as Sauron's entire right arm, the one wielding his magic sword, was severed.

As one of the strongest Maiar, he was still formidable—even at the last moment, he managed to dodge a fatal strike and only lost his arm instead of his head.

Still, his pale face and weakened state showed that he had paid a steep price.

"Light Magic: Light Array!"

George wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. He immediately followed up with another holy magic attack.

To prevent Sauron from dodging, he used Light Array—a spell with lower power but far greater attack density.

His strategy remained the same: he didn't need to land a killing blow himself. He just needed to keep Sauron restricted, allowing the more powerful Finrod to deal the real damage.

And Finrod did not disappoint. The thousand-year-old elven prince advanced once more, ready to finish Sauron the moment George's magic struck.

But then—an unexpected turn.

A massive direwolf leaped out from behind Sauron, shielding him from George's Light Array with its body.

At the same time, a bat-winged, alluring female vampire wielding twin bone swords blocked Finrod's attack.

They were Sauron's two most loyal subordinates—both former Maiar. The direwolf Carcharoth and the Vampire Queen Thuringwethil had arrived just in time to save their master.

Upon receiving Sauron's retreat order, they had already been leading the orc army toward Angband.

"Carcharoth, cover the retreat!"

After exchanging a few blows with Finrod, Thuringwethil transformed into a mist of blood, wrapped around the heavily injured Sauron, and vanished into the retreating orc horde.

Meanwhile, Carcharoth, now in his massive hundred-meter wolf form, blocked George and Finrod's pursuit.

"So close!"

George sighed inwardly, then extended both hands toward the lunging Carcharoth—

Plasma Electromagnetic Cannon!

A torrent of plasma shot straight into the direwolf's open maw, blasting through his throat and belly. Carcharoth let out a pained howl and collapsed.

Finrod stepped forward and decapitated the beast with a single strike.

"What a pity..."

George watched the orc army disappear into the distant black smoke, his eyes filled with regret.

That black smoke marked the territory of Morgoth himself. If they pursued any further, Morgoth might personally intervene.

For now, they had to let them go.

The elven army regrouped, but their numbers had been halved—only a thousand remained.

Despite their earlier lightning and arrow barrage killing half the orcs, the sheer numbers had taken a heavy toll. The elves had won, but it was far from a crushing victory.

Seeing this, Finrod felt even more grateful toward George.

The lives of those thousand remaining elves, including his own, were saved thanks to George.