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n“Did you… really think I was purely a mage based on my attacks and outfit?” The man smiled, his neck and head slowly tilting to the side.

nI attempted to pull my spear out, but something under his robes held it tightly down… no, the spear itself wouldn’t listen to me no matter what I did.

n“Of course not,” I muttered with a smile, blocking the man who reached out his hand, attempting to vice-claw my face and possibly crush my head with his overwhelming strength. “Royal Blood Magic,”

nIt should’ve been over with this attack, but a chilling feeling continued to rummage under my skin like a thousand ants were crawling inside of my arms.

n“I am the one who wields all blood… The Warlock of Blood,”

nThe mana that had gathered in my hand to suck out all of the life essences from the man standing before me disappeared instantly.𝑂𝚟𝓵xt.𝑐𝓞𝑀

nI was left standing there, completely bewildered by the sudden change in the pace of the man who I initially expected to be a mix of a mage and a spearsman.

nFrom the beginning, I anticipated this and moved like I thought he was only a mage as he incorporated his soul into that of a spear.

nWhat man would place their soul in a spear if they’re not confident in their ability to wield such a weapon?

nIt was almost logically fool-proof… but if he had planned this from the start, then,

n“You’re one hell of a guy,” I muttered before being stabbed in every direction known to man, causing me to die instantly.

nI thought I was the one controlling the fight, but just like with Influence of Battle, he had been controlling from the skies.

nHis level of anticipation far surpassed mine, and he read me completely like an open novel… no, like a **ing dictionary with each piece of me defined down to the core of each letter.

n…

n“*gasp*… huff… huff… huff… huff…”

nThe man stood in front of me once again, looking down at me with now two shimmering red eyes, both with a single white cross pressed into the middle of them.

nIt was like somebody had tattooed it onto his pupils rather than it actually being his pupils.

n“Now… let’s actually have a fair fight,” He snapped his fingers, creating a massive system panel in front of me.

nI stared at it for just a few seconds before nodding my head, creating another string of smaller panels that filled up my vision.

n.

n*@!&Y@*(! QUEST HAS BEEN REVEALED

nInterference of an Outside God has displaced your fight in another realm

nNo outside contact is possible

n.

n“Huh? Quest? What kind of quest is this?” I muttered, skimming through the information and then snapping my head back toward the man who continued to look down at me.

nAs I stumbled to my feet, a strange sense of something within me being pulled apart shook me to the core.

n“Who… who the hell are you?” I asked, sweating so much that it already began to drip into the lake of blood below.

n“Surpass me, and I shall tell you,” He announced before taking a few steps back upon seeing me summon my spear.

nI dashed in, using my Miasma Infused Presence to create a few distractions which looked like the man couldn’t control… but I made sure to stay weary because he seemed so familiar to me that he might as well have this skill as well.

nTING

nHe blocked my spear by hardening his arm with a thick layer of blood, so tough and almost metallic that I felt the impact get sent running through the spear and right back into me.

nHis eyebags grew bigger with each of his movements, yet at the same time, his smile continued to grow wider.

nEither he was taking pleasure in this sight of me struggling so greatly to fight without any of my actual good skills… or he liked seeing something else.

nTING

nI distanced myself from the man as I needed some time to think, and unsurprisingly, he didn’t attack me from afar this time.

nDuring this round of life, he hadn’t used a single projectile to try and kill me… in fact, he hadn’t even used an attacking move.

nHe’s just absorbing information while repeatedly reading my moves perfectly.

n“Without my prince of blood skills… my creativity is negative,” I muttered as an anxious feeling began to grow in the back of my mind.

nThe feeling of something within my chest being torn apart continued to stretch and stretch until I dropped to the ground, writhing in pain.

n“That’s right… pain is but a concept… keep smiling like that… you goddamn devil,”

nSHING

nOnce again, I died and awoke in the same bloody domain as before.

n“If I’m gonna die anyway… I might as well… Freeze,” I muttered through the influence of my ancient tongue.

nAnd surprisingly, my assumption was wrong… he had frozen completely, but that growing smile of his only made me more nervous.

nMy heart was beating out of my chest, and even though I was used to the feeling of being tortured past death… this was the first time I actually felt fear.

nEven before the gods, I was unwavering, but this man… who knows, it might’ve been that feeling in my chest, but my legs shook as he stood before me, his long hair slowly turning into that of a dark-dark-dark purple.

nIt was almost black as he stood before me.

nAnd just like that, something clicked inside of me.

n“No way…” I muttered as the man opened his mouth, the back of his neck shimmering with a slight green glow.

n“Kill Yourself,”

nSlowly, my spear rose to my neck, slowly digging into it as I tried to resist, but the confusion whirling in my mind sidetracked me.

nHow the hell… how is it possible… was Ares even aware of this… how did this happen?

n“Why am I fighting myself?”

n“As expected… you’re as smart as me, Orion,” The man smiled, mimicking how I looked exactly, probably just a bit more tired.

nSHING

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