An almost maddening amount of heat ran through Lethel's body. He fireshifted from another of Thalos' attacks, but the man was just there when he reappeared at another fire.

Such tremendous speed denied what should even be physically possible.

Lethel pointed three fingers at him, eyes narrowing at his shrinking pool of spirit energy.

Three brilliant flashes of white flames danced from his fingers.

It was the fastest spell he could use, honed from years of casting.

There was no one that could use this spell better than him; he could even use it better without a chant at this point, no longer relying on the words to pass his intent to the fire spirits.

It made him the deadliest duelist under Rank 5.

But Thalos didn't even balk at the speed of the white flames, dodging them like he wasn't even trying. He fireshifted again into the air and finally used a chant.

"Face of ruin, heartbeat of the stars, gather as storm! Break the wall, shatter the stillness, bring down judgment!"

A barrage of flames the size of houses came down on Thalos, who simply lowered his stance and jumped. He focused his intent and sharpened his Fighting spirit against Marrowbiter's.

"Death scythe," he whispered

Then he slashed the air, using the seventh technique to project crimson swordlight into the air.

He enhanced the stroke of the slash to create a space through the fireballs. And to help him, Percy even sent a disc of stone flying to him to step against.

He internally thanked his son then used the sixth technique, [Death Shadow]. His body flickered through the air, appearing before Lethel just as the flames parted.

The fire spiritmancer only saw his fireball sliced apart before feeling a slash cut through him, instinctively fire shifting to safety on the ground.

Lethel fell to one knee clutching his side as his blood splattered against the earth.

"This… this can't be."

Thalos landed, smoke rolling off his tattered robes, black hair flowing in the wind. His grey eyes stared down at Lethel with disdain.

"If you enter a fight believing you're invincible, then you're sorely mistaken."

But Lethel wasn't listening to Thalos' words; instead his mind wandered back through the years to when he was young. He remembered the pain, the suffering, the disdain he endured when he was too weak to defend himself.

He remembered his father's words.

"You suffer not because the world is unfair, but because of your own weakness. Respect belongs to those who can take it."

So he did.

He made all his siblings bow at his feet, he burned down his unfaithful fiancée's family, and made her apologise to their ashes for her foolishness.

He became unstoppable; no one could resist his will, no one could stand before his attacks.

So why.

Lethel's teeth gnashed as he forced himself to his feet.

"Not yet… I'm not done yet. I'll burn you and your impudent family to the ground."

Thalos on the other hand was feeling satisfied for the first time in almost thirteen years.

At first he thought it was the elation of testing himself against an overwhelming force. But it was deeper.

He finally knew that his love for his family wasn't holding him back. It was driving him forward, more than the Blood Demon School ever did.

Soon… I can feel it.

Rank 4.

Coveted territory. It was the pinnacle most Arete practitioners would ever reach.

It was the borderline between effort and conviction. You could train for decades and never reach it; it was a mental battlefield.

Maybe not now, but soon he would make it. And more than ever, he missed his wife.

He exhaled, clearing his mind and faced Lethel. One final slash. He lowered his knees and drew his sword back.

Lethel sensed death coming and prepared to fire-shift, but that was when Percy struck.

All the flames in the room sputtered and faded as a wave of gravity washed over them all. Lethel turned and caught the boy's cheeky smile, just as Thalos charged forward.

There was no escape. The only thing he could fire-shift to in the room was…

He turned to the Minotaur. It was still fighting the golden scorpion in the distance, slamming against walls and raising hell through that place. If he fire-shifted there, the scorpion would kill him.

But he was smaller than the spirit, so maybe…

There was no time to think. He fire-shifted just before Thalos slashed through his neck, immediately preparing to attack as his vision shifted to the dusty, cracked space the Minotaur previously occupied.

But the scorpion wasn't there. Instead it was Percy, pointing a sword with a blue handle at him. He released the sword, shooting forward with blinding speed.

His mind, which had been expecting a completely different thing, lagged in that moment, stuck between the choice of teleporting away or blocking the sword.

And the strike was just so quick.

The sword stabbed into his abdomen and sent him staggering. Percy walked closer as Lethel struggled to stay standing.

"The sword is just a replica, so it's made of stone," he explained, then he flexed his fingers. "Which also means I can control it."

The sword dragged itself up at Percy's command, tearing through Lethel's internal organs and making the man cough blood, before falling to his knees.

Lethel grabbed the sword and pushed down to prevent it from injuring him more, seeing stars as the pain ripped through him. But just at that moment the pain of Thalos slashing his spirit hit.

The swordsman had expected Lethel to fireshift with his Minotaur when Percy quenched all the flames in the vast cavern.

So he used Marrowbiter's ability to cut spirit to slash through the Minotaur's side as it charged past him. Coming to a stop with a smile as the Minotaur roared in pain.

On the other side of the room, the pain hit Lethel like a tidal wave. For a moment his lungs seized; his eyes turned upward, shrinking into his skull. He just knelt there shaking as the indescribable pain of his spirit being cut hit him.

Griffon watched this in disbelief. He reached for his belt and activated his teleport beacon. His body was consumed by darkness and he disappeared from the temple.

It was over for them.

On the far side of the massive space, sand pooled together slowly and formed Sebas' body lying tiredly against the wall.

He cursed internally at their bad luck, but also activated his escape magic tool. While his body dissolved into light, he kept thinking about Ramona.

I'll retrieve her no matter what.

Percy sensed Sebas and Griffon leave. His eyes shot towards Sebas' glowing form, but it was too late.

An enraged howl was trapped in his chest, but he refused to release it. He would catch the bastard one day.

He turned a hand towards finishing Lethel before something could happen. But then a pale hand cut through space and grasped the sword in Lethel's stomach.

Then a silver curtain unfurled in the empty air and a woman walked through.

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