One vs Three

"Ugh! Whatever you want." Kels seemed to have a special fondness for the girl, never directly refuting her words.

He also drew the short knife from his waist and protected her.

Though Beatrice was an apprentice, she had taken many lives. Or rather, no official member of The Umbral Cabal was free of blood.

To successfully become a student of a Mage, the first condition was to eliminate all other competitors under that Mage.

August feigned cowardice on the surface, but, in fact, he had already prepared himself.

Thanks to the black shadow that had infiltrated his Mental World, August's mental power far surpassed his own of a few days prior. With mental power that could be considered first-class among apprentices, his handling of magic became increasingly competent.

For example, the only offensive spell he could cast was [Magic Cut].

"Careful..." Kels pushed Beatrice aside.

*Whoosh!*

An arm was severed from its root, splattering blood.

"Tch! Still dodged it, huh?" August returned to his original state, no longer feigning cowardice.

He could now control the timing of [Magic Cut]'s appearance with great precision. With concentration, he could easily form a Magic Sword three meters away from him, and now it was not only faster but also more discreet than before.

He was just trying to see if he could trick the three apprentices, and he hadn't expected the girl to actually believe him.

However, it was a little regrettable that no one died, but August still managed to achieve some results.

Kels was drenched in cold sweat. He felt that something was amiss as he approached August, and he suddenly felt that August's gaze seemed too calm; it was not that of someone who had given up resistance.

At that moment, a dazzling blue light ignited before him. Kels had no time to think and pulled Beatrice away.

"Hmph—" Volibear, who had been motionless, suddenly raised his enormous axe and swung it fiercely toward August.

However, August had already sensed it. Under the observation of his highly concentrated mental power, Volibear's actions were no different from slow motion.

Of these three, Volibear gave August the most deterrence. His mere presence with his axe instilled August with a strong sense of danger.

Beatrice seemed stunned by the sudden turn of events. After regaining her senses, her face completely contorted.

She ignored Kels, who was sitting on the ground, drenched in cold sweat. The humiliation of being deceived made her lose her sanity, and she shrieked as she lunged toward him.

"Wait..." Kels picked up the arm and moved to the side. Reattaching severed limbs was not a difficult task for mages.

Then he saw August raise his hand, holding a familiar weapon.

*Bang!*

Kels' eyes widened in disbelief; the scene froze in his vision. A trickle of blood seeped from his forehead and dripped from his chin.

A thumb-sized hole appeared in his forehead, passing directly through his brain, and a large chunk of bone and flesh at the back of his head had been directly torn away by the gun's power.

Kels died inexplicably. The only thing he saw was August pointing at Beatrice and uttering a warning. But even if August had aimed at him, Kels should have reacted.

It turned out that August had a sudden idea that he could achieve an unexpected effect with an illusion spell.

Illusion spells were only the most superficial use of illusions, merely capable of deceiving the eyes of ordinary people, but in such a critical situation, Kels hadn't expected August to use a spell that no apprentice would bother to learn.

August pointed at Beatrice, but in reality, he had always aimed at Kels. Poor Kels was still warning the others.

"You actually used a gun!"

August dodged another powerful blow from Volibear and sneered: "Mages can't use guns?"

These apprentices probably only interacted with mages and didn't have much contact with society. Their mindset was likely rigid, and they neither expected nor disdained using common people's weapons.

Volibear seemed to be accustomed to death; he showed no emotion at his comrade's tragic demise and continued to brandish his weapon, relentlessly attacking August.

Without a word, August immediately fired two shots at Volibear.

However, to his surprise, Volibear neither dodged nor evaded the attack, allowing the two bullets to strike his chest.

As if unaffected at all, Volibear raised his axe and charged again, aiming a horizontal slash at August's waist.

The axe almost grazed his body. In this moment of carelessness, August felt a chill run down his spine, thinking that if he were hit by that axe, he would surely die, with no chance of survival.

"..."

Volibear was like a silent executioner, his only thought to harvest August's soul, while Beatrice to the side was eager to find an opportunity, the red blade on her right arm looking even more sinister.

Suddenly, Volibear's hands trembled, and the large axe in his hand flew out like a boomerang, spinning toward August's head.

He was startled and quickly ducked, watching with wide eyes as the large axe spun past his head, carrying a strong scent of blood.

"Got you!"

August felt a great force hit him, and something firmly gripped his shoulder.

It turned out that Volibear's axe throw was just a feint; his true purpose was to seize the opportunity to grab August, as this guy was too agile.

"Beatrice!"

"Die!"

Beatrice's eyes gleamed with the pleasure of revenge. She had forgotten the instruction to capture August alive; now she only wanted to torture and kill him.

It wasn't to avenge Kels, but simply because of the humiliation of being tricked.

"Sorry, I don't want to die yet!"

August's eyes suddenly emitted a blinding white light, and Volibear, who was holding him tightly, felt his vision go blank.

However, Beatrice did not stop and didn't care at all if she hurt Volibear.

"Is your mouth not charmed with a spell either?" Volibear heard his last words.

*Thud!*

Blood splattered, and Volibear's massive body fell to the ground, causing a tremor.

"You're next." August smiled softly at Beatrice.

"You—!"

In the blink of an eye, she was the only comrade left, and the other party seemed to be completely unharmed.

"No, you're the one who should die!" Beatrice seemed to have gone insane, her eyes bloodshot, like a malevolent ghost, completely devoid of her previous pure and sweet appearance.

Beatrice launched an aerial slash, and several streaks of bloody light flew toward him.

The attack was too fast for August to dodge, so he had no choice but to expend his maximum magic to cast a [Deflection Charm] in front of the incoming attack.

*Thump!*

As if struck by a heavy object, August was instantly sent flying, and in mid-air, the second flying blade hit him head-on.

August struggled to raise another [Deflection Charm] again, narrowly deflecting the flying blade to the side, and then he fell from the air.

Beatrice said nothing, rushing toward him in an instant, her blood-stained sword arm aimed directly at August.

"Why do you never learn?"