"Oh? I didn't expect Julius to react this quickly."
Standing atop the rocky platform, Patolli narrowed his eyes at the sight below.
Julius should've still been stationed on the front lines, but regardless of how he ended up here, his presence meant a major obstacle to their plan.
"Vetto, keep going forward. I'll hold Julius off!"
With those words, Patolli transformed into a beam of golden light and descended.
He didn't bother with any formalities—just raised his hand, and the skies around him filled with radiant swords.
[Light Creation Magic – Swords of Conviction]!
Shoom! Shoom!
Like a torrential downpour, the light swords rained from the sky, covering the ground below.
Empowered by the Elf Buff, their speed and power had more than doubled.
They flashed like vanishing streaks of light—too fast for the average mage, even for most Magic Knights, to react.
[Time Magic – Time Freeze]!
Centered around Julius, a massive sphere of time magic expanded out over a hundred meters.
In an instant, the storm of light swords froze in mid-air, suspended just inches above the citizens' heads.
Gulp…
Many of the onlookers swallowed hard, staring at blades mere centimeters from their skulls.
If the Wizard King hadn't stepped in, they'd have never known how they died.
Boom!
The unstoppable force of time shattered the light swords into dust.
At that moment, Julius blinked—his form suddenly appearing right in front of Patolli.
"So fast!"
Patolli's pupils shrank as he instinctively swung out a light sword.
But mid-swing, the sword unraveled—transforming into a light whip.
Swish! Swish!
The whip cracked like a striking serpent, forcing Julius to dodge aside.
But he didn't slow down—his hand moved quickly, firing a beam of time energy toward Patolli.
Zing! Rumble!
Patolli's body blurred, transformed into pure light, his speed reaching its zenith.
Yet the time beam was relentless, adjusting its trajectory with each shift in direction, tracking him under Julius's precise control.
Redirection.
Rather than retreat, Patolli lunged forward.
Halfway through, his form blinked away and reappeared at a different angle.
But even that couldn't fool the beam of time—it immediately redirected, aiming back toward Julius.
Whoosh!
Julius vanished again, barely dodging the attack—only to be met by a fresh barrage of light swords.
"Magic Domain!"
With his domain deployed, Julius's sensory powers soared to their peak.
Anything that entered the domain would be instantly detected—and suppressed.
"Light magic is the fastest among all types… but that doesn't mean it's unblockable."
"Oh really?" Patolli's grin turned maniacal. "Then let's see how long you can defend!"
Shoom! Shoom!
He released another wave of countless light swords into the sky.
This was his first time fighting the Wizard King.
But he knew exactly what to do—use his advantage in speed to overwhelm him, force a gap, and strike a killing blow.
He had access to Fana's memories through reincarnation and knew Julius's tendencies well.
Even if he couldn't win, just delaying the Wizard King long enough for the Shadow Palace to open would be considered a success.
"To oppose time, only light can prevail! Wizard King—take this!"
[Elf Magic – Elven Storm]!
---
Meanwhile, high above in the oppressive, stormy skies, Ethan and Corin continued their fierce duel.
A violent hurricane raged across the clouds, tearing the sky apart.
With a glowing halo behind him, Ethan had fully merged with his elf spirit, unleashing his power to its limit.
But even so, the results weren't what he hoped.
[Stellar Magic – Meteor Fall]!
Boom!
The heavens parted as a massive meteor plummeted from the sky.
Ethan's scalp tingled—it was clear that Corin had given up caring about collateral damage.
He no longer cared how much more of the already-ruined capital would be destroyed.
The meteor collided with the storm in mid-air.
Both vanished in a blinding flash—but the meteor fragments scattered, transforming into tiny shooting stars that rained down on the capital below.
"It looks like I'll have to go all in—close combat it is!"
Determined, Ethan dashed forward.
He might possess over 200 grimoires and cast hundreds of spells, but long-range magic clashes always ended the same: neutralized, blocked, or deflected.
In terms of raw domain tier, even with elf synchronization, he was only Domain 2—while Corin was already Domain 0.
That was a full two-domain difference!
But those domains weren't everything.
Stellar Magic was fast—but not faster than light.
Corin's speed came one-third from his stellar attribute, and two-thirds from his overwhelming mana pool.
To put it simply, it was like a martial artist using a common footwork technique but being faster than a novice with a legendary one—just because of superior foundation.
Ethan, however, was different.
Wind, light, lightning—every attribute he used was among the fastest.
Now, he'd combine them all.
[Arcane Art – Aurora Flash]!
He used light magic as the core, reinforced by wind and lightning.
In that instant, Ethan's speed shattered all limits.
He didn't just move—he seemed to teleport, leaving ripples in the air behind him.
To his eyes, Corin's movements slowed down dramatically—like watching a slow-motion replay.
Of course, this wasn't time magic—he knew that.
It was simply what happened when your speed broke the boundaries of perception.
When you're fast enough… even time feels still.
[Wind Creation Magic – Spiral Shuriken]!
[Lightning Creation Magic – Thousand Birds]!
Both spells formed instantly in his hands.
They shrieked—thousands of birds cawing in one ear, and the howling of slicing winds in the other.
Their roar echoed through the sky, shaking the capital below.
People looked up—only to see a blinding white light streak across the heavens, followed by a thunderous cry that seemed to split the world open.
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