Agnar was barely able to raise his sword to block.

He couldn't hide his surprise when the impact sent him stumbling a dozen steps away.

'How is it possible that he had gotten this much stronger in a short span of time? It hasn't even been a month,' Agnar's eyes widened as his fingers touched his cheek and came away bloody. The bullet earlier grazed him. 'He was always timid, afraid of everyone. Yet now he's fighting me like this?'

In a fit of anger, he gritted his teeth and snapped his gaze ahead, 'Is he looking down on me?!'

Giving no chance for him to breathe, Deklan was already upon him again.

Clang—!

Like a raging bull, Deklan kept the pressure going with his relentless attacks.

His spear arcs, though not clean, are wide and strong.

Each time Agnar parried an attack, the vibration reverberated through the sword and hurt his hands.

But what surprised him the most was the confidence that each attack carried.

It was surreal.

'Even so, he's clearly not trained in spearmanship. His attacks are clumsy and predictable.'

Just as Agnar was about to parry and begin his attack, his eyes saw an approaching reflection of light.

Swish—!

Agnar leaned back instinctively, narrowly avoiding a katana that threatened to slice his throat open.

His eyes darted to the side and saw Kaelyn screeching across the ground.

She had been watching the battle like a hawk and struck at the opportune moment, and now, she dashed to the side again, going to Deklan's behind, using his relentless attacks as distractions to mask her next angle.

'As long as I take one of them down quickly, this would be easy.' Agnar nodded.

He tensed his muscles and prepared to dash, right when Deklan was already upon him again.

Clang—!

In the nick of time, Agnar met the spearhead with his sword as it arced down forcefully.

But instead of blocking it, he lowered his stance and pivoted his body and sword in one fluid motion—guiding the spearhead down to slam into the earth. In the same instant, he threw his left foot wide past Deklan, planted his free hand against the ground for anchor, and launched a powerful roundhouse kick expertly.

Bam—!

Deklan staggered and spun as the kick landed squarely against his face.

Holy shit! He's so flexible and agile!

He groaned inside his mind, caught completely off guard by Agnar's unnatural movement.

Considering his appearance, Deklan thought he would adopt a straightforward fighting style.

It was especially likely since strength is Agnar's forte, but he was wrong.

As his spin brought Agnar back into view, he saw the man plant his feet, coiling to spring forward and reclaim the fight's momentum. But the instant Agnar's heels left the ground, the spear vanished and was replaced by another weapon that manifested into his hand.

A Glock-19 manifested from nowhere, its muzzle already levelled at Agnar's widening eyes.

Bang—!

Once again, Agnar was forced to abandon his offense and avoided the bullet.

Even though his reaction speed was fast enough to avoid a point-blank bullet, it wouldn't always be the case. His stamina played a crucial role on top of his readiness. One wrong move and he'd be shot, so it was clear what he needed to do first.

Disarm Deklan.

In that stupor, a pair of crimson eyes appeared down under.

Bam—!

Agnar gritted his teeth as a kick landed squarely against his chin, propelling him off the ground.

His brief distraction allowed Kaelyn to approach him and catch him off guard with a kick.

At the same time, Deklan was already upon him, shadow spear pulled to thrust.

Swoosh—!

A single, decisive stab would end the battle for certain—so Deklan lunged with that intent in mind. But Agnar, even dazed from the kick, proved too alert. He knew what to expect the moment the spear came into view.

Nimbly, he shifted his torso, tilting it enough beyond the blade's reach.

He narrowly avoided the thrust, letting it sail past empty air.

But Deklan was already expecting that.

He spun his body like a vortex and cleaved Agnar instead.

Boom—!

Agnar was sent crashing into the ground and bounced away.

A deep gash that sliced across the right side of his chest to his stomach spurted with blood.

"Phew…" Deklan landed on the ground and wiped the sweat on his forehead. "That'd tell him."

"Idiot," Kaelyn grumbled from behind. "You should have killed him in that strike. He's underestimating you, so you should've punished him. Why didn't you use your abilities? I know you can hit much harder than that."

"Come on, that's not fair to him. He's clearly taken aback by my beautiful face." Deklan draped his arm over Kaelyn's shoulder, pulling her close. "It would be boring if I ended it easily. Besides, this is a good time to see how strong a silver-rank Exorcist was compared to Ghost. If push comes to shove, I can also always rely on you to help."

"I told you I won't help you more than this," She shrugged his arm away, annoyance sharp in her voice as Deklan grew bolder; touchier than normal. "Not a chance."

"Are you sure? You'd rather let me suffer than use your real power?" Deklan teased further.

Observing the battle from behind, Victoria couldn't believe her eyes.

It was crystal clear now that Deklan had changed a lot, but his fighting style didn't reflect his original demeanor at all. He has barely ever hurt an insect in her observation throughout their relationship, and yet his attack was now backed with killing intent.

Not to mention, though he now knew he was facing a real powerhouse, he didn't seem worried.

"And what is his relationship with that woman?" Victoria bit her lower lip hard.

Deklan even draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close.

Though that didn't last long, it still showed a kind of closeness that is certainly more than friends.

A tension between a man and a woman is present between them.

And seeing them work together—their seamless, almost instinctive chemistry as they suppressed Agnar, sent an unwelcome pang through her. "I should leave," She told herself, fists clenched at her sides. "I should've been leaving. But for some reason, seeing them together is making me angry. And why can't I look away?"

On the other hand, Deklan looked over his shoulder and saw that Victoria was still there.

Damn, woman! Leave already!

Deklan cursed inside his mind.

He hadn't held back earlier, not because of some lazy excuse of fairness, but because he didn't want his power to be exposed to Victoria out of all people. Agnar was different—he would be dead by the end, and dead men told no tales.

But Victoria? She reeks of trouble.

Even seeing her right now made certain that his gut feeling was correct.

No matter what, he needed to stay away from her.

I thought pulling Kaelyn close would've been the surest way to make her leave. So—why the hell is she still here? Go away, woman!

"Bastard…"

A rasping voice reverberated through the air.

Deklan gazed ahead again, only to find Agnar standing up slowly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. And unlike a few seconds earlier, his eyes were now sparkling with a different light. A light that clearly shows he's about to get serious.

Feeling a sting in his chest, Agnar looked down.

His eyes widened at the sight of the deep, long wound and the blood that dripped to the ground.

But what drew his attention the most was the shadowy aura that sizzled from the wound.

Agnar's fingers brushed the wound, and he hissed, a sharp—involuntary sound. He'd fought most of his life; pain was a familiar companion. Only the most severe kind could rip a reaction from him like that—and this wound did exactly that.

Impossible.

That's the word that came into his mind.

'He's not even a silver-rank Exorcist—and yet his weapon…' Agnar looked up at the shadowy spear in Deklan's hand, sizzling with a unique power. 'This is not normal. Not normal! How can he infuse mana into his weapon without a Mana Core?!'

Above the shock, what angers Agnar more is the fact that Deklan had him earlier.

And yet, he was spared from a more severe attack.

"You're underestimating me, aren't you?" Agnar spat—eyes bulging with anger. "Me? Underestimating me? Me? ME?! Who do you think you are?!!"

Swoosh—!

Deklan covered his face with his arm.

It was the same Kaelyn.

"See what you did?" She asked, clicking her tongue in displeasure. "You made him angry now."

Out of nowhere, Agnar's aura began to steam harder, exuding a forceful energy that bit into the skin.

Furious at the situation he was in, Agnar grabbed his cloak and tossed it away.

His form-fitting suit, draped with leather straps, was fully visible, sculpting his well-built frame.

And then, five frost spikes began to manifest behind him, levitating like silent sentinels—that dropped the temperature in the area. Not stopping at that, ice-blue glasses materialized—from mana, framing his anger-stricken face.

"Wait a minute, can a silver-rank Exorcist do that?" Deklan turned to Kaelyn with a frown.

If his memory serves him right, this transformation could only be accessed by a gold-rank Exorcist and above. Agnar, who was not even at the peak of the silver rank, shouldn't be able to do this. No one below that could even attempt to do this.

More importantly, he was supposed to be special!

How is it that he could have a persona like this without reaching the appropriate rank?

[Said the person who could do exactly that.]

But that should be my specialty! This is annoying!

"Yes, Possession can only be done by a gold-rank Exorcist. This shouldn't be possible," Kaelyn replied, eyes staring at Agnar in shock. "I think he's really close with his Spirit that it allowed him to mimic the Possession state!"

It was an incomplete version of the Possession state.

Compared to the real one, the boost in power was way weaker.

However, for a silver-rank Exorcist to have access to this is basically like having a cheat.

Swoosh—!

Agnar's aura swept the entire area once again, corrupting the air with a chilling brush that made it hurt for Deklan and Kaelyn to breathe in deeply. His entire body was shaking from anger, "You could have killed me. Since you don't, I would make you pay!"

Hearing this, Deklan and Kaelyn went into their battle stances.

Seems like the battle is going to get way harder.

Deklan steadied his breath, but when he blinked once, Agnar disappeared from his spot.

His breath caught in his throat as a shadow loomed over him.

In surprise, Deklan raised his gaze and saw Agnar was already above him, swinging as hard as he could.

Clang—!

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