(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
Skullius' sockets were lit with [Evil Darkness] as he watched the match. He had to say, he was surprised and intrigued.
The moment he had seen the Mage, the man who had made his Class stand out due to his dressing last night at the gathering, he hadn't been expecting to see good close combat skills from him.
Class Branching was a very common practise, even for Mages. A branch of these Energy Formers even devoted a significant amount of their time into learning different forms of close quarters combat skills, others going as far as to use weapons.
These types of Mages were dubbed combat Mages.
The first Mage Skullius had seen had also been one of these, though he hadn't been able to witness it until his last few days in Inhone City.
It was only during Terian's battle with the Galemonger, as he assisted Unbreakable, that Skullius had witnessed a Living type Genuine Incarnation for the first time and a hard boiled Mage who had extreme fire power as well as the will to get close to a physically superior opponent.
'Could I disguise myself as a combat Mage then?' Skullius had a passing thought before refocusing on the battle. Silrat had once assumed him to be that after all.
Nekst's Aura burst out ferociously as from this, everyone could tell he was going all out. Unlike with Full Body Aura, a Genuine Incarnation could enhance its user's abilities by up to 800% at maximum, with few outliers exceeding this state.
Sadly, Nekst was a First Phase Master, so he couldn't find such a boost as his Incarnation didn't even have a form yet.
However, the boost he got was exactly what he needed.
Tallo paid rapt attention to the glowing red around Nekst that settled closely to his body after the initial uproar.
'You think I'll use my own Incarnation too? Ha. That shallow level of thinking is why you can't beat me,' the Mage thought as with the mana that had just streamed from his body, he conjured something immensely terrifying.
VWOOOOSH!
As if a living furnace had incarnated within the air, the temperatures rapidly rose and swiftly, hundreds of white balls of fire the size of human heads emerged around Tallo!
They spun, spun and spun some more while attaining an eerie mix of purple, blue and white with each rotation that warped the air, creating some freaky mirages!
Almost instantly, Nekst started to sweat as he gulped down, but the steady will in his eyes remained.
While the crowds cheered, he felt as if this might be his last battle.
But no, he would persevere.
"You're probably thinking you can fend off these fireballs since they are basic mana attacks. Hmm. Interesting thought. But..." Tallo said with his eyes showing a menacing gaze. "... are you really confident in your ability to do so?"
Nekst furrowed his brows even more.
What was this man trying to say?
Was he simply trying to scare him?
Wait. No. Maybe...
Nekst cast away doubt and his many other thoughts as he locked his two gauntleted palms, a massive surge of his mana pouring out of him as activated his Family Technique.
It was now, or never.
...!
Tallo felt Nekst's mana colliding against itself over and over again until its form changed and then...
Before he knew it, everything was covered in a dark fog.
No.
Rather than a dark fog, it was like mist that barely reached Tallo's ankles.
It didn't suffocate or cover his view.
It merely danced at his feet while covering the entire platform.
In the distance, Nekst didn't move an inch, remaining in his position as he kept his fingers locked.
The image of Tallo's surprise reflected in his eyes and he could pretty much guess what the Mage was thinking.
This was the reaction of everyone who saw his technique for the first time after all.
He expected it.
Tallo didn't drop his guard but his eyes clearly depicted his confusion about this technique.
'Is there something else or is this not?' Tallo thought. 'His situation hasn't changed at all.'
Of course. Everyone who saw Nekst's technique, would wonder where the punchline at first.
The hundreds of fireballs in the air remained and Tallo was yet to even take this fight seriously. He was still using the basics of what any Mage could do.
The Elemental Patch.
The starter pack for every aspiring Mage who desired to qualify as a basic practitioner for the Class.
Tallo narrowed his eyes and moved his hand which was still raised, holding the fire balls in the air.
No. He didn't.
His hand refused to move.
...!
Tallo frowned.
Wait. His entire body refused to move!
He was stuck in place!
'I can't move an inch!'
There it was! The punch!
Nekst donned a victorious smirk.
"Looks like you figured it out," Nekst said before smothering himself with every bit of Aura he could produce at this moment and launched himself like an arrow right over to Tallo!
...!
The dark mist that covered the platform was the core of his Family Technique, Holy Anchor.
It was simple really.
As long as the dark mist covered the target's shadow, the target would be left unable to move.
This Technique worked on living and non-living things. Even techniques with a form that had a shadow could be subjected to this paralysis, though the difference in strength dictated whether or not the effect would hold and for how long as well.
'Right now, every aspect of him is held in place, even his mana. Still, I don't know how long I can keep him still, so I have to finish him with one full power strike to the head!' Nekst thought as with a single lunge he had reached right in front of Tallo and thundered down a cruel overhead punch brimming with his red Aura!
The uncharacteristically shocked image on Tallo's face which was REFLECTED in Nekst's eye told him that he had already won.
Don't underestimate someone just because they aren't a Mage, you bastard!
The punch connected cleanly. A crisp impact that was amplified by the barrier causing waves of noise!
Tallo's body flew so hard and so fast that it knocked against the thin see-through barriers that covered the platform, rings of air that was broken through showing during the flight!
The Mage then dropped to the ground, blood leaking from his nose and mouth, his eyes rolled.
The fireballs in the air vanished, much to Nekst's relief as after giving it another few seconds of vigilance without anything happening, he became fully convinced that he had really won.
The Elemental Warrior plopped to the ground breathed out. Such a short exchange had taken a lot out of him.
He could still feel the sharp pain from his side which told of how strong his opponent was but thankfully, he had dealt with him before the inevitable loss he would have gone through if strong spells were used.
The picture of a defeated Mage brought down by his hands was...
Not real.
"<Sigh>. He must be taking his victory very well," Tallo said as he watched Nekst who had dropped to the ground, smiling as he looked at a distant, empty spot over the platform.
Everyone was confused, witnesses and contenders alike.
At some point during this fight, Nekst had started acting in a very bizarre way.
He was facing opposite his opponent and flinging a decisive punch at the air all of a sudden.
Now, he had sat down with a relieved expression on his face, as if he had won the battle.
What the heck?
Get up and fight you idiot!
Tallo was standing right behind him the whole time and the threat of hundreds of fireballs was still at large in the air, waiting for his command.
And Nekst... was just sitting there?
Tallo gave a pitiful look at Nekst while the crowd went wild with a mix of emotion.
The Elemental Warrior was under an illusion.
'Most people aren't used to fighting Mages it seems. He really thought that punch to his side was simply me trying to knock him out. Shallow indeed,' Tallo thought as he raised his hand.
He never had the intention of exposing himself to Nekst's Family Technique at all. The moment he had felt the Warrior about to use it, he had activated the stream of mana he had injected into the man's body with that punch he had landed on Nekst's side, allowing for his rare specialty in magecraft to take over.
Everything Nekst had seen from there, was what he wanted to see.
How he expected Tallo to behave after seeing technique.
How he interpreted his technique.
How he believed the match would go.
Unfortunately, the spell Tallo had used didn't allow him to peer into Nekst's thoughts to see what his technique was but that wasn't as big of a con.
Using spells was vastly different from using techniques after all and Tallo had just recently discovered this new facet of magecraft that he was talented in.
"This is why I asked if you were really confident in fending off these," Tallo said as he commanded the hundreds of fireballs in the air to mercilessly bombard Nekst.
What followed was a terrifying series of vibrant explosions that rained over the figure of an oblivious, smiling Nekst who would die without even knowing it.
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