The suit had been altered by the fog as well, making it slightly more powerful and allowing it to also control the fog to a degree. The suit was more better suited for Nearsch who was a vessel for the fog and would allow him to utilize the power of the fog in combat as well.
Even though the fog was not really a power that could be utilized in combat as it had very little use in such a situation, it could still boost the power of skills and spells to a degree.
With the energy shield and sword that the suit now possessed, it charged at Reign with full force, and the two soon crashed, only for one to be sent flying back and hitting the wall before being embedded in it.
Reign groaned as he stared at Nearsch who promptly charged at him, forcing Reign to quickly get himself out of the wall and dodge the blow that cut a clean line through the wall.
'He's strong.'
"Yes, slightly more powerful than an average low-grade Tier V, mostly thanks to the fog," Aethion said with a calm voice as Jared opened his mouth next to him.
"The suit's AI grants him great proficiency in combat, and thanks to the fact that in sheer power it is above you, I recommend that you no longer clash against it head-on as nothing would change before you transform."
"Furthermore, the longer the battle lasts, the worse it will be for you and the rest as the fog has started gathering itself here, and soon it will start suppressing you and the rest."
'Good to know.' Reign said with a sigh as he charged at Nearsch once again, which prompted the man to scoff.
Right as they were about to clash, lightning exploded out of Reign as he moved to the right with incredible speed before slashing at Nearsch's side, but before Reign's swords were able to connect with the body, the AI quickly responded, twisting Nearsch's hips and placing the shield in front of the swords, blocking the attack.
Reign didn't feel as if he hit a solid object as his swords bounced off the energy shield, his arms were pushed back, and he was suddenly left open for an attack, and the AI didn't miss it. It quickly moved, slashing at Reign with the energy sword, only to miss as Reign quickly jumped back, only receiving a small graze on his cheek.
Some blood came out of the wound, but it was healed in an instant.
"Good job, to think you would be able to attack me and actually dodge the blow, for a Tier IV being, you are incredible," Nearsch spoke from inside his suit.
"But, you must have noticed it already, the difference in our power, right?"
"You can't win, and to be honest, I don't know why I was so skeptical before, to think I actually offered you ants an alliance, truly laughable behavior from me, but it is also laughable for you to have actually said no and dared attack me, a being that is above you!"
"You are nothing but insects that have lived on this planet without knowing about the rest of the universe, perhaps that is why you have dared believe that you can win this battle?" Nearsch asked as his body moved, arriving in front of Reign immediately and striking down.
Even with his great speed, Reign was unable to dodge as the suit had used two pairs of boosters that were found on the back and the back of the legs as well. The speed it could explode was incredible, and even though Reign had blocked both the attack by lifting his swords up and crossing them, he was forced to go down on one knee.
Suddenly, the boosters were activated once again, and Nearsch delivered a powerful knee, hitting Reign straight on the nose. Blood started flowing out of the nose as Nearsch suddenly grabbed Reign by his hair. He lifted him up before turning his body and sending Reign flying to the other side of the storage area, closer to the hole from which the fog was coming out.
"Tch, you even dropped your swords, what an embarrassing display, young man," Nearsch said in a mocking tone as he stared at Reign.
"Yeah, this was a bit embarrassing." Reign said with a chuckle as he stood up and stared at Nearsch while slightly moving his right hand.
"So, will you surrender, you must understand that you are no match for me, and your friends won't be able to fend off my monsters for much longer, it is only a matter of time before you all die," Nearsch said as he suddenly extended both of his arms.
Two holes once again appeared on his palms as a lot of energy started gathering.
"You have two seconds, will you submit, or die?"
"You really are an arrogant prick, aren't you?" Reign asked in a mocking tone as Nearsch suddenly grunted in pain as Reign's two swords suddenly stabbed into his back.
Not even the AI had managed to notice them as Lyle wasn't using mana to control them, but sword aura, well, a much inferior version to it, one that Eisenhorn had taught him how to control by bonding with his two weapons.
Sword aura was different from mana, and it was impossible for the AI to notice it. Unfortunately, Reign could only utilize it in such a way, using it to control his swords from long range.
Both the swords stabbed into Nearsch, but the damage was minimal as Nearsch's suit immediately moved and created barriers to block any further attacks. The swords quickly flew to Reign who grabbed them before staring at Nearsch who was now enraged.
"You ant, you inferior being that knows only how to use brute force and fight, how dare you?!" A lot of mana, as well as fog, suddenly started gathering around Nearsch. Multiple compartments suddenly opened as a hail of lasers, small missiles, and bullets were launched at Reign.
Multiple explosions took place where Reign was, and the entire place was wrecked, some of the walls even being completely destroyed and the outside being clear to them.
"I have given you a chance, and yet, you chose death, a meaningless death and an end to you, quite fitting for someone as foolish as you were," Nearsch said as he turned around and looked at Wolf and the others.
"To think they would be able to actually fight back against so many monsters, simply incredible."
"Yeah, that's because those monsters of yours are quite weak." Nearsch's eyes opened wide as a familiar voice was heard behind him. Looking back, he was able to notice a figure slowly coming out of the smoke that had covered the back of the storage.
Reign slowly walked out of the smoke and stared at Nearsch with a cocky smile. His wings were spread fully behind him, and to Nearsch's shock, he was now much more powerful than he previously was.
"What is that form, how is that even possible?!" Nearsch shouted in shock as Reign shook his head.
"You don't need to know that, you won't be alive for much longer anyway."
Right after Reign spoke, he moved. He had disappeared from his position and appeared in front of Nearsch in an instant before slashing down with his swords. The attack was blocked, but compared to before, the shield was unable to simply bounce his swords back thanks to the strength that Reign now possessed.
Nearsch was bending slightly from the force of the blow, his teeth were clenched as he stared at Reign and did his best to push back, but Reign's wings weren't there just for show, with a flap of his wings, he passed above Nearsch who almost lost his balance from straining to push Reign back.
The AI immediately forced the body and suit to move forward and roll, dodging Reign's slash that came from behind.
"That AI is really annoying."
'Can you do anything about it, Jared?'
"Unfortunately, no, the suit has become tainted by the fog, and it is no longer functioning as it normally does, in its current state, it would take me quite some time to break through and deal with the AI, and from my calculations, it is simply not effective or useful at this time."
"If you are able to force the suit to expend a lot more energy, then I should be able to break through quickly and deal with the AI, I won't be able to destroy or shut it down completely, but it won't be as powerful as it is now."
'Do I have a chance of winning this by myself?'
"Perhaps, but the AI allows for incredibly fast calculation, it is able to respond to threats with great speed and efficiency, so even in your current state, it won't be easy to defeat the suit."
'Got it.' Reign nodded his head before charging at Nearsch once again before quickly dodging to the left as multiple lasers passed next to him.
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