' Is he ok? '
Looking at the face that Koschei was making I couldn't but help but have such a thought, no in fact it seemed that everyone else was also thinking the same thing
Normally one would not focus on the well-being of the person who was shooting lightning and suns at them, however in this case I had to genuinely stop for second even with all that was going on.
With countless veins running alongside his face, and a grimace so ugly it would put an ogre to shame, Koschei simply stood there motionlessly without a single sign of his previous presence to be found.
Instead, all I got while looking at was those bottomless black eyes peering into me, and that for some reason had filled me with greater dread than anything else he had shown me till now, because it was then that I realised how much he had truly been holding back, and how close we are actually to being dead
.....
' Pride & Cowardice '
An odd pair but one rather common among the masses. Those very emotions where what defined Koschei as a man, to the fallen genius who reached heights unimaginable to many yet failed to reach the peak.
Koschei was the second strongest of his era, behind the legendary golden warrior who had reached SS+ rank, compared to the power of that man he was nothing
' How could he who was such a genius not grow to become the strongest? '
It was that thought that caused the seeds of cowardice to grow in his heart, for a man who lived with power all his life could never comprehend what it is like to be weak, to him the very being that was the golden warrior brought incomprehensible terror
A personification of death is what he saw him as, something that must never come to be.
.....
It was his pride which I wounded that caused him to end up in such a state, but it was also what held him back from immediately killing me
' After all he hadn't figured out how I teleported yet '
The fact that I had somehow been able to negate the spell he created was what had wounded his pride, but the fact that he hadn't figured it out how I did it shackled from outright killing me, if he kills me now, then there is a chance that he would never be able to figure it out.
Of course most wouldn't care about such things, after all a win is a win, however for someone like Koschei the fact that someone as weak as me had outsmarted him was an inconceivable result that he could never accept
Currently Koschei stayed floating in the air, however that was only a momentary lull, eventually the battle will resume yet again.
Staring yet again at Koschei I could see it clearly, the floating needle stationed at his right. Even with everything that happened he hadn't moved to seal it in any other way, simply believing at his own strength to protect it.
If anything, that truly highlighted what kind of man he was, fixing my posture yet again I raised my voice
" Have you figured it out yet? "
" What? "
With a voice that seemed like nails on a chalkboard Koschei replied at my sudden question, visibly losing patience which second that passed by
" I worked quite hard on this, so I wanted to know your thoughts on it "
As my words registered to him, I immediately teleported evading the ice spear he had sent my way.
' Still holding back '
If Koschei truly intended to kill me then he would have cast a fire ball large enough to envelop me even after my teleportation, but he didn't, instead all I got was a single ice spear which while is still deadly for me, is also rather easy to evade.
This is all because he couldn't answer my question, realizing he couldn't answer instinctively made him attack in such a way so he could observe me once again.
' Still, he won't be able to understand it for now '
Albert was easily able to figure it out back when I had first used mana manipulation, however that was while I was using Darkness coating, spotting the difference especially with my rudimentary manipulation at the time was nothing but Childs play for someone as strong as him.
Compared to how I was at the beginning, the way I have come to use my mana manipulation is unlike anything this world has ever seen.
It is said when someone is born the world breathes life in them, in this world it did much more than that, the mana that naturally inhibits this world intertwined with lifeforce creating a bridge that connects the soul and body.
The natural mana which is taken from the air is decomposed in the body and used as fuel for the pure mana in the body so that it can continue living, however in cases where natural mana is in excess then the chance to create a mana core presents itself.
Those mana reserves are located at the heart and when used are imprinted with the pure mana of its wielder to identify its owner.
That added element made it possible humans to do the unthinkable, harnessing natures mana and adding them to their own pure mana, they created spells and abilities.
To manipulate pure mana one had to be at least B-rank to even sense it, and S-rank to begin to wield it, such overbearing demands made it so it could never be fully utilised properly, only acting as a booster of sorts.
The way I use mana manipulation is one pf a kind in this world.
If it had been the me from before he would have figured it out immediately, but not anymore, the familiarity and oddity caused by the mixture last night caused me to reach an entirely new level, opening an influx of new insights into what mana manipulation could truly do, though I knew it was only the surface
It won't be for long however it should keep him from figuring it out for now and help me with understanding more about the limits of mana manipulation.
Watching his furrowed eyes which were filled with confusion I knew I had him locked for the time being, no more than that I had made him wary.
" You... How ae you are doing that??? "
' It should work now '
I had teleported around five times now, I could continue for a while but the risk of him figuring it out was too heavy, and at this point it should work after all as much as he was prideful, he was also a coward
" Should we go to the next stage? "
" What? "
I pointed at the sky while speaking directly to Koschei.
" This is a gift from my ancestors "
Suddenly the ground shook and while we couldn't see it from inside the magic barrier he had put us in, a giant magic seal was being put together right above us
" What is that? "
To Koschei, the only one capable of observing it, the blue seal must have looked like an incomprehensible well of mana
" Do you believe you could actually power something like that? "
Responding to him with a smile I restated my previous words
" Is it because you are old or did you already forget?
This is a gift from all the previous heads powered for generations on end. A magic that could even destroy the soul
I truly hope to see if you could survive even this "
" You'll die with me... "
" I expect a warm welcome in hell "
Hearing my words the Koschei face crumbled as he looked upon the finished seal, and without a second thought teleported the box beside him far away
A blue flash escaped from the seal, and he stood there waiting for the pulverizing magic but it never came
It was never meant to fire anything since the beginning, just a hoax specifically created to trick him into running away, made possible with Merlins help over the past two weeks
' I simply told him to make an empty cannon to scare off enemies '
Looking around with a confused expression Koschei's eyes landed on me who was sporting a rather disgusting smile
" You ran away "
" Have you gone blind or have you simply lost it, I am standing right here am I not? "
Koschei who had replied in a heated tone, seemed to have realised what had happened alongside the trick I had played not realising he had already lost
He was too prideful to teleport completely unable to make himself runaway from those he deemed weaker believing that staying here physically would mean something, however he misunderstood my intentions, after all what is in front me is simply a shallow shell not the real Koschei
I had made gamble trusting in both his pride and cowardice to reach this exact moment and I won
" No, you ran away "
As I said this the light in Koschei's eyes disappeared as he fell rapidly and crashed onto the ground, the suffocating pressure, the barrier, everything disappeared alongside it.
Watching the now dead body of Koschei on the ground I let out a deep breath
" Took you long enough, Albert "