Floating next to Asta, he took a brief pause as Asta made certain they wouldn't be blown out of the air.
"That shit was a lot better than I thought.", Lucas remarked, rotating his shoulder with a painful crack. His tone suggested satisfaction, though it was dulled by physical strain.
"Well, it was still an array of mine.", Asta felt the need to slightly lift his chin as this array was one he was proud of. The array was a mix of his own runes and the ones that Lucas used to perform a Life Drain technique and his own personal rune to bring down the willpower of the victims who were stupid enough to stay on the array.
Combining the two, the array was capable of harnessing a ton of energy, but neither Lucas nor Asta absorbed it, since that took some time. Just being able to remove a few mages and was more than enough.
"I'll be glad to remind ya that it's my runes that did it. Without it, you'd have a nice pattern of dirt."
"Oh please, you wouldn't have been able to execute it without me, and without my calculations, you'd have blown yourself up mid-cast. Besides, we don't have time for these ridiculous talks. Rather, have you figured out what to do next?"
Asta wasn't joking around. Controlling the battlefield like he had been, took its toll. His mind was running overtime as he barely kept up with Lucas's speed while also keeping track of all the spells being shot around them. To calculate all the different variables in real time, Asta was a genius, but he didn't have infinite willpower.
Even now, Asta was doing everything he could to cut corners in order to save the smallest amount of mana or willpower. He wasn't using flight, he was simply standing on one of the walls Lucas conjured.
"Don't have to tell me, I'm starting to lose most of my stamina, and my body is starting to go numb from all these bullshit attacks.", while Lucas was able to enjoy a highly durable body, it also brought its consequences. Being pummeled by attacks over and over, his body was slowly starting to break down. Even with the high defense, a plate of metal will bend after enough hits.
"Your flying is terrible, so please don't rush out too much."
"Then how do you suppose we get rid of these bastards?", while they had killed a considerable amount, there were still plenty of mages around them.
"Start using your magic as well. Give me some attacks."
"Yeah, thought so.", being so high up, Lucas noticed the sun was about to go completely down. "Ah, looks like we'll be relieved soon, hahaha! I can't wait."
Lucas waved his hand as a bunch of balls made from pure mana appeared. Asta scanned them and instantly realized what Lucas had planned. He couldn't help but laugh at how quick-witted Lucas truly was. Battle sense was a coveted aptitude, and whether naturally gifted or artificially learned, Lucas was incredible in that field.
Taking control of the balls, Asta positioned them around the battlefield, as he added his own flare. Granting the spheres additional details, they all started to grow small spikes, which couldn't do much on their own, but when flung across the sky, just their initial impact broke bones.
Flying in the air consumed a lot of energy, and without the arrays to replenish it, they were disadvantageously set up. Against all the other mages, they alone stood little to no chance in the air, especially with Lucas's lack of control.
Being in such an open space, spells started to fly in all directions. Lucas didn't even hold back his Dark Beam as he tried to snuff out some of the more troublesome mages in an instant. Sadly, it only resulted in a few casualties and a dip in his energy reserves.
The biggest damage was done by Asta controlling the spiked balls of pure mana. As they were flung around the battlefield, it was hard to keep track of them. Some mages used their willpower to see them at all times, but couldn't focus on so many things at once.
It was then that they realized how fearsome Asta truly was. He calculated everyone's movements as well as the trajectory of all spells while positioning himself in their blind spot at all times. It truly struck fear in most of the other mages, as a bunch of spiked balls reached their opponent before blasting open. The attack itself was mostly dampened by the shields the mages had conjured, but the moment the balls exploded open everything changed.
One of the mages had successfully blocked the attack and grabbed the ball in his hand, to remove Asta's willpower from it, but the moment he touched it, the ball exploded into a freezing bomb. Half his body was covered in ice as he could feel hypothermia set in. This in and of itself was a troublesome attack, but that wasn't what Lucas was going for as ice could quickly be dealt with.
Having his own experience in keeping the cold at bay by manipulating the temperature inside himself, he predicted most mages would have some kind of spell to save them from the cold or heat in times of trouble. So he wasn't even going to try exploiting that angle.
No, his plan was way more dastardly. The moment their body froze, the magicules inside also started to slow down. Most flight spells were focussed on the body, meaning if the magicules slowed down, their flight would follow suit.
Some mages even fell out of the sky due to them losing control over their magic in the sudden panic. Once their bodies reached the ground, they splattered into pieces. Lucas never expected to have such an impact, but was glad Asta was the one directing the balls' movement.
Thanks to Asta's complete overview of the battlefield, and the walls Lucas conjured for him, he was able to keep their own wounds to a minimum, but that all changed when their captain started to join the fight seriously.
Valric had full control over his flight, and as an expert it didn't take long before he figured out their weakness. 'The brute can't fly. As long as he's distracted, we can take out the perfectionist. But that means someone will have to hold him off.'
Thinking it through as he fired off multiple spells, he steeled his resolve. "So be it.", Valric wasn't blessed with an innate gift or some kind of special weapon or tool. All he had was himself, and that was more than enough.
Conjuring up his personal spell, his hands slowly turned green. Small little green crystals started to form on his skin. The crystals spread over his entire body, turning him into a spiky golem of sorts.
Covered in protective crystals, Varlic felt no more fear. Rushing into battle, he flew towards Lucas, instantly pushing him back.
"You're coming with me!", locking hands, Varlic used his strength to force Lucas back as much as he could.
It didn't take a genius to figure what his intentions were, trying to isolate Lucas from the battlefield was all they really needed to close in on Asta.
"I'm sorry, you ugly bastard, but I'm not interested!", pulling Valric towards him, Lucas brought his feet to Valric's chest, kicking him away. The force of which shouldn't be underestimated. Lucas had gone through the final trial and boosted himself with muscle strengthening.
Even if Valric had a protective layer of crystal covering his body, he could feel the imprint of Lucas's feet on his stomach. Still, he had gone through worse, so he instantly brought his speed back up to attack Lucas again.
Due to his own inability to fly correctly, Valric exploited the hell out of it. Flying underneath him to hit him from behind, making swift turns to hit his sides, and plenty of other tactics, which others would look down upon.
Exchanging punches multiple times, Lucas got hit more than he could dish out. "C'mon you fuck, fight me fairly.", Lucas yelled out as Valric sped up towards him again.
Right as he was about to attack Lucas from behind, he could feel the convergence of a large amount of mana, promptly changing his direction. Yet the moment he did so, his instincts screamed again as Lucas suddenly appeared in front of him, blasting him downwards.
Lucas started to get a grasp on Valric's tactics, and while his control over flight was abysmal, it didn't matter as long as he could predict Valric's flight pattern. The moment he figured out how Valric dodged attacks, he created an opening for himself.
"Just fucking die.", shooting out a Dark Beam, Valric had no way of escaping, the beam tore a hole into anything it touched. Yet when the dust settled, Valric got up, not even a single scratch on his armor.
Lucas's eyes widened as he stared at the man. "Handling a Dark Beam so easily? You've got to be fuckin kidding me."
'The crystal is high in mana density, that's probably what stopped it.'
"Like I need you to tell me that.", Lucas was contemplating on how to fight against him. He only had a few more attacks more devastating than the Dark Beam, but using those required a ton of energy, willpower and his aura, which he wasn't planning on using here. Debating it internally, he came to a conclusion.
'Just do it like this.'
"Fine."
Turning around, he flew to Asta's side as best he could, even if he had to dash through multiple spells to get to him. Valric was also on his case, firing off tiny crystals that seemed to come from his hands or arms.
Due to the high density of mana, they cut right into his flesh. Lucas didn't heal those wounds, as they were mostly superficial. Reaching Asta's side, he almost rammed into him since he couldn't slow his speed accordingly.
"What are you doing, you madman?!", Asta almost yelled out. His mind was under massive strain, so any unwelcome frustrations had to be voiced. "I'm already at my wits end, all the walls have basically collapsed. I'm using debris here!"
"Shut it.", waving his hand, Lucas consumed a ton of his mana, produced dozens of walls at the cost of his own energy reserves.
As he did so, his eyes caught something in the distance. The state of the village beyond the hill entered his eyes. 'If they followed our instructions, they should arrive at the climax now.'
"Just a bit more."
"I know, but this is starting to drain my resources, my willpower is almost out.", while extremely difficult to measure, willpower was a powerful and useful tool. Even if willpower was easily obtained through determination and pure desire or will, it could also run out the moment you feel lost. Since they were in a constant stalemate, with the duo only being able to injure some of the other mages, Asta was having a rough go of it.
"Then let's go back down, that crystal freak is going to charge at me again. Can you bring me close to another mage, doesn't matter which."
"If that's all, just give me a second, just keep the captain away from me."
"Got it.", bracing himself for impact, Valric was already on them. Shoulder bashing Lucas through the air, he had immense trouble staying upright. Valric quickly took advantage of him, showering him in shards of crystal, covering Lucas in scratches.
'The crystals have grown in size, he's using up all his mana.'
"The fucker.", Lucas had trouble navigating his location as spells shot at him from all around. Shielding himself was the best he could do at the moment when suddenly he felt the walls of mana on his back fling him across the sky towards one of the mages.
Flying into a random mage, Lucas didn't hold back as he reached for his throat and gripped it so tightly the man's head fell off. Quickly plunging his hand in the mage's stomach he turned around to see Valric charge straight at him.
"Hey, fucker, catch!", throwing the head of the deceased mage at the man, Valric caught it without any problems. Despite his utilitarian approach to things, he didn't want to neglect the head of his comrade. The dead fish eyes scarred his heart, the open mouth and the warmth still present in the head, made him infuriated.
A small crystal was present in the mouth of the head, it was then that Valric upped his defenses as much as possible. The crystal looked fine until a single crack appeared and filled the air with a massive magic explosion.
Lucas had already taken a sharp dive downwards, not with his flight, he just deactivated the spell, letting gravity do the work for him. Only at the end did he activate it to soften his fall. Asta had already seen what Lucas had done through his willpower, he was the first one to reach the ground.
Grouping up, Asta activated the array on the ground. It held the energy of a few mages that were sucked dry. They never used that energy, and the enemies didn't bother destroying it when they dragged the fight skywards.
Reinvigorating themselves a bit, they stood back to back again. As the remaining mages surrounded them. The ones who were left all deactivated their flight as they fought on even ground. Looking battered and tired, none of the mages were in their best state, most looked ravished at best.
A sudden boom occurred, Valric had landed on the ground. His crystal-like body had suffered terrible damage, and the lack of instant repair showed that his energy reserves were also low.
"You fuckers are going to die here. I promise you that!", Valric's rage seethed out of his body. They were only with around 20 left, all the others had died. His squadron had lost 30 men to these two monsters, they had to die.
Lucas was covered in wounds and scratches he didn't bother to heal. Stray attacks had done a number on his body, yet he still stood strong. Pulling out some of the crystals shards, he threw them on the ground. All their traps and arrays were gone, yet their cores weren't empty yet.
"You good for another round?"