THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

Bam!

"Kuhak!"

Chester received a solid kick in his solar plexus that threw him away for a few meters. Being a Mage means he didn't train his physique much, so he could only let his body helplessly roll on the ground.

When his body stopped rolling, he righted himself up, and immediately writhed in pain as it was hard for him to breathe. Still, with gritted teeth, he glared at Charles murderously and delivered Charles another Spell he had quick cast.

Boom!

"Hmph! What is that pathetic attempt?" Charles scoffed disdainfully after he swatted Chester's Spell with one of the ten ethereal black hands. "I admire your tenacity however, since you still don't lose your fighting spirit despite knowing our gap."

"One's amount of Magic Circles doesn't equal to one's competence." Chester stood from the ground while clutching his stomach. "My most brilliant student said that to me once."

"He sounds like a sore loser who makes up excuses for his lack of talent." Charles sneered as his seven Magic Circles blared intensely.

Chester scoffed disdainfully. "A sore loser? He has never been one ever since the day I know him." He smiled as he recalled the time when Basil hadn't "bloomed" yet. "He has shown me that one's conviction and dedication will always bear results."

"What are you trying to say?" Charles quirked his eyebrow. "Are you saying that you can defeat me by simply believing that you can do it?" He scoffed. "Laughable, yet I know where you are coming from. Talentless people like to comfort themselves that way."

"You are full of yourself, aren't you?"

"I just appreciate those with talent."

As the two were talking to each other, both of them were secretly preparing their Spell while looking for the opportunity to launch it. The moment they saw an opportunity to attack, they launched their Spell at each other.

Boom!

Their Spell clashed in the middle, producing an explosion that was enough to carve a crater on the ground. Of course, that didn't end just there; Charles' ten ethereal black hands were immediately rushing madly towards Chester.

Knowing that something like this would likely to happen, Chester had prepared his Motion Spell in advance. In result, he managed to move away before the hands reached him, and thus allowing the hands to catch nothing but air.

"A slick one, aren't you?" Charles smirked.

Although he hadn't gotten serious yet, Charles was still impressed by Chester's tact. He had expected Chester to be extremely clumsy and naive due to his young look, but Chester had proven himself to be just as capable as any other veterans.

From the way Chester moved and the direction he went to dodge each one of his attack, Charles could easily see that Chester was planning to run away. He wouldn't let Chester do that, but he was curious about how far Chester could go.

"Let's play along with him for a while," Charles muttered.

He wasn't worried in the least bit about the other people figuring the whole commotion out. He had made sure to isolate the area they were fighting in from the rest of the Viscountcy, so anything that happened there would remain there.

He had also noticed that Chester had realized this fact, and therefore he was curious about how Chester would get himself out of the ordeal. He wanted to properly watch if Chester could figure his way out before he decided to kill him.

Playing around was never his hobby, but Chester was too intriguing for him; he couldn't bring himself to immediately kill Chester. Thus, while keeping his guard up, he observed Chester carefully.

"You are panicking, Chester."

"Am I?" Chester quirked his eyebrow. "I would like to say that I am pretty calm, but my body is too honest to prove my claim. I can't blame my body though; it is normal to tremble in front of an overwhelming power."

"Hahaha! Are you finally admitting that you are afraid of me?"

Chester was trying his best to keep his heartbeat level as he smiled sardonically at Charles. The pressure Charles was exuding slightly overwhelmed him, so it made it hard for him to think straight or remain calm.

He was but a Fifth Circle Mage. Outstanding as he might be, compared to Charles who was a Seventh Circle Mage on top of having 5 Grand Circles, as a Fifth Circle Mage who only had 5 Major Circles, he would never hold a candle to Charles.

Still, as long as one never stops believing in oneself, one will always be able to overcome one's difficulty.

With that being said however, Chester was not naive enough to think that his sheer will to survive would allow him to win the fight against Charles. In fact, he was pretty desperate about the situation he was in.

Therefore, although he was sure he wouldn't win his fight against Charles, Chester believed he could escape Charles. That was why he had been looking around while stalling for time.

"Seriously though... I can't help but wonder." Chester extended his hand to the side, flipping the pages of his Grimoire. "What have you done to Marquess Redford—or should I say, who is pretending to be Marquess Redford?"

"Hoh? You are even sharper than what you have shown earlier." Charles quirked his eyebrow in interest as he mobilized his ethereal hands. "I have told you to come at me if you are that curious. What about—"

Whoosh!

Boom!

Charles' smirk was cleanly wiped off his face the moment Chester sent an Earth Element Spell that was combined with a Wind Element Spell at him. The earth was shaped like a spear with a peerlessly sharp edge, and it moved like a flash.

Although he managed to dodge the attack splendidly, it still managed to nick his cheek. He didn't expect that at all—he was completely caught off guard.

As he had seen Chester extend his hand as Chester was speaking, he had fully believed that Chester was just about to cast his Spell. Therefore, he had also only prepared his black hands at that time.

What had happened however, Chester didn't cast a single Spell—he was sure of it—but Magic had still occured. Charles hardly believed that it was an extremely quick casting, so he believed Chester had just managed to trick him.

His guess was spot on; Chester had actually cast his Spell way before he had extended his hand to make a gesture of casting. Charles had failed to detect Chester's Mana fluctuation, since he was overwhelming the area around him with his Mana.

This time, his action that was intended to hamper his opponent had bitten him in his arse, and he was as annoyed as he was disappointed in himself.

"Interesting... What an interesting person you are indeed, Chester." Charles nodded his head in amusement as he realized what Chester had actually done. Touching his bleeding cheek, he continued, "What a very keen person."

"Sometimes, it takes the simplest to beat the strongest," Chester said calmly. "Or maybe, you are just not as bright as you believe yourself to be." He was referring to Charles' inability to figure out his trick in advance.

"Has anyone ever said to you that you have a smart mouth?"

"I just like to say the truth."

Charles smirked at Chester's witty comment as he understood that Chester was just returning his response, which he had given to Chester when Chester said he was full of himself.

"I have come at you, so may I know how you managed to fool everyone?" Chester asked calmly.

"Well, it's as you have already figured—Bewitchment." Charles smiled helplessly.

"You know that it is not what I am talking about."

"Well... There is no need to doubt me that much—I am not lying." Charles waved his hand nonchalantly. "It really is the work of Bewitchment. It is not your average Bewitchment though—I assure you."

"That's what I am asking about—what kind of Bewitchment did you use?"

"It's a Spell...?"

Chester's face contorted in exasperation. "Quit playing games with me—it is not worth it." He sighed. "I already know that my time is close, so just let me die without any curiosity."

"Oh, that's a rather strong statement, yet I can't help but doubt you." Charles looked into Chester's eyes deeply. "People who know they are about to die will never look at me with those burning eyes."

"It is the hope that allows me to look at you with these eyes."

"Well... Whatever." Charles shrugged lightly, then looked around. "I am sure you have heard about how this place remains hidden for so many years. As long as you understand how the Spell cast on this place works, you will understand how my Bewitchment works too."

Chester gave no response.

"[Reality Altercation]." At this, Chester widened his eyes in shock. "As long as one believes that one is not bewitched, one will never be able to free oneself from it. Once one starts doubting it, the Spell will crumble."

"Y-You... But h-how?"

Chester was too speechless to properly react to the revelation. Charles had, after all, admitted he had cast [Reality Altercation], the forbidden Spell that was cast on Southevile Viscountcy to hide it, on everyone in Southevile.

Chester didn't need to ask when Charles had cast the Bewitchment on them. He knew that Charles had gotten them in his hands the moment they entered the Viscountcy.

What was more important, however, was the fact that Charles could master the Bewitchment, which Braxtein Kingdom had hidden extremely well from the public. Even just the fact that he could figure it out was mind boggling!

Furthermore, the Bewitchment was not only forbidden, but also one of the hardest High Grade Spells to master. For that, chester could only admit that Charles Blois was indeed a genius.

"It's too bad that you have never met my father in the past. If it wasn't for that, you would have fallen for the Bewitchment." Charles faintly smiled. "Still, I need to praise you for your keen eyes. It is not easy to see through my disciple's Art after all."

"Is it [Transformation]?"

"Well... Isn't it surprising that you even know about it?" Charles slightly chuckled. "Unfortunately, my disciple's Art is nowhere near that high leveled."

"My student has said that people who use [Transformation] on themselves, not for the sake of Alchemy, are creeps." Chester looked at Charles in disappointment and shook his head faintly. "Like master like disciple, I guess."

'This cheeky bastard.' Charles' mouth twitched as he looked at Chester.

"It is unfortunate that I can't figure out why you are here, but anyway, thank you for the information." Chester winked.

Flash!

Charles was once again surprised by Chester, because right after he said his thanks, Chester completely disappeared from the vicinity.

He had successfully escaped Charles' grasp without even sustaining any injury by using [Teleportation], and Charles couldn't even immediately figure out how it was possible.