Ch. 53 - Caught Off Guard

*** MC’s POV ***

The black mage’s sudden attacks caught me off-guard. Black magic erupted from every direction. I twisted frantically, a light aura flashing as my blade sliced the deadly rain. Even more attacks erupted from the ground. I leaped, slashing my sword to deflect the shadow spikes. I sped up with a light aura to avoid what I could avoid and annihilate what I couldn’t with my skill.

[Absolute Blade Arts]

[Counter Strike, First Art - Void Slash]

I kept slashing to eliminate his attacks. Thanks to that, I emerged unharmed from his barrages of unavoidable magic. I immediately fixed my stance and jumped back to a safe place. Breathing hard, I looked at the mage and gritted my teeth.

‘This bastard. After accusing me of playing dirty, he did the same and almost hit me in the back.’

What should I call this? Double standard? Backstabbing? I thought he was a decent old man, but he was as rotten as the lich back then.

His eyes glinted with newfound focus. “You survived that? Impressive. How did you even cut through magic in the first place?”

“That’s a secret I’d rather keep.” As much as I wanted to rest by prolonging our talk, giving away secrets about my skill and sword could endanger me later.

“Cheeky bastard, fine. Try your best and struggle like the worm you are. You are going to die either way,” the mage sneered.

I was going to do that anyway. His derogatory words filled me with strength. While the black mage still underestimated me, I had to kill him quickly. Taking a calming breath, I took a stance, covered my body with light, and launched my fastest sword strike towards him.

[Absolute Blade Arts]

[Quick Strike, First Art - Vorpal Thrust]

Everything happened in an instant. I thought I had caught the Black Mage off guard, but what? He instantly created a massive barrier of solid darkness and stopped my attack before I could come close to him. However, it seems I was not the only one feeling surprised.

“What, how could your sword could even pierce that? That was a barrier that not even that bitch swordswoman can casually break! Are you holding a legendary sword, by chance?”

He glanced at my sword and nodded to himself.

“I see. It must be an anti-magic sword. That must be why you can cut my magic back then.”

What anti-magic sword? This is just a normal heroic-grade sword. His barrier broke simply because he got weaker within this rune formation and also because of [Vorpal Thrust] ’s special effect to ignore causality and mimic an absolute pierce.

I was about to retort, but there was no need to explain myself to the enemy. I turned off my aura and switched to mana to launch the [Burst] attack from this thrust.

Immediately, purple lightning gathered to the tip of my sword. Due to my mana increase, the concentrated lighting was much stronger and denser than in the past. Still, it was also much more challenging to control. I shot the lighting forward before the black mage noticed this attack’s danger.

Purple lightning bursts from the tips of my sword and obliterates everything in its path. The black barrier crumbled as the burst attack approached the Black Mage’s face.

“Heok?!”

He submerged himself into the shadow and appeared elsewhere, successfully escaping the deadly attack that decimated his barriers. It was truly a cheat-like movement skill befitting of a shady bastard. I looked at the old man as he looked at the traces of destruction with a gasp.

However, it was not long until he recovered from surprise and regained calm. His eyes glinted with malice. When I saw that gaze, I realized he’d stop underestimating me now.

‘Not good! I’d need every advantage in this fight, so it would be disastrous if he gets serious!’

Suddenly, black mana spread and covered the entire dome. A sinking feeling of dread coiled in my gut as everything got swallowed into darkness. I widened my eyes and realized what the black mage was up to.

‘A domain?!’

Darkness swelled and thickened, smothering the world as if to confirm my bad feeling.

‘Not good! I must finish him before he completes the domain.’

Once again, I roused my light aura and launched a [Vorpal Thrust] at him. However--

“?!”

A dark shield materialized between us and stopped my thrust. Unlike the previous dark barrier, which provided thin but all-around protection, this dark shield was much thicker and denser and focused all its defense in one direction.

“So I am right. You can only lunge in a straight line, after all.”

He smirked with smug satisfaction. He’d anticipated my weakness after only seeing it once. I didn’t think I looked down on him, but it seemed like he was a much stronger person than I thought.

He raised his right hand. In an instant, hundreds of black magic circles formed around me. It was the clearest proof that showed he had completed his domain.

‘Oh no.’

This fight had suddenly become far more dangerous. I lose my golden chance to kill him before he gets serious. He is going all-out now and can even shoot infinite black magic within this domain until the time limit has passed.

‘Damn it.’

I have no choice but to play defense now. But how long will this domain last? In the worst case, it should only last a few minutes, but can I endure until then?

No, I must endure. If I could just endure and search for an opportunity, there had to be a way to win. The fight was far from over, and I also hadn’t unleashed my full strength yet. If I also went all out, I might survive this onslaught.

‘I didn’t want to use this, but it couldn’t be helped.’

“It’s the end, Bianca’s Disciple.”

He lowered his right hand. As the black mage’s magic rain poured down, I took a deep breath to steady my mind. Reaching within, I called upon the light - my sword began to glow with a brilliant, blinding aura as I cut through the darkness.

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