The professor backed away quickly, sealing the bleeding wound on his shoulder with thick ice.

Even though his arm had been completely cut off, he didn't scream or flinch.

His face stayed calm, cold, and emotionless.

As he kept moving back, countless spears made of fire, wind, earth, and lightning rained down from above.

Each one came faster than the last, like endless arrows shot from all sides.

No matter how far he went, he couldn't escape their range.

Then, through the noise of explosions and crackling energy, a quiet voice reached his ears—

"Astra."

The single word made his eyes widen in shock.

He knew what it meant, and he knew he couldn't dodge it in time.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue in irritation, gripping his great sword tightly.

He pulled it up in front of him, and ice began to spread from his blade, wrapping around his body.

In a few seconds, a thick round shell of ice formed, covering him completely like a frozen orb.

The world outside roared as a bright light fell from the sky, crashing down toward the frozen sphere.

Soon, all the spears came crashing down, led by a huge sphere made from the combined power of earth, wind, and fire.

It was nearly ten times larger than the others, spinning violently as it fell.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of deafening explosions shook the ground where the professor had formed his ice shell.

Dust and flames covered the area, and shockwaves rippled through the air.

But even that wasn't enough to hold back the force.

Cracks spread across the icy barrier before it finally shattered, scattering sharp shards in every direction.

The blasts hit the professor directly, tearing through the space where he stood, yet through all the destruction, there wasn't a single cry of pain, not even a sound.

Vivian and Charlotte stood still, their faces calm, their eyes fixed on the spot ahead.

They waited quietly for the smoke to fade, to see if he was still standing.

But the storm of attacks didn't end.

The magic spears kept falling, one after another, pounding the ground without rest.

Thick clouds of smoke and dust rose higher and higher, swallowing everything from sight.

After the last wave of spears fell, silence filled the battlefield.

The ground trembled faintly, and thick fog covered everything.

Vivian and Charlotte couldn't see through it, but both of them could feel something, something that made their expressions tighten with concern.

Slowly, the smoke began to fade, swept away by the wind.

What appeared before them was the battered figure of the professor.

He was barely standing, using his great sword as support.

His once-calm posture was gone, replaced by a shaky, almost lifeless stance.

His left eye had been pierced by a sharp piece of ice, and several shards were still lodged deep in his chest and shoulders.

His clothes were torn, soaked in blood, and his body trembled from the effort of just staying upright.

"Cough… cough…"

He spat out a mouthful of dark blood, staining the ground beneath him.

His face had lost all color, and his breathing grew shallow.

Bit by bit, his knees gave way, and he fell, kneeling on the ground like a man standing at the edge of death.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was about to fly toward the professor to finish things once and for all, but before she could move, Vivian's hand stopped her.

She turned to him with confusion in her eyes.

"He's on the verge of death," she said softly.

Vivian shook his head slowly, his eyes narrowing.

"No… look at the aura around him. It's different from before."

His brows furrowed as he kept his gaze locked on the professor.

Charlotte followed his eyes and looked again.

At first, she didn't notice anything, but soon, her expression changed.

The air around the professor seemed to twist, faint waves of strange energy pulsing from his body.

It was dark, heavy, and cold enough to make the air itself shiver.

"What's this aura?" she whispered.

"He shouldn't even have the strength to stand."

"I don't know," Vivian replied, his voice low and cautious.

"But whatever it is… it's not normal."

He didn't look away, every sense sharp and alert, as the ground beneath the professor began to hum with faint vibrations.

Cough… cough… cough.

The professor spat out another mouthful of dark, clotted blood.

His body swayed, but his gaze lifted toward Vivian and Charlotte, calm, steady, almost too composed for a man half-dead.

He looked down at his broken form and let out a long, tired sigh.

"I didn't want to use it…" he muttered weakly, his voice barely audible.

"I don't even know when I'll wake up again."

For a brief moment, sadness flickered in his eyes, deep and human.

But it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a chilling calm.

He looked up at the two standing before him, resolve hardening in his expression.

"But now that you've pushed me this far," he said quietly, "I have no choice."

He pressed his great sword into the ground and, with great effort, pulled himself to his feet.

The strange aura around him began to thicken, dark and violent, pulsing like the heartbeat of something ancient.

The air trembled.

Cracks appeared on the earth beneath his feet.

The professor slowly glanced around, his eyes distant, as if he were saying goodbye to a place he once called home.

Another sigh escaped him, almost peaceful.

Then his lips moved again.

"From the blood of Celestials and Demons… I summon Berserk."

The moment those words left his mouth, the air turned heavy and wild.

Power surged like a storm tearing through the world.

Before Vivian or Charlotte could react, the professor raised a trembling hand, then drove his finger straight into the center of his forehead.

A sharp crack echoed through the battlefield, followed by a sudden, blinding burst of red light.

Vivian and Charlotte froze as the pressure around the professor exploded outward.

The air grew thick, so thick it felt like the world itself was holding its breath.

Vivian's instincts screamed danger.

He was just about to rush forward to stop whatever was happening.

Then, the professor suddenly thrust his finger straight through his own forehead.

For a brief second, his eyes dimmed, life seeming to fade from them.

But as his finger slid out, a strange light, half red, half gold, flared deep within his gaze.

That light didn't shine with reason or emotion.

It was cold, hollow, and endless, like staring into a void.

His calm expression twisted into something unreadable.

The faint sadness from before was gone, replaced by pure emptiness.

Without a word, he straightened.

The wounds that should've made him collapse no longer seemed to matter.

He no longer leaned on his great sword for balance, instead, he tore it from the ground with his remaining hand, the blade humming with a dark vibration.

All of this happened in a flash.

Vivian was already in front of him, sword raised, ready to strike.

But instead of retreating or defending, the professor moved toward him, his speed sudden and wild, like a beast released from its cage.

The ground cracked beneath his steps as the clash between the two finally began anew.

This new transformation sent chills down Vivian's spine.

The air itself seemed to twist around the professor.

The pressure from his presence was heavier than ever before, stronger even than when the battle had first begun.

"Not good…"

Vivian muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on his sword.

In a flash, he moved forward and brought his blade down with all his strength.

The professor didn't even flinch.

With his one remaining arm, he swung the massive great sword upward to meet Vivian's strike.

Despite using only one hand, the force behind it was monstrous, more than double what Vivian had felt before.

Clang!

The sound of metal crashing against metal rang out like thunder.

Vivian's body was lifted off the ground, sent flying through the air.

For a split second, his vision went white, and his mind blanked from the impact.

Pain shot through his arms and chest, his bones trembling from the shock.

He almost lost consciousness, but he bit down hard on his lip, drawing blood to keep himself awake.

The metallic taste snapped him back to focus.

He forced his body to steady midair, eyes locked once again on the professor.

The professor now stood unmoving, sword resting on his shoulder, that hollow, lifeless gaze fixed straight at him.

"Damn…" Vivian muttered, his head still spinning, vision blurring at the edges.

The world tilted for a moment, and it felt like he was about to faint.

He bit down even harder on his lip, so hard that the skin tore, and the sharp taste of blood and flesh filled his mouth.

That pain grounded him.

His breathing steadied, and his eyes snapped back into focus.

He looked down at his weapon, and froze.

The blade that had carried him through countless battles was gone.

Only the hilt remained in his trembling hand, the rest of the sword reduced to scattered fragments glittering faintly on the ground below.

"With just one strike…" Vivian whispered, disbelief thick in his voice.

His gaze lifted toward the professor, whose empty eyes glowed faintly under the swirling aura.

"And only from mana alone… he shattered my sword?"

The weight of those words hit him like a storm.

For the first time since the fight began, true fear flickered in Vivian's chest.

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