Chur was driven into a dead end, and completely consumed by rage. A surge of blood rushed straight to his head.
He suddenly stood up, grabbing the longsword beside him once more.
Tangible blood energy coiled around Chur's body, and a layer of white markings appeared over his blade.
A warrior's Battle Technique.
Unlike magic, this was a skill that could only be used by a warrior's "vital blood energy."
Like breaking through the wind itself, Chur charged rapidly toward him.
Viktor instinctively raised his silver sword in front of himself, forcibly taking Chur's heavy blow head-on.
In an instant, the dirt behind Viktor exploded upward; the intense pressure of the air ripped through the trees dozens of meters away.
Viktor's hands went numb as he staggered back several steps.
"As expected, my strength doesn't compare to that of a traditional warrior." Viktor muttered to himself, lowering his head slightly.
Chur swung his sword, the blade grazing over Viktor's head.
The timing was perfect.
Viktor reversed his grip and struck Chur's waist with the hilt of his sword.
However, it had little effect, the burly Chur merely stumbled back a few steps.
Chur then slammed his rune-covered sword into the ground with all his might, sending a powerful shockwave surging outward through the earth.
Viktor caught the rhythm perfectly and leapt back a step, easily evading the trembling ground beneath him.
But Chur refused to give up. His sword arced upward from the ground toward the sky.
A burst of sword wind exploded forth instantly, rushing straight toward Viktor.
Once, twice, three times…
Chur unleashed strike after strike, but all he saw was Viktor dodging every attack with agile movements, slipping through every wave of sword wind.
Chur's eyes narrowed as he stabbed his blade deep into the ground beneath his feet.
A violent gale began to swirl around him, expanding outward in every direction.
Viktor's gaze remained calm. He focused on the barrier's weak point and thrust his sword forward.
The tremendous wind barrier shattered effortlessly with that single strike.
Every move Chur made, in Viktor's eyes, had a counter.
Viktor stepped forward. Seizing the delay after Chur's technique, he drove his blade toward Chur's body.
But at that instant, Chur suddenly pulled out a round shield from his waist and raised it in front of himself.
A cruel grin spread across his face.
As long as he could parry Viktor's strike, just once!, he could instantly slice the dazed Viktor into pieces!
But before he could savor Viktory, Viktor suddenly smiled.
"How naïve."
BOOM!
His body instantly transformed into a mass of flame, circling around the shield and engulfing Chur completely.
The furious blaze seemed determined to burn Chur to ashes; his screams of agony echoed from within the barrier.
The explosion of light illuminated half the night sky.
When the fire finally dissipated, Viktor's figure reappeared in place, shaking his sword with composed elegance.
Chur, however, was covered in burn marks, panting heavily, his weapon barely supporting his trembling body.
"Why… why?"
Chur's eyes widened in disbelief. In his own field of close combat, he still lost... to a mage.
And that mage could even cast magic within the range of anti-magic stone.
'This isn't fair!'
He refused to accept it. He would not accept it...
Why was every single move he made completely seen through by his opponent?
Even the hidden trump card he'd prepared, in Viktor's eyes, it wasn't even worth calling a secret.
At that moment, Chur snapped.
Thick, red blood energy began to coil violently around him like a sinister aura.
In his rage, Chur completely lost his sanity. He tore off his armor and pressed his sword against his own blood.
The blood, as if drawn by some power, crept up along the blade.
That wild, beastlike madness made everyone who saw it feel a chill in their hearts.
Even Viktor seemed momentarily stunned, frozen where he stood.
Chur raised the crimson greatsword and leapt toward Viktor, swinging it down with ferocious force. The surging sword energy, mingled with the red glow, formed a wide radius of destruction, Viktor included.
Seeing Chur's madness, the subordinate beside Liya asked anxiously, "Miss Liya! Shouldn't we assist him now?"
"No need."
Liya watched the battle calmly, showing not the slightest trace of concern.
The moment she saw Viktor use magic, she already knew, Chur couldn't possibly win this fight.
"If he wants to play, let him play."
"When it's over, we'll handle the cleanup."
Liya's tone was flat, but her words were filled with unshakable confidence in Viktor.
After all, this was the youngest genius of the Imperial Capital.
How could someone like him lose to a mere kingdom warrior?
Whoosh~
Powerful waves of blood energy burst outward, carried by chaotic wind currents.
The currents were like countless blades, slicing through the air toward Viktor.
Viktor moved unhurriedly, strolling leisurely between the gaps of those air blades as if on a calm walk.
The blades slashed through empty space, reducing the surrounding trees to shredded splinters that crashed loudly to the ground.
Chur's eyes were bloodshot, his crimson pupils tracking Viktor's every movement through the storm barrier.
'Just once, even once!'
If he could land just one hit, that would be enough.
But...
"That's enough. You've made enough noise."
The calm, watery voice drifted into his ears. When Chur looked again, Viktor's hand was already wreathed in fierce flames.
"I'd advise you not to forget one thing."
Viktor stepped to the edge of the blood array, his silver sword embedded within it.
It was a judgment, the final verdict of death.
"I am... a mage."
Flames suddenly ignited along the blade.
A burst of wind struck the silver edge, and Viktor twisted his wrist, guiding the fiery sword along the air current, binding the entire field of energy.
The power that once belonged to Chur now became his own prison of fire.
The temperature soared sharply, blazing higher and higher, as if to ignite the entire wasteland.
Unable to withstand it any longer, the energy field collapsed with a thunderous roar.
BOOM!!!
The explosion of raging fire swallowed the wasteland whole.
Through the rising smoke, the others could see a dark figure blasted out of the explosion, slamming heavily onto the ground.
It was Chur.
In his final moments, he had burned his very life force to unleash his ultimate Battle Technique.
But it was useless.
His attack was once again effortlessly broken by Viktor, even turned against him as the finishing blow.
The rebounding sword energy pierced through Chur's limbs, pinning him to the ground. He lay there, barely breathing.
The barrier shattered with his fall, and a dark, pitch-black stone rolled to Viktor's feet.
Viktor stepped closer, looking down at him with a calm expression.
The instant the barrier vanished, Viktor felt his magic return.
Chur raised his head weakly, wanting to see if Viktor bore any injuries.
But aside from a few tears on his clothes, he couldn't find a single drop of blood on Viktor's body.
Then, with a faint flicker of flame, even those tears in his clothes mended themselves.
Chur gave up. The light in his eyes faded.
Seeing this, even his last trace of hope shattered completely.
He looked up at the sky, and suddenly, against all reason, began to laugh wildly.
"Long live the Kingdom!"
As soon as he said it, Leon's expression changed. She shouted urgently, "He's trying to take poison!"
Chur bit down on his molar. The poison hidden within instantly took effect.
At once, he felt his life rapidly slipping away…
But...
Viktor moved faster. With a flick of his coat, several vials of crimson potion were forcibly poured down Chur's throat.
Chur's eyes bulged wide. In that instant, he felt his life force returning.
Life and death alternated within him, the sensations overlapping.
The pain was unbearable, like ten thousand ants eating away at his flesh.
Viktor looked down at the suffering Chur and slowly revealed a devil's smile.
"I told you," he said softly.
"As long as I don't allow you to die, you won't die."