Appearing instantly in front of Celes, Lord Anwir threw a heavy punch aimed at her stomach. Though she had already deployed her Mana Armor, it was of no use as Anwir’s punch tore through her Mana Armor like paper and hit her squarely.

Celes flew from the impact and crashed into the earthy-brown barrier. She coughed up mouthfuls of blood as she struggled to breathe. She was seriously injured from only a punch thrown by Anwir.

Withdrawing his hand, Anwir smirked and remarked, “Hah! You couldn’t even handle one punch of mine, and you dare to blab in front of me!”

Pointing individually at Aldon, Sylph, Taeral, Elmon, Kesha, Tasar, Rascal, Kaitlyn, Vulen, and the other two guards, Anwir continued haughtily, “One down, eleven more to go! Come on! Let’s do this!” Separately pointing at Velina, he added, “You. You’re coming with me after this is over. I’ve never met a Human before. There are so many experiments I want to try on you!”

Though Velina couldn’t understand what Anwir was saying, she could see the dangerous look in his eyes and figured out that it was nothing pleasant.

Aldon rapidly assessed the situation and realized that only he, Sylph, and Celes’ squad were even capable of defending against Anwir. The rest of them, though strong for their age, didn’t hold a candle against Anwir.

Without wasting time, Aldon pulled out the jet-black dagger Artifact given to him by Haldir from his storage bag and commanded the group of elves with an authoritative voice that couldn’t be questioned, “Taeral and Velina, stay away from this fight. If you join, you’ll undoubtedly lose your life. Elmon, I’ll entrust them to you; Protect them with your life. Kesha, stay out of the fight as much as possible. The outcome of the fight will depend on your Healing. The rest of you, prepare to fight for your life.”

Hearing his commands, Anwir looked at him approvingly and spoke, “Good orders. But it’s a pity you are fighting against me. Your every strategy will break in front of my might!”

After finishing his sentence, Anwir quickly rushed at Aldon. Aldon had anticipated this and had flash-casted the Realm 4 Lightning-attributed Spell, ‘Mirage Dash’ on himself a few seconds ago. He quickly sidestepped Anwir’s approach and tried to put some distance between them.

Anwir laughed and ridiculed Aldon, “Is that the best you can do? I’m not even using ten percent of my strength, and I can run faster than you. See!”

Anwir instantly accelerated and closed the distance between himself and Aldon. He threw a punch at Aldon similar to the one he hit Celes with. Even though Aldon reacted fast and tried to sidestep the punch, he was not fast enough, and the punch connected with his Mana Armor.

But unlike Celes, Aldon’s Mana Armor only grew large cracks on them and didn’t shatter completely. Aldon quickly initiated the unnamed Technique he had discovered in the Plane of Ascension and began to heal the cracks in his Mana Armor.

Fascinated by this Technique, Anwir exclaimed, “What a wonderous Technique! Let’s see if I can shatter your Mana Armor before your Technique heals it completely.”

Anwir threw punches in quick succession after completing his sentence. 

Aldon isolated the Earth-attributed Mana from his body’s Mana reserves and infused it into his Mana Armor. Streaks of yellow mana swirled on his grey Mana Armor and strengthened it.

Noticing this, Anwir chuckled lightly as he remarked, “Good choice. The Earth-attributed Mana is the most suitable to enhance one's defenses.”

Aldon snapped back in return, “Do you always talk this much!?”

Anwir chuckled mockingly and replied, “Only against weak opponents such as yourself!”

While Anwir was busy pummelling Aldon, Sylph and Kaitlyn had drawn their weapons and rushed towards him.

Sylph wielded a different sword than usual in her hands. It was a plain white sword that radiated a sense of antiquity. It also emanated an unnatural aura of sharpness. On the other hand, Kaitlyn wielded a sharp spear as she rushed toward Anwir with no hesitation. She had a ferocious and wild look in her eyes, simultaneously emanating an aura resembling that of a feral animal.

Without looking behind him, Anwir dodged both of their assaults and kicked them away. He did all of this simultaneously without easing his onslaught on Aldon. He chuckled sinisterly and spoke, “Ambushing me, eh? It would have worked if you weren’t so weak!”

Though they were kicked back, Sylph and Kaitlyn didn’t suffer any major injuries and bounced back into the fight. Looking at them rushing towards him, Anwir whispered to Aldon, “Now that I’m being ganged up on, I’ll be exerting some more of my power. Make sure you don’t die quickly. It’s been ages since I had this much fun! Try to prolonge my entertainment for as long as you can! Hahahaha!”

Suddenly Anwir’s punches became more heavy and even more swift. As a result, Aldon’s Mana Armor was suddenly on the verge of being broken. Fortunately for Aldon, Sylph and Kaitlyn quickly came to his aid and engaged Anwir head-on.

During this short window of time when Anwir was engaged by Sylph and Kaitlyn, Aldon began to increase the speed of the unnamed Technique. But, he was not repairing his Mana Armor. Instead, he was infusing large amounts of Mana into the jet-black dagger. The dagger consumed the Mana provided by Aldon and began to glow with a dull shine.

Anwir noticed this, kicked both Sylph and Kaitlyn away, and punched Aldon once again. But this time, Anwir’s punch easily broke through Aldon’s Mana Armor and connected with his chest.

Instead of sustaining severe injuries, Aldon only coughed a small amount of blood from his mouth. It was because he had redirected the Earth-attributed Mana from his Mana Armor to the skin of his chest. Though this was not as effective at defending against Anwir’s attack as compared to his Mana Armor, it nevertheless protected him from severe injuries.

Taken aback by this, Anwir stopped for a moment. Taking this chance, Aldon rapidly swung the dagger at Anwir’s arm. But, Anwir noticed this quickly and tried to pull his arm away from the dagger’s path.

Though Anwir was undoubtedly fast, he couldn’t completely surpass the speed of the dagger, which was enhanced by the still active Spell, Mirage Dash. Even then, the dagger only nicked a part of his arm as he retreated a few steps back.

Ignoring the failure of his attack, Aldon keenly observed the dagger's blade. He was overjoyed when he found a few streaks of blood coating it. Anwir couldn’t understand Aldon’s reaction, and he mocked him, “What? Have you lost your mind to be overjoyed at drawing some blood from me?” Pointing at the scratch he got on his arm, Anwir continued, “Or have you finally realized that the most you can do, is inflict a tiny little scratch upon me?”

This time, it was Aldon who laughed crazily in response as he observed the dagger beginning to transform. As it absorbed the trails of blood on its blade, the dagger began to pulsate as red veins began to appear and squirm on its blade. Casting a glance at the ghastly dagger, Aldon looked at Anwir and spoke coldly, “Thank you for underestimating me! Now that the ‘Dagger of the Reaper’ has absorbed your blood, your fate is set in stone! In mere four strikes from this dagger, your power will be completely sealed! Let’s see who has the last laugh then!”

Anwir’s expression changed ever so slightly when he heard the name of the ‘Dagger of the Reaper.’ He quickly recovered from his surprise, and dodging both Sylph’s and Kaitlyn’s attacks, spoke to Aldon, “Ah! You possess some rare and unique Artifacts. So what? What use is the Dagger of the Reaper if you cannot even land a single blow on me, eh? I was going easy on you, but I think it's time I stop pulling my punches. This is getting boring rather quickly!”

Just as he ended his sentence, Anwir blocked both Sylph’s and Kaitlyn’s attack and flash-casted a Realm 5 Wind-attributed Spell ‘Hell Tornado’ with him at the center. Both Sylph and Kaitlyn were caught off guard and were directly enveloped by the raging tornado.

Since Aldon was close to the tornado, he was eventually pulled into it and vanished within the fierce winds. Though he was consumed by the tornado, Aldon held on to the Dagger of the Reaper tightly, not allowing the fierce winds to rip it apart from him.

After a few seconds, the tornado gradually slowed down and vanished, leaving behind three bloodied figures lying on the ground around Anwir, who was standing without a scratch.

Before Anwir could take any action, three small balls of Healing Mana shot from a distance and struck the three bloodied figures. It was three individual Realm 5 Healing Spells ‘Heal Shot.’ Kesha had begun casting them the moment Aldon engaged Anwir. Two more balls of Healing Mana hovered beside her, indicating that she had already cast two more of them. She continued to flash-cast more Heal Shots without a care for her Mana consumption.

Thanks to Kesha’s healing, Aldon, Sylph, and Kaitlyn rose from the ground and assumed their battle stance once again. Though they were no longer in their peak conditions, they could still fight.

Admiring Kesha’s healing, Anwir exclaimed to the three in front of his eyes, “She sure is a great Healer! Unfortunately, it means more suffering for you all before your inevitable deaths! Hahahaha!”

Aldon quickly cut short Anwir’s laugh as he shortened the distance between them and slashed with the Dagger of the Reaper. Though it looked as if Aldon had taken Anwir by surprise, he only slashed at the thin air and connected with nothing.

Anwir, who had dodged the slash, mocked Aldon, “Did you think I would fall for the same trick twice!? Hah! Fool!”

Though his attack had failed, Aldon was not discouraged, and he quickly pursued Anwir. Both Sylph and Kaitlyn joined in and attacked Anwir. The three of them were not flash-casting any Spells because Anwir’s Confinement Artifact affected their perception of Mana, rendering it chaotic and unreliable. They could only cast them if they concentrated on casting Spell. But, during an intense fight such as this, if they made even the slightest blunder and lost their concentration, it would be a fatal mistake! Hence, they were unable to spare any thoughts about flash-casting Spells. But this was an entirely different matter to Kesha, and she could concentrate solely on casting Healing Spells as Tasar stood guard over her. 

Anwir easily fended off the three elves’ attacks, and just when he was about to mock them further, a double-bladed axe rapidly flew towards his head and struck him noisily. It was one of Celes’ weapons! Kesha had already healed Celes, and she had been waiting for an opportune moment to strike Anwir.

Fortunately for him, Anwir had activated his Mana Armor on his head the instant before the collision and had avoided fatal injury. Though he had successfully blocked the axe, he felt dizzy and was rendered disoriented by the sudden strike to his head.

Not letting this opportunity pass by him, Aldon quickly moved in front of Anwir and slashed twice. Due to his disorientation, Anwir was forced to face the slashes head-on. Drawing blood twice successively, Aldon tried to slash a third time. But this time, Anwir forced some of the Mana inside his body outside. The mere quantity and purity of the Mana created a small shockwave that threw everyone back a few steps, and as a result, Aldon failed to make any contact with Anwir.

Recovering quickly from his disorientation, Anwir chuckled, noticing the cuts made by the Dagger of the Reaper. He turned towards Aldon and spoke with a crazed tone, “Did you really think that by striking me twice with the Dagger of the Reaper and sealing ten and twenty percent of my power with each strike, you’ll make me weak!? Bitch, please! I’ve only been using a quarter of my power against you all!” He continued with a murderous look, “I’m quite bored with this sad excuse of a fight! I thought you all would at least be able to provide me with some exercise and entertainment, but it appears that I was mistaken! You are so weak that I actually have to go out of my way to limit my power. Or else I could accidentally reduce you all to dust! No more! If you wish for death that much, I’ll gladly fulfill your wishes!”

After uttering the last sentence, Anwir exerted the rest of his Mana outside his body, and a huge shockwave originated from him. Everyone was blown back several feet from the impact of the shockwave. Celes, who was rushing towards Anwir, was once again blown away and crashed into the barrier. Aldon seemingly panicked from Anwir’s display of power and threw the Dagger of the Reaper at him as a last resort.

Anwir easily dodged Aldon’s dagger throw and mocked him, “What a fool! You even threw away the only weapon that could injure me in a panic! Hah! This must mean that you’re frightened out of your mind and are at your wit's end! Contrary to what you proclaimed before, I may have actually overestimated you! Hahaha-Huh!?”

Anwir’s laugh was cut short as he noticed late that somehow, an elf had crept up behind him unnoticed and was now gripping the Dagger of the Reaper. 

It was Vulen, who had been lying in wait for an opportunity to assassinate Anwir. Aldon had trusted Vulen and his abilities and had thrown the Dagger, hoping that he would take advantage of the situation. 

Vulen didn’t disappoint Aldon as he quickly understood his intent, snatched the Dagger of the Reaper from the air after Anwir dodged it, and crept behind Anwir, who was preoccupied with berating Aldon.

With a speed that put even Aldon to shame, Vulen stabbed Anwir, targeting his heart. 

Even though he tried to dodge the stab, Anwir couldn’t completely escape it in time. Vulen missed Anwir’s heart, and the Dagger of the Reaper stabbed Anwir's lungs and poked out from his right chest.

Vulen quickly pulled the Dagger of the Reaper from Anwir’s chest and started to retreat after the failed assassination attempt. Furious at being caught off guard, Anwir turned around and punched with all of his strength. Though Vulen tried to defend against the punch with his arms, which were protected by his Mana Armor, it was in vain, as Anwir’s punch easily tore through them and connected with his arms.

Vulen was sent flying into the barrier with all the bones in his arms broken. The Dagger of the Reaper slipped through his fingers and fell onto the ground.

Smirking at this, Anwir turned towards Aldon and spoke with a voice filled with bloodlust, “Well done, you crafty little piece of shit! So what if my power is further restricted by thirty percent? I can still put you all six feet under with only forty percent of my power! Hahaha, I’m going to enjoy seeing you writhe in pain as I kill you! Don’t expect your death to be painless.”

While Anwir was busy threatening Aldon, Kesha quickly cast the Realm 6 Healing Spell ‘Bone Reconstruction’ on Vulen. Vulen’s bones were quickly reconstructed, and he was able to move his arms. Just when Kesha was about to send a Heal Shot towards him, he waved at her and denied it. She was almost out of Mana, and only four balls of Heal Shot were hovering around her. If she used one on him, that would leave only three Heal Shots for the rest of them. Since he had somewhat recovered due to the healing provided by the Bone Reconstruction Spell, he refused to be further healed by the Heal Shot.

Picking up the Dagger of the Reaper, Vulen nodded to Rascal and threw it to him. Rascal, who was standing on the sidelines for the whole fight, grabbed the dagger and cackled loudly. Without any hesitation, he jumped into the fight and rapidly approached Anwir.

Anwir noticed this and drew a large purple sword from his storage bag. He stopped smiling and muttered, “It’s time to end this charade of a fight!”

Anwir sidestepped Rascal’s approach and swung his sword, aiming to decapitate Rascal's head. But, just when the sword was about to connect with Rascal’s neck, a blade of wind came flying towards his arm and knocked it off course.

Tasar had cast the Realm 3 Wind-attributed Spell, ‘Wind Blade’, and had covered for Rascal. Rascal laughed demonically and slashed at Anwir with the Dagger of the Reaper. As Anwir was quicker than Rascal, he easily sidestepped it. But, Aldon had summoned Alastair in its staff form and was waiting for Anwir at the other side. Taking a huge swing, Aldon aimed Alastair at Anwir’s head, wanting to disorient him once again.

But Anwir was not holding back this time, and he easily ducked before Alastair could make contact with his head. 

Although Aldon had missed, he smiled craftily. Sylph suddenly appeared beside him and thrust her sword at Anwir’s head. Their actions were completely in sync, and Anwir was caught off guard again. 

Just when he was about to get skewered by Sylph’s sword, Anwir bellowed loudly, “ENOUGH!” and exerted his Mana outside his body again. This once again created a shockwave that pushed everyone back.

Completely irritated by the continuous interruptions and tricks of the Empire’s elves, Anwir angrily exclaimed as he infused all of his Mana into the sword, “Now, DIE!”

Aniwr’s purple sword began to glow intensely, and everyone felt their breath stall as if they had already put a foot in their graves.

A manic light flashed within Aldon’s eyes as he strengthened his resolve and pulled out the pouch of glossy red, spherical beads and popped the entirety of the pouch into his mouth.

The red beads quickly melted in Aldon’s mouth, and he began to feel hot as his power level gradually rose to that of a peak Realm 5 Mage. 

The red beads that Aldon just ingested were the consumable Artifacts known as the ‘Enhancement Pills.’ Each of them could double the prowess of the one who consumes them. There were five pills inside the punch, which had increased Aldon’s power by ten times, pushing him to the peak of the Realm of Self Actualization.

Feeling the immense power, Aldon clutched Alastair tightly and jumped towards Anwir, who was occupied with casting whatever it was.

Unfortunately for Aldon, Anwir finished casting whatever that he was casting, and made a small piercing gesture with the sword in his direction. Aldon was instantly sent flying backward into the barrier. The force behind the impact was such, that the entire barrier began to wobble uncontrollably.

Aldon couldn’t lift a finger as his entire body had gone limp from the impact. Bloody and helpless, he looked on as Anwir proclaimed haughtily, “Hah! Even if you use the Enhancement Pills to raise your power to that of a peak Realm 5 Mage, it’s no use!” Smiling widely, he continued, “After all, what is a peak Realm 5 Mage to an elf who’s one step into the Realm of Comprehension!”

Everyone except Velina turned white as they heard Anwir’s proclamation. Savoring their frightened expression, he chuckled sinisterly, “Ah! I hadn’t revealed it, had I? My bad! I’ve already successfully crossed a part of the Hurdle of Realization! Once I finish this mission, I’ll meditate for a while and break through to the Realm of Comprehension! Hahahaha!”

In this dire situation, Aldon remembered something. While Anwir was busy rambling on about his greatness, Aldon forced his hand to reach out to his storage bag and successfully retrieved the rustic coin Aerin had forced upon him[1]. Gripping the coin tightly, he began to infuse all of his Mana into it. The coin hungrily devoured Aldon’s Mana and started to shimmer unnoticeably.

Aldon slowly forced himself to stand on his feet and began to glare at Anwir. When Anwir noticed this, a glimmer of respect flashed in his eyes for a moment before disappearing. He stopped boasting about himself and exclaimed in a low tone, “Let’s end this, shall we?”

***(Footnote)***

[1] Though it is not explicitly stated in the earlier Chapters, it is implied that he stored all of his belongings, including the coin that he got from Aerin, inside his storage bag when he embarked towards the Kingdom of Anae.

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It is with immense sadness that I announce a month-long hiatus for this novel. As of yet, I have not finished my exams and am still busy preparing for them.

I will definitely resume writing after my exams are over.

Thank you for reading till here. Until next time