As Gregor erged from the rubble, his crimson eyes glowing with unrelenting malice, Alice wasted no ti. Her voice, chanical and unwavering, cut through the chaos: "Eliminating target."
A deafening hum filled the air as energy surged within her spirit crystal. Blinding golden light erupted from her palms, condensing into a massive beam—the Proton Cannon. The devastating blast shot forth, obliterating the ground as it streaked towards Gregor.
But this ti, the Count was not a stationary target.
In a blur of motion, he vanished, dodging the attack with an inhuman burst of speed. The Proton Cannon seared through the battlefield, carving a deep trench into the earth before dissipating into the horizon. Before Alice could recalibrate, Gregor reappeared beside her, his fist already in motion.
Alice’s artificial reflexes kicked in, her body twisting away just in ti to avoid the impact. The ground where she had stood erupted into a crater from the sheer force of Gregor’s punch. She countered instantly, delivering a lightning-fast kick to his midsection. Gregor barely managed to block, sliding back from the impact.
Alice had transford into her Golem mode—her body reinforced, her speed enhanced beyond her prior limits. Now, she and Gregor moved at speeds that even Kael struggled to track.
Kael’s mind raced as he analyzed the situation. So far, Gregor had only used physical attacks, relying on raw speed and strength. Clearly, he had augnted himself with a powerful spell. If Kael could determine what it was, he might find a way to counter it.
His gaze fell on the staff Gregor wielded. He needed the Count to stay still long enough to analyze it, but pinning him down with gravity magic would require more mana than he was willing to expend.
Turning to Keira, he asked, "Do you recognize the spell he’s using? Sothing that could boost his physical abilities this much?"
Keira’s eyes narrowed as she combed through her vast knowledge of magic. Suddenly, it struck her. "Titan’s Leap," she murmured. "A 6th-Tier spell that enhances strength by a staggering 2500%, grants superhuman speed, and enables imnse vertical jumps. For a 6th-class mage, it would cost half of their mana reserve (3000 mana points out of 6000) and lasts for thirty minutes. After that, there’s a cooldown... unless the caster uses additional mana to bypass it."
Kael quickly did the calculations. Gregor had been fighting for nearly twenty minutes, which ant he had around ten minutes left before the spell wore off. But sothing still didn’t add up.
"Why isn’t he using any offensive magic?" Kael wondered aloud. "He’s a mage. Why fight like a brawler?"
The answer eluded him, but for now, they needed to stall Gregor until Titan’s Leap expired. He quickly relayed his plan to Alice. "Hold him off. We just need to buy ti," he urged.
Alice acknowledged his command and continued to battle Gregor at breakneck speed. She attempted to pin him down with calculated attacks, but Gregor’s agility allowed him to evade almost effortlessly. When he did land a hit, the impact was devastating, causing shockwaves to ripple through the battlefield. Yet, Alice countered each ti with equal force, neither combatant gaining the upper hand.
anwhile, Pietro had returned after evacuating his troops. He stood at the edge of the battlefield, in awe of the fight unfolding before him. He had seen many battles, but nothing like this.
Kael gritted his teeth, still searching for a spell that could turn the tide. He knew one: Speed Surge, a 5th-Tier buff spell that enhanced speed by 90%. It wouldn’t make him as fast as Gregor or Alice, but it would at least let him see their movents clearly.
He cast the spell on himself.
A surge of energy coursed through his body. His perception sharpened. Suddenly, the blurs of movent beca discernible figures. He could track them. He could react.
Timing his mont carefully, he activated his gravity magic just as Alice landed a solid hit, sending Gregor flying. Predicting where the Count would crash, Kael manipulated space at the impact site, activating a gravity field the instant Gregor hit the wall.
A force unlike any other bore down on Gregor, pinning him against the shattered stone. For the first ti, his movents halted.
Kael’s voice rang out with finality. "Now, Alice! Fire everything you’ve got!"
Alice did not hesitate. Energy surged through her spirit crystal as she prepared to unleash her full arsenal. A series of runic inscriptions illuminated her back, and multiple magic circles ford around her. Mana gathered, coalescing into a concentrated surge of destruction.
Gregor’s crimson eyes narrowed. He struggled against the gravity field, but for the first ti in this battle, he looked genuinely concerned.
Then, a sinister smile crept across his lips.
Sothing was wrong.
A pulse of dark energy erupted from his body. The ground trembled, and the gravity field began to crack under imnse pressure. Kael’s eyes widened. "No... that’s not possible."
Gregor let out a guttural laugh, his voice echoing with an otherworldly resonance. "Did you really think you could hold back?"
The air turned thick with oppressive magic. The energy surrounding Gregor took on a blackened hue, tendrils of darkness slithering around him. The veins on his arms pulsed unnaturally, his body trembling as if barely containing sothing monstrous within.
Kael’s breath hitched. "He’s... absorbing mana? No, this is—"
Before he could finish his thought, a massive explosion of energy shattered the gravity field. Gregor surged forward, faster than ever before.
Alice barely had ti to react before Gregor’s fist connected with her chest. A deafening shockwave followed as Alice was sent hurtling backward, crashing through multiple structures before finally coming to a stop, buried under debris.
Kael’s heart pounded. "Alice!"
But there was no ti to check on her.
Gregor turned his gaze toward Kael, his grin widening. His entire body radiated dark energy, his aura no longer human.
And then Kael assud—
This wasn’t just Titan’s Leap anymore. Gregor had unlocked sothing far worse.
And he was coming for them all.
Kael barely had ti to process the shift in Gregor’s aura before the Count lunged toward him. The speed was unlike anything he had seen—far beyond Titan’s Leap. It was unnatural, a grotesque perversion of magic and raw power fused into sothing truly terrifying.
His instincts scread at him to move, to escape the impending danger.
Kael willed his body into action, casting Blink at the last possible second. The air cracked as he vanished, reappearing several ters away. Gregor’s fist t empty space, the force of his missed punch distorting the air around it. The ground beneath him shattered from the sheer impact.
But Gregor was relentless, already on him.
The Count had anticipated the teleport. He pivoted mid-step, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Kael barely managed to erect a mana barrier before Gregor’s palm slamd into it. A deafening crack split the air as the barrier shattered like glass.
The backlash sent Kael flying, his body tumbling across the ruined battlefield. He landed hard, coughing as pain flared through his ribs. His vision blurred for a second, but he forced himself up, blood trickling from his lips.
"Damn it..." he muttered, gripping his side. Gregor’s strength wasn’t just enhanced—it was consuming everything in its path.
A sharp gust of wind roared past him, followed by the unmistakable hum of the Veilbreaker Staff. Keira had entered the fray, her eyes glowing with determination.
"Stay down, Young Master!" she shouted, her voice firm and resolute. "I’ll hold him off!"
With a flick of her wrist, Keira unleashed a barrage of arcane missiles, each charged with compressed wind magic. The projectiles shrieked through the air, converging on Gregor with pinpoint accuracy.
But Gregor didn’t evade. He raised his arm, allowing the missiles to collide against his flesh. The explosions rippled outward, but when the dust cleared, he stood unfazed.
Keira’s eyes widened. "Impossible..."
Gregor tilted his head, a cruel smirk curling his lips. "Your spells are aningless now."
And then, in an instant, he was behind her.
Keira barely managed to raise her staff in defense before Gregor’s backhand sent her soaring. She crashed against a broken wall, slumping to the ground in a heap. The Veilbreaker Staff tumbled from her grasp, its glow dimming.
"Keira!" Kael shouted, gritting his teeth. This was beyond bad.
Gregor’s transformation wasn’t just an enhancent—it was a complete restructuring of his body. His mana was no longer flowing naturally; it was devouring the surrounding energy, feeding on the very battlefield itself. He had beco sothing entirely different, sothing monstrous.
A voice crackled through Kael’s mind—a telepathy connection. It was weak, yet steady, carrying a sense of urgency and resolve.
"Still... operational."
Alice.
Kael turned toward the debris where Alice had been buried. The rubble trembled before exploding outward. From within the dust, Alice erged, her fra battered but intact. Sparks flickered around her as her systems recalibrated. Her spirit crystal pulsed erratically, the intense mana output forcing her into overdrive.
Kael exhaled sharply, relief mingled with concern. "Alice, can you still fight?"
Her gray eyes locked onto Gregor. "Affirmative."
Gregor chuckled, rolling his shoulders. "You people just don’t know when to die."
Kael narrowed his eyes, a plan forming in his mind. Gregor’s current state must be unstable—his body wasn’t ant to handle this kind of power for long. If they could push him past his limit, force his own magic to burn him out, they might stand a chance.
"Alice," Kael said through the mind-link, "we’re not going to overpower him. We need to overload him."
Alice’s gaze flickered as she processed the strategy. "Understood."
Without hesitation, she activated her full combat mode. Her body glowed with a golden sheen as her mana surged to maximum capacity, ready to attack at Kael’s command.
At the sa ti, Kael summoned every ounce of gravity magic he had left, weaving an intricate spell designed not to restrain Gregor—but to amplify his own mana consumption.
The battlefield trembled as their final stand comnced.
Gregor, now a monstrous force of destruction, roared in defiance.
Kael and Alice braced themselves, ready to end him once and for all.
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