Fortunately for Eren and unfortunately for the three-person team, Eren had chosen to attack Krista with blunt force.
The blunt force effect was something Rupen was not able to completely mirror as it is. He had to use another spell in conjunction with his default mirror spell to enhance its effects.
Eren had not exerted his full force to crush Krista in his previous attack. And he was glad he didn't. He would have been in a much more dire condition if he had.
Even with his limited interaction, the butcher could decipher the limits of Rupen's spells. His soul sense had helped him know the intentions behind Rupen's attacks as well as read some of his thoughts. With that, he realized that Rupen was waiting for an opportunity that never came to him.
Rupen had a lot of limitations when he could use his spells. Especially because the guy had chosen to remain in the shadows for so long.
The butcher concluded that elemental spells couldn't be used when Rupen was in the picture. The guy would just mirror its effects onto him while altering the mana signature behind it. It would be like Eren fighting against another Eren.
***
The butcher took a close look at Rupen now that he had shown himself. He was wearing a long red coat under his solid silver metal armor. The hood-like headgear that he wore blended well with his armor, covering his head.
Rupen had dark red eyes and half of his face was covered in a mask. He had a slightly taller stature than Eren and a lean build. But one could tell that his covertly defined muscle definitions would allow him to tackle most regular rankers with ease in close combat battles.
Rupen was carrying a long spear in his right hand and a large shield in his left. It was clear that he paid close attention to his defense apart from cultivating offensive spells.
One could tell that Rupen was a more capable ranker among his group. The confident air around him made him stand out more.
'It seems that the mistake I made wasn't really a mistake after all. I never gave that bastard a chance to show himself. I didn't give him the opening he was looking for to strike me with my own attacks.
It would have been troublesome if I had allowed this guy to direct any serious elemental attacks at me. Or if I had attacked that elf with my regular weapons.'
Eren looked at Rupen seriously before narrowing his eyes at him. He knew what he was supposed to do at the time.
Demon Beast Transformation.
Eren used his demon beast transformation spell to boost his stats. Argo wanted to come out of his beastly space and play with the three rankers. But Eren prevented him from appearing because he wanted to incapacitate the three rankers– not kill them. Eren believed Argo's bird brain was too immature to understand the difference.
Since Eren couldn't use most of his go-to elemental spells, he decided to boost his body stats instead. He just needed to make sure that his physical attacks didn't get mirrored back to him.
Eren's pupils turned vertical and beast-like under the spell's effect. His hands changed into claws and his body became full of vitality. He developed lion-like canines that slightly peaked through his upper lips.
Thanks to his mana circuit training, Eren's demon beast transformation this time was even more prominent. He could receive a higher body stats boost from Argo while controlling the physical features he wanted to manifest. A feat Altashia had done in front of him in the past.
Blitz Steps
Eren disappeared from his position and approached the three rankers. At this point, all three rankers were on their toes, fully alert to their surroundings. Lambert was the first to sense Eren's presence because his spell's effect was still present in him.
Repel
Eren was forced to stop his movement spell by Lambert's interruption. He appeared 30 meters from where they stood with Rigor Mortis in his right hand and Anduril in his left hand. Once the momentum was killed, he was pushed back from his position.
But this time, the pull wasn't strong enough to stop his charge.
Earth Spike
Igni Chains
Eren cast his earth-element spell and created a bunch of spikes all around the battlefield. He then cast Igni Chains to make fire-element chains appear out of thin air.
The fire-element spells latched themselves around the Earth Spikes. Eren used the earth spikes and the fire chains as anchors to defeat the repelling force acting on his body. He tugged at the two Igni Chains in his hand and pulled himself towards his enemies once again.
Eren could now better understand how Lambert's spell worked. It could only attract or repel things or people in a limited spatial zone. It meant that once the repel spell had been activated on Eren, the spatial zone in which he could be pushed away from his position was the three-dimensional area around himself.
Eren needed the Earth Spikes and Igni Chains to serve as his anchor and kill the force acting on his body. It would give him time to maneuver his way out of the three-dimensional spatial zone in which the repel spell was active.
Wind-Fire Wings
Eren escaped in the air, freeing himself from the restrictions of the repel spell. He smiled wickedly when his hypothesis came to be true. He also knew that Lambert couldn't quickly cast his repel spell after he had already used it. The most he could do was cast an attraction spell on him to alter his momentum.
Attract.
As expected, Lambert's spell did what he had expected. He had already prepared his spell. He tugged at the chains and used his wings to change the spatial zone he was in effortlessly. He was able to escape Lambert's spell without difficulty as a result.
Breaking Lambert's control over him was very critical for Eren. Because the other two rankers had based their moves on his battle style. The three rankers' powers complemented each other, turning them into a highly effective killing machine for the half-bloods.
However, there was one half-blood they hadn't met until today.
"Let's see how many spells you can mirror, shall we?"
Eren spoke playfully as he flew close to the ground. His vertical eyes shone brightly in emerald green as he focused on his prey.
