A Clash of Magic and Power

"Are you okay?"

"It's not a fatal wound. But he's really fast."

No matter how transcendent magic was, a magician's body was still human. Their nervous system and physical reflexes couldn't match those of a Schema user.

Of course, Schema users also struggled to block magic once it was fully activated.

In a battle where both were each other's natural enemies, Iruki and Neid chanted their spells.

An Atomic Bomb and a Lightning Bolt burst forth in succession, but landing a direct hit was difficult.

Hitting a living human, especially a Schema user, was an entirely different challenge from striking a stationary target during a school speed test.

'Tch! These brats are better than I thought.'

But Lucas wasn't exactly in a relaxed position either.

Due to the nature of his Mitochondria Build, his stamina was draining by the second.

Instead of conserving energy, he raised his metabolic rate to the maximum.

A testament to his extensive combat experience, his speed had doubled compared to before.

'I'll finish it here.'

Evading the magic, he darted toward Iruki at a speed beyond human reaction.

Just as his dual blades were about to sever his opponent's neck, a chilling sensation ran down his spine.

Neid had closed the distance and cast Electric Shock directly onto Lucas' abdomen. The alternating current vibrated sixty times per second, sending violent spasms through his body.

"Grrraaaagh!"

"Iruki! Now!"

Even without Neid's signal, Iruki had already formulated an explosive equation aimed at Lucas' face.

Lucas saw a haze of gray smoke rise before his eyes. He pushed his body with all his might, but it was as if his muscles had unraveled—he couldn't move an inch.

'Damn it! Damn it!'

Was he really about to die at the hands of mere brats?

No… was he actually going to die?

At that moment, reality itself felt distant, and a shadow absorbed into his body. Then, without his will, his feet moved on their own.

"Ugh!"

BOOM!

The moment Lucas was flung backward, a powerful explosion erupted in midair.

Had he remained standing, his head would have been blown off.

Turning back, he saw Arin panting heavily. Even while controlling hundreds of people, she had managed to cast magic, leaving her breathless.

"You little…!"

Lucas' body, filled with a mix of humiliation and rage, launched toward Neid like a spring snapping loose.

"Neid! Dodge!"

Before Iruki could finish his warning, Lucas' twin blades came flying toward Neid's throat.

At that exact moment, unexpected ice pillars surged up from either side of Neid.

CRACK!

Lucas' twin blades lodged into the ice, his eyes shaking with disbelief.

Even with Schema unlocked, his swords were sharp enough to shatter boulders. Yet, they couldn't slice through mere ice?

With a grimace, he yanked back his blades and scanned the area.

A familiar face entered his vision—the teacher he had thrown off the cliff earlier.

"Shina-sensei!"

Neid dispersed the electricity enveloping his body and rushed toward her.

But Shina remained silent, staring at Lucas with emotionless eyes.

"Huff… Huff…"

Etella leaned against a tree stump, her knees buckling as if about to collapse.

After a grueling thirty-minute chase, she had finally gained a moment of respite. But she hadn't completely lost Arcane.

'The poison is spreading. I can't delay treatment any longer.'

She landed abruptly and ripped the waist section of her monk robes.

Around her navel, where the Poison Cutter had struck, necrosis was already setting in.

Breathing techniques had slowed the spread of the poison, but it was only a temporary measure. The only real option was to force the poison to one spot and extract it.

'My hands won't work.'

She could theoretically suck it out, but the location made it physically impossible.

'Can I even do it?'

She locked her hands together behind her hips, gripping the tree stump firmly.

Bending her back and neck at an extreme angle, she heard her spine creak.

By fully utilizing her erector spinae, she elongated her lumbar spine until her hips lifted off the ground entirely. Her body, arched like a serpent, finally brought her lips to the wound.

Forcing all the poison to the surface, she sucked out the contaminated blood with immense force.

It felt as if fire was burning through her insides.

Her brow furrowed, and she jerked her head back, spitting the blackened blood onto the grass. The moment it touched the ground, the grass withered and died.

"Haaaah…"

Color finally returned to Etella's face.

Rising to her feet, she wrapped the torn fabric of her robe tightly around her fist and punched it firmly.

"That was too close."

As her wavering Spirit Zone regained stability, the surrounding information flowed back to her senses.

Her eyes widened in alarm as she leapt into the air.

From the ground, dozens of shadowy hands shot up like black ink spreading through water.

'The power of darkness… He's already this close…'

The fact that Arcane could track down an expert scout like Jonah without pause was proof of how agile a Dark Archmage could be in the shadows.

"You must have expelled the poison. You're becoming more impressive by the second."

Arcane emerged, slicing through the veil of darkness. But this time, Etella had no intention of running.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Oh? You're finally ready to fight? Good. I'll enjoy this without restraint."

With a steely gaze, Etella clenched her fists, channeling her energy. The full force of Yin-Yang Wave Fist surged through her body.

"Hooh?"

Arcane instantly noticed the change.

She had completely shut down her Spirit Zone.

"You're choosing pure martial arts?"

Mages wielded the Spirit Zone. Swordsmen mastered Schema. But monks honed both body and mind.

Their purpose wasn't to become the strongest—it was to embrace the world with the widest heart.

Arcane despised that philosophy.

Had she focused on a single path from the beginning, her name would have been known throughout the entire continent.

'What a waste. A talent meant to stand at the peak chose the path of asceticism? Then again, talking sense into someone who doesn't even desire to climb is futile.'

Still, he had prepared a countermeasure for situations like this.

"Servants of Darkness."

Countless shadow spiders skittered from the depths of the forest's gloom.

Beside Arcane, a towering figure over three meters tall began to rise.

GRRRROOAAAAR!

A Dark Golem, its thick neck nearly nonexistent, let out a deafening roar.

Its bulky body, wrapped in strands like thick yarn, had disproportionately long arms and stubby legs.

Dark Servants were manifestations of a mage's mental strength transformed into raw power—a technique similar to the one used to create Harvesters.

Though not entirely immune to light like arcane creatures, in the dead of night, they were the most formidable weapons of war.

"Go forth, my servants."

Etella's fist clenched tighter.

She wasn't going to stop.

Even if all that awaited her was death.

With a ground-shaking roar, the Dark Golem charged forward.