"Hm. If it makes you feel any better," the Willguard said calmly, "you lasted longer than I expected."

Some distance away, the Willguard approached with unhurried steps, golden armor gleaming beneath the blinding sun.

He might have looked like a warrior from the heavens, if not for the abyss black eyes and the oppressive aura surrounding him.

He stopped before Magnus and looked down at him.

"I was instructed to make your death painful. I've devoted my life to cleansing this world of the filth that infests it."

He slowly raised his sword, the blade catching the light.

Magnus felt every gaze on him. He saw his grandson trembling, eyes locked intensely on the scene.

But Magnus exhaled heavily and turned his gaze to the bright sky, his expression empty.

"Your only sin," the Willguard continued, "was being associated with that filth."

The blade came down, and blood splattered across the ruined ground. The Willguard's eyes narrowed.

Rather than his head, his sword had pierced straight through Magnus's palm and into his arm.

"Oh? You can still move?"

He tried to pull his blade free, only for Magnus's grip to tighten around it, locking it in place. Despite the searing pain, Magnus forced himself upright and pressed his hand against the armor.

"Wha—"

The Willguard's eyes widened.

"Release!"

The armor detonated, blasting Magnus away. He tumbled across the earth before finally coming to a stop. His eyes darted back to the Willguard, who now stared at him with wide eyes.

"You… what did you do?"

Orbs of light began to glow from the armor's joints, swelling with each passing second.

"This armor… You shouldn't be able to affect it. There's no way your inferior energy can." He raised his arm. "Release!"

A weaker blast rippled outward, but the glowing orbs remained untouched. The Willguard's eyes darkened further.

"This is your doing!"

Magnus let out a heavy breath, heat rippling through him as fire born molecules stirred beneath his skin. He raised his arm slowly and clenched his fist.

The orbs detonated in concussive blasts that hurled the Willguard away with each violent explosion.

Atticus felt a wave of shock hit him. Magnus had been seconds from death, he had seen that resigned expression himself.

So what was this?

'What just happened?'

He replayed every moment of the battle in his mind, and then it clicked.

'He planned it. All of it.'

Atticus couldn't keep his composure anymore. A wide grin appeared on his face.

The Willguard's armor could conduct will, making it will forged and impervious to any inferior energy.

Magnus had realized that early on. That was why he had turned into lightning and entered the armor itself, aiming for the man inside rather than the shell protecting him. The Willguard had forced him out before he could deal any damage.

Atticus had assumed that was the end of Magnus's plan, but he'd been wrong.

When he entered, Magnus had left something behind. The elemental molecules.

As the fight continued, those molecules had kept working, slipping deeper into the armor, inching closer to the Willguard's actual body.

All that remained was to make contact. And pretending to give up by staring at the sky had masked his intent long enough to touch the armor again.

Now, those molecules were under Magnus's control.

Every soul on the board watched with narrowed eyes. Atticus had known his grandfather as many things, but he had never taken him for someone this cunning. No one had expected a turn like this.

Magnus had relied solely on lightning throughout the battle, convincing everyone that it was all he possessed.

He'd fooled them completely.

Ordan's eyes had lost their glow, and his fingers had stopped tapping against his staff. Others could only watch in stunned silence.

At this turn of events, Atticus felt his blood boil.

'You can do this.'

Another explosion tore echoed, sending the Willguard crashing into the ground. He rose moments later, black blood seeping from gaps in his armor as his trembling gaze locked onto Magnus.

"You did something to the armor," he said, then tapping his chest. The plates shifted, then rapidly shrank and condensed into a dark orb floating before him.

Darkness surged from his body, smothering the next explosion before it could fully form.

"Don't misunderstand your place," he said coldly. "I don't need the armor to kill you."

The darkness thickened, his body twisting and expanding, contorting into a massive beast with abyss black eyes, gleaming claws, and rows of glinting teeth.

Magnus watched silently as he forced himself upright. Every movement sent pain lancing through his body, but he didn't stop until he stood straight, meeting the creature's gaze head on.

His wounds began to knit together at an inhuman pace. And for the first time since the battle began, Magnus spoke.

"I'm going to kill you."

The Willguard's eyes narrowed to slits, but Magnus vanished.

Heat surged through him as fire flared and he reappeared in front of the creature. Claws lashed out, but Magnus's body turned ethereal, the strike passing through him as though he were smoke.

His fist slammed into the Willguard's face with such force that his mask cracked, sending him hurtling headfirst across the terrain.

"Kuk!"

Blood streaked through the air as the Willguard skidded across the ground. Magnus appeared above him in the next instant. Wings unfurled from his back as he opened his mouth, smoke curling from within.

He roared.

A storm of fire poured down, engulfing the Willguard completely.

Moments later, the creature crashed into the earth, carving out a massive crater. Magnus followed, slamming down into the crater with crushing force, shockwaves and debris blasting outward.

Claws tore free from Magnus's fingers, and he ripped, he shredded, he tore.

Black blood sprayed across the ground as the Willguard was reduced to nothing but mangled remains.

A second later, Magnus straightened slowly, blood dripping from his claws as he breathed heavily.

The board fell into a deathlike silence, every eye fixed on him.

Then, in that silence, the board spoke.

"Marquis Atticus has won this challenge."

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