Time passed at an indescribably slow rate.
Every microsecond was clearly reflected in the eyes of the Stargazer Squad as their minds were forced to the limit by the endless wave of enemies that surrounded them.
But they still had 50 minutes left to defend themselves.
In total, only 10 minutes had passed. In this time, countless Lesser Nox and over twenty Higher Nox fell.
But this number was, in the end, nothing.
Damien pulled Hel's trigger and watched as it pulverized a Higher Nox's head.
'As much as I want to devour every single Higher Nox here, I don't think everyone will be able to last long enough…'
His eyes darted around in search of a new target.
'Zara's speed isn't much slower than mine, but even combined, we'll only be able to take a few hundred of them before an hour is up regardless.'
Damien suddenly twisted his body at an impossible angle, dodging the combined attacks of a long spear and a certain deathly breed of mana.
'These fuckers just won't leave me alone…'
His eyes hardened as he lifted Mirage up.
'I'll go for the butler after I finish these guys off. Even if he isn't actively contributing right now, he's the biggest threat on the battlefield. If I occupy him, even if I can't defeat him, everyone's mental burdens will lessen.'
Damien couldn't understand the thoughts of his fellow teammates if they didn't voice them, but he could clearly understand their predicament. In a situation like this, it was impossible for them to not divert a portion of their focus outside the battle just in case he decided to move.
'Annoying prick.'
Damien charged at the two Nox who ambushed him without giving them a chance to speak. He was tired of hearing the screechy voices of the Nox.
'Seriously, where did they get their inspiration from? They seem to have the intrinsic ability to spout the most basic villain lines in existence.'
Mirage turned into a flurry of waves altering the atmosphere. Its translucent blade blended in with the background, becoming one with the world, and using the world itself as its blade.
Damien himself was nothing more than a vessel for the sword's power. He allowed it to move how it chose to move, he allowed it to flow as it chose to flow. Mirage was a being with budding consciousness, and it had its own desires and battle sense.
Damien certainly wouldn't reject his weapon's desire for battle.
He wasn't a sword practitioner, and he would never be one. Even to this day, he only used the sword out of convenience. He had no real preference when it came to weapons, and if anything, he preferred using his fists.
But Mirage was once the sword of an expert swordsman. Its inherited memory was far more flexible and maneuverable in battle than Damien's own brutish methods.
When Damien's power and Mirage's technique were combined into one, it truly created a terrifying storm.
Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!
The sound of wind being sliced into pieces was the only thing revealing Mirage's presence as its speed surpassed what the eyes could see. The two Higher Nox who had to face the barrage were placed into a position where they could do nothing but defend.
"Petty tricks!" The spear-wielding Nox suddenly scoffed. He lifted his spear into the air and surrounded it with a cyclone of mana. When he brought it down, it created a massive gust that pushed his companion away.
Damien was clearly aware of their goal, but he didn't try to stop them. Even if the mage was given distance, it wouldn't help him survive.
'The only reason…you're still alive…is cheats!' Damien roared inwardly as he swung his blade. If these Nox didn't have defense far surpassing their true power level, they would've died to a single one of his swings!
But the difference between levels in 4th class was massive. After all, 4th class was a stage heavily reliant on comprehension, and the amount of comprehension one could achieve was somewhat connected to their level, as the heightening of their stats allowed them to get closer to the Laws of the universe.
At the same time, 4th class was a beginner course where one could experience what it felt like to interact with the laws before ascending to Divinity and becoming further in tune with them.
"Mid-level 4th class" and "high-level" 4th class didn't sound much different on paper, but it wasn't a difference that could be overcome with just skill.
Spacetime mana began to rage around Damien's body, countering the spear-wielding Nox's cyclone and taking hold of the battle's momentum. However, the spear-wielding Nox's apparent powerlessness was only a matter of circumstance. He wasn't some weakling that'd be killed off with a few swings of Mirage.
His spear was like a hummingbird, its presence loudly roaring in Damien's ears and its speed and stability keeping it steady amongst any winds or rain. The spearman stabbed and slashed with exquisite form, completely matching Mirage's skill level and disallowing Damien from landing a hit.
"Lance Cannon!'
A shout suddenly came from behind.
Damien felt the presence of something massive rapidly approaching him.
Without hesitation, he let go of Mirage, jumped up, and locked his legs around the spear-wielding Higher Nox's torso.
"You…what…?!" The Nox let out a confused exclamation and raised his fist to punch Damien, but in that instant he was distracted…
The so-called Lance Cannon appeared right before him.
Damien's body disappeared like it never existed.
And a massive lance the size of a tree pierced through the spear-wielding Nox's chest.
Damien appeared near the mage without worrying about the other Nox's life or death. Hel and Freya appeared in his hands, the crystals in his wrists shining as his mana was transferred into the twin armaments.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Like a school of fish, hundreds of bullets were fired out of the twin gun barrels, surrounding the mage from all sides as they curved through space.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
'I'll turn you into sashimi, bitch.'
The Twin Moons vanished from Damien's hands, allowing him room to wave them around like a zealous conductor. The space cracks created by his movements were like bladed crescent moons, flying through the air and decorating the bullet storm they accompanied.
Miniature explosions painted the air around the mage and forced him to focus wholly on defense. A thick barrier of black mana covered his body and protected him from the explosions, but at the same time, left him immobile.
'Checkmate.'
Damien grinned as he teleported into the cloud of explosions. He reached his hand out without hesitation and placed it on the barrier's surface.
'Material Shift'
With his words, the barrier began to change…
…along with everything inside of it.
It was like the work of the world's greatest alchemist. The world itself was transmuted, the atmosphere forcefully turned into stone by Damien's Midas touch.
"What is this?!" The Nox mage panicked. He waved his staff through the air and cast a plethora of spells, breaking pieces of the transmuted atmosphere one by one.
But the rate of freezing was far faster than his rate of casting.
If he didn't escape his confines fast enough…
He'd end up as another statue in Medusa's garden.
