Unsealing Emptiness

The Fight.

Even in this overwhelming situation, Ozul did not lose his composure, and calmly analyzed the situation. Running was not an option as eventually, they will catch him.

Ozul’s only advantage in this situation was the factor of surprise and how his Ball of Purity needs neither an incantation nor any hand signs.

Most Mages are required to either chant or weave hand signs to form a Spell. They can only cast the Spells without any chant or hand signs when they are proficient enough.

The more your comprehension towards your Element, the easier and faster you can cast your Spell. When your understanding towards your respective Element reaches a certain level, you can then silently cast your Original Spells.

He could also not use the same strategy as he did with the Viscount since the Sun was still up and running. Ozul needed to be in dark surroundings for it to work. Dark smoke in broad daylight will effortlessly be seen and then countered.

If Ozul had a heart, the heartbeat would’ve been faster than usual. Maybe for the first time in his life, he was a little nervous, although he did not show anything on his face.

‘First, I have to thin out the numbers.’- Ozul thought as he began to plan his next move.

The Rank-5 Mage looked at Ozul, and his eyes radiated mockery. He spoke;

.....

“Kid, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Hand over the box, and we’ll let ya live.”

He had a relaxed posture like the rest of Rank-4 Mages, but the Rank-6 Mage still looked as if he would start casting Spells any second.

Ozul exuded no Mana and appeared only as a kid to other Mages. But the Rank-6 Mage still kept his guard up as his instinct told him to be on guard.

‘It makes no sense for them to send over a kid to retrieve it. Something is wrong...’- The Rank-6 Mage was about to warn others.

But he was a second too late as the three Rank-4 Mages dropped dead on the ground while the Rank-5 Mage got injured!

Ozul took the opportunity when most of them were relaxed around him and threw Ball of Purity needles—instantly killing the Rank-4 Mages, but the Rank-5 Mage managed to survive by erecting a stone wall in the last moment.

‘It’s a pity the Rank-5 survived, but he was never my target.’- Ozul had used the factor of surprise and got rid of the three Rank-4 Mages.

It will not work anymore as the other two would not make the same mistake.

“Idiot!”- The Rank-6 Mage spoke. His voice hinted at his old age. But the tone carried an unbearable pressure to the Rank-5.

The Rank-5 bowed his head in shame. They had lost three of their men, and the fight hadn’t even started yet!

Ozul though did not wait for them and took this chance to strike first. He sent several blades towards Rank-5 Mage.

Both of the masked men used their defensive Spells and evaded the blades. The Rank-6 Mage also used Earth Element.

Ozul changed the blades into needles and made them go around the defensive walls to strike the Mages.

The needles again hit the Rank-5 Mage, but the Rank-6 Mage had cast agility and body strengthening on his body before the battle, so he was safe.

When Ozul saw that some of the needles were stuck on the Rank-5 Mage’s skin, he took this opportunity to turn the needles into smoky black gas and enter inside him!

Not waiting for the Rank-5 Mage to recover, Ozul destroyed him from inside, and the Rank-5 Mage died on the spot!

The Rank-6 Mage who had just stabilized his stance was fuming in anger while his fists clenched and he gritted his teeth.

“Boy! You will pay for this! Do you think I will fall for your traps like them!?”- The old Mage had seen how Ozul’s needles turned into smoke and attacked his insides.

‘I will have to be careful of that. No matter how strong I am from the outside, my organs are still vulnerable.’- The Rank-6 old Mage thought before attacking with his Spell.

Ozul dodged the incoming barrage of rocks and sent his Ball of Purity blades to interrupt the Rank-6 Mage. If a Mage loses his concentration, the Spell they were using will automatically disperse.

‘I have to take the risk, or eventually, I will be defeated.’- Ozul began to think of a plan.

The old Mage used the big stones to block the incoming pitch-black blades. It let Ozul rest for a second before the Mage again directed an attack Spell towards him.

Even if he wanted to, Ozul could not do anything except for dodging. The old Mage did not let the blades near him.

‘If I can’t find an opening, I will have to create one.’- Ozul thought of the time when he created a hole in the wall when he couldn’t find the entrance.

Ozul began to run towards the incoming rocks!

‘Mad man! Does this boy have a death wish!?’- The old Mage thought when he saw that Ozul was risking his life while advancing towards him!

Many of the debris hit Ozul. Wounds started to pile on his skin. But he did not bleed from any of those. Ozul felt the pain from each cut, but he did not stop his approach.

‘Now or never!’- Ozul thought as he gritted his teeth.

The old Mage thought of something and created a giant rock spear and sent it towards Ozul.

At such a close distance, Ozul could not dodge such an attack. But he was prepared for such a situation. He put both of his prosthetic arms in the way of the spear!

They are prosthetics anyway, and if it could save Ozul’s life, he’d be more than happy to sacrifice prosthetic arms made of some rare materials.

However, the force behind the spear was something that Ozul did not account for. But he did not falter under the attack; he willed the blades to attack the old Mage from behind.

The blades would distract the old Mage as Ozul sent a wisp of black smoke towards him. Since the old Mage knew that Ozul would be sent flying, he did not care about him and turned to face the blades.

Just at that moment, the wisp of black smoke entered through his nostrils!

Ozul was sent flying back by the force of the spear. He was hurt; it was excruciating! His internal organs were burning as he fell down.

While with one hand on his stomach, Ozul stood up groggily. The sight would have been a mess if Ozul had blood!

All the attacks were stopped as the atmosphere regained its serenity.

The old Mage’s face was ashen as he stood there petrified. He knew that he had lost.

He had lost from a kid who did not exude even one bit of Mana.

Just with Ozul’s thought, the old Rank-6 Mage staggered and fell down as blood escaped from his mouth.

The single wisp of black smoke had turned into a needle and tore the insides of the old Mage.

Ozul did not stay standing for long and also dropped on the ground to catch his breath.

Several minutes later, Ozul had somewhat recovered and resumed running back to Azmar City.

He did not care about the Rank-6 Core that he could harvest from the now-dead Mage. Because not only it wouldn’t really help him increase his strength much, but he was also exhausted from the fight. The injuries still hurt even though he had no blood.

His pace had reduced because of the injuries, but he could not do anything about it. Ozul did not have a Spatial Ring, and even if he did, he would never drink the potion made from his own essence!

The rest of the journey went without a hitch as Ozul started to see the outskirts of the City. He did not bother to go directly towards the Count’s Estate as it would take like another thirty minutes.

Ozul was exhausted after the fight and the constant running. He ran towards the direction of his house which was not so far away. He would rather not roam around the city looking like a beggar.

He swiftly passed the gate and arrived at the door. He had to wait for a while after knocking before Raven’s head peeked through the door.