From Kevin, Grayson, and the rest of the Magi's perspective, a pitch-black dome suddenly formed around Adam and engulfed him along with Jeffrey within it.
The moment this orb was formed, the shadows of the Magi that had been restraining Adam in place instantly severed. Following that, the ground underneath them trembled as if there was a massive earthquake.
Kevin, along with the rest of the Magi, coughed out mouthfuls of blood as their shadows were severed. The backlash from the destruction of the runic formation was too much for them to bear.
In an instant, most of them fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
"Young Master!" Grayson, who was sprawled out on the ground right beside the black dome, reached out toward Kevin.
However, he couldn't even move an inch as his mana reserves had completely run dry, and he too was suffering from its recoil. He could only helplessly stare at Kevin's struggles.
Grayson couldn't believe what was happening around him. They had come here with more than thirty Magi, all of this just to deal with a single youth. And yet, as things now stood, two-thirds of them were dead, while the rest were incapacitated.
He shifted his gaze from Kevin and glanced at the black dome that now had cracks all over it. With intense fury and hatred flashing in his eyes, Grayson spat through gritted teeth, "All this… because of you!"
However, all he could do was curse. For without mana, he was no different from an ordinary mortal. Just slightly stronger.
Suddenly, the black dome shattered and dissipated into fine particles of mana. Adam and Jeffrey were finally visible to everyone. Strangely enough, although so much had happened outside the dome, nothing had happened inside of it.
Jeffrey was still standing with his spear stabbed right through Adam's stomach. Well, the only difference was that the latter was no longer restrained by the shadows of the Magi.
"W-W-What the hell is happening?!" Jeffrey was covered in cold sweat, his eyes flashing with lingering fear.
One moment, he was inside a pitch-black space with terror enveloping him from every direction. And the next moment, he was back on the battlefield.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})However, when he looked around, he was flabbergasted. The Magi that were operating the ritual formation were sprawled out on the ground as if they could die any moment. Even Kevin was the same.
As his eyes darted around in panic, he suddenly felt someone grab his hand that was wielding the spear. And the next moment, he was yanked forward!
"Aggghhh!!" Adam grunted in pain as he stabbed Jeffrey's spear further inside his own stomach.
However, because of that, Jeffrey was now within his reach!
When Jeffrey realized what had happened, he was filled with shock and horror. He glanced at Adam who was bathed in blood and looking at him with a sinister grin, and couldn't help but shriek in fear.
He wanted to flee, but Adam had already tightly grabbed onto his hand. He tried to free himself but realized that Adam's grip was like an iron pincer, despite the latter's hand being severely injured, so much so that the bones were visible.
Jeffrey glared at him and roared, "L-Let go of me, you peasant—"
But the next words got stuck in his throat when Adam used his other hand to form a claw and tightly grabbed his face.
Seeing the terror in Jeffrey's eyes, Adam grinned widely.
No words needed to be said, all he needed to do… was kill.
Hand of Doom: Coiling Palm Strike!
BOOM!!
In an instant, Jeffrey's upper body was obliterated into smithereens. All that remained of him were his pair of legs that stood still on the ground.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Hehehe." Adam laughed sinisterly after finally taking Jeffrey's life. "Bastard, I've been waiting a long time for that."
Then, he grabbed the spear that was still pierced into his stomach and forcefully pulled it out. "Aggghhhh!!"
He grimaced in pain as blood spurted out like a waterfall from the hole in his stomach. He fell to one knee as he grabbed onto his wound, trying to stop the immense blood loss.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Kevin dragging his body away from this place. Seeing this, a menacing glint flashed across Adam's eyes and he coldly smiled.
He got to his feet and slowly walked toward Kevin while supporting himself with the spear.
"Oi, who said you could leave?"
When Kevin heard Adam's cold voice, he shuddered. He struggled to get up to his feet and tried his best to run away as far as possible.
His entire plan had failed. If he didn't escape now, he would surely die. Moreover, due to the backlash of the runic formation, the mana inside him was chaotic. Hence, he couldn't even properly gather enough mana to cast a spell.
However, he still had his final contingency plan left. But for that, he needed to distance himself from Adam!
Seeing Kevin fall over and over again as he struggled to run, Adam couldn't help but break into a cold laughter.
"Hehehe, how the mighty have fallen." Adam slowly walked toward Kevin, putting up a menacing front. "Wait for me, ya bastard. Let me slice that neck of yours."
The truth was, Adam too was in a terrible state right now. He had almost run out of mana, and his hands were nearly destroyed. But despite that, through sheer willpower alone he was able to move.
No matter what, he had to kill Kevin and everyone here today. Kevin took priority as the rest of the Magi were unconscious. They could be dealt with later.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})As the distance between him and Kevin shortened, suddenly Adam felt a great weight pushing down on him from behind, pinning him to the ground.
"Young Master, run!" Grayson, who had mustered the last ounce of his strength, had miraculously managed to hold Adam down.
Kevin turned around and was shocked to see Grayson tightly putting his arms around Adam from behind and restraining him. For a moment, Kevin was deeply moved. But the next moment, his eyes flashed with a ruthless glint as he resolved himself.
He hurriedly dragged his injured body away from them.
"You bastard! Let go of me!" Adam struggled to free himself from the man's hold. He was pinned down in such a way that he couldn't even use the spear.
Despite beating the man over and over again, Grayson didn't let go. After struggling for a really long time, Adam finally managed to stab the spear straight through the man's head.
However, it was already too late by then.
In the distance, Kevin suddenly turned around and glanced at the dead Grayson with tearful eyes. The next moment, a scroll appeared in his hands and he unfurled it.
"Old Grayson… I'll remember your sacrifice," he muttered softly.
Then, his eyes turned cold and he looked at Adam. He raised the scroll, infused whatever mana he could into it, and tore it in half.
Kevin roared as tears streamed down his face, "Burn to death, you bastard!"
After the scroll in his hands was infused with mana and torn, the magic circle inscribed on it lit up brightly and came to life. Then, he made a hand gesture.
At the same time, the material components already ingrained on the surface of the magical scroll were immediately sacrificed.
Finally, a large magic circle filled with complex geometrical patterns appeared in front of Kevin, out of which an equally large flaming orb materialized.
And the next moment, it shot toward Adam.
Rank 2 Spell: Fireball!
