Earth's Greatest Magus

Emery's face turned serious as he felt powerful energy gather on Shatter's raised index finger. Ear-piercing chirping sounds echoed in the air as a high voltage lightning element coalesced and created wild sparks.

This was the spell Shatter known for. Rank A Divine spell [Fusion Bolt], which was now ready to be released.

Knowing the power that his opponent had from Klea, Emery didn't plan to play around, swiftly used his [Immortal Gate - stage 6]. While a faint layer of blazing energy enveloped his entire body, he also activated his [Twilight Transformation].

The Cross Prince looked at Emery. A pure, mocking smile could be seen on his face as his eyes stared at the latter's transformed body.

"Even Anzi at full strength can't withstand this attack, what makes you think your doggy form can?"

It was once said that the best way to deal with a powerful offensive spell was to stop it before it could be released and show any effect at all. However, this was not the case with Shatter's divine spell, which was known to be unleashed instantly as long as the spark had already been ignited.

Hence the reason why cast it as soon as the referee announced the duel began.

As he took out his Savage Sword, Emery also cast his two utility spells [Jade Skin] and [Slipstream]. This sight sparked a reaction from the crowd, especially those who had seen his fight before, as using everything he had was something Emery didn't normally do.

It was as if he thought that his duel would end in just one exchange.

Shatter raised his eyebrows when he saw what Emery was doing.

"You really want to taste this spell of mine, don't you?!"

Immediately after, Shatter aimed his finger in Emery's direction.

After being told many things about Shatter, especially this signature spell of his, Emery would certainly not ignore Klea's advice to not take the attack directly. For that reason, he began to move to the sides and focused his attention on his opponent's movement closely.

Shatter only smiled mockingly seeing his actions, before finally released the spell.

"Eat this!!"

[Fusion Bolt - mid finger]

Bzzzzzzzttt—

A bright flash of light blitzed through the arena as a piercing sound resounded in the air. It was like a powerful lightning arrow that shot out at a speed that the ordinary eye could not catch.

Swish!

As soon as he saw the spark above Shatter's finger shining, Emery immediately moved his body to the side and managed to dodge the spell by a sliver. However, even though the bolt of lightning missed the target, the distance of half a meter still impacted Emery, causing him to feel a numbing sensation on his skin.

"What a powerful spell!"

On the other hand, the audience gasped at the brief exchange between the two, especially the one sitting in the direct trajectory of the spell. Even though a barrier had been set up, some of these elite acolytes and magus were still feeling anxious.

However, before it hit the barrier, the arrow-like lightning bolt turned its trajectory in a curved motion, heading back towards where Emery was at the same blinding speed.

Knowing what was coming thanks to Klea's guide, Emery didn't even turn around as he immediately ran at breakneck speed while casting his [Void Mist]. A veil of mist materialized on the arena, and several figures of Emery appeared.

"No fucking use!! I'll blast all of them if I have to!"

As if proving his words, just as Shatter finished speaking, the bolt ripped through one of Emery's shadow clones before destroying another one almost immediately and chasing after the third one. In the eyes of the onlookers, it seemed Emery's [Void Mist] had no effect at all.

However, amidst such chaos and his focus on getting rid of the clones, Shatter didn't seem to notice that the third clone his bolt was chasing after was actually running towards him.

'Fuck!!"

Caught off guard, he quickly aimed the spell into the air, and it exploded into a powerful boom of thunder.

It was at this moment that Emery's figure appeared at Shatter's back using [Blink], ready to strike.

"Haha! Stupid fool!" Shatter laughed. "Eat this!"

It turned out that the man had hidden a second attack.

[Fusion Bolt - small finger]

Unlike the index finger, the bolt released by the small finger was not that strong. However, it was much faster and could make a much more sharp trajectory. It struck Emery's body before he could do anything.

Unfortunately for Shatter, Emery who appeared behind him was also a shadow clone as it simply disintegrated when the bolt hit.

'Whatt!!"

The mist dissipated into nothingness and the fourth figure of Emery in the arena was still standing with a smile on his face.

The annoyed Cross Prince clicked his tongue. "You tricked me, huh? You're gonna regret it!"

The characteristics of Shatter's divine spell [Fusion Bolt] and his attack habits were analyzed by Klea already, and to Emery's pleasant surprise, it went exactly as predicted. It seemed that Emery had to reward the girl plenty after this duel.

On the arena seats, Klea could be seen standing up passionately cheering on Emery while cursing the Cross Prince. Her voice was especially clear, making Emery smile dryly and Shatter's frown deepened.

Now that the first round where he tested a few things was over, Emery took his stance and stood his ground firmly ready for round two. This time, he provoked his opponent by saying, "Eight charges left!" which made the Cross Prince's expression twisted into rage.

This was Shatter's main weakness, the fact that his powerful divine spell needed to be charged first into his ten fingers; and right now, he had used two of them leaving him with eight remaining.

"Arrgghh!! You think you know me?!! Big mistake!"

He once again cast his spell on his other index finger. This time, however, it didn't spark and dance wildly. Instead, it converged into a blade-like ray of lightning that covered his entire arm with a sharp form.

[Fusion Blade]

Shatter cast another divine spell on his feet, [Volt Steps] before his figure disappeared from where he was standing. It was an advanced level of a haste-type spell that provided a tremendous and explosive boost to its caster's agility.

Bzzzzzzzttt–

Emery was surprised as all these things were not mentioned by Klea. Various kinds of reactions also came from the crowd as this was something new for the Cross Prince who was known to always fight at long range.

"Be proud that you will be the first one to experience the new me!"

Even though he didn't expect Shatter to abandon his usual fighting style entirely, Emery was still able to respond accordingly and stop the latter's [Fusion Blade] strike. However, he didn't expect that as soon as it clashed with his Savage Blade, Emery lost sensation of his entire arm.

Taking advantage of that brief opening, Shatter's other hand that was ready for such an opportunity immediately fired another Fusion Bolt.

[Fusion Bolt - small finger]

The bolt was shot from such a close distance, and with the unexpected numbness that momentarily slowed him, Emery did not have the time to physically dodge the attack and his casting of Blink was also a split second too late.

SPLAATT!

Blood splashed into the air and splattered everywhere in the arena, as Klea's scream calling Emery's name resounded through the air.