Mana flowed throughout the floor, feeding the magic fire. Keeping his eyes on her and trying to anticipate what spell she would use next, Rylan suddenly felt like his head had been hit by a sledgehammer. His eyes lost focus, and he almost stumbled in place as his view trembled. It was difficult to even keep his balance. A single question struck him.

Is this a Mind spell?

It had happened at the worst possible time. The flames closed in like ravenous, blazing beasts. Rylan could feel his mind clearing up as his Aura Heart and Mana Core resonated, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the fire. Making a decision in a split second, he gathered his Aura and mana to create a layer above his skin. The flames hit the layer, but his two types of energy pushed against them. Rylan shook his head with gritted teeth, but the feeling didn't disappear completely. He perceived a projectile approaching from behind at blinding speed. In his current state, Rylan only had the time to shift his body to avoid a fatal hit before the projectile pierced straight through his back, puncturing his stomach.

The unknown projectile's mana tried to wreak havoc within his body, the strands of mana reaching for his organs and flesh, but he managed to contain it with strenuous effort and pain. Rylan's Aura Heart continued to beat. His mind cleared up, making him regain his balance in a heartbeat. Without hesitation, Rylan dashed to the side with Snowstorm, avoiding one of the navy-blue spears, then looked at Julius with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

He'll cast the Mind spell again.

Before it happened, he needed to inflict damage on one of the enemies.

Rylan arrived in front of Antonia, who was staring at him with wide eyes. He could tell space was starting to fold around her, but he didn't slow down in the least. The moment she disappeared, he looked to the right. It was an almost instinctive reaction. In the next fraction of a second, space bent and the woman reappeared right where he was looking, meeting his gaze while flinching. Rylan smiled, but she gritted her teeth.

"Julius!" Antonia shouted. "We need to end this now!"

There was no reply, but Rylan could feel massive amounts of mana flowing around him. The spatial pressure upon him only became greater, to the point where even his strengthened bones were starting to creak and his organs were aching. He didn't care about those signs in the least. Looking over his shoulder at Julius, Rylan narrowed his eyes, his senses and experience screaming at him. The man was surrounded by a sphere of navy-blue mana.

I can't let him cast that spell.

The entire floor was shaking. He didn't want to find out what kind of spell required casting time from a Sixth Circle Mage, nor how powerful it would be. He needed to stop the man.

Rylan grabbed Silver Twilight's hilt with both hands and rushed toward Julius, casting both Wind Blades and Lesser Lightning as he moved.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

Coated in both spells and a solid-looking blade of white Aura, his weapon's edge rushed toward Julius, splitting apart the atmosphere. Julius furrowed his brow and waved his staff. A thick, blue barrier appeared around him, but the sphere of mana didn't disappear. Rylan smiled like a beast baring its fangs. His Sword Arts weren't so easily handled.

Putting as much power as he could into the attack, Rylan slashed the barrier. It immediately cracked as blades of lightning flowed through its surface, empowered by sharp winds. This time, Julius' expression changed entirely. His mana's flow changed, stopping in place, then spreading throughout space. Rylan's blade continued toward his neck, the man's skin tearing open due to the Sword Art's power. Julius widened his eyes. The energy tore open his lips and the skin on his face. He cried tears of blood due to the damage.

A moment later, Julius teleported away. Just like before, Rylan reflexively looked to the left, where Julius reappeared, holding his face as it bled. Through the gaps between the man's fingers, their eyes met. Julius's gaze was filled with pain and hatred, and Rylan could tell he was severely frowning. He was no longer gathering his mana – Rylan had successfully stopped the spell.

"Keep him tied down!" Julius shouted at Antonia after removing his hand. His face was a mess, but his eyes still looked fine, making Rylan click his tongue. Had the man protected them somehow?

Rylan kept his smile, still acutely aware of the fact that he was on a timer, and continued to fight. Antonia changed her approach – instead of offensive spells, she started casting restrictive magic and binding spells, all with the clear objective of keeping him still for even a second. Naturally, Rylan either escaped or outright destroyed all of them. The real problems were the Illusion and Mind spells, but since he now expected them, he managed to deal with them faster. He could see the frustration building in both of his enemies' expressions.

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Injuries kept building up. What had started with a few grazes and cuts became a desperate struggle where he was forced to push Aura's regenerative properties to their limits to even remain standing. Powering through the damage and pain, Rylan continued to channel Snowstorm, stepping on the frozen air and rain. He moved like a cold wind, a shimmering figure amidst heavy snowfall. He never stopped for even a second, even as he attacked. Julius kept trying to cast the same spell as before, but Rylan stopped him every time, even if only by a hair.

It happened as he approached Antonia with Snowstorm, channeling Storm's Descent. His Aura burned hot within him. Suddenly, something reached his perception, something he recognized. It was as if the space fifteen meters to his right was folding upon itself. He didn't need to wonder why that was. He brought the sword down, then shot to the side as Antonia disappeared. She came into existence where space had been folding, but his sword was already coming down. Her terrified expression was the last one he saw.

Rylan's sword finally reached her. The blazing energy reached her skin and instantly melted through it, then disintegrated her flesh. Her bones and organs were the last to go, consumed by the ravenous wave of pure power. In the next second, her entire body disappeared into fine dust. He let out a breath and shot toward Julius, who was thirty meters away. The flames had faded into nothingness, as had the rune barriers.

"Damn monster!" the man shouted before the same spheres of light as before appeared all around him.

Just like before, Rylan had no intention of giving him enough time to cast the spell properly. His blade turned into a white lightning bolt, coated in Lesser Lightning's energy and supported by the storm. Julius teleported away, but just like before, Rylan predicted his destination by carefully watching space itself. He dashed toward it, swinging the sword again. Julius had barely taken shape before he teleported once more, but Rylan kept up with his movement a second time.

Abruptly, several mana signatures reached his awareness. Some of them he recognized, with Alice's and Henry's among them.

Fucking finally.

Now that Antonia's flames had disappeared, the other Mages could approach the Mage Tower to participate in the battle.

Julius didn't look away as he reappeared, but Rylan could tell the man had allowed himself to be momentarily distracted by the appearance of Ceotha's Mages. Was it a mere reflex or a consequence of the mission he'd been given? Either way, it was a fatal mistake. Rylan sped up even further. Julius' eyes widened. Spheres of light appeared in the space between them, then flew toward Rylan in a flash. Rylan narrowed his eyes and weaved between the beams of light, but the light bent and kept up with his movement. Instead of retreating, he pushed onward.

Even if I die.

Five of the beams were aiming for his head, eight others for his heart, and four more for his lower body. None of it mattered. He only needed to kill Julius as quickly as possible. His concentration remained at its peak.

Silver Twilight slashed through the remaining beams aiming for his front and cracked open Julius' defenses. Rylan could feel the man's entire mana reserves veritably boil, as if he were about to explode, but it was too late. His sword reached the man's neck. Almost simultaneously, the beams of light arrived. Rylan only had the time to use his slash to spin around, cleaving through the beams aiming for him, then continued to spin. Three of the beams grazed his body, burning through his muscles and flesh, but he didn't stop. His blade neared its target in a flash.

In the next moment, Julius' head disappeared alongside all incoming spells.

Rylan lightly landed behind Julius' disintegrating corpse, sliding on his feet to a halt. Finally, he allowed himself to relax and evaluate his condition. There were fifteen distinct, large injuries on his body, including the burns caused by the crimson flames, but none of them were too deep or irreparable. His bones and organs were still mostly intact, but some had sustained some damage due to Julius' spatial press. Rylan swallowed a mouthful of blood and turned around.

Dozens of Mages were fighting against the remaining imperial Mages. He recognized quite a few faces, all filled with wrath and indignation, alongside killing intent. Alice and Henry were among them, but so were Gael and Nathan. Rylan narrowed his eyes at them, then looked at the few remaining imperial Mages, who were all staring at him like they were looking at an enormous beast, even as they were cornered and injured.

They will all be killed over the next minute.

Rylan's focus turned inward. Both his mana and Aura reserves had been exhausted. The exhaustion was such that it was difficult to even hold his sword properly, but he never let it escape his grasp. A swordsman never dropped their sword, and he could finally call himself a swordsman again. He had won.

Finally, Rylan looked in the direction of Damian's barrier. His loved ones were still behind it, all staring at him. Elizabeth was crying, Gerard looked both awed and proud, Aelfric was smiling brightly, and Regis and Lillia were grinning with one hand over their chests. Hayden and Jasmine were staring at him as if trying to drill a hole through him. Lastly, Damian was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, also staring at him.

Rylan smiled awkwardly at them. He had prevailed in this battle, but the conversation that would follow was a battle of its own.

I'm glad everyone is ok.

He started walking toward the barrier.

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