Charles discovered he had still underestimated Lucius - he could actually restrain his magic power fluctuations to a degree that even Charles couldn't sense.
Of course, that was also because the underground environment affected perception, plus the intense battles in the castle had some influence as well.
But regardless, this move of Lucius's wasn't something just anyone could pull off.
Lucius raised his head to look at the intruding Charles, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"You've come!"
Aside from the star marking on his left forehead changing to sun-like black markings on his right forehead, Lucius had no changes in appearance compared to Julius.
But somehow, you could sense the difference between the two just by looking.
How to put it - just seeing that seemingly gentle smile on Lucius's face made Charles feel a chill down his spine.
So Charles said coldly, "You're not the Magic Emperor I know, so this should be our first meeting, right?"
Lucius shook his head, "Julius and I were originally one person. Everything he saw and experienced, I can feel completely.
Julius's dreams are also my dreams. The country Julius wanted to create can only be realized through my methods."
Charles said coldly, "How ironic! The person who stopped others from destroying the world now wants to do it himself."
Lucius shook his head, "You're wrong, Charles. What I'm going to do isn't destroy the world like Conrad did. What I bring to this world is sacred purification.
Have you ever thought about why conflicts in this world can never end, why hatred, contradictions, and inequality cling to every person in this world like curses?
There's only one conclusion - the source of the curse is humanity itself. Greed, arrogance, hypocrisy... human nature itself is ugly.
So no matter what you do, this world still won't change.
What I'm going to do is purify humanity, make them into higher and purer beings, and create a truly peaceful world."
Charles raised his hand to stop Lucius's long speech, "Enough! So after acting for so long, you can even deceive yourself.
Conrad talked about creating a new world, but was really just venting his anger and hatred. You're the same, but you're even harder to understand. You're doing all this for your own ambition and desires, right?
Your so-called peace should be under your dominion! And your so-called purification is just making everyone into your puppets."
Lucius showed sadness, "As expected, you, like Julius, cannot understand me either. Then I can only eliminate you!"
Saying this, Lucius suddenly disappeared from his original position. Charles's vision blurred and he saw him appear in front of him, throwing a punch.
Charles summoned his Noble Phantasm and threw a punch back.
The two fists collided together without causing any huge commotion, but Charles rarely took the initiative to retreat.
Charles frowned and looked at his Noble Phantasm. The protruding armor plates at Evil Dragon's knuckles had actually deformed slightly.
Although they were already beginning to return to their original state as Charles's magic power surged, the Noble Phantasm had indeed been distorted.
Lucius's punch was indeed powerful, but the strength wasn't terrifying enough to destroy Charles's Noble Phantasm.
Charles understood - the time magic Lucius mastered came from the time devil, and his own magic was soul magic.
The magic possessed by the four members of the Zogratis family - bone, blood, muscle, soul - when combined together could constitute a complete life.
What Lucius possessed was the most terrifying ability - he could distort other people's souls. Noble Phantasms were manifestations of the soul, so even a light punch caused it to deform.
Lucius showed a trace of surprise, "What an amazingly resilient soul, to actually withstand my soul magic head-on. As expected, Charles, you are special.
Although my power is still incomplete compared to what I envisioned, I must show you nonetheless."
Saying this, black magic power surged from Lucius's body, horns also grew on his head as he directly entered devil power fusion form.
But the next instant, the black on Lucius's body peeled away piece by piece. Where the black receded emitted lustrous light, and special magic power even condensed into a halo above Lucius's head. In the blink of an eye, Lucius transformed from a devil into something as holy as an angel.
In Charles's perception, the magic power aura on Lucius completely changed. The ominous magic power instead transformed into a power filled with a sense of holiness.
Lucius spread his arms as a pair of luminous wings spread simultaneously.
"From birth into a devil-possessed clan, I mastered the power to purify devils, and this is the magic that brings sacred power to humanity."
Lucius said this as powerful magic power surged out. The next moment he appeared before Charles as if teleporting.
Then transparent spheres surrounded by Roman numeral rings appeared, enveloping Charles within. Charles seemed frozen solid - even his floating scarf stopped motionless in midair.
This was what Lucius had obtained from the highest-level devil - time magic that manipulated the world's most basic rules. Even Charles was directly bound, completely powerless to move.
And Lucius slowly raised his hand like this, pressing his finger toward Charles's forehead.
If just now Charles had relied on his soul's inherent resilience to withstand Lucius's soul magic, then this time, even if Charles's soul strength was twice as high, he couldn't possibly withstand it.
Because this time Lucius used his full power - that was the full-strength strike of one who had devoured a highest-level devil, and moreover it was a strike aimed at the most defensively vulnerable soul.
But before Lucius's finger could fall, two flames suddenly jumped out from Charles's eyes.
Then Lucius was surprised to hear a crackling sound, as if something was beginning to shatter.
Then with a thunderous sound, Charles's entire body seemed to become a torch. Flames shot skyward, directly crushing that time magic sphere.
Even though he was just a bit away from touching Charles, Lucius still chose to retreat.
"What terrifying flames, to actually burn even space-time together," Lucius sighed like this, caution appearing in his eyes. He really hadn't expected someone could break his time magic in such a way.
Charles, like a flame war god, stepped forward as the flames became even more violent.
"You probably haven't encountered opponents with magic of the same level. Then let me tell you - for powerful magic users, battle is actually a competition of magic power quality and quantity.
Magic restraint relationships are weakened by powerful magic power. If you want to defeat me, you'd better bring out some real magic power!"
Lucius had a sudden realization, "I see, it seems I still underestimated you! Then as you said, let us settle this!"
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