There was around a five-step gap between Quinn and me.
Swoosh—!
And in a split second, the necromancer covered that distance and stood in front of me.
"Pheo– khuek!!"
Before I could activate my armor, Quinn grabbed my neck and started applying pressure to his grip, slowly choking the air out of me.
"Nah," he said. "I can't let you use that armor of yours. It's bothersome."
With his other hand, he placed the blade of his dagger on my throat. "If you dare utter a word and try to summon your armor, I'll slit your throat."
Normally, I would try to call it a bluff, but right now, the glint of evil madness in his eyes assured me that Quinn was actually ready to kill me.
Raising my hands, I slowly nodded my head and displayed my surrender.
"Good," he replied. "I called you here to get a hint about how Kai knew about Shiya. But from the look on your face earlier, it seems like you also don't know that."
"I don't," I slowly spoke, barely shaking my head under Quinn's crippling grip.
"Is it possible that you two could have the same informant?" He asked.
Of course it's not possible.
The information I have on this world and this maniac is taken from a novel.
How in the hell would Kai have the same informant as me then?!
"Maybe?" I shrugged. "I really don't know."
That wasn't even a lie. I genuinely don't know how Kai got this information.
"Fine," he nodded in answer. "You are useless to me. But if I present you to Kai, he will be delighted."
As I thought.
From the way he was talking, I don't think Quinn has told Kai about my identity yet.
Which means I still have time to shut him up.
"Remember, whatever happens after now is on you," Quinn looked at me. A flicker of fear again flashed in his eyes. "He will break you."
"Why are you so scared of him and not me? Is he really that strong? Is he really that smart? Smarter than me? Well, I guess I'll know that soon enough. But before that, for now, let's make one thing clear. You need to fear me, not him, Quinn." I let out a scoff before loudly yelling out, "Mana Burst!"
Quinn widened his eyes, surprised that despite his clear warning, I was risking attacking him.
Suddenly, tendrils of azure energy appeared around the area before the necromancer could react.
Swish—!!
A bright, blinding light flashed and a loud thunderous sound followed before a huge azure explosion occurred with Quinn and me at the epicenter.
BOOM—!!!!
The force of the blast hurled the necromancer several meters back, causing him to hit the ground hard. After rolling a few times, he quickly regained his footing by getting up on his feet.
As the dust settled, the ground beneath me showed visible cracks and a huge crater had been dug out.
I stood tall in the center of the crater, staring intently at Quinn. I had chosen to use my Gift instead of my armor.
Why?
Because my armor was a relic that would take at least a few seconds to activate.
My Gift, on the other hand, could be cast almost instantly, which was faster than even those who could use silent chanting to cast spells.
"Arghh!" groaning, Quinn took out another dagger from the belt on his waist and held it in a reverse grip. "You're done!"
"Phoenix's Embra—!"
Before I could summon my armor, one of the shadow slaves of Quinn – a giant black mantis made entirely of darkness – lunged at me with its scythes swinging down on me.
"Tsk!"
Clicking my tongue in frustration, I swirled to my right to dodge the incoming attack.
Thwaam—!
The scythe of the giant mantis hit the spot where I was standing as I jumped a few steps back away from the mantis to safety.
Kwuiish—!
But to my surprise, a sharp sound akin to a blade cutting into the air behind me fell in my ears.
Spurt—!
Before I could process what was happening or determine my next move, a searing pain coursed through my body.
Something had pierced my back.
"Arghh!" as a muffled cry of pain escaped my lips, I realized that the necromancer had already snuck up on me and plunged his dagger into my back.
But when??
When did he sneak up on me?! I couldn't even see his movements!
Was he that fast?!
Right now, with no sedatives present in his system to impede his mind and body movements, Quinn was coming at me with all his strength.
"Ahh!" Quinn murmured with ecstasy. "I've been anticipating this sensation. The feeling of slicing through your flesh and spilling your blood! You see now? You're not as invincible as you thought!"
Despite the pain throbbing through my body, I clenched my teeth in frustration and acted quickly.
Click—!
Cling—!!
With two quick flicks of my right-hand wrist, a hidden blade sprang out from under my sleeve.
Quinn, who had already anticipated my move, twisted his blade, which was still plunged into my back, before pulling it out and stepping back.
"Arghhha!" I cried out in agony but didn't let the pain stop me. Because if I stop here, then I'm as good as dead anyway.
I swiftly twirled to my left to turn around.
Using the momentum I gained from the spin to thrust my right hand forward at Quinn, I aimed to impale the necromancer in the chest with my now-not-so-hidden blade.
But I wasn't quick enough.
Quinn lifted up his dagger and blocked my hidden blade with no effort at all.
Clang—!
Sparks flew and a sharp sound of metal clashing against metal resounded through the area.
I was about to try to summon my armor again, however…
Thwack—!
"Khuuaaa!"
Before I could do so, a mana-enforced kick landed flat on my stomach. Air gushed out of my lungs and I fell to my knees while violently coughing up blood.
Weakly, I raised my hands and faced my palm at the black-haired boy.
"Ignis Ratoe–!!"
Thwack—!!
I tried chanting the fireball spell but Quinn quickly sped up to me and landed a roundhouse kick at my chin, making me sideways on the ground.
"Arghh…"
From the force of the kick landing on my chin, I momentarily blacked out. Vision slowly returned, but I had no strength in me to get up.
Damn it, he was strong. I didn't even get the chance to fight back.
"You see now?" a cold voice rang in my ears as I saw Quinn walking to me through the bottle glass blur in my eyes.
"This is the difference between you and you," Quinn said, squatting down. He grabbed me by the hair and lifted my head up to match his gaze.
I tried to break free but I still hadn't recovered enough to move yet.
"You may be smart, but you can't defeat strength with intelligence," he spat with a snarl. "You can't defeat me in a fair fight. You should have brought someone to help you. But I guess you never expected this meeting to be a trap, huh? You became overconfident after beating me with your cheap tricks.
"This is the difference between Kai and you. He stays two steps ahead of everyone all the time! When you think you have won, it only turns out to be something he had planned all along. That's why he's dangerous, and you are not. That's why I'm cautious of him and not you!"
Thwack—!
Finishing what he had to say, Quinn thrashed a fist into my face. "Now, stay down until I call Kai–"
Cutting him off, I weakly parted my lips and let out a trembling voice, "Y-You're right. I should've brought someone to help me. I can't defeat you alone. This meeting was a trap… Why didn't I think of this?"
Quinn frowned as he looked at me. He was about to say something when…
Swooosh—!
"Huh?!"
Thruck—!!
"Arghhh!"
Suddenly a glowing white arrow whistled through the air and stabbed Quinn in the back.
"Oh, wait…" my lips curled up into a smirk, my voice slowly regaining more clarity and strength returning to my body as I said, "I did think of this!"
Letting go of my hair, Quinn straightened his body and turned around to look at the person who shot that arrow.
"Tsk."
In the distance, he saw a black-haired girl with forest green eyes disdainfully matching his gaze.
With an irritated look in his eyes, Quinn took out the arrow on his back and broke it.
Of course, he didn't fail to notice that it was the very same light-enchanted arrow that Lucas used in the battle against him.
It was then he realized I had a plan all along. I knew this was a trap.
Quickly the girl nocked another arrow on her bow and stretched the bowstring back in an arc.
"Pointless!" Quinn yelled as Amelia shot another arrow at him.
Swoosh—!
The arrow traveled through the air and reached Quinn in an instant but the necromancer merely swung his dagger and broke the mana-infused arrow with no effort at all.
"Get her!" Quinn yelled, and all his shadow creatures quickly started rushing at Amelia.
But just then, he sensed someone behind him.
He turned around only to see me up on my feet already. "Tsk, just stay down!"
"Now you see how frustrating it is?!" I replied and summoned a bow along with my last remaining [Null Attribute Light Arrow].
"Fine then," Quinn cocked his head slightly and an ominous aura suddenly enveloped his body. Seeing that, I quickly readied to shoot my arrow too.
My [Null Attribute Light Arrow] can dispel a low-level dark magic spell.
It can also deal a great amount of damage to someone with a dark elemental affinity.
Since Quinn was already hit by one of those earlier, I knew he would be in a lot of pain right now.
But I also know I can't hit him with this arrow head-on like this. He's too fast for that. If only I could stop him for even a split second.
"Heh," a bloody smirk formed on my face.
Quinn bent his knees slightly and took a low stance. To defeat me, all he has to do is dodge my arrow once and close the distance.
After that, I would be finished.
A glint of madness flashed in my eyes and I loosened the grip on my bowstring.
Time seemed to have slowed down as my arrow shot forward in slow motion.
Quinn tensed his calf muscles, about to move to the side to dodge my arrow.
Right at that moment, I yelled out, "Activate!"
As if waiting for that cue, five tiny orbs of light lit up from below the ground under Quinn's feet in a circle.
Quinn's eyes widened in horror as he recalled something like this happening before.
Quish—!!
Thun—!!
A bright light blanketed Quinn's vision, blinding him for a split second and rendering him stunned, unable to move.
Sprut—!
And that was all the time I needed for my glowing white arrow to reach him, stabbing him directly in the chest.
