"Do you think it ends here? Die!" Eligor roared as his initial strike was blocked, the holy light on his blade surging once more!
"Crack—!"
The hastily condensed 【Arcane Barrier】 shattered violently.
The surging holy light pierced through the barrier, slashing ruthlessly into Leo's "body."
"Crackle—!"
Leo's form was blown apart by the holy light, dissolving into a shower of blue-purple arcane motes.
【Mirror Image】
"Not good!" Alarm bells rang in Eligor's mind.
Before he could react, those scattered arcane motes seemed to take on a life of their own, instantly clinging to his full plate armor and rapidly coalescing into strands of purple 【Mana Shackles】.
Eligor felt his entire body tighten, his movements instantly grinding to a halt!
"Swish!"
Leo's true body appeared twenty meters away, holding Lucrezia. He flickered like a ghost behind the paladins' formation, not far from the two priests.
Leo raised his hand and aimed a 【Spell Counter】 directly at them.
The two priests, who were in the middle of chanting divine arts, suddenly turned pale. The violent backlash from the collapse of their divine art models caused a metallic tang of blood to rise in their throats.
"Protect the priests!" Eligor frantically channeled holy light to break free from his restraints. He thrust his left hand toward Leo and clenched it tight!
【Holy Light Judgment】!
"Bang—!!"
Leo had anticipated this, blocking it with an 【Arcane Barrier】 he had deployed early.
The surrounding paladins also retreated quickly, raising their shields to protect the priests.
"Hum—!"
Leo dispersed the mana gathered in his left hand, giving up on finishing off the priests.
Instead, he stomped his right foot. A visible ripple of extreme cold erupted from him, expanding outward in a ring.
【Frost Nova】!
"Crack! Crack-crack!"
The paladins who were charging toward him, along with the recently freed Eligor, were instantly anchored by a thick layer of ice. Their lower bodies were frozen solid!
Seizing this fleeting moment of control, Leo's left hand moved rapidly in front of him, and a complex arcane circle formed instantly!
【Arcane Explosion】
"Boom—!!!!!"
He slammed the magic circle into the ground! Destructive arcane energy swept across a thirty-meter radius like a tsunami!
The two shield-bearing knights, along with the three priests behind them, were instantly torn to shreds—shields and all—by the rampaging energy.
Eligor was also sent flying by the blast. His armor shattered and blood sprayed as he was severely wounded in an instant!
With the deaths of the pursuers, orbs of energy surged into Leo's body, merging into his fractured mana source.
What is this...?
Just as Leo, momentarily relieved, intended to investigate this phenomenon, the girl in his arms finally caught her breath.
She struggled to lift her head, witnessing the terrifying, miracle-like scene. Her ruby-like eyes were a swirl of shock, fear, grievance, and excitement.
"Yes... that's it! That's it!"
Lucrezia forced out her last bit of strength, struggling to raise a small, pale hand while still in Leo's arms. She proclaimed in a high, operatic tone:
"My servant! Lay down judgment! Use your power to utterly annihilate these lowly trash!"
Leo looked down at the little girl who couldn't even stand steadily yet was still trying to put on airs, suddenly finding it a bit ridiculous.
He reached out and unceremoniously pinched the girl's soft, tender cheek, tugging it outward.
"Get a grip on the situation, little girl."
Leo leaned close to her impossibly exquisite face. His warm breath fanned against her skin, making her eyelashes flutter nervously.
"A mere princess of a fallen nation, and you still want to order me around?"
"Right now, I'm the one protecting you."
"Mmph, mmph—!" (Let go! Bastard!)
At that moment, an incredibly sharp whistle of air screaming through the sky came from above them.
"Screee—!!!"
Leo's heart skipped a beat. He jerked his head up!
He saw a massive creature with a wingspan of over ten meters tearing through the thick clouds.
Is that... a griffin?!
Seated on the griffin's back was a temple ranger clad in light armor, wielding a massive crossbow.
Shit! A palace-level ranger? And a high-mobility aerial unit?
That griffin, whose wingspan blotted out the sky, and the holy light great-crossbow ready to fire in the ranger's hands, hung over them like the Grim Reaper's scythe.
Run? How could two legs outrun a flyer? This was a death trap!
Leo's extraordinary intellect, fueled by a surge of adrenaline, raced at high speed as he scanned his internal condition.
The moment he killed those trash, his parched and broken mana source seemed to receive some kind of nourishment. The cracks had miraculously healed a tiny bit—only a measly 1%, but that was 1% of a legendary archmage's power.
There was still a chance!
In the sky, the ranger didn't waste a single word. The giant crossbow was already locked onto Leo, and destructive holy light was condensing!
I must finish the spell within 3 seconds!
Leo's eyes sharpened. The large hand still holding Lucrezia suddenly tightened, and he crudely tucked the girl's slender, soft waist under his arm like a briefcase.
"Hey! You rude..." Lucrezia felt her waist tighten as she was lifted off the ground. She was about to struggle and scream.
"Shut up if you don't want to die!"
Lucrezia's body stiffened. Realizing the lethal threat the griffin posed, she immediately became quiet.
At the same time, Leo's left hand clawed at the void!
The last bit of borrowed mana in his body was squeezed to the absolute limit.
Not enough mana to construct a full channel... then strip it down!
Space coordinate anchoring? No time, strip it!
Teleportation channel stabilization runes? Too much mana, strip it!
Two-way loop? What's that, strip it!
In this moment, Leo displayed the terrifying micro-manipulation of an archmage.
If it were any ordinary mage, they would likely be waiting for death in despair. But in Leo's mind, countless profound and obscure spatial magic models felt as if they had been engraved into the depths of his soul from the start.
He didn't have time to ponder "why I know this"; the knowledge flowed out as naturally as eating or drinking.
He could even split his mind between frantically simplifying the spell structure and calculating the landing point of the bolt.
The temple ranger captain in the sky had already adjusted his angle.
The massive, shimmering golden bolt of holy light was aimed at Leo, who was currently immobile while casting.
The griffin rider's finger pulled the trigger!
"Whoosh—!!!" The holy light bolt, as thick as a bowl, trailed a destructive plume of flame as it streaked toward Leo's heart.
Leo's pupils contracted sharply.
Damn it! Too slow... by 0.3 seconds!
Forcibly interrupting the 【Teleport】 was even more unrealistic; that would only result in being torn apart by both the bolt and the spatial storm!
"Haha... hahahaha..."
In the distance, the heavily wounded Eligor struggled to lift his head, letting out a raspy, sinister laugh. "It's over! Blasphemer! Beneath the holy light... turn to ash!"
Hearing the voice, Leo felt a surge of joy. I almost forgot about you, kid!
"Good brother, lend me a hand!"
While maintaining the spatial rift guidance with his left hand, he thrust his right hand—the one not holding Lucrezia—toward the still-laughing Eligor and made a grabbing motion in the air.
【Mage's Hand】
"Huh? What!?" Eligor's laughter stopped abruptly!
He felt a massive force seize his body, yanking him up from the mud with a "whoosh" and hurling him sideways into the path between Leo and the incoming bolt.
"No—!!!" Eligor let out a final, desperate roar.
He watched helplessly as the destructive holy light bolt grew rapidly in his vision!
"Boom—!!!!!"
The holy light bolt struck Eligor's chest with pinpoint accuracy.
The violent power instantly vaporized and annihilated the knight captain along with his armor. The resulting destructive shockwave, carrying fragments of holy light and flesh, swept outward in a circle.
"Pfft—!" Leo bore the brunt of it. Even though Eligor had acted as a shield and blocked ninety percent of the power, he was still hit hard by the shockwave.
"Damn it..." Leo spat out a mouthful of blood. Clutching the terrified Lucrezia, he dove headlong into the pitch-black rift that was about to close.
The spatial crack sealed shut instantly.
Rate on N.U.
