The elder did not retreat.

He twisted his wrist.

A ribbon of darkened space coiled around his staff and spun outward into a barrier.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Three enormous forelegs slammed into it from three different angles, and still the old man held.

The blows should have pulverized a fortress.

Instead, the air quivered like stretched metal. The distorted space absorbed the force, bending but refusing to break.

The ants screeched, their vibrating cries shaking the fractured ice below.

The elder's eyes glowed faintly as Ghost and the remaining ants charged again.

"Five against one," he murmured. "Rude."

He lifted his staff a fraction.

BOOM.

Mana erupted outward, an invisible shockwave that distorted the light itself.

All five ants were blasted back in curved arcs, their massive bodies dragging ripples through the frozen air.

But they recovered instantly.

Ghost was the first back on him.

He dove straight through the collapsing shockwave and brought both forelegs down like twin hammers.

Two more ants appeared behind him, mandibles glowing faintly as their bodies shook from the raging energy within.

The elder reacted with frightening ease.

His staff spun once.

Space folded into a spiral.

A vortex bloomed before them.

When Michael and the soldiers who had come from the second floor saw it, their expressions darkened. They understood immediately.

The barrier Michael's undead mage created prevented anyone from using space related abilities. Yet this old man had been freely bending space from the start.

If he had wanted to leave the barrier earlier, he likely could have.

This was the power of a suppressed Rank four.

And he had not even used his law yet.

Ghost's twin strike disappeared into the warped space as if swallowed whole.

A heartbeat later

BOOM.

The vortex spat the redirected force back onto the two ants approaching from behind.

They were hit squarely and flung into the ground, carving craters through the ice as shards exploded outward.

Ghost retreated quickly, skidding back into the air.

Michael watched without blinking.

Varun, Ruel, the demonic supernaturals, and the soldiers all stared in disbelief.

"He is matching five of them," Ruel whispered.

Even with Ghost and the others burning at maximum power, the old man stood equal.

Ghost reappeared behind him, mandibles wide, aiming for the elder's spine.

The elder did not turn.

He raised two fingers.

The air behind him froze.

Space locked.

Ghost's mandibles halted a hair's width from the old man's back as if caught inside transparent stone.

The ant screeched, straining, his body bulging as energy howled within him.

Four more ants closed in.

Left.

Right.

Front.

Above.

The old man exhaled quietly.

Almost bored.

He drew a circle with his staff.

The circle flashed once and space inverted.

BOOOOOOM.

The four ants were blasted away by an explosion of reversed force, their bodies spiraling through the air before slamming across the battlefield.

Still, they recovered.

And still, they came back.

Ghost roared, his entire form blazing with explosive power.

The elder's eyes sharpened.

"Fascinating creatures," he said. "Life burning arts, but not quite. More like burning energy that corrodes them slowly."

Ghost appeared above him again, all eight meters descending like judgment.

The other four charged around him, converging from every direction like falling towers.

The old man lifted his staff.

"For now," he said softly, "this will do."

He forced his power downward.

The ground collapsed beneath him as the barrier thickened.

Five colossal strikes fell at once.

The sky cracked.

The earth sank.

The barrier dented.

For the first time, the old man's foot slid half an inch.

A single bead of sweat rolled down his brow.

Ghost pressed harder.

The others screamed, their bodies burning with raw power.

Michael narrowed his eyes.

So this was the strength of a half step Rank four even while suppressed.

He had not used his law or any of the abilities exclusive to Rank three or Rank four.

If the demon on the twentieth floor was this strong or even stronger, then the real threat was unimaginable.

But just as the old man was not going all out, Michael was not either.

These were only five ants.

He still had dozens of Rank three undead ready.

Michael turned to the soldiers.

"I would appreciate it if you can help my undead deal with the demonic supernaturals while we try to bring down this old man."

He kept the polite tone, but inside he felt these soldiers were far too useless for their ranks.

Perhaps shock was slowing them down, he reasoned.

The old man observed the soldiers' movements and his expression tightened.

He lifted his staff again.

He did not believe these weak humans could harm him, but caution was instinct for most demonic supernaturals.

And none of his old companions were here to laugh at him for taking children seriously.

They would all die here anyway.

A pity the talented youth would have to die too, he thought.

He activated his law.

Water surged.

A blade of compressed liquid burst from his staff, sharp enough to slice magical steel.

But before it reached its target, the attack bent unnaturally and was dragged in one direction as if something were drinking it in.

The old man frowned and turned.

A giant woman stood there with her massive mouth stretched wide open.

It was Lily.

The old man's eyes narrowed.

"What are these strange creatures you have?"

For the first time, a hint of fear crept into his gaze.

Lily swallowed the last of his attack and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

She burped as multiple spots on her body started to bleed.

It was obvious her attempt to devour that attack was more than she could safely handle.

However

The old man's frown deepened when he sensed a dense surge of power radiating from her.

Lily opened her mouth again, and from deep within he sensed the return of a familiar energy.

The energy of his own.

*

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