"Merlin..."
"You never mentioned this..."
Zunar inwardly cursed as he struggled simply to remain standing. His knees trembled violently, and every instinct screamed at him to run. The invisible pressure crushing the battlefield wasn't merely weighing upon his body. It was pressing against his mana, against his thoughts, and against his very will to fight.
'This isn't normal... This isn't even close to the information Merlin gave me.
All he had been told was simple: approach the girl, take Dante's appearance, and lure her to the designated location. That was all.'
Instead, he found himself standing before what felt less like a Legendary Being and more like a natural disaster wearing the face of an impossibly beautiful woman.
She believed me...
For a few moments, she genuinely believed I was Dante...
His pupils trembled.
The transformation worked. I did everything correctly. The appearance. The voice. Even his mannerisms. So what... what exposed me?
His skill was one of the Wizard Race's greatest treasures: Grimoire of False Being.
Unlike ordinary Grimoires that stored countless spells, his contained only one. A single, terrifying ability. If he successfully convinced someone that he truly was another individual, he could reproduce roughly seventy percent of that person's abilities. Not merely their appearance. Not merely their mana. Their actual combat abilities.
That was why Merlin wanted Dante investigated.
If Zunar had succeeded, he would've walked away possessing seventy percent of Dante's power.
Instead, he had barely survived two minutes.
And now, he wasn't certain he would survive another ten seconds.
'How...? How did she know?
Merlin... did you deliberately send me to die?
No.'
His thoughts immediately rejected the possibility.
'She believed me. For a moment... she truly believed.
Which means... I made a mistake afterward.
But what...?'
Vexion stopped walking. Her breathing remained uneven, and her crimson eyes never left him.
Slowly, Zunar released the transformation. The image of Dante melted away, revealing a thin young wizard draped in elegant blue robes embroidered with silver runes. His breathing was ragged, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth despite not having been struck again.
Merely standing inside her domain was injuring him.
He forced himself to speak.
"My..."
"...my name is Zunar."
"I apologize."
"I have no intention of becoming your enemy. If you'll simply calm down—"
There was no response.
"...Please listen. I have two older brothers. They're both Mythical Beings. They're close friends of Merlin. If you kill me..."
"They'll—"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
His sentence never finished.
The mountain behind him exploded, no—he exploded into it.
Vexion's fist had already connected. The impact launched him so violently that his body vanished from sight before the shockwave caught up. Several entire cliff faces collapsed, and stone avalanches thundered down the mountainside. Dust swallowed everything.
Inside the collapsing mountain, Zunar's thoughts became pure panic.
'She's not listening! She isn't listening at all!'
He slammed his palm against his Grimoire.
"Lightning Body!"
Blue lightning erupted across his limbs, and his movement speed multiplied instantly. Just as Vexion's second punch shattered the mountain where he had landed, he barely managed to escape.
The strike continued through solid rock.
The mountain split apart.
For one terrifying moment, daylight poured through the enormous scar she had punched straight through it.
Zunar immediately opened another page.
"Bolt!"
A pillar of blue lightning descended from the heavens. The mountain peak detonated beneath its impact. Stone vaporized, trees disappeared, and the explosion echoed for kilometers.
Then...
Nothing.
"...Huh?"
Where—
A hand grabbed his face.
It had simply appeared.
Before his brain even registered her movement, Vexion was already looking directly into his eyes. Her expression remained empty. Only rage existed within those crimson pupils.
Then she punched.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
His jaw shattered. His vision turned white, and he flew backward so quickly that the surrounding air whistled. Before he could regain control, something invisible caught him.
His body stopped mid-air.
Then it violently reversed direction.
Monarch's Decree.
He was dragged back toward her like prey caught on an invisible chain.
No—!
He frantically turned another page.
"Thunder Spear!"
Nothing happened.
His eyes widened. The spell formed, then collapsed.
"...Suppressed?"
His mana refused to circulate properly. Every spell required more concentration, more mana, and more time. Malevolent Reign was crushing the very foundation of his magic.
His Grimoire...Was betraying him.
Another punch landed.
BOOOOOOOM!!
His ribs folded inward, and blood sprayed from his mouth. Another invisible force hurled him sideways. Another punch followed, then another, and another.
He became little more than a ragdoll.
Each time he tried to regain his balance, an invisible force altered his trajectory. Every escape route, every movement, every spell had already been taken from him.
He slammed another page open.
"Lock—"
The spell completed. Invisible restraints briefly wrapped around Vexion.
For exactly one heartbeat.
Then they shattered like thin glass.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Her fist buried itself into his face. His nose disappeared, his teeth exploded from his mouth, and his skull cracked. His thoughts dissolved into pain as the mountain below rushed toward him.
Or rather...
He was forced toward it.
Monarch's Decree slammed him downward with terrifying force. The earth erupted, and an enormous crater spread beneath him.
He barely remained conscious. His healing struggled desperately to repair his shattered body, but it was too slow. Far too slow.
Her skill suppression was weakening even that.
Then...She landed.
One foot, directly upon his chest.
CRACK!!
His ribs collapsed. Several pierced straight through his lungs.
Vexion looked down at him. Her voice trembled, from hatred.
"You..."
"...wore..."
"...his..."
"...face."
Every word increased the pressure surrounding them. The crater deepened, and the earth continued sinking.
She slowly raised her leg. Higher. Higher, until her heel pointed toward the sky.
"You..."
"...dared..."
"...touch..."
"...me..."
"...as though..."
"...you..."
"...were..."
"...Master."
Her heel descended.
CRUUUUUNCH!!
Half his skull disappeared into the rock beneath him. Blood painted the crater crimson.
The world spun, and darkness crept across his vision. His fingers twitched weakly.
One final page, just one more page, one final spell.
His hand barely completed the gesture.