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For some reason, I felt uneasy. Even though I had confirmed that Leonis was engulfed in Blue Lightning, that feeling persisted.

A body transcending humanity reacted to mana, its form gradually changing. With this transformation came an elevation of senses, awakening a new sensation that had previously been non-existent.

A sense of dissonance. And then, a sense of crisis.

A feeling akin to foresight began to seep into my entire being. Just as the horn sprouting from above my head began to tingle, that ominous feeling manifested into reality.

“Hm…”

Leonis let out a faint groan as he rose. His white, hazy eyes were swept away by the wind.

What enveloped Leonis’s body was a thin curtain in the shape of a pyramid. I could see through the veil and confirm Leonis’s appearance. The thin metal rod he held in his hand emitted a strange light.

“I’m glad I saved this.”

The Chain Lightning I followed up with had no effect. He had used that tool just before lightning struck his body. What had been a trapping tool to immobilize the Nightmare was now employed to protect himself.

Leonis shrugged his shoulders, showing a pained expression, and tossed the rod he was holding away. As he did so, the mana barrier surrounding his body dwindled.

I furrowed my brow and took a defensive stance. The sword was pulled back, aimed at the opponent. When the gleaming tip of the sword sliced through the sunlight, Leonis opened his mouth.

“Are you… really a human?”

His gaze lingered on my eyes and the horn before disappearing. His hands were also no longer human-like, but they were hidden by the gauntlets, so they were not visible.

Why was that? Why wouldn’t that ominous feeling go away? My footing was right. I should have been in a state where I couldn’t use mana due to the turmoil within.

A wizard unable to use mana would be an easy opponent. I knew Leonis had trained his body differently from an ordinary wizard, yet in the end, he was still just a wizard who fought using mana.

“You think too much.”

At that moment, Leonis began to move. His speed was far slower than before. It was the pace of an ordinary adult male running.

Seeing that, my mind grew even more complicated. Was it a deception? Or recklessness?

I wouldn’t know until we clashed. As a weak flame flickered with my shallow breath, I swung my sword at the approaching Leonis.

The blade streaking through the air carried Starlight Mana. Just before the sword could touch Leonis’s body, he suddenly vanished from my sight.

A burst of instant high-speed movement. He thrust into the ground with a reinforced body, having drawn out my moment of complacency. If his body had not changed, I would have missed his movement entirely.

But now it was different. The dragon shape manifested across my body heightened my senses, and even if I lost sight of Leonis’s figure, I did not miss his presence or the flow of mana.

Top right. As soon as I recognized the opponent’s location and direction of attack, I twisted the trajectory of my sword. The mana condensing on the blade burst forth, increasing its speed.

Swoosh!

My upper and lower body twisted in the same direction. Normally, this position wouldn’t allow for much force, but this transcendent body was different.

The heavily swung sword contained enough threatening power.

Just as that new trajectory of the sword was about to strike Leonis’s body, a sudden movement of mana was detected. The mana gathering between the sword and Leonis’s body rapidly took on a distinct shape.

Bam-!

The Magic Missile conjured by Leonis struck my sword’s blade fiercely. Because of that, the speed of my sword greatly diminished. Immediately after, Leonis’s hefty fist smashed into my face.

Thud-! Smash-!

In a brief moment, three strikes landed. Thanks to the mana barrier covering my body, the damage wasn’t severe, but it felt disgusting.

In a flash, my left hand shot out to grab Leonis’s arm. His expression morphed into one of surprise, as if he couldn’t believe I was snatching at his hand while taking a hit.

In that moment, I attempted to unleash my mana once more. The mana that surged from my heart raced quickly along my arm. Just as that mana broke free from my hand, it aimed to enter Leonis’s body.

A drastic movement of mana was detected from the arm I held onto. The swiftly running Blue Mana erupted from Leonis’s body, causing two streams of mana to collide, generating fierce repulsion.

Boom-!

Leonis and I both shot apart almost simultaneously. The forceful impact had forced us to break free.

“You’re using quite the scary technique.”

Leonis muttered with a mocking tone. He continued to chatter while fighting. Clearly trying to get under my skin.

I frowned. My technique—Deliberate Placement—had been dismissed so lightly. But perhaps it was to be expected. As a wizard, the moment Leonis fell for my scheme, he would have understood how this attack was executed.

Injecting mana into the opponent’s body to deliver a powerful impact. If I could just prevent the mana from entering his body, then that would solve everything.

Should I prepare a strong spell? No, Leonis was a wizard. The moment he sensed my mana stirring, he would surely be looking for gaps to strike like a storm.

Then there was no choice but to focus on hand-to-hand combat. I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and aimed my sword. At the same time, glimmering Magic Missiles of Starlight rose around me. As those stars slowly glowed with a faint warmth…

Leonis began to move again. Our combat styles were similar, but my durability was far greater. Though Leonis was also forming a mana barrier, beneath it was merely the flesh of a fragile human.

Boom!

Our fists collided. The heavily swung sword was blocked by Leonis’s leg. Immediately after, tiny bits of mana exploded in the air. Two spells created with a similar method clashed, annihilating each other.

While my physical specs were superior, I had yet to gain the upper hand.

Leonis employed the Magic Missile spell in a myriad of ways. He’d hide bullets within his fists and even used Magic Missiles conjured in the air as a springboard to leap.

That merely indicated how accustomed he was to this fighting style. Unlike other wizards, all of his magic was focused on enhancing his body.

As time went by, Leonis’s complexion began to pale. With a slight retreat, crimson blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.

Was the shock from the Deliberate Placement arriving belatedly? Or was this yet another ploy to provoke my complacency?

I was uncertain. He had shown me a lot, and my head was now a tangled mess.

Leonis’s fierce attacks approached threateningly from time to time. When all the Magic Missiles he had been using vanished, extra mana began to gather towards his arms and legs.

Even with a body harder than that of a human, at that moment I still had to evade his attacks. His strikes swept through the mana wall and delivered dull shockwaves inside me.

I couldn’t employ spells that required lengthy preparation. I needed powerful destructive force that could be used instantaneously to finish off Leonis.

As my heavily swung sword traced a small star, Leonis suddenly burrowed into my space. Right after, his body spun, sending a fierce wind my way.

Such bizarre footwork. His heavily bent leg formed an odd angle, striking the pommel of my sword with a jolt.

Wham-!

The small impact sent the sword flying from my grasp. The sword danced through the air, spinning rapidly, mercilessly slicing through the golden light of the sun.

The split light brushed against my face several times.

Suddenly, a small tightness began to swell in my chest. A composite emotion condensed in that form gathered the mana within me in an instant. Once the mana concentrated at a single point, Leonis’s barrage began.

The vital points of a human’s body are concentrated in the center. And Leonis’s fists targeted those points. The forehead, the philtrum, the chin, the neck, the solar plexus, the chest, the abdomen. Quick and heavy blows battered every area.

My vision blurred, and my body began to sway. As the impact built up from within, a great nausea surged forth. In that moment, I vomited out the mana I had been hoarding.

Kwahhhh-!

Flames burst forth radially, pushing everything around me away. Leonis, who was deep within my embrace, was also engulfed in those flames.

The apocalyptic flame that incinerates everything in the world. The mana that protected Leonis began to whittle away.

In that moment, Leonis instead burrowed deeper into me. It was a movement contrary to my expectations of him pulling away. Right after, a powerful impact resonated under my chin.

Boom-! Kwahhhh-!

The shock forced my head upwards. Naturally, the direction of my breath shot skyward, and bright red flames engulfed the blue sky.

Amidst the bright red afterglow, Leonis emerged in a pitiful state. His entire arm was burnt, revealing red blood, and a part of his face was scorched by the intense heat.

Leonis’s complex gaze landed on me. In that moment, a bizarre wave of mana surrounded his body, and he vanished in an instant.

As if the very space itself had been torn away. Due to losing my target, the flames escaping my mouth scattered aimlessly.

However, just because he vanished from my sight didn’t mean he had completely disappeared. Leonis’s presence was detected hundreds of meters away.

Suddenly revealing himself far off, Leonis began to move at high speed. I immediately redirected my breath.

Fwoosh-!

I slightly closed my mouth, compressing the intensity of the fire. When the white flames began to turn sharp, Leonis’s presence completely vanished.

“Cough…!”

I spat blood-tainted coughs while grimacing.

His corpse was nowhere to be found at the edge of the melting snowy mountain. I had lost him.

Chase.

I naturally brushed off the thoughts that arose in my mind. My condition wasn’t good, and above all, I had no mana left in my body after using my breath.

I moved my stiff body around and approached the Nightmare, who was wailing sadly with a “Puwheheh-!”

The Nightmare’s huge head continued to pound against the mana barrier. Tears were glistening in its eyes.

“Just wait a moment…”

I plucked the metal rod stuck in the ground. In an instant, the barrier restraining the Nightmare vanished.

Whoosh-!

The Nightmare approached me, exhaling rough breaths. The creature, licking my cheeks vigorously with its huge tongue, nipped at my neck and began to descend the white snowy mountain.

 

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