A silver-scale barrier protected Tritus when the flash of light closed in on him. Cracks appeared on the silver-scale barrier from where the flash of light hit, but it remained intact.
Layla gaped in surprise after seeing this. Her surprise did not come from how Tritus's barrier managed to withstand Obstruction's summoned attack but from how it looked like scales.
'This....'
She was suddenly reminded of a time in the past when the Dragon Lord went to war and led several legendary beasts against the invading 'demons.' No matter how often the 'demons' attacked the beasts, silver-scale barriers appeared on their bodies and protected them.
If Layla remembered correctly, those barriers were protective shields that only the Dragon Lord could employ with his Sigils.
But Tritus was not a beast. How come a Sigil's protective shield appeared and protected him? Besides, Kyran was the new Void Master. Even if he possessed a Regis Blessing and could use Sigils, it would be impossible for him to employ those protective shields without real Draconic magic.
'Don't tell me....' Layla's eyes widened at the possibility that crossed her mind.
Not wanting to waste the chance the Sigil's protective shield gave, Tritus rushed toward Obstruction while the water magic energy gathered around the golden trident in his hand. The momentum of the trident's energy increased as Tritus got closer to Obstruction.
Obstruction scowled and looked at Tritus in the corner of his eye. It was the first time someone below a Sovereign escaped an attack from the black plates.
The magic output of those plates could be manipulated. However, to ensure Tritus was dealt with once and for all, Obstruction did not hold back their output. That was why they were rendered useless after they exhausted all the energy stored in them.
Obstruction was confident those three plates were enough to deal with Tritus. Instead, the latter actually escaped unscathed!
The shield Tritus used at the last moment definitely played a part. It actually had the capacity to withstand a Sovereign-level magic attack!
Because of this result, Obstruction became more vigilant. He was not negligent. But he admitted looking down on the abilities of the Human plane mages. In his eyes, besides Layla and Kyran, everyone else was comparable to insignificant insects.
Tritus's performance changed that.
Nevertheless, Obstruction knew what he had to do. Some Sovereigns might feel humiliated by how a Legendary mage survived their attack, but Obstruction felt no such thing. As a matter of fact, he felt even more focused on the task at hand.
Obstruction waved his hand, and five black rectangular plates flew out from his belt.
The plates circled vertically before him before abruptly stopping after each plate was positioned at five different points. Looking at them from the front view, they would see that the plates made up the points of a pentagon or a pentagram, depending on Obstruction's next move.
If the black plates made up the formation of a pentagram, it meant he decided to launch an offensive. But if they were meant to be in pentagon formation, he wanted to use them defensively.
The black plates emitted a solid light from their inner side. After these lights connected, they formed a pentagon.
It appeared Obstruction planned to go on the defensive.
When Layla saw this, she became confused. She did not expect Obstruction's move. Just as she was reeling over this, the latter did something that astonished her further.
Instead of positioning the pentagon behind him, Obstruction kept them in front, leaving his back wide open for Tritus to attack.
'Was he baiting Tritus to attack?' Layla wondered.
Tritus, about to release an offensive move, could not help but scowl at Obstruction's move. He initially thought the latter planned to block his attack using those plates.
But why did he place them in front?
'Don't overthink and focus on those plates.'
Before Tritus could determine Obstruction's intent, Kyran's voice sounded in his head.
'Yes, Master,' Tritus responded at once. After that, he waved his trident and took aim.
Those looking from afar would think Tritus was aiming at Obstruction's back. But if one looked closely, they would know he was aiming at a spot outside Obstruction's neck, where a portion of the pentagon could be seen.
With a swift flick of his wrist, Tritus threw the trident using all the strength he could muster.
Whoosh!
On the other hand, Layla realized Tritus's plan. But she did not warn Obstruction this time. Not because she lost faith in him but because she felt it was unnecessary.
Obstruction is a Sovereign. He had several hundred, probably even thousands of battles under his belt. Would he need Layla to tell him what to do?
While thinking this, Layla saw a change in the pentagon's route even though Obstruction did not budge. At the same time, in her mind's eye, she saw something from Ane and Soll's side, and a smile appeared on her face.
The small crack on the veil's surface widened when the trident was only a meter away from Obstruction. At the same time, the disc behind Obstruction suddenly whirred to life before making clicking sounds as they separated into two medium rings.
A space distortion appeared between the pentagon and the veil, instantly resulting in a huge chunk of the latter's surface deteriorating.
'What?' Tritus was surprised after seeing Obstruction use magic. But recalling how the latter used it after the crack on the veil's surface widened, he guessed how it happened.
The veil's crack had been large enough for Obstruction to draw magic energy from the outside, which enabled him to activate the disc behind him. Not only that, he used the pentagon not as a shield but as a way to limit the space distortion's area of influence to the other side, which was facing the veil's surface!
As for why Obstruction did nothing to protect himself from Tritus's attack, it was not because he believed the latter was not aiming at him. It was because he was confident in his innate ability.
Innate abilities could be triggered even without magic energy. Thus, once Obstruction's life was in danger, it would activate automatically and protect him. Since it did not activate, it meant that the trident was not after him but the pentagon.
But even if the trident went after the pentagon, it would not hinder Obstruction's objective because by the time it closed in, the crack on the veil's surface would be wide enough for him to gather enough magic energy from the outside and use magic!
Even when the pentagon has contained the space distortion's area of effect, the initial force it exerted before the pentagon took full effect had been enough to divert the trident's trajectory. The trident wheezed past the pentagon and straight toward the space distortion.
The magic around them fluctuated and crackled once the trident collided with the space distortion.
However, Obstruction was not interested in seeing what would happen to the trident. His objective had been only one:
Escape the veil's area of influence so he can leave the Human plane.
With this in mind, Obstruction did not hesitate to use his magic to isolate the space around him. This way, no matter what Tritus did, he would not be able to affect him anymore.
The two medium rings behind Obstruction whirred and clicked before reconnecting into one huge disc. Then the space around him distorted as he activated Space Isolation while flying out of the veil's crack.
'I told Master that I will not fail. Thus, I will not fail!'
Tritus shouted inwardly. His eyes glowed as his magic pressure erupted.
At the same time, the trident's momentum also increased as it began to pierce through the space distortion.
Still, no matter what Tritus did, Obstruction ignored it and only focused on what he was doing. His focus was quite impressive. After all, most people faced with an ever-changing situation would start to falter and might make a wrong decision.
RAWRGH!
The sea serpent inside the trident emerged with a powerful roar, destroying the space distortion in one fell swoop.
Boom!
An explosion occurred, which was then followed by a shockwave.
Tritus used this chance to close the gap between him and Obstruction. With a flick of his hand, the trident returned to his side. He grabbed it and slashed at Obstruction at once.
'What?' Tritus's eyes widened in shock as he hit nothing but air.
Obstruction turned slightly, and Tritus saw him sneer underneath his huge hood.
Tritus's brow furrowed as he swung his trident once more in an attempt to slice Obstruction once more. However, just like the first time, the trident only swept past the latter's body.
"It is futile," Obstruction remarked snidely. After which, the Space around him distorted as his body began to blur.
"Tsk."
Tritus clicked his tongue as he released the sea serpent inside the trident again.
RAWRGH!
The sea serpent circled Obstruction as several water pillars appeared out of thin air and surrounded him.
Instantly, Obstruction's expression darkened as he sensed his connection with magic energy being cut off once more.
'How is this possible?'
The water pillars converged at both ends, creating a cage made out of Water!
If Osric had been there, he would have recognized what the sea serpent had done and what it could do!
Water Cage. A cage wherein anyone trapped inside could not use magic— unless their innate magic were Water magic. At the same time, all Water magic attacks done inside the cage would receive a boost.
"I'll say it right back at you. It is futile once you are trapped inside the Water Cage!"
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