A Supreme Wizard, especially one so infamous for his powers and prowess, happened to appear out of nowhere and in support of their enemy. The Shadow of Masan, her husband, and the remaining nine Grand Wizards were filled with fear from the depths of their hearts.

How could they possibly combat a man who single-handedly defied the Church of Solis so successfully? A man whom even the Pope dreaded facing. A Supreme Wizard of unknown level—how could victory be attainable?

"Will you fight me all at once or one by one?" Julius asked as he dragged his giant sword toward the nine enemies. "You, Manzax, you're about to become a Supreme Wizard, aren't you? It's a pity you chose the wrong side—so much potential squandered."

Manzax felt his feet stepping back on their own. "I…I didn't mean to fight you…My Lord."

"Ugh…And there you go, offending me. I hate being called Lord." Julius lifted his sword and aimed it toward Manzax. "You saw Sylvester Maximilian last night. You understood who he was and were well aware of what he stood for. Yet, you chose to take the side of the scheming, disguised Empress. I may be old fashioned, but the era I'm from—actions have consequences, and yours is—death!"

Woosh!

The giant two-meter-long sword swung with a resonating hum. It created a storm of wind that manifested as countless blade-like gusts, possessing such immense power that it left nothing but utter destruction in its path.

BOOM!

The blades of air surged forth and struck the walls of the castle. The force was so tremendous that the enchanted walls were thrust aside, bricks fell apart, and the destruction continued until the impact of the sword spilled out of the castle—leaving behind a giant hole all the way from the court hall to the lawn.

"One down," Julius murmured.

Manzax was blown to smithereens, reduced to minuscule particles, not even a trace of blood or hair remaining. The only evidence that a man named Manzax existed was the pair of feet that remained where the man once stood.

Just like that, a level ten Grand Wizard met his death. So easily and without exerting himself, Julius already declared the battle's outcome.

"I suggest you all come together. You will not win, but your hearts will momentarily be elated in the hope it'll work." Julius called the rest.

Thud!

With cold feet, none of the Grand Wizards moved. Some cast aside their swords, while the others were just frozen.

Julius sighed. "Fine, I will come to you."

…

While Julius was massacring the Grand Wizards, Sylvester was busy fighting the Shadow of Masan and her husband at the same time. Judging from their abilities, he had deduced that Killim was at least a peak-level Platinum Knight, and the Shadow of Masan was a Grand Wizard of at least level five, but her abilities were too mysterious.

"You should have stayed dead!" she bellowed as her defeat seemed imminent. Even if they killed Sylvester, how would they handle the Anti-Light Chief?

Sylvester smirked and masterfully used his spear to maintain distance from the woman, while he went all out on Killim, as Sylvester was also a peak-level Platinum Knight. Which meant he held the same explosive power to cancel out Killim's moves.

However, what Killim lacked was Elder Magic and magic in general. Sylvester gradually intensified his attacks, incorporating runes to make his spear even deadlier. Poison, fire, and ice…he used everything.

Clank!

Killim's sword clashed with Sylvester's spear. Sylvester smiled and instantly shortened his spear, evading Killim's block. He then knelt down to get a better view of the man's neck.

"Wrath of Heavens!" Sylvester roared and grabbed Killim's neck with his palm as a halo appeared behind his head. A shining light also began to appear in his hand, and the burning sensation caused the ambitious man to writhe in pain, desperate to break free.

♫Hear, hear—the light shall now burn.

For the worse, your fate has decided to turn.

Lord has no mercy for those who never learn.From this realm of the living, you are spurn!♫

The Wrath of Heaven's beam, Elder Magic, and Sylvester's wizard level, which was higher than ever before—a fusion of all those elements ensured that the ensuing attack was the most formidable ever. Its effects out of proportion, and its range far more than ever before.

BOOM!

A bright, golden beam of light emanated from the palm that gripped Killim's throat. It shot off with such brilliance that everything disappeared in its enveloping warmth and light—none could see what happened except for Sylvester.

The beam shot up towards the court's ceiling and left behind a giant hole. But the beam of light didn't stop and extended into the sky as far away as possible—visible even from distant lands like the Warsong Kingdom or the Pentapeak range in the North.

Thud!

Once the light subsided and Sylvester retracted his palm, Killim's lifeless body collapsed to the ground. The head was missing, nor was there any blood wound, for the light burned it close as well.

"One down," Sylvester mumbled and looked at the Shadow of Masan. Her body trembled at the sight of her husband's death. The man for whom she did it all—fought the world—fought the faith.

"NO! No, no…!" The continuous chants of disbelief plagued her tongue. Her face was likely contracted and pale behind the helmet of her armor. Her rage surged, overwhelming any remnants of control left in her.

Sylvester aimed at her next. "You dug this grave. Now you shouldn't leave it empty—let's fight."

The Shadow of Masan shifted her gaze toward Sylvester and calmly lifted her thin sword toward him. "Today…None of us will win!"

Bam!

With a single stomp of her foot, she sent forth a wave of dirt that rippled in all directions. But, there was something more to it; once the wave passed, Sylvester found himself submerged in absolute darkness. He couldn't hear, see, or feel, and even the ability to discern his direction was lost.

'She's becoming suicidal…Good, the more unstable she is, the less coherent her thoughts will be.' Sylvester wagered on her anger.

"Illusion magic?" He said as if mocking it. "I've faced this before."

No words came from her. Clearly, she knew speaking could reveal her position.

Sylvester felt his Elder magic depleting rapidly, so he had to take action swiftly. "Hiding now? Still sulking for your husband? Perhaps I should have killed you first."

CLASH!

Sylvester abruptly raised his spear behind his head and blocked a sword strike aimed at him. A small curse echoed before he felt the Shadow of Masan retreat again into the darkness she created.

"Foolish of you to think I can't sense you." Sylvester continued to taunt her the whole time. "Perhaps this will help!"

Thud!

Halo-clad Sylvester slammed his foot on the ground and once again activated one of his most powerful techniques, the Holyfire Purge.

♫Good deeds are rewarded, and sins are suffered.

You may try to hide, but soon you'll be discovered.

Nothing runs from Solis. No veil remains covered.

Against the dark, my light will be ushered!♫

Crack!

The ground beneath Sylvester's feet began to shake and create giant lava-filled cracks. Walls of light formed through each crack, creating small pockets of obstruction. Furthermore, each wall was the same as the plasma beam of his Wrath of Heavens—draining magic for sure but effective in slowing the enemy.

But he couldn't see, so he had no idea about the range and the effects of his magic. Still, he went all out, as killing the Shadow of Masan was of utmost importance. Clash!

Yet again, she appeared near him, he blocked her, and she fled.

"Even after blinding me, you can't win—you overestimated yourself," Sylvester said, something similar to what she had told him recently.

'I need to exit this darkness.' He understood and tried to focus more on the Solarium signatures around him. He could sense the Anti-Light Chief clearly, as the man had an extremely strong signature.

But, Shadow of Masan was somehow still hidden, as if she was a phantom, not a living creature.

"Not only illusion, there are many more secrets to my decades of success—the mind is one." At last, the Shadow of Masan's voice reverberated. She snapped her fingers, and abruptly the darkness vanished from around him.

Sylvester looked around himself clearly. But the view made him frown heavily.

"Haha—What do you think?" She maniacally laughed. "Let's fight now."

'What the…I sense equal Solarium in each of them.' Sylvester didn't rush forward this time, for there stood more than a hundred replicas of the Shadow of Masan, indistinguishable from one another.

'Shadows, scent, the Solarium—this isn't possible. Her strength hasn't decreased at all, even if she divided her own Solarium.' Sylvester fell into a dilemma.

"Scared?" Her taunts came. "Attack!"

With a combined warcry, all of the clones of the Shadow of Masan rushed to attack Sylvester simultaneously. They were each Grand Wizard level five at least, and Sylvester exerted all his effort to combat them. He stabbed some of their faces with his long spear, but soon they hoarded close to him.

Slash!

Cut!

Sylvester groaned in pain once the gashes appeared on him, and his blood spread all around. They all pounced on him at the same time, forming a sort of shell all over him, stabbing him or punching him to keep him down.

The Hellfire Purge did little to deter them as they leaped over the walls of burning light.

'Ugh! It bloody hurts!... What's going on? It's scientifically impossible to make clones without losing power. This goes against the law of conservation of mass; how is she doing this?' Sylvester asked himself, trying to find a way out of the dilemma. The gashes on his body continued to multiply, and his blood painted the ground red.

"CHONKY!" He roared, calling for him.

'Wait…Miraj was on my shoulder…I didn't see him the entire time!' He realized something and remembered the fact that Miraj was typically immune to certain forms of magic.

Finally, Sylvester stopped fighting and remained motionless with his eyes closed. Instead of sensing the external world, he focused on examining his own body. In no time, he realized something startling.

'There's only one blade that's attacking me—it's just too fast. Then…this means I'm still stuck in an illusion! But this time, my mind is also being manipulated. She couldn't see Chonky, so he was left out!'

Armed with this newfound insight, he kept himself calm with the Spear of Infinity clenched in his hand. He didn't fight and only tried to feel where the blades were striking him, at what interval, and the distance of each blade's strikes. Only one was real, and all the clones he was seeing were fake.

The pain was excruciating as the stabs were real and bled him dry like never before. But, he knew that the outcome of his battle had already been determined—victory was the only outcome.

'Five inches difference between each wound, from left to right, from top to bottom.' He began to calculate. 'She's right-handed, so her body should be a foot to the left of…'

Suddenly, his mind went blank for a few seconds.

'God! I've lost too much blood…I'm on the brink of collapse!' He cursed and hastened his calculation. 'Her body is a foot left of the blade—her height is six feet, the trajectory of the blade is downward at a thirty-degree angle, but the stabs are under her shoulder instead of over the shoulder—she's crouching a little, so her head is at four…'

"GOT YOU!"

CLANK!

With precise calculations, Sylvester activated the Spear of Infinity with lightning speed, channeling all the Solarium in his body into the weapon. As a trusted partner, it responded with a snap and left his line of sight, piercing through the bodies of the fake clones and, at last, hit something metallic—her helmet, at a perfectly planned spot—right in the eye!

Thud!

The stabs abruptly stopped, accompanied by a resounding thump.

____________________

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