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"This is not good."
Fixing his sword, Passius muttered to himself as he looked at the enemy before him.
The ground around him was littered with scars, testament to the fierceness of the battle. Some were from sword strikes, while others were craters from Andrei's magic.
Passius looked at Andrei. He stood there, unharmed and unchanged from before the fight. He didn't look tired, even though he'd fought hard.
'You're still not showing any signs of weakness. Normally, in a situation like this, you're supposed to let your guard down.'
In his time as Shadow of the First Princess, Passius had faced many enemies and most of them had died because they were overconfident in their abilities and didn't use their full strength.
He suspected Andrei was one of them.
When Andrei was branded a warlock and hunted down, he was still conducting unauthorized human experiments.
As usual, the only wizards who break taboos because of their thirst for knowledge are the ones who think they're the best and look down on others. Andrei, however, played the hand he was dealt right from the start.
He didn't spare any of his experiments, his modified body, or his refined demonic power. As a result, even with the power of the four of them, Andrei was able to counteract them without losing.
'I can handle the three experiments, but the biggest problem is the demonic power, and not knowing what kind of power it is poses a great risk.'
Passius recalled the battle from earlier.
As a Master Knight, he was the one with the best hand-to-hand combat skills in the Empire. That's why he took charge of Andrei while the other three dealt with the test subjects.
Andrei was a brilliant wizard, but he had spent so much time studying that his actual fighting skills were a bit lacking.
Of course, it was only a minor flaw that only a master like Passius could find. It wouldn't even be visible to others.
That alone showed how powerful Andrei was.
For such a man to become even stronger than he was before, it was a tricky matter.
'The problem is demonic power. Whenever I try to strike at an opening, my power is scattered.'
It didn't negate the power. Rather, it affected those who wield it.
'The black wavelengths that leak out are distracting me whenever I come in contact with it.'
The Aura doesn't form properly, and his swordplay becomes dull. His resolve to defeat his enemy faltered like a candle before the wind.
The demonic power was interfering with the opponent's mind rather than the body.
'This is bad.'
If he could use all his strength, he would try to find a way to defeat the other side. However, this power was very malicious and it disturbed his mind.
'So this is demonic power.'
Even so Passius raised his spirits, which had sunk a little.
Andrei looked at him with a more serious gaze.
"Indeed, a Master is different."
He had enhanced his overall physical abilities to manipulate massive energy and coupled with his demonic powers, made him far more powerful than a conventional Lexer(6th rank wizard).
He could also send out waves that greatly shake the opponent's mind.
Most people would be stunned, frightened, or hallucinating in the face of it. But after exchanging blows several times, Passius remained unperturbed and continued to search for his opponent's weaknesses.
His determination was unwavering but more than that, it was the way he fought that made Andrei wary.
'Unlike the other knights, he has no fixed style.'
He noticed from the start that Passius would do whatever it takes to win the fight.
He'd throw daggers coated in aura or kick dirt into the opponent's eyes with his toes.
If he felt he was at a disadvantage, he'd pull back, mixing in fakes with his attacks to trick the opponent.
It was truly remarkable.
Masters have the power to crush their opponents from the front, no matter who they are. They know their strength and are naturally willing to go toe-to-toe.
They can also use such tactics if they have a truly objective view of their strength. Nevertheless, Passius was different. The honor of being a Master didn't exist for him.
'A master who uses everything to win a fight. What a terrible man.'
Andrei's thoughts stopped there, and he smiled bitterly. It was not what he had planned to defeat Passius himself.
"Shit."
As he readied himself for battle once more, Andrei clicked his tongue and swung his arm at the intense cold that was coming his way.
Veronica was struck by the black mana-soaked arm and bounced back. But the sensation on her hand was less than pleasant.
Andrei raised an eyebrow as she landed lightly on the ground. He flicked away the frost on his forearm, his gaze darting back to where his subjects were fighting.
"Hmm. You've already subdued them, I'd have thought they'd at least gain me more time."
The bodies of the creatures, mangled in various places. They weren't cut up and dismembered, but just crumpled.
"You've been hiding your …… skills."
At the center of it all was a man in an iron mask, Iron Masked Rotheron. A strange mage, dressed in what looked like a pure white robe, but with a helmet on his head.
Andrei heard that he was one of the pillars of the New Tower, but he never expected him to use such a strange technique.
"Is it a [Unusual] type of magic?"
"Yes."
As he said that, a translucent figure floated up behind Rotheron's back. It was a muscular human figure with a long beard and hair.
It was not a magical beast made from a form of magic. Rather, something else, something holier and more powerful.
"Origin magic."
Origin magic was a special class of magic that borrowed the power of great spirits to fight. It was similar to necromancy, but different.
Basically, while necromancy was about summoning the residual thoughts and faint spirits of the dead, Origin magic was more about borrowing the power of past heroes from a place called The Great Flow.
As such, the [Unusual] family of Origin Magic was also known by other names, like Mythic Re-enactment.
"Being unknown until now means that you've been hiding your power, but now you revealed it."
"It's a perfect counter against demonic power."
"Yes. And it makes me realize why you've been covering your face."
Andrei muttered and summoned his magic. Not demonic power, but his own highly refined magic.
The formulas, like the countless constellations embroidered in the air, showed that the magic he used was anything but ordinary.
As it was about to unfold, Veronica, Passius, and the Servant Wizard immediately tried to react.
"It's too late."
However, countless yellow eyes blossomed from Andrei's blackened forearms and stared at the approaching enemies. The strange wavelengths in his eyes sent all sorts of mental shocks through his opponents.
Their attacks were momentarily hindered, and Andrei's magic was complete.
Sixth Level Great Magic [Heavenly Stone Sutra]
[Boom!]
The ground began to rumble like a wave.
Everyone standing on the ground could barely steady themselves from the shaking. It was as if the solid earth had become watery and soft.
Surprisingly, only the floor rose, while the walls and ceiling remained unaffected.
Soon, something popped out of the churning water.
It was a whale. A huge whale made of rocks and boulders.
After swimming through the sea of earth, the whale rose high into the air.
Just as the tip of its head was about to touch the World Tree hanging from the ceiling the behemoth slowly toppled to the side.
In its wake was the iron-masked Rotheron.
Rotheron tried to dodge, but the whale's sheer size made it difficult to escape.
The ground also continued to shift, impeding his movement. Soon enough, the whale plummeted to the ground, crushing him.
A huge shockwave erupted, accompanied by a booming sound like the simultaneous detonation of countless bombs.
"Mr. Rotheron!"
Veronica shouted at the cloud of dust that rose.
Andrei marveled at the sight that emerged after the dust settled.
"Ho-ho. Did you manage to stop that?"
Rotheron was unharmed. His clothes were tattered and he was gasping for air, but he was in fairly good shape for someone who had been struck by a sixth-rank spell.
It was all thanks to the power of the Great Spirit behind him. Unlike the old man from before, the shielded figure of a general with an imposing appearance was protecting Rotheron.
This, of course, consumed a great deal of Rotheron's mana but the shock didn't stop there because the helmet on Rotheron's face began to crack.
The cracks spread quickly, and the helmet shattered and fell to the ground.
Veronica's eyes widened, while Passius was surprised but Andrei grinned.
"I thought I smelled a beast somewhere."
Rotheron's dark brown hair cascaded down his back.
He had Golden eyes and coppery skin but the most striking were the beastly ears that sprouted from the top of his head.
"A beast that has attained the rank of Lexer occupies a place in the New Tower."
Somehow, the Great Spirit he had seen earlier when Rotheron was using Origin Magic looked more like a melee fighter than a mage.
The Suins wielded an unusual power called Spirit, and perhaps it was connected to their use of Origin Magic.
With a trembling hand, Rotheron groped for his face, then lifted his head to glare at Andrei. His pupils, like those of a beast, were split vertically, glowing with a fierce, wild hostility.
"Hmph."
Passius feigned calmness, but inside he was racking his brains.
'It's surprising that Rotheron is a Suin, but it's not that important under the circumstances.'
Passius examined Rotheron's condition. He looked quite unsteady, perhaps because the mask that hid his identity was gone.
He might still be valuable as a fighter, but he wouldn't be able to fight as sharply as before.
Andrei, on the other hand, was unharmed, so he would be at a disadvantage as time went on.
'It won't be good for us if we keep going toe-to-toe like this.'
It was a no-win situation.
Andrei didn't have the means to definitively defeat them either, but that was the problem now so he was buying time for the test subject to wake up.
'If the mission comes first.'
Passius's eyes narrowed.
If he stepped aside and let the other three deal with Andrei he could destroy the laboratory on the other side.
But if this call would tip the scales in Andrei's favor, and the three of them would be seriously injured, or worse, some of them would die.
The only thing keeping the fight alive was the fact that Passius was able to draw Andrei's full attention.
'Do I sacrifice the three of them to thwart Andrei's plan, or do I continue the fight until……more reinforcements arrive?'
The usual Passius would have abandoned his companions without delay.
He had come here under the First Princess orders, and there was little camaraderie between him and the others.
The rational thing to do would be to throw them away. Still, he hesitated, perhaps because of Rudger.
He was the First Princess' former bodyguard and his senior but meeting him and talking to him had changed his mind.
'I shouldn't be so hesitant.'
As he pondered this, his eyes suddenly lit up and his mouth curved into a wide smile.
"What?"
Andrei was slow to react, not understanding for a moment why Passius was smiling. Instead, it was his blackened arm that moved first.
A myriad of yellow eyes sprouted from the arm, darting in unison to stare to one side. There was a silver-haired knight in black uniform, wielding twin swords.
The mind-shattering dark waves were useless for the moment and in the moment he felt it, Andrei's body had already been slashed.
"What the……!"
Andrei muttered in surprise as he watched his blackened arm split into countless pieces and scatter.
The attacks were fast and sharp and he couldn't defend.
He had a magic barrier around his body and yet, without a sound or a movement, the opponent broke through the barrier and sliced off his arm.
He must be a master to be able to do this.
'Master?'
Andrei's gaze calmed as he regained his composure. It allowed him to deflect the next attack, which followed, by releasing a black force, outwards.
Trina Ryanhowl clicked her tongue in disappointment and stepped back. Instead, a cannonball of yellow light flew over her shoulder. It was the magic cannon of Chris Benimore's magic tree.
The cannonball slammed into Andrei's body and fractured bolts of magic scattered backward, hitting every inch of the shared wall.
Andrei lowered his reddened, intact arm.
"The guests have finally arrived."
As he muttered that, Andrei's gaze narrowed because he could see only two of the people who were supposed to be there.
'Where the hell are the other two?'
Andrei's head snapped to the back.
'No way.'
That was where the laboratory and his men were.