Sebastian found himself caught between admiration and fear as he took in the aftermath of Max's power.
The ground bore the seared imprint of his [World Ember], the once lush battlefield now transformed into a smouldering hellscape. He took a moment to steady himself, feeling a ripple of appreciation. 'Max's powers are beyond extraordinary. It's terrifying and yet awe-inspiring at the same time,' he mused, a rare smile gracing his lips as he revelled in the enormity of the feat.
Sebastian had seen Max's growth closely. Back when both of them were nothing but tier0 warriors they trained together in the university training grounds which made Sebastian acutely aware of just how strong Max was and how far he had actually come.
Once, both of them were at the same level but now Max was clearly miles ahead of him and Sebastian was very happy for his friend but was secretly unwilling to let him continue to widen the gap between himself and him.
With a newfound resolve, he turned towards his part of the plan. A flick of his finger and a shift of his ring later, an army of the undead rose arose from the charred ground.
Skeletal warriors wielding rusted weapons, Durahals looming tall with their massive scythes, and an Elder Lich floating with his ethereal cloak trailing behind him.
The battlefield was once again filled, this time with the spectral force of roughly a hundred and twenty thousand who at Sebastian's command charged straight for the few thousand remaining soldiers of Ferox's army.
Meanwhile, Max sat a distance away as he recovered his strength sipping potions.
After being knocked out cold the previous time from overexerting himself in battle, he understood his limits better this time around and knew that it was best to rest for a few minutes to catch his breath after using a big attack to rejoin the battle with renewed vigour when he eventually did.
His eyes were locked onto the aerial ballet of power between his clone and Ferox, as neither party were giving the other an inch.
The clone spiralled towards Ferox, using [ Elemental Transmutation ] and imbuing his sword with the power of wind.
Ferox met the wind blade mid-air, countering it with a mighty [ Thunder Strike]. The impact sent a shockwave across the battlefield, sending ripples of distorted air waves, bending the light around it.
The clone felt the impact as he felt his hands turn heavy from absorbing the damage, but pushing through he struck back, launching a swift [ Thunder blast ] that electrified the air around them.
Ferox parried it with a fiery [Fire Wave], creating a spectacular explosion of light and heat, distorting the air with the sheer force of the collision.
' ooooo ' Max sucked a breath of cold air as he saw that collision and became mesmerised by the ongoing battle.
He had to admit, Ferox was quite skilled at fighting as after every counter he left no gaps for the enemy to exploit.
"I expected more from the legendary brother of Shakuni " Ferox's voice echoed amidst the chaos.
" I expected more from the rising star of dark faction " Max shot right back as Ferox grinned
" I knew you had heard of me you punk, I'm better than you " Ferox said with a satisfied smile on his face as he finally got the validation he wanted.
The clone, relentless in his attack, smirked, "Save your breath, Ferox. You'll need it."
Seeing his opponent unfazed, Ferox grit his teeth, his mind racing. He understood the fact that his opponent was firing all cylinders to fight him while he was only going at about 60%, but the advantage he had was that he could tag out and let Ravan Bloodfall deal with him, while he could not do the same.
He needed a game-changer. Something to finish Max Rajput off before Ravan recovered his strength, and hence he decided to gamble on the Maya Astra!
Creating some distance between himself and the clone, he retrieved the weapon from his inventory and activated it as he became surrounded in a blinding flash of light.
It was only for a split-second but the blinding flash of light blinded the clone who although regained his vision quite quickly was trapped in an illusion which he did not understand was not real.
In his version of the world around him, he could still see Ferox and everything was as usual, he could even feel the change in wind currents as Ferox moved and clashed against him as he also moved his sword and continued to battle as usual.
But in reality he was slashing at plain air, his opponent did not exist a the places that his mind was tricking him to think that he was, giving Ferox a golden opening to chop his head off.
From a distance, Max's heart raced as he watched Ferox, free from the clone's assault, preparing to strike at the clone's vulnerable neck.
He too saw the momentary flash of blinding light, but because he was too far away it did not block his vision momentarily and he was not trapped within the illusion.
Seeing the clone slash at nothing as he continued to move around and maneuver as if he were fighting, Max understood something was seriously wrong.
He could not understand exactly what had transpired, however, Drax who recognised the move answered his doubt as he said with a voice filled with absolute hatred ' Maya Astra '.
Max's eyes widened in disbelief when he heard Drax confirm that his opponent was a Divine Astra user as this made saving matters even more complicated.
He was too far away to intervene immediately while Ferox had already began gathering divine essence in his sword as if preparing a big move.
" F***! " Max cursed as he scrambled to his feet, his mind whirring at full speed on how to save his alternative identity from certain death, but he had little time and even fewer options on how to achieve the impossible.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT target, good job everyone!!
Thankyou for your great support since the start of this month. ///
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