Deklan's pupils dilated, and his breath was caught.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Agnar's form eclipsed the moonlight, casting his face into sharp, defining shadow.

So fast!

Clang—!

"Argghk!"

Deklan managed to raise his spear in the nick of time, catching the arcing blade with everything he had, but the impact still drove him to one knee. Blood bursts from his mouth. The raw mana behind the strike had already invaded him, tearing through his organs from the inside.

A direct clash against a silver-rank Exorcist with stronger mana is beyond stupid.

He realized that now.

But still, I thought I'd be wracked harder than this.

Just from Agnar's face alone, it was blatantly clear that he wasn't holding anything back.

That strike was backed with the intention to kill, so it should have caused more damage than this.

It was then that Deklan's eyes snapped to the side.

"As I said," Kaelyn gritted her teeth as blood seeped through her teeth and drizzled to her chin. "Please take this a little bit more seriously."

Deklan's eyes widened in shock.

As it turns out, Kaelyn reacted faster than him.

Her katana intercepted Agnar's strike, dividing the enormous force between them. That was the reason why Deklan had spilled only a mouthful of blood. Had it not been for her, the blade would've probably sheared through his spear—and likely everything behind it.

"Kaelyn…" Deklan rasped in disbelief.

"Stop meddling, you bitch!" Agnar roared as he kicked Kaelyn hard across her side.

She was sent rolling across the ground.

Agnar's mana-wreathed hand seized the spear, shielding him from its hostile, shadow-tinged energy. In one brutal motion—he flung both weapon and Deklan aside. His gaze then snapped to Kaelyn, locking onto her with lethal intent, "You wanted to interfere so much? Then you die first!"

Swoosh—!

Before she could recover properly, frost spikes came rushing like arrows.

Kaelyn raised her gaze and instantly rolled to the side.

Boom!

Boom!

Each frost spike stabbed the ground with a thunderous boom, leaving behind craters.

As she regained her footing, she immediately swung her katana, blocking and parrying the frost spikes that were focused on her like homing missiles. She was extremely agile and flexible, allowing her to bend her body unnaturally to avoid the frost spikes.

One might think she was dancing rather than fighting due to how delicate her movements were.

Both exchanged a dozen clashes in the span of ten seconds.

Each clash pushed Kaelyn back, showing the disparity in strength between the two of them.

"You should've minded your business," Agnar said amidst their clash. "Now, you'll die for interfering!"

Crack—!

Agnar's blade came down again in a frenzied arc, missing Kaelyn by a breath.

Its sharp edge was so close that it severed a strand of her hair.

Like an acrobat, she somersaulted backward repeatedly to create a safe distance and catch her breath.

But Agnar gave her no chance at all.

He drove his heel down, stomping on the ground so hard that it cracked—launching a spinning spike of frost from the ground. With a sharp grunt, he leaped and spun his body, kicking it hard like it was a ball, shooting it straight at Kaelyn.

Almost instantly, the frost spike turned into a buzzing, ear-piercing blur as it shot forward.

Seeing this, Kaelyn swung her katana to parry it.

But due to the furious spin, her katana blocked the frost spike at the wrong angle, wrenching the katana upward and throwing her off balance. She gritted her teeth in panic, eyes snapping wide as Agnar was once again upon her.

His blade was sheathed in a chilling, cerulean glow of gathered mana.

And this time, she couldn't avoid the attack.

Bam—!

Kaelyn's eyes lit up in surprise when two feet smacked across Agnar's face.

A drop-kick that sent him staggering to the side.

"Hihihi~"

Kaelyn hit the ground on her back, breath driven out from her lungs.

Her gaze lifted, and she found Deklan standing over her.

But he was not the Deklan she knew.

His short hair had grown into long pale dusty hay, and from his shoulders flowed a heavy, tattered cloak the color of drying blood. It wasn't the first time—Kaelyn saw this form, but every time he used it, she couldn't help but marvel at it.

Not only does it look really eerie and unnatural, but the increase in aura was also significant.

Agnar caught himself and straightened his back, only to be shocked by what he was seeing.

For a Silver-rank Exorcist to even possess an incomplete version of a Possession form was staggering. But for someone like Deklan, who is not even a silver rank, to have one? That defied every principle Agnar had ever known about their order.

'No… His transformation is even better than mine. It's more complete than mine. How…?'

On the other hand, Deklan stood his ground.

But a sweat was trickling down the side of his face, showcasing his concern clearly.

It was fortunate that nobody could see his face while he was in this form.

[Agna the Red Scarecrow: 2 minutes remaining!]

Shit… Two minutes is all I can muster to stay in this persona? Why?

Deklan had already fed Pumple with a Ghost he captured earlier while fulfilling requests, so he assumed manifesting this persona would be sustainable, would not be a problem. But two minutes? It was barely enough time to do anything.

[Tastes, host. Tastes.]

Damn it. Pumple is a picky eater, too?! I guess there's a reason he lived in Rora Forest.

Swoosh—!

Agnar disappeared from his spot once again and reappeared high above.

As Deklan looked up, he saw a change in Agnar's face.

Agnar had been angry from the start, but now that anger had hardened into something colder: the single-minded determination of a man resolved to see a thing done. And there was no mystery in his intent. Agnar was here to kill Deklan, and he would do it now for good.

Too dangerous to leave him alive.

Reacting quicker, Deklan tackled Kaelyn and brought her away in the nick of time.

Not even a second after, Agnar landed on the spot where they were, along with the five frost spikes.

Crash—!

Under the force of his might, the ground buckled, splitting in a web of cracks that spread out fifty yards in every direction. Deklan and Kaelyn scrambled back, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and Agnar.

Both knew that Agnar was going to turn it up a notch.

It was then they heard it—the low, rhythmic chant of a spell slipping from Agnar's lips.

"Garden of Ice…"

Shingg—!

Driven by instinct, Deklan and Kaelyn looked down a fraction of a second before the ground erupted.

A massive, searing column of ice burst upward where they had stood—forcing them to throw themselves backward, the frost-tip shearing through the air between them. Before their feet found the ground again, more spikes exploded from the earth.

Shing—!

Shiing—!

Both were forced into a frantic, stumbling retreat by these spikes.

Another geyser of ice shot up.

Unlike the earlier ones that sprouted from before them, this one erupted from between them.

Deklan let go of his grip on Kaelyn's hand as the glacial wall separated them.

He landed hard, eyes already scanning.

Five spikes, each reaching as high as an ancient tree, glittering in a rough semicircle.

"Kaelyn…" He snapped his gaze to the other side, only exhaling in relief when he saw Kaelyn was fine.

Even though there was a scratch on her arm, she didn't seem to be badly wounded.

Just then, the ground trembled again.

Deklan leaped as the sixth impaled the space he'd occupied—he kept his chin high as he could feel the icy touch from the frost nearing under his chin. He tilted his head back at the last second, letting the ice shriek past his head.

For a breath, he tilted his head down again, staring at Agnar.

[Agna the Red Scarecrow: 1 minute remaining!]

He's too strong. I wasted a minute. Kaelyn couldn't help me much. And Victoria is still here.

I already showed too much by using this persona, but the battle is still far from over.

At that moment, Deklan realized that he couldn't defeat Agnar right now.

Not when many factors were restricting him from going all-out.

Just then, Agnar tilted his head up and smirked, "Bloom!"

Deklan's eyes widened when the wall of ice before him was suddenly charged with an enormous amount of mana. He tried leaning away mid-air, but it barely moved him as a dozen, icy limbs branched outward like spears.

It was as if the ice spike were a tree, and with a command, it bloomed branches across its body.

Splash—!

"Krgghk!"

A painful grunt escaped Deklan's mouth.

Multiple ice branches caught him mid-air, punching through his shoulder, his thigh, the side of his ribs. He twisted desperately, avoiding being stabbed in his heart and throat, but pain erupted in white bursts as the ice held him, then released.

He plummeted, blood making beautiful arcs around him as he struck the earth with a gasp.

"Deklan!" Kaelyn screamed at the top of her lungs.

But she was also caught by the branches.

Not to mention, Agnar was completely relentless as he already sent the frost spikes at Deklan.

Five icicles pierced through the air.

Deklan looked up—the air already singing with incoming frost spikes.

He knew, with cold clarity, he couldn't avoid them. As he crossed his arms—bracing to take the barrage, a figure blurred in front of him. The projectiles shattered against an upraised blade, each impact ringing out like breaking glass.

Victoria.

She came to intervene at the last second.

"What's the meaning of this, Lady Victoria?" Agnar asked, eyes narrowing sharply. "I'm willing to let this go. I won't tell Young Master Callen that you came here to warn him, and yet you still decided to intervene? You're not his fiancée anymore."

"And I heard you already have a replacement," He added without hiding his blatant aggression.

"He's no longer my fiancé, but that doesn't mean I can watch him die." She answered sternly.

"Hah! You? Compassion?" Agnar cackled. "Let's be honest with ourselves. You're doing this because he might be the heir now that he has a sliver of power, but here's where you are wrong… He's never going to forgive you for what you did."

Hearing this, Victoria clenched her fists.

Agnar's words struck a nerve.

"Don't waste your energy and leave," Agnar continued. "Step aside and let me kill him."

On the other hand, Deklan stared at Victoria's back with sheer surprise.

Not the good kind of surprise, though.

He might looked surprised and in awe, but inside was anything but that.

Ah… Oh my God, she's so nosy! From your view, I'm going to die! You should be happy and leave!

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