Despite Tallo's taunt, and in as much as it seemed like everyone was about rush him, none of the four moved.
They remained rooted in place, while their various different powers surged, a cluster of emotions showing on their faces, some more vague than others.
In the end, all of them knew that Tallo was a tricky opponent to beat – the assault on all of them just now depicted that much. Not only that, the conventional team up one would expect in this situation to get rid of him first, didn't seem like it would work here either, because no one was willing to trust the other, especially not the young man auburn hair who had delivered that first devastating attack which had marked the beginning of an all out fight.
It was everyone for themselves.
The fact that each of them was still standing pointed to the fact that they were elites among elites, despite the damage some of them had taken.
Caution billowed between them, as well as a general sense of focus, and bloodlust.
Before they all knew it, the five were standing on opposite sides, eyeing each other coldly.
Even Tallo wasn't acting too obnoxious now that the dust had cleared, and a gracious appreciation of the situation was donned by all. One could never be too careful.
That said...
Who was going to make the first move now?
Skullius, with a pale face that seemed to scream that he wasn't in his usual state of mind, twirled Demion's Dance, and swished the air with its curved, green blade. Tallo glanced at the sword, as did the short man who had used the Draw Bubble.
Of course, this auburn haired man.
He had expounded such a fierce pool of bloodlust, and subdued rage that had killed three of the contenders instantly just barely a minute ago.
What was his deal?
Was he going to start things off again?
The answer, was no.
The man with the singular, blonde braid on his head suddenly scowled in focus, and a ripple of sound shot from his mind like a distant church bell, smiting everyone heavily!
...!
The other four felt like they had been smacked in the back of the head with a sledgehammer, and even Tallo was caught a bit off guard, his body swaying a bit.
For a short moment, everyone lost their balance, and their control of their active powers, but they had enough sense to recognise a crucial fact at the same time.
The braided man... he was a Mind Caster!
While everyone was vulnerable, the braided man shot his burnt arm in a gesture towards a target he considered to be the most volatile threat.
Not Tallo.
But Skullius!
An unseen force brimming with incredibly potent restrictive ability smashed onto the Hybrid Luman like a great boulder, immobilising him firmly, and doing nothing else – not even the ground beneath Skullius' feet was affected.
Such precision!
As if on a predetermined cue, the short man who was opposite Skullius exploded into action, an expansive red glow shrieking from his body as he stormed towards the Hybrid Luman while extending his sceptre outward. A beam of peach coloured light shimmered erect from the irregular cube floating at its end, refining itself into a long, odachi blade!
Indeed. This man was an Arma User, a Swordsman of a high calibre preferring to use a blade that wouldn't be useless when its steel was shattered.
Before he could finish his sharp breath, his sword was already at Skullius' neck, hissing with a desperate intent to kill.
However...
An inch away from what he thought would be a swift kill, a knee planted itself so deep into his bare torso that he thought all his organs had been turned to mush. As blood leaked from his open mouth, the short man was propelled into the sky with a staggering explosion of the air, Maxim watching her work with a sneer.
She, just most out of them all here, wasn't going to let Units go to waste, nor let the satisfaction of a worthy kill escape her.
"A crude bastard from the outlaw dumps shouldn't get so eager," she said with a high lip.
Of course, she had noticed that the short man wasn't from the circle of Families. In fact, among the five of them, he was the only one without a prestigious backing.
Speaking of understanding status, and such...
The still scowling Mind Caster sternly gazed at Maxim who was standing beside the immobile Skullius.
"Lady Maxim. Please kill him," he said firmly.
Maxim gazed at the braided man, and then at Skullius who looked as if his body, and mind had been shut down. He stood, his pale face barely showing emotion.
"You're ordering me?" Maxim frowned.
"No," the Mind Caster replied simply. "His mind... it's in a terrible place. However you want to commit it, end him before we all regret it."
The braided man was from a lesser Family. He knew Maxim was from the prestigious Flatbed Family, and was a tough opponent to be matched against. To the pink haired lady, it certainly did sound the Mind Caster was handing over this kill out of respect, and convenience.
And it wasn't at all a bad deal.
Maxim gazed at Skullius.
She had met him before, and she had seen him fight. His last battle in the Second Preliminary Round had been quite the outrageous show off, but she knew he was definitely no small fry despite only being at the Advancement Stage.
It was sublimely curious how he was so strong.
Maxim snorted.
Perhaps the Mind Caster was right. A volatile component was never a good thing in any setup.
Thus, she stretched her hand towards Skullius, its fingers brimming with mana as her Family Technique was prepared.
"Fine."
However, an unexpected stab came to fend against her nonchalant reply.
"You're very bold."
Skullius spoke.
Maxim frowned even deeper when she felt that the heavy influence from the braided man's powers had been lifted as soon as Maxim consented to kill Skullius. She shot a cruel side glare towards the Mind Caster who smirked, and drew back.
She had been tricked!
With Skullius released from his bonds, and with one of the contenders near him, declaring that they would kill him... this had been the perfect setup to eliminate one of the five, or to at least lock two of them in combat before reaping their lives... as the Mind Caster had planned.
He had witnessed Skullius' atrocious speed when he killed the woman who was crawling on the ground, and the archer. He had also noticed the unstable pulse of mental energy coming from the Hybrid Luman, as all other Mind Casters could, though he was able to so much more.
And all that analysis piled onto this little scheme lead to...
...!!!
The braided man felt alarm bells clang loudly within him, and with cold sweat trickling down his body, he funnelled more mana into the production of his Perfect Aura instinctively, which buried him in a thick blanket... at the exact same time he felt the tip of a sword pierce his throat!
His eyes sprang wide open, but he didn't pay the pain, or the surprise any more focus!
Skullius was before him, his blade extended to dig a few inches into the Mind Caster's neck.
The man had saved himself by erecting his Perfect Aura just in time, which hampered the force of the Demion's Dance!
That speed!
He hadn't been mistaken!
It was outrageous!
Maxim was left with boiling fury a distance away where she had expected Skullius to lunge at her madly. The braided man's plan hadn't gone as he thought it would – Skullius had attacked the Mind Caster first – and she felt conflicted about it.
Skullius' eye twitched, and he withdrew his blade quickly, smothered it with mana, locked down both his feet on the ground with a weird bend to the knees, and then brought it down in a beautiful slash!
The Mind Caster felt the hairs on his body stand on end. It was merely a single strike with a Unique grade blade coated with mana, against his Aura, but he felt a dangerous sense of unease.
Maxim felt it too. Her skin shuddered a little as Skullius sliced down, the edge of Demion's Dance on the wind causing a menacing, ghostly shriek.
SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-
But its fierce fall onto the Mind Caster at a deathly speed... was cut short.
The green bladed sword, suddenly turned limp, as did its golden hilt which grew thick, fat and scaly.
Demion's Dance turned from a beautiful sword... into a large green serpent with golden, gleaming eyes that faced Skullius with immeasurable hostility!
...!
The Hybrid Luman was stunned.
What was this?!
In that brief moment of confusion, the Mind Caster who also didn't know what to make of the serpent, focused his Perfect Aura to form a Genuine Incarnation in his hand that he used to blast Skullius away with a loud, crisp wave of mental energy that blurred the surroundings!
Skullius soared before suddenly disappearing from the air, and appearing on one of the pillars, perfectly still.
The braided man breathed out a sigh of a relief.
The Genuine Incarnation in his hand, was a tall staff that squirmed vivaciously, at its end a large, bumpy bulge. A set of small, white wings fluttered on either side of the bulge, and even more strange, was a pair of large eyes that blinked on its surface!
With this in his grasp, the Mind Caster felt confident.
Maxim glared at him hatefully, but just as she was about to move against him, a short man roared as he flew down from the sky, his figure dyed in a red neon cloud that expanded to cover the battleground, his sceptre sword stabbing into the field.
Another Genuine Incarnation had appeared, causing Maxim to hurriedly mobilise her own Perfect Aura.
This was her first time seeing an Incarnation like this – a cloud – and as her enemies were ramping up the level of the battle, she followed suit.
Now, only Skullius remained, and Tallo who hadn't moved an inch since the bustle began. The Mage turned to Skullius, and the Hybrid Luman paid close attention to him too.
A neon glow gushed around the former, and he smirked, as if daring Skullius.
What was the Advancement Stage Hybrid Luman going to do when his opponents were about to ignite the flames of battle to another level.
All with Genuine Incarnations!
What would he do when his sword had 'mysteriously' been turned into a snake that seemed to his guts?
Did he stand a chance?
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