The group exchanged wary glances.
Neo studied them for a mont before continuing.
"I'll suppress my strength to peak Awakened Demigod.
"It's a rank you all can defeat easily if you fight together."
As Neo spoke, a dark, oppressive energy began to emanate from him.
The grass at his feet wilted slightly, as if recoiling from the aura.
His aura surged like an invisible tidal wave.
He condensed his Death aura into a solid pendant and he tied it securely around his neck.
The pendant, dark as obsidian, glimred faintly.
"If you guys can break this pendent before I take all of you down, you will win.
"Is that enough for a handicap?"
The groups expressions turned grim.
Even if Neo suppressed his stats, he was leagues beyond them.
His advantage in reaction speed, combat experience, stamina, and physical defense made him nigh undefeatable.
"Are you really planning to fight us?" Mars suddenly broke the silence.
"Why are you asking? Worried?"
"No," Mars replied with a wide grin. "I'm just excited."
Without warning, flas erupted around Mars.
The heat distorted the air.
The dry grass beneath him ignited, crackling loudly.
His body beca a blur as he bolted toward Neo.
"It's fine if we start now, right!?" Mars shouted.
"Yes."
Neo twisted his head just in ti to dodge Mars's blazing fist.
The strike whizzed past his cheek, leaving a faint scorch mark in the air.
Mars twisted mid-motion.
His arms moved like snakes as he attempted to grapple Neo into a chokehold.
It was a diversion and his aim was to steal the pendant.
Before Mars could complete the move, Neo's fist shot forward and dove into Mars's abdon like a battering ram.
Mars's body arched.
He flew backward like a ragdoll and crashed into the ground, skidding to a halt amidst the singed grass.
No one moved for a few seconds.
"What are you guys doing?"
Neo's voice bood.
It resonated with such force that the surrounding trees seed to tremble.
"Mars created the perfect opportunity for you to attack by surprise.
"Why didn't you move?
"Are you guys waiting for to tell you to attack?"
Neo's glare made them flinch.
He always maintained a cold expression, rarely allowing even a faint smile to cross his face.
Despite his apathetic persona, he spoke to everyone politely.
This ti, however, was different.
It was the first ti anyone saw Neo furious.
The atmosphere grew suffocating as Neo's bloodlust surged.
The wind seed to die, leaving only an eerie stillness in the air.
"Haah."
Neo let out a disappointed sigh.
"Two of you are absolute geniuses, one can control ti, one can control space, and another one has a True Soul Weapon," he said.
His cold gaze moved, landing on each of them in turn—Arthur, Mars, Sean, Clara, and Felix.
"I know this fight must be sudden, but try to fight, at least.
"Or are you guys hoping that the enemies you face in the future will always be within manageable levels?
"You…"
Neo abruptly stopped.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, fight like that," he said.
The sound of a sharp blade slicing through the air ca without warning.
Neo stepped back just in ti.
The sword missed him by inches and slashed through the spot where he had stood monts ago.
The air next to Neo distorted like ripples in a pond.
Arthur had been hiding, using his Air Mirage Spell to stay concealed.
A flicker of surprise crossed Arthur's face as his sneak attack failed.
He had left a mirage clone to distract Neo while he prepared to strike from behind.
Arthur launched a flurry of attacks.
anwhile, Mars took advantage of the distraction.
He slamd his fist into the ground.
Massive flas erupted.
Walls of fire roared to life, engulfing the area.
The heat warped the air, and visibility plumted as smoke curled around them.
"Sound Kaleidoscope!" Arthur chanted a spell.
Suddenly, the clearing was filled with a cacophony of noises—footsteps, the clash of blades, and indistinct shouts.
The sounds ca from all directions, disorienting anyone who heard them.
Neo used one hand to parry Arthur's sword attacks..
Then, with startling speed, Neo's free hand shot out.
He intercepted Mars's punch aid at his nape.
The impact of Mars's flaming fist against Neo's palm created a brief shockwave that extinguished so of the surrounding fire.
"I thought you wouldn't attack from behind," Neo said.
"That's exactly why I attacked from there!" Mars retorted with a wide grin etched on his face.
He pushed forward with another fiery strike, then another.
Arthur jumped in before Neo could attack Mars and allowed Mars to retreat.
Elental energy roared in the surroundings.
Two eastern fla dragons coiled around Mars's hands.
Their scales shimred like molten lava.
"Fire Dragon Technique: Fla Fist!"
Mars lunged forward again, punching toward Neo.
The serpentine fire dragons surged toward Neo.
They spiraled around him, leaving no room for escape.
The heat they emitted was suffocating, causing the nearby grass to smolder and blacken.
At the sa ti, Arthur used his Air Affinity to amplify the flas, feeding them oxygen to grow even larger and more intense.
They turned into infernos.
Their flas hungrily ate the air.
Neo remained unfazed.
He summoned a massive sphere of water.
The water rippled and swirled as he directed it to douse the flas.
Steam hissed violently as the water collided with the fire.
The dragons devoured the water ball with ease.
'I can create a stronger water ball, but that would an using strength beyond Awakened Demigod rank,' Neo thought as he assessed the situation.
His grip tightened around his sword.
Divine Swordsmanship Fifth—
Before Neo could complete his Incantation, an invisible force yanked at Obitus.
The sword wrenched itself free from his grasp and flew through the air.
'Psychokinesis? Is that Clara?' Neo wondered.
Clara's voice echoed, confirming his suspicion.
"I've got his sword! Now, he can't use that sudden burst of strength of his! This is our chance! Get him!"
Neo raised an eyebrow.
It seed they had been strategizing and looking into his weaknesses.
'Seems like they know I use Obitus to remove my debuff,' he thought.
The fire dragons closed in.
Their blazing maws snapped hungrily at Neo.
He quickly conjured a Coffin of Darkness and remained inside it.
The dragons crashed against the coffin repeatedly.
Sparks flew as fire clashed against darkness.
Suddenly, the space around Neo began to ripple and distort.
A massive surge of Space elental energy swamped him.
Neo vanished.
The Coffin of Darkness beca empty as he reappeared high in the sky.
"Oh?" Neo muttered, his voice carrying a note of surprise.
Clara's mastery of Space elent seed to have reached Adept (Low) rank.
"Don't be impressed just yet!" Arthur's voice rang out from above, carried by the wind.
Neo, still plumting through the sky, tilted his head upward.
He saw Arthur, who had been teleported even higher, standing confidently in mid-air.
"There's a lot more to co!" Arthur declared, raising his sword high.
Golden lightning coiled tightly around the blade.
"Invincible!"
Arthur's aura erupted like a blinding star.
The golden lightning wrapped around him flared.
His sword cut downward in a deadly arc.
Neo, still in mid-air, noticed another surge of power from below.
His eyes flickered to the ground, where Mars stood smirking.
"Fire Dragon Technique: Fla Fist!"
Mars unleashed an attack.
The fla dragons were larger, and denser than before.
Clearly, Mars had been holding back earlier.
Neo found himself trapped between the two attacks—the golden lightning from above and the blazing fire dragons from below.
"That's a good strategy," Neo muttered.
He raised his hands, one toward Arthur's lightning and the other toward Mars's fire dragons.
Neo's aura darkened.
He used his Shadow Affinity.
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