Chapter 205: A human...or not?

’He cast a Four Ring Spell without even using a wand,’ Seraphina muttered inwardly as she fought the incoming undead monsters with her pyro spells. ’He must be at least a Five Ring, if not a Six Ring, Mage. Even if all of us fight together, we can’t defeat him.’

She glared at Daemoth through the gap between the monsters.

’He treats all of this as a theatrical performance. If I use Sanguine Flame Art, I might be able to create an opening to let the team escape.’

Her mana began rising rapidly. Her crimson hair turned brighter, as if glowing blood flowed through it.

Vlad instantly recognised the familiar mana radiating from her.

"Sera, stop!" Vlad snapped at her as he blocked the incoming arrows with the rapid swing of his blade.

"We don’t have any other choice," Seraphina murmured as her canines began to elongate. "I must protect the team—"

"I can do it," Vlad cut her off mid-sentence.

Seraphina looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Trust me, Sera," Vlad insisted in an assuring tone.

She took a deep breath. Her mana returned to normal, the brightness of her hair fading.

"I trust you," she replied before turning her focus back to the monsters.

Unlike skeletons, the zombies possessed skin, an incredibly tough one. It was like hitting rock.

Vlad had to channel even more mana to behead these monsters, not to mention he had to keep an eye on the arrows being shot by the skeleton archers from behind.

"Senior Hugo, Sera," Vlad called as the vapours of his black Sword Aura turned solid. "What I’m about to do will exhaust me within a minute."

Hugo glanced at him before returning his focus to the monsters ahead of him. "Go for it, junior. We have your back."

"Be safe," Seraphina added, a hint of worry in her voice.

Vlad closed his eyes for a moment while Hugo protected him from the incoming monsters.

The solid Aura around his blade compressed, its size reducing until it reached the same length as the actual sword. It was like obsidian, reflecting Vlad’s crimson eyes on its smooth surface.

If not for the dark flames radiating outward from its smooth surface, it would have appeared as if the sword itself had been forged from obsidian.

Vlad opened his eyes, bolts of red lightning dancing within them. It wasn’t the Foresight Eye. He was using his electro mana to sharpen his vision.

Similar flickers of lightning were visible around his feet, spreading spiderweb-like cracks across the ground beneath him.

The world seemed to slow down around him. He could see the drop of sweat slowly descending from Hugo’s face, the movement of his saber as it cut through the zombie’s head, and every splash of dark blood that emerged from its skin.

The drop of sweat had not even reached the ground when he vanished from his place, his blade reaching straight for Daemoth’s throat.

A trail of crimson lightning and the cleanly beheaded bodies of the undead was left in his wake, the monsters not even realising that they had been cut down.

The blade touched Daemoth’s skin at his neck. Just as it was about to pierce through, Vlad’s eyes met Daemoth’s. He was looking straight at Vlad, a wide smirk dancing on his lips.

Tang!!!

The loud sound of his blade striking Daemoth’s skin, laced in his purple mana, echoed.

The drop of sweat fell to the ground, followed by the bodies of the undead.

Vlad’s sword, laced in one hundred percent Sword Aura, which was capable of injuring even a Rank Six Monster... only managed to draw a bead of blood from Daemoth’s skin.

It had completely failed to pierce through the veil of mana surrounding Daemoth.

"All that for a drop of blood?" Daemoth asked as he grabbed Vlad’s dark sword with his bare hands.

Vlad immediately vanished using Lightning Steps.

At the next moment, he appeared above him, the blade coming down for his head.

Tang!

It struck Daemoth’s hand, which had reached between the blade and his head.

He raised his other hand to grab Vlad, but he vanished again, appearing on the ceiling.

His knees bent, the crimson lightning creating a crater in the ceiling.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" He roared, pumping out his mana, the sclera of his eyes turning black, his hair transforming into a wave of shadows.

[Alert! Mana Reserves rapidly draining!]

[30% Mana remaining!]

[20% Mana remaining!]

[10% Mana remaining!]

[1% Mana Remaining!]

Violent dark flames danced on his blade, widening Daemoth’s eyes. His aura had completely changed, after all.

The smile vanished from Daemoth’s face. The expression of shock was palpable.

Vlad shot downward like a meteor, breaking the sound barrier behind him.

The tip of his blade formed waves outward as it sliced through the air.

Daemoth rapidly formed a series of hand signs.

"Five Ring Necro Spell: Bone Armour!"

Layer after layer of shields made of skulls formed above him.

At the same time, the bones of the chair beneath him shifted, wrapping around his body like bone armour.

Vlad’s blade struck the first shield.

Break!

Second shield!

Break!

Third shield!

Break!

The shattered pieces of bone spread in every direction, none of the shields able to stop the descent of his blade.

Still, by the time he reached Daemoth, his momentum had significantly reduced.

His blade struck Daemoth’s both arms, which he had raised in a cross to defend himself.

The ground beneath them tore apart, dust and debris flying everywhere.

"You are just a D-Rank!" Daemoth shouted, unable to believe what his eyes were witnessing.

Vlad’s pupil trembled, shifting between circular and oval.

"Y-you..." Daemoth gasped. "Y-you aren’t a human."

"AAAAAA!!!" Vlad roared again, the blade piercing through his bone armour.

Sensing the danger, Daemoth instantly redirected his blade toward the ground.

Boom!!!!

The ground exploded in dark mana, creating a deep crater. Daemoth was hurled backward, only stopping after hitting the wall several metres behind him.

In the crater itself, Vlad stood, unconscious.

His eyes had rolled back.

Slowly, he began to fall forward.

Hugo grabbed him before he could fall, picking him up over his shoulder.

He rushed back to where the squad was.

A circular array had already been formed on the ground by Raphael, his injuries completely healed by Alisha, who had woken up just a few minutes ago.

The moment Hugo entered the array, Raphael clapped his hands together.

"Teleport!"

The group vanished from the cave.