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"Are you sure that you should be looking away?

" He said before he charged towards the unsuspecting Lukas, or that's what it seemed.

nLukas, even when he's spectating Ezekiel's battle, was always paying attention to his surroundings. His abnormal senses let him do so.

nWith only his bare fists imbued with mana, Farren struck him on the face with all his strength. Lukas narrowed his eyes and in a split second, met Farren's fist with his own. Two strong opposing powers smashed against each other, the waves it made created a huge explosion and whipped the hair over their heads.. The air current around them went turbulent and almost blew everything off.

nEzekiel and his opponent got caught up in it too, almost knocking over from the impact. The only one who was unperturbed was the unruffled magician, still standing there unblinking. Not even a strand of his hair was touched from the tempest. It was ridiculous but it showed how powerful he really is.

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"Uh-oh,

" Janus muttered as he looked in the direction of the royal hall.

nThe ground just shook terribly just now and the people inside must have felt it. Hell, they might even have heard the loud sound from the collision. Surely, all of them must be panicking already.

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"Maybe I should have cast a sound barrier,

" Janus grumbled. It was too late anyway.

nBack to the fight, what happened afterward was just a series of flashing lights and waves of turbulence as Lukas and Farren quickly engaged each other in a heated fistfight. Their brawl was making the ground and the air, trembling from the intensity of it.

nEzekiel was observing it for a while, seemingly lost from the spectacle, captivated by the sheer beauty of it. The other man, however, had tried to attack him again which brought Ezekiel back to now and immediately parried it.

n'This is not the time to get distracted!' He reminded himself.

nHe then made a counterattack of his own, slashing his enemy in succession. He wasn't the greatest in the art of the sword, but he can certainly hold his ground against the masters. He might not be as good as Nathaniel who is born gifted with it, but he could still be considered above average.

nHis sword created a pattern, connecting one after another, not even pausing to cut his momentum off. Even as he changed the direction of his slashes, it was still tied from his former moves. Light sparkled from both of their swords as they hit each other. He could perceive that his opponent is also a good swordsman but he's definitely stronger than him.

nHe had trouble keeping up with his strong force on the sword and the fact that it kept trying to corrode his, was very challenging for him. He had to maintain his stance, the steady flow of his mana, and his arm strength at the same time. Ezekiel doesn't have that much experience when it comes to fights.

nSure, he had sparred with Nathaniel himself a lot of times, even with his Emperor father, but those are all for training and mock-up battles. This was actually his second serious fight aside from the wild boar incident three years ago.

nKnowing that, Ezekiel felt invigorated. This time, he doesn't have to hold back, nor mind his opponent. He could finally go all out and practice what he had learned. He retreated backward to reassess his powers. They could still hear and feel the intense fight from the side.

nIt wasn't going to stop any minute from now and it was gradually creating damage towards the surrounding, slowly but surely. Even the ground beneath the two had created a shallow crater from their skirmishes.

nNevertheless, Ezekiel immersed himself in his own situation. He has to focus on his current mission, and that is to obtain information from the intruders. In order to do that, he has to defeat his opponent first.

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"You are strong, I admit that,

" Ezekiel declared, straightening his body.

nThe other man's cloak had long fallen away from his head, revealing his countenance. He looked young, probably a few years younger than him. He looked eerie and pale as a ghost. It's like no blood is running through his veins anymore.

nWhat caught his sight though was the man's eyes. It was sharp but the color of the eyeballs was red and veiny.

n'Who are these people? And why can they use magic?'

nEzekiel is determined to extract the information from them. He released his breath steadily to clear his mind, zoning out everything. He started mumbling chants for a deeply layered spell he had been using since forever.

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".... In the name of Luminus, the eternal ray of light will illuminate the darkest of minds…

" Ezekiel muttered with his eyes closed, his sword in a horizontal position in front of him. His left hand then traced the flat surface of the blade and glowing runes appeared, swirling like pixie dusts.

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"... Come dawn, rise above the azure skies… sink underneath the twilight…

"

nEzekiel then held it in front of him, the tip pointing towards the sky. His eyes flashed open, bright blue eyes gleaming intensely.

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"... Sleeping sun.

"

nAs soon as the chant was finished, a golden aura enveloped his body and his sword which got brighter than before, brimming with pure energy. The light pierced the night, blinding even the moon.

nEzekiel's power originates from the deity of the sun, so if it was daylight, he would be more powerful than now. The man noticed that he got stronger and got wary. He also braced himself, raising the wavelength of his own powers.

nUnlike Ezekiel's, the man's source of power was the crystal which is filled with negative energies and is very unstable. It wasn't pure, far from the people who possess real magic. Theirs is a fraud made from countless experiments, but dangerous, nonetheless. If it isn't handled right, it could turn nasty in split seconds.

nThe man knows that, that's the reason why he is holding back. If he gave it his all, the crystal might break which will then cause the storm of mana to go crazy. He glanced at the side and saw that Farren is still fighting Lukas. If this goes on, there is no telling that their power won't berserk.

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"Melt Slash!

" Ezekiel shouted and struck.

nIt was a wide forward slice, cutting even the air molecules and distorted space. It was his second most powerful skill and it's coming towards the cloaked man.

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