I took my ti finding Prince Plintus.
It would be difficult for anyone, including myself, to see through his disguises, given how adept he was at cloaking himself... In fact, standing in front of him and looking at him, I realized that I was being overly confident in my abilities.
There was no way I could find him with my abilities.
'Thankfully, I'm always prepared.'
Just prior to that, downstairs, when Prince Plintus was still in shock over the situation, I made the most of the opportunity to arrive in front of him and press my hand against his shoulder. I could have sneaked up on him back then and attacked him, but I decided to go with a different strategy instead.
…Leaving a mark on his body.
It was never my intention to kill him; rather, the goal was to locate the mana compressor and destroy it.
I had the opportunity to carry it out after I had Prince Plintus killed, but I chose not to. In all candor, it would have required twice as much ti, and in tis of war, ti was of the essence.
I knew, perhaps more than anyone else, that each and every second was important, which was why I chose to proceed in this manner.
With the Akashic Laws in my command, everything was easy. Placing a thin thread around his body, I was able to find him regardless of his cloaking skills.
In my eyes, he was no different than a moving target.
"Let guess…"
I focused my attention on the mana compressor that was right in front of . It was violently shaking, and the demonic energy in the imdiate area around was in a state of disarray.
With a glance, I was able to determine what it was that he was attempting to accomplish.
My gaze moved toward Prince Plintus.
"…You're trying to destabilize the mana compressor to create a portal and then desync it?"
'Looks like I'm right.'
I smiled at the Prince's expression. That was enough for to know that I was right.
"That's not a bad plan, to be honest."
I felt mildly impressed by his attempt.
If he had actually constructed a dungeon and then desynced it, then the situation would certainly reverse the way he had hoped it would.
Our current advantage does not co from the individual power of a select few but rather from the strength of our numbers. In terms of their individual power, the demons were significantly more powerful than we were.
They had far more Duke ranked demons than we did for ranks. The sa couldn't be said for Marquis ranked demons and ranked users.
Our advantage lay there, with over a thousand of them currently in the hall.
…They were the reason for our high chances of victory, and if not for them, then the ambush would've never worked, to begin with.
That being said, Prince Plintus had grossly miscalculated sothing.
"Not bad.. Not bad…"
I took a step back. Away from the mana compressor and interlocked my hands behind my back.
"Wh..what?"
I smiled at the Prince's expression. He seed utterly dumbfounded by my actions, and I couldn't really bla him if I had to be honest. With that being said… I didn't really care and continued to observe the mana compressor.
"What are you doing?"
Exactly at that mont, I found myself frowning and looking over at Prince Plintus. I gave him a gentle nudge with my head before turning my attention back to the mana compressor.
"Weren't you trying to create a dungeon? Go, I'm giving you the chance to do it. I promise I won't do a single thing while you inject demonic energy into it…"
At that very mont, the Prince wore a look that could only be described as wonderful. If I could have gotten a few pictures of it, I definitely would have, but I didn't want to push my luck too much.
If he snapped, things would turn rather troubleso.
Nevertheless, in spite of what I said, Prince Plintus continued to stand in the sa place he had been. It was as if he no longer cared to create a dungeon as he had initially intended.
"Uh? Co on? Why aren't—"
His actions irritated , and just as I was about to say sothing else, I felt sothing being thrown in my direction. It was the tip of a very sharp nail.
Swoosh—!
"Wow."
I narrowly avoided it and took several steps back.
I didn't even have ti to properly stabilize my footing before the Prince started to attack again. He ca at with such speed that it made it difficult for to dodge.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
His attacks were relentless and extrely ruthless, aiming for my most sensitive organs. His movents were extrely fast, and if not for [Eyes of Chronos] and the chip inside of my mind, I would've had a hard ti dodging them.
'It looks like he's trying to stall for ti and wait for the mana compressor to explode… Well, that's one way of doing things…'
I didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed by his actions, but as I stared at the incoming sharp nail, I twisted my foot on the ground and avoided the attack. Then, I raised my foot and smashed it against the other hand he was using to attack .
Clank—!
I stumbled a couple of steps, barely keeping my face from changing. That… his arm was a lot harder than I originally anticipated.
Fwap—!
Out of nowhere, his figure blurred, and I felt soone appear behind . His movents were so fast that even [Eyes of Chronos] was barely able to keep up with it. Despite that, I was still able to see it sowhat… it was just enough to let know what had happened, and I ducked down.
Swoosh—!
A large hand materialized out of thin air in the location where my head had been monts earlier. It reached out like it was going to grab sothing, but all it could do was grab air. I twisted my body, and a sword appeared in my hand.
Click—!
A familiar clicking sound rang out, and a figure hurled all the way back into one of the walls in the distance.
BOOM—! After his figure slamd into the wall, I took a few deep breaths and regained my composure. Everything took place in a split second, and despite the many advantages I possessed, I was having a hard ti keeping up with him.
He… He was weaker than Waylan, and not by a small margin, but he was still extrely strong. He wasn't soone I could take lightly.
'It looks like I still need to get used to my newfound power.'
In terms of rank, I was a little lower, and as I had only recently gotten to where I was now, I was a little unfamiliar with how to use the power I had.
It was only logical that I wasn't accustod to my power as so of my body reacted faster than my brain did… a problem which used to be on reverse previously.
'Still, it's not like I'm using my full power yet.'
I still hadn't used my demonic transformation or the Akashic Laws. One could say that I was going easy on Prince Plintus, and I guess it was true… but considering that my goal was to let the mana compressor desync, I didn't need to go all out.
'There's no better ti then to get used to my powers than now.'
If one of the reasons why I was having a hard ti getting accustod to my powers was the lack of experience I had with them, then there was no better ti than now to gain that experience.
Swoosh―!
Just as the dust began to settle, Prince Plintus materialized on the right side of my body. When he ca at with his claws, I was about to duck out of the way when I noticed several small spherical energy beams on the tips of his fingers.
'Oh, shit!'
When I first saw them, my eyes widened, and instead of ducking, I pulled my sword from its sheath. At that mont, I could feel my muscles tensing up, and I brought my sword parallel to my body, and his claws landed perfectly against my sword at that angle.
BANG―! The point of contact between my sword and his claws generated waves of circular pressure that spread outward in all directions.
Letting out a short groan, I stumbled a couple of steps back.
"Ugkh."
I only ca to a stop when my back was against the side of a wall, stopping from moving further back. Just as I was about to collect myself, I beca aware of sothing approaching from my right side, and at that precise mont, my gaze stopped on the mana compressor.
Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak.
The body of the compressor began to develop cracks, and it began to tremble back and forth between the two extres. The light that had erged from the cracks was blindingly bright and white.
I was about to move away from the cracks that had ford on the side of the compressor when all of a sudden, Prince Plintus materialized in front of .
"Where are you going?"
A gleeful smile was plastered across his face, despite the manic expression that he was sporting.
"Didn't you want to see what would happen when the mana compressor exploded? Here, I'll let you see."
In a motion that rendered it impossible for to react, he pressed his hands against my shoulders and held my body firmly against the side of the wall.
My expression changed at that mont, and Prince Plintus shouted.
"Watch!"
BOOOOOM―!
Imdiately after that, there was a terrifying explosion, and everything around turned white.
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