The people who were watching the projection couldn't see anything inside the barrier because of the black mist that was blocking their vision.
It was a disappointment because they were looking forward to it but they couldn't do anything. They were just watching through the projection so their senses couldn't detect what's happening inside the barrier.
Well, if they were personally watching it maybe they could see what's inside using their powerful senses. Unfortunately, the projection didn't have powerful senses like them.
It couldn't even copy the sounds of the battle. All they could watch was the live video.
"What do you think will happen, Bargan?" Azrim, the Principal of the Ladro Institute, asked Bargan.
"Souta will defeat them," Bargan replied to him.
"All those B-ranks? You're telling me that he could defeat them." Azrim raised his eyebrows at Bargan's words.
"Souta has always been like this. He's fighting opponents and his chances of winning are low but you know what happened in the end? He always prevails in the end." Bargan paused for a moment before he added, "He will not win by fighting them head-on so he had to create a situation where he could defeat them and that's what's happening inside that barrier."
"You really know your student." Azrim smiled as he looked at the projection.
"Yeah, I'm always observing them so that I could know what style fitted them the most. Just because they are in a mage class doesn't mean they have to become a textbook mage. They have to master a style that fitted them to increase their combat prowess to a higher level." Bargan said to him. What he wanted the most was to help his students increase their power and unlock their hidden potential so that they could become great figures in the future.
"You're serious about your job. Is it because of that?" Azrim said as he glanced at Bargan's expression.
Bargan didn't say anything as he simply watched the projection.
...
"Hmm...? That swordsman and shielder are pretty strong." Souta muttered as he saw them handled that [Shadow Bind] that could hold a third evolution monster for a few seconds.
'They are stronger than you physically. But in terms of spells, you are still stronger than them. That's what makes you special. You're B-rank in physical strength and you're also B-rank at magical strength.' Saya said to him.
"So let's slowly break them," Souta said as he drunk another mana potion. Casting [Dark Cloud Hunting] and [Shadow Bind] repeatedly drained a quarter of his mana.
'And how will you do that?' Saya asked.
"I will break their mind first before I break them physically," Souta replied to her as the corner of his mouth curved upwards while looking at his prey.
...
"We need to move and meet the others." The shielder said to his comrades. The situation they were facing was bad and it will only get worse if they couldn't meet with Frankie and the rest.
"Don't worry about them, leader. Frankie is the strongest person in our group so we should be concerned for our well-being." The rogue said to shielder.
"Yeah, you are right. If our enemies are going to attack then it will be our group. I'm sure this is the reason why our enemies separated us from them." The shielder nodded.
Suddenly, several black tentacles emerged from the ground once again.
"Don't panic! We can handle it! We got caught off guard before but now we're ready to face it!" The shielder shouted as he smashed his shield on the black tentacles.
The rogue swiftly moved his body as he slashed the tentacles using the sharp dagger in his hand.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
After one minute, the relentless attack of the black tentacles stopped. They were prepared so no one got caught in their group. The same attack won't work on them again.
Although they managed to protect the C-ranks, they still haven't solved the problem.
What could they do in this kind of environment?
They couldn't see anything with black mist around them. If the rogue was two meters away from the shielder then he wouldn't be able to see him because of how thick the black mist around them.
Not just them, Frankie's group was also attacked by black tentacles that emerged from the group. Just like the shielder's group, there are no casualties to them this time.
"Everyone's fine," Ramie said to them.
"I'm glad." Frankie sighed in relief when he heard it. He doesn't want to repeat what happened before. That's why he will do his best to protect his comrades.
"It's here again. The voices." The mage said while glancing around with a wary expression.
The crying and grieving voices in the surrounding area give them chills. It feels cold and ominous at the same time. Their instinct that they honed in their adventures was telling them that something dreadful will happen.
Suddenly, the voices changed. Malice and hatred were overflowing and everyone could feel it. They could feel the extreme pain in the voices around them.
It feels like countless pairs of eyes were looking at them. The weak-willed person wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Damn! Get out of my mind!"
The mage turned his head and saw his comrades holding his head. It seems that they couldn't take what's happening at this moment.
"Hey, take a hold of yourself. I'll get you out of this place." Frankie said as he grabbed the shoulder of his comrades.
Their morale plummeted without them noticing it.
Looking into the darkness around them, they felt like they were slowly sinking into the endless abyss which they couldn't escape no matter what happens. They felt that it was seeping into their pores.
Lalala~ Lala~ Lalala~
Everyone was shaken as the voice of a girl sounded in the area around them.
"Who's there?! Show yourself you coward!!" Frankie shouted angrily when he heard a voice of a girl.
"This is... A strong person is watching us in the darkness..." The mage muttered with wide eyes.
Fluctuations of high energy appeared in front of them. It was followed by a huge red slash heading in their direction.
"DODGE!!"
Frankie and the rest of the B-rank jumped away to avoid the powerful crimson color slash.
"Argh!!"
Frankie and the rest looked behind and saw some of the C-rank members didn't manage to avoid it. They saw the arms and legs of their comrades on the ground, spurting blood.
"My arms!!"
"H-Help me! My legs are gone!!"
The C-ranks members screamed as they looked at their body parts on the ground.
"Damn! If it's not for this black mist then I would be able to detect the attack!" The mage cursed as he punched the ground in frustration. He never felt useless as a mage before.
The others were about to help their comrades when several black tentacles emerged from the ground once again.
"Damn!!" Frankie shouted as he charged towards the black tentacles to cut it down. He wanted to destroy it as soon as possible and helped his injured comrades.
"Wait! Frankie! Don't go!" The mage tried to stop him. He gritted his teeth and lifted the wand in his hand.
[Lightning Blast]!!
A ball of lightning formed above him and it began to strike everything around them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several small explosions occurred around them. Since he couldn't sense their opponents, he could only strike everything so that their opponents wouldn't have a chance to get close to them.
"Hurry up and use heal potions to injured people." He said to his comrades in a loud voice. Then, he realized something.
"So that's how it is..."
He looked around him with wide eyes. The sounds of the explosion weren't that loud. It was as if something was interfering with the sound in the air.
"The mana... How could I forget it..."
So this was the reason why their leader hasn't heard them even though they were creating a commotion here.
"Tsk! I finally understand the trick behind this. I know how to counter it." The mage said as a smile formed on his face.
"You really are our great mage!" Ramie smiled while giving potions to their injured comrades.
The healer glanced at the mage and saw something terrifying.
"I'll counter..." The mage said as he gathered a large amount of mana in his wand. Suddenly, he heard someone's voice in his left ear.
"Please... Be... Quiet... Don't... Give... Them... Hope..."
Swoosh!
The mage felt chills as he turned around but his hand which was holding the wand flew in the mid-air.
He was caught off guard. He was basking in pride as he understood the trick of his opponent but he didn't expect this to happen.
"Huh?"
He looked at his hand in the mid-air with a confused expression. His brain hasn't registered that his arms were gone.
When he comes to his senses, he screamed loudly as he felt the extreme pain. The lightning above him disappeared as he fell on his knees.
"ARGGGHHH!!"
The healer and Ramie stared blankly at the mage. They only saw a figure clad in black energy disappeared into thin air. The energy of that figure was so dark.
At the same time, they heard some singing.
"Oh, don't give up your hope~ you will lose yourself~"
The creepy voice made them sunk towards the abyss.
