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“Did we take him down?”

Everyone held their breath, watching Arhan, who was buried deep into the floor to the point of cracking.

But I knew better. If he was that easy to kill, our organization wouldn’t have struggled so much.

Even Stella, who had delivered the blow, maintained her focus, keeping her stance while glaring at him.

“…It’s been a while since I’ve felt such pain… It’s like I’ve been hit by a giant bill.”

Saying this, he slowly rose to his feet as if nothing had happened.

Immediately, the knights surrounded him, thrusting their spears forward. “Drop your weapon and surrender!”

As the knights shouted, the enemy scratched his ears, as if the sounds were buzzing like flies, and smirked.

I clenched my abdomen and shouted at them with a booming voice.

“Everyone, get down now!”

“What? What did you say?”

Despite my desperate shout, the knights stared at me, bewildered and unable to comprehend.

Just then, Stella seemed to realize something, clicked her tongue, and raised her hand towards the sky as she began chanting.

planéta ntrăho

[Star, draw near]

At the same moment she finished chanting, the gravity in the area except for Arhan became heavy.

Unable to withstand the sudden increase in weight, everyone in the vicinity dropped to their knees.

As I bent forward, I felt a chilling presence sweep past above my head.

BOOM!!

It felt like the space above my head was entirely sliced, beginning to destroy everything in its path.

Thick pillars, ornate portraits, and furniture were all reduced to splinters.

Had Stella not cast her magic, most of the humans here would have been split in half.

“What… What the hell is that?!”

“AAAAH!!”

People fell into a panic, completely overwhelmed by the horrific situation; it was incredibly dangerous.

At this rate, control would be lost, and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill civilians.

My top priority was to separate him from Siel and the Duchess.

“Mage!”

I charged toward him while shooting a glance at Stella.

Understanding my intent, she immediately moved toward Siel to protect her.

Calmly, Stella shouted at the panicking crowd.

“Everyone, calm down. Knights, take the princess and Duchess and evacuate from here!

Other staff, please escape immediately!”

Not a bad judgment. His target was Siel, and with so many people around,

It’d be tougher to fight, so it’d be great if they could escape together, but it didn’t seem like they were going to.

Before leaving, the Duchess looked at Stella with a worried expression and, with a determined face, said,

“Please be safe.”

To the Duchess, Stella responded with a bright smile that she had never shown before.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of scum like him in no time.”

“I won’t let you go… I’ll kill everyone here if you don’t just stay still..?”

CLANG!!

As he aimed at them trying to leave, I immediately swung my dagger at him.

Even though I struck down with serious strength, he casually deflected my dagger with the sword in his other hand.

“Hmm…? Oh, you’re that little brat from back then, huh…It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I thought I was dying to meet you, you bastard.”

Immediately following, I drew a second hidden dagger from my waist and swung it toward his brow.

He barely managed to tilt his head back to dodge, but I succeeded in making a shallow cut across his brow.

“Phew~ This feels awesome… Consider it a repayment.”

He gripped his sword tightly again, readying his stance. He must be thinking of unleashing a big technique again.

No doubt, he was using ‘Aura,’ a power different from mana. A typical attack wouldn’t be able to block that.

“Well then, I’ll show you.”

Copyable Target

1. Wind Cutter (Original: Stella)

.

.

5. Lightning Sword (Original: Arcane)

ZZZTT!!

A thrilling shock coursed from my hand, and mana blossomed as electricity flowed out.

Using the released electric mana, I further sharpened my dagger, making it razor-edged.

BAM! ZZZTT!!

As our blades clashed, fierce sparks erupted.

The enemy, surprised by the blocked attack, let out a deranged smile, emanating madness.

“You blocked this… Heh, this gets interesting… Your friends who’ve gone ahead will be pleased to see how much you’ve grown….”

“Shut up, you psycho bastard! Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Swoosh!

“Don’t forget, I’m here too.”

Not letting an opening slip between us, Stella dove in low to strike his abdomen.

Just as she was about to unleash a punch filled with mana, he stated,

“Such… I won’t fall for it twice!”

BAAM!

Though she went flying from the attack, he successfully protected his abdomen with his remaining hand.

Had he enhanced his body with Aura this time? It didn’t seem to leave a mark on him.

“How strange… A mage’s fist shouldn’t be this painful.”

He continued to question Stella, disregarding me entirely.

“To amplify mana instantaneously and unleash powerful destruction…

It’s an interesting combat style, but I don’t understand why you would do something like that?”

“Well… You’ll understand when you get a beating!”

Now, with a direct confrontation, Stella charged in using her knife.

Her strikes were sharp and fierce, her swordsmanship, techniques, and combat sense peak,

Even considering this was before the main story began, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had reached the top.

In reality, she was inflicting significant damage on him… But why is that?

“Haha! This is really amazing! …Am I going to die today?”

As his wounds increased, his madness didn’t dwindle at all; rather, it exploded.

At the same time, his every strike gained more destructive power and speed.

“Tch….”

“Give me more…! Show me more! Try to kill me, bring it on!”

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Stella didn’t just take his attacks head-on. She either deflected them with her adept swordsmanship or evaded entirely,

which is only natural if you think about it, since he wielded a great sword, and their physical disparity was immense.

In fact, it was strange that she was managing to keep up with him using just that small dagger.

“It’s impossible to comprehend why you have such skill yet learned no magic.”

“I will never give up either magic or close combat.”

“…Is that so… How disappointing.”

“What?”

He suddenly wore an expression as though his interest had waned, then slammed his sword down to the ground.

With a strong impact, fragments from the floor scattered randomly around.

Stella had to distance herself from him to avoid the debris.

“Enhancing your body with mana was fresh. But it’s just a trivial trick like an empty shell.”

He showed no injuries despite being hit directly by the debris.

That’s why knights use Aura instead of magic.

There’s a big difference between using mana generated through a mana circuit and utilizing Aura in its raw form.

Aura circulates the mana within the body to enhance it semi-permanently and unleash sword energy.

Magic, on the other hand, converts the body’s mana into magic power through circuits and then utilizes that mana in battle.

The various uses include elemental magic like fire or lightning, as well as special magics.

In Stella’s case, she often utilizes her mana to form armor around her body, making it significantly beneficial in combat.

“Certainly, mana enhancement can be stronger for moments compared to Aura. However, doing so means

You’re continuously exhausting and depleting your mana. See?”

BOOM!

With a simple swing of his sword, the ground split apart effortlessly like cutting tofu.

“And what does that prove? I could do that too.”

“By converting mana, then layering it, causing it to explode through intricate mana control?”

In simple terms, it’s cumbersome; the others are doing it effortlessly,

While Stella seems to be struggling terribly, wasting the most crucial resource for a mage—mana.

“Why not use Aura? It’s far more convenient and efficient?”

“…I find this more comfortable.”

Honestly, I couldn’t fully grasp why she chose to fight like this.

Then suddenly, the enemy spoke, as if he had come to some realization, a mocking laugh lacing his tone.

“Hehe… I see. It’s not that you haven’t learned, it’s that you can’t learn, isn’t it?”

“…”

“…Stella?”

At that moment, a heavy pressure enveloped the surroundings, darkening the air.

The one causing this pressure was none other than Stella, her expression twisted with fury.

“It turns out you never had a body capable of harnessing Aura from the start… So, that’s why you used mana.”

“Shut your mouth!”

“Hehe, that’s a hit, isn’t it? What a pity… No matter how trained, a weak woman’s body has limits.”

Stella’s grip tightened so hard that blood trickled from her hands.

Triggered by her complex, she charged forward without a hint of hiding her fury.

“You… Shut your mouth.”

CRACK!

“Wait, no, don’t—”

As if waiting for this moment, he grinned widely, putting strength into the sword he held.

The Black Great Sword trembled violently and began to envelop itself in a Black Aura.

A sense of dread washed over me… That power was unmistakable.

He began muttering something just barely audible.

I immediately aimed my gun at him and started sprinting with all my might.

‘Damn it… I can’t block from this distance!’

“Stella! Stop right now! You cannot take that attack!”

“Absorb life and reap souls… Mors Dominum”

Sensing the threat, Stella reduced her speed to a halt, but it was already too late.

He, already in position, swung his sword toward her.

‘No, no, no! Not twice in a row…’

“Stop it now!!”

“It was a pleasure, apprentice of the Magic Tower.”

SWISH!!

The pitch-black great sword deflected Stella’s dagger.

Though she twisted her body to dodge the sword’s path, she failed to completely evade.

An unimaginable worst-case scenario; blood gushed from her abdomen.

 

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