Chapter 310 Adapt And Overcome (4)
Nineteen years old, a Sixth Circle Mage—Iliana was the fastest person in the entire Braxtein Kingdom's history to ever be a Sixth Circle Mage. Not even the first King of Braxtein had become a Sixth Circle Mage at her age.
It was simply an incredible achievement, one that people could hardly comprehend. Her talent was simply too godly for any other youth to match, even for those from the Pacifer Clan.
The Pacifer were known as the monsters of Magic. They were so talented at Magic, it was simply mind boggling to think they existed.
Iliana was a genius Pacifer. Being in an unfavorable situation, she found a way to overcome it.
She pushed the completion of her Sixth Magic Circle. It was a gamble on her side—she could lose everything if she failed—but she managed to succeed.
The situation made her more meticulous than she already was, temporarily unlocking her yet to be awakened potential. At this point, it was guaranteed no one her age would be able to match her ... Except for Basil, of course.
"Let me go," Iliana said coldly.
Boom!
Crack!
On top of crushing Goap's wrist, Iliana also kicked him right in his chest while simultaneously pulling her body to the back. Goap skidded on the ground, and she managed to free herself of his grasp.
Quickly taking a distance, she took out Sinister Piercer that she had stored in her Spatial Bracelet earlier. Twirling the spear in her hand as she infused her Mana into it, she looked at her surrounding.
Other than her friends, who had just gotten passed by the tsunami wave, she couldn't spot anyone from the Royal Army behind her. In front of her, she could see Edward along with those fighting in the front line, and the Demons.
Squelch.
The ground had turned soft due to the water that had been dropped on it. It was mind boggling that what she had experienced indeed happened.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she returned her gaze to Goap. She had now realized what kind of an abomination he was, and now she wondered if sacrificing her limbs would be enough to survive fighting against him.
He, after all, had possibly killed ten thousands of not so week individuals with a single Spell. She could tell he was pretty exhausted, but she wasn't sure if it was enough to increase her chance of survival.
"I am indeed weakened, Iliana, however I can assure you that even in your current state, you will never be able to win against me."
Scoffing, Iliana said, "Winning has no definite form—everyone has their own take of winning. In my case, surviving is winning. I do agree with you however: I will never never be able to defeat you ... Yet"
Flash!
Suddenly appearing in front of Goap, Iliana arced Sinister Piercer widely.
Whoosh!
Goap dodged the spear quite easily, allowing a trench to form on the ground behind him due to Iliana's Mana infused attack.
Iliana knew from the beginning she wasn't going to be able to land a hit on Goap right off the bat. She had expected herself to fail, so she was not surprised when Goap dodged her spear.
She had even prepared herself for that situation, so right after Goap dodged the first attack, she quickly swung her spear at him. Goap, of course, managed to dodge it again, but she had anticipated it so she could still swing her spear.
As Iliana swung her spear relentlessly, Goap dodged it nonstop. Their feet didn't even move a step from their spot—they were in a stalemate and none of them knew how long it would last.
None of them, however, showed annoyance on their face like how people would normally do if they were in that kind of situation. Goap was smirking the entire time, and Iliana looked bored.
Both of them were looking at the situation differently, but it was clear that both were determined to get what they wanted.
"Why don't we just stop this unnecessary fight? If you don't want to be my woman, that's fine—I wasn't serious about it in the very first place—but I want you to come with me."
"My mother once told me to never trust a Demon's words."
"Hahaha! Your mother was a wise woman." Goap smiled while still dodging Iliana's spear. "But hear me out, Iliana. I am not proposing you to believe in my words—let's make a deal."
Iliana looked at Goap with a quirked eyebrow as she wondered why he seemed so genuine in his words. Rather than making her want to believe him however, it further convinced her she should never take up on his offer.
If he was willing to do that much, she believed there must be something disastrous about what he was going to ask her to do or what would happen after she did what he asked her to do.
"... I have a proposal," Iliana said softly.
"What is it, Iliana?"
"Die."
Iliana abruptly stopped swinging her spear and thrust it at Goap. The tip of the blade was now shining intensely in blue along with her six Magic Circles that were actively gathering Mana.
Screech!
Not stopping there, to impair Goap's ability to dodge her attack, Iliana used Wind Magic to vibrate the air in his surrounding. An extremely ear grating sound invaded his ear, threatening to rupture his eardrums.
Widening his eyes in surprise as he didn't expect Iliana to be this crafty, Goap quick cast a Spell that would allow him to protect himself from Iliana's attack.
"[Mountain Piercer]!"
He was surprised once again however; even before he managed to finish his Spell, Iliana's spear had reached his chest. Starting from a light prick, he felt an intense burn on his chest in the next second.
Boom!
Iliana's thrust was not simple. She didn't merely blast the Mana she had gathered at the tip of her spear's blade, but also rotated it so as to make it more controllable and destructive.
The blasted Mana ended up being a spinning beam that drilled a hole through Goap's chest as well as charring it.
"Darn it! The burden is just too much."
The Art was actually something she couldn't quite control however, so right after thrusting her spear, Iliana immediately took a distance from Goap. He was still gaping in disbelief for what had happened, and she was sure he would react violently.
When the beam finally disappeared and the Mana overwhelming the air dispersed, Goap finally keeled over. Having a coughing fit while throwing up a mouthful of blood from time to time, it was easy to conclude he was suffering.
One could see through the hole in his chest. It was amazing to think Goap could still breathe despite practically having destroyed lungs.
Seeing it as a chance, Iliana utilized her Step Art, and suddenly appeared beside Goap. Swinging her spear swiftly, she hit him with the staff right in his stomach, lifting him off the ground.
Goap couldn't react much; he could only groan and let Iliana slam his body to the ground. He was then kicked in the stomach and launched like a bullet to the back.
Gritting his teeth, Goap planted his hand on the ground as soon as his body started rolling on it. His body immediately stopped rolling, but still kept skidding for a couple of seconds.
Iliana appeared once again in front of him, this time, with her spear targeting his head. Goap's eyes widened at the amount of Mana he could feel being accumulated at the tip of the blade, but he smirked in the next second.
"Hm!"
Iliana was immediately alerted as soon as she noticed the smirk. Her back was drenched in sweat, and she dreaded what Goap was about to do.
She had, after all, intended to end Goap with this attack of hers that had almost exhausted her Magic Circles. Just the thought of failing to hit Goap was nightmarish enough, let alone the possibility of him going to do something.
Flash!
Reality, however, often disappoints—what happened was the least wanted scenario she had expected to happen. Goap was really up to something: he disappeared just as soon as her spear was about to pierce his head.
BOOM!
With Goap disappeared, the ground took the brunt of Iliana's Art. A pit that was deep enough to be a well and wide enough to be a small pond was created on the ground, showing how powerful Iliana's Art was.
One didn't need to be a genius to be able tell Goap would have to kiss a goodbye to his life if he had been hit by it; one could tell from the pressure alone. Alas, it didn't hit him, so no one was able to admire it much.
When Iliana and practically everyone wondered where Goap had disappeared to, they soon found where he was. While the others could see him, Iliana could feel he had just reappeared behind her.
"Iliana, behind you!" Her friends from the Rehearsal Class warned her about Goap at the same time they were dashing at her.
They had been reluctant to interfere before, because they were afraid they were going to disturb her flow. Now that they could tell she was in a tight spot, none of them hesitated any longer.
"Darn it!"
Alas, none of them was fast enough to reach Iliana before Goap struck Iliana's head, possibly beheading her ... Except for one person.
Aided by Earth Magic, Whitney propelled himself towards Goap, and reached Iliana right before Goap. He was now right behind Iliana—in the space between her and Goap.
"Watch out, Whitney!"
None of them—not even Whitney himself—knew, however, what he should do next in that situation. Goap was rapidly closing in, making it simply impossible to erect a decent Barrier to protect himself.
Squelch!
With eyes widened in shock, in the end, Whitney could only watch as Goap's hand pierced his chest. He could feel Goap's hand beside his heart as it beat, and it was surely not a pleasant sensation.
"Kuhak!"
"This bastard of a human," Goap muttered spitefully as he pulled his hand out.
"Whitney, no! What have you done, you vile creature!"
Iliana reacted violently by thrusting her spear as soon as Goap pulled his hand out of Whitney's chest. She wanted to take away Whitney as soon as she saw him keel over, but she knew Goap wouldn't let her.
She kept attacking him to keep him distracted, so the others could take away Whitney somewhere. Alas, her effort ended up in vain the moment Goap snatched Sinister Piercer from her hands and threw it away.
"I am tired of playing—let's go with me, Iliana."
"You can never ta—"
Thud!
The development was too wild and quick. It was only at this point did the people could properly register what had happened.