In the eyes of the onlooker, Damien was like a ray of sunlight as he closed the gap between him and the crimson mages. He was moving so fast that not even their eyes could keep up with him.
He left behind countless traces as he flashed up to the crimson mages.
While witnessing his blurry figure drawing closer and closer to them, their twisted expression contorted even more. They could barely follow his movement. They wavered initially but made the same decision after a moment as if they shared the same mind.
Their eyes showed their intention. They weren't going to let him claim their heads without a proper fight.
They used all kinds of dirty methods to take him down him, but their forbidden spells and hidden weapons only found his afterimages, popping the illusions like a bubble. Not a single one of their attacks succeeded in even brushing past him, much less piercing him.
While moving through them, he crushed the spells and poisonous needles that would have otherwise harmed his teacher and the people beside him. His movements were precise and fast, like a predator latching onto its prey, and he accurately struck them while they were still in mid-air, smashing them into smithereens.
The crimson mages failed to slow him down even though they were working together. They had launched a rain of attacks at him, but he walked through it like he was taking a stroll in the park and attacked them.
"Extreme Cold."
He stopped in front of them and threw out a palm. A gust of extremely cold wind crashed on them like an avalanche, throwing them off their feet, plastering them into the ground against their will, and destroying their disguise. It was so cold that a layer of ice formed on their rotting flesh that was exposed for all to see.
Damien subdued almost the entire group of crimson mages by using the technique that had been taught to him by his mother and divine power.
Only Odon managed to smash it with a swing of his arm, standing proudly before Damien.
"So even the signature move of the ice maiden has been taught to you. It looks like she values you a lot. When she used it, an entire valley transformed into a world of ice, and countless undead froze up, becoming blocks of ice. Yours is so weak in comparison to hers. You must be running low on your energy reserve and divine power. I might still have a fighting chance." Odon said, smiling slightly.
"Are you their leader?" Damien asked.
Odon replied, "Isn't it obvious?"
"Come." Damien raised his hand, beckoning him to attack by moving it back and forth. "I will take care of you first."
"Arrogant."
Odon looked like a very old and frail skeleton that would crumble at the slightest touch, but he caught everyone off guard by showing that he was as fast as Damien. They were like rays of light in the eyes of the onlookers. Each time they clashed, a thunderous sound would ring out, and a shockwave would be produced.
Odon dared to fight Damien because he thought he was running out of divine power and was not as strong as he used to be. He became certain of this since he was fighting him on equal terms, and his expression brightened up, a smile forming on his face.
What he didn't know was that this was all an illusion created by Damien.
He vowed to break the smile on his face in less than 30 seconds.
They weren't equal, to begin with.
Damien was born with immense power, while Odon had to give up his humanity and train for 150 years to reach where he is today.
Odon suddenly started recounting his past in the middle of the battle.
"I came from a noble family, one that had worked with and for the Sumerian royal family for generations. Being born into a noble family, especially one everyone wants to lick, is a fortune. But it was my biggest misfortune."
"I was born to a lowly concubine."
"My father only had two sons, but everything was given to my eldest brother because he was born to the main wife, a royal princess of the Sumerian family."
"She treated me like a criminal for no reason. She didn't let me play with the kids of the noble families, and she didn't let me get an education. Not to mention, whenever she was in a foul mood, she would lock me up in a woodshed and starve me despite my mother pleading with her to let me go."
"It didn't matter."
"I kept to myself, not seeking trouble, silently using the books my brother had thrown away to study."
"Eventually, I became better than him."
"I was planning to become a court official and break ties with my family and start a new life with my mother."
"My father was killed before the examination could take place."
"My stepmother went mad and killed my mother and tried to kill me too, exclaiming that no one but her has the right to give birth to a son for her husband. You know all that crazy shit. She was probably doing that because my father left a portion of his wealth for mother and me in his will, but she couldn't have that and wanted it all for himself."
"No one helped us, mother and son, watching the drama unfold with indifferent eyes. Some even had the audacity to laugh at me when my mother was beheaded in front of my eyes, and I was stabbed."
"They dumped us in the wilderness behind the Manor so that some wild beast would feast on us."
"She didn't do a good job at killing me."
"Before my breath could stop, Death heard my prayers, and its messenger extended its hands towards her, guiding me towards a new life. I didn't forsake my humanity because I was crazy. I did it for the sake of revenge and to avenge my mother.
