If you looked closely, anyone with a system would immediately notice that Nerfe was not a Nartheis, even if his stats were similar to one that appeared on the screen, but he had something the others didn't. And that was his rank. Nerfe was actually a human who had been killed and controlled to be one of the guards of the dark castle by the Nartheis themselves.
'They captured and tortured him until his soul left the body. This thing in front of me is nothing more than an empty shell that fights under orders.'
[That last part sounded a bit mean to say.]
'I'm simply stating the truth.'
While pillars spun around the two, forming lines of golden light, he used his crimson shell covering both of his arms entirely. The stones on the back of his hands glowed, beginning to charge magic.
'I'll fully focus on this fight and see what my real level is now.'
With a small smile on his face, he became excited. Assuming his fighting stance, he took a step forward. Nerfe's eyes shone intensely in gold; the pillars around them had all connected, forming a cage that no one could escape. The flowers beneath their feet seemed to move a little—Enrico already knew what they were, so he wasn't too worried.
'They will hold my feet at certain moments of the battle, which is going to be annoying, but there's nothing I can do since they are immune to magic damage or effects.'
Besides that, they had a poisonous pollen that made him weaker, so those ten percent he gained were useful. Nerfe stood up with his sword ready; both were prepared.
'Lunaris, enhance body'
He immediately activated Lunaris magic; now it was capable of improving his body even more, enhancing it completely, the blood inside his body moving faster and glowing with magic. The first attack came from Nerfe, who advanced with his body leaning forward, the red sword dragging a bright line on the ground while the energy accumulated in the pillars began to pulse with increasing rhythm.
'Fast'
"Charged impulse"
The direct approach forced Enrico to concentrate fire in his legs, propelling his body to the side at the exact moment the golden blade tried to cut him at the waist. The movement avoided the strike but left hot trails in the air as the Golden Fire hit the ground and burned the edges of some metallic leaves stuck to the earth that he only noticed now.
'Very fast'
Enrico stepped back twice, letting the heat dissipate and testing the distance between them. Nerfe continued advancing without pause, without hesitation or fear, only moving under orders from the Nartheis. He could never stop—something the original Nerfe wouldn't do, as he was more thoughtful, at least from what Enrico had seen in his backstory.
'Truly an empty shell'
The knight raised the sword above his head, and the gold reacted in a spiral, forming a rigid line that descended in a vertical strike.
Putting his arm back, Enrico focused fire in his hands, pushing his body forward with a controlled explosion that carried him to the knight's blind spot below the waist on the left. The crimson shell reinforced his arms, allowing the momentum of his movement to create space. Even so, Nerfe's strike hit the ground and opened a small circular crater.
'Time for my new spell, Fire Lance'
Enrico twisted his torso and tried to release a jet of flames, but the flowers on the ground moved, climbing up his legs like living clasps. The structure closed quickly, trying to lock his feet to leave him vulnerable.
[Hehe, seems your new spell didn't work.]
'Shut up, I didn't ask you.'
He heated the fire in his legs to burn the flowers, but he quickly remembered the leaves were immune to any direct magic damage and clenched his teeth.
'Better do it another way then.'
Instead, he raised his foot and propelled his body backward using fire as lateral thrust. The metallic trap snapped shut on empty air as Nerfe swung the sword, seeking the new place where Enrico landed.
The golden fire on the blade flickered steadily, as if being fed by something beyond normal mana. The knight shifted the sword to a diagonal angle, initiating an upward slash that seemed simple but carried enough strength to destroy cities without a doubt—just like sixth-circle mages could.
Enrico felt the air heat up before the strike even ended, making his instincts react before his brain. He lifted the crimson shell, crossing his forearms and letting the red aura act as extra armor.
The impact pushed Enrico back, making him slide across the ground while the Golden Flowers again tried to trap him. From within that cage, the attack sent a shockwave spreading far beyond the dark castle, and golden clouds began forming around the entire castle for thirteen kilometers.
'This is one of the unique abilities of a Rank Ranvil level three Nartheis.'
[Seems like Renzou, Takeshi, or Sayaka encountered him, because I don't think he would use that against a sixth-circle opponent.]
'Yes, and I hope it's Renzou or Sayaka because it'll be hard for Takeshi.'
Jumping back before Nerfe launched a new strike, he activated his unique ability, Elemental Clone. A sphere of fire separated from his body, solidifying into an identical shape—more identical than before—made of red flames that took on almost human texture and density. The duplicate charged immediately, running around Nerfe with increasing speed.
The knight abruptly turned his head, following the clone's movement without showing confusion.
[He could at least show some reaction.]
'That's impossible, but know that I wanted the same.'
The Golden Fire around the blade brightened, expanding the horizontal slash that came toward the clone. The strike connected, but passed through the flaming body and dispersed it into incandescent fragments. Before Nerfe could return to his neutral stance, Enrico had already swapped places with his clone using the remaining spark—something also slightly new.
"CC Impact"
The sudden appearance of Enrico at the knight's side allowed him to thrust his flaming arm forward and strike the black armor with the crimson shell reinforced by mana. The blow drove the knight slightly into the ground, but the armor barely cracked.
'That's going to be hard to break.'
Nerfe's body rotated with military reflexes, swinging the sword in a lateral cut that almost hit Enrico's abdomen, but he bent his spine backward and let fire burst from his feet, sliding horizontally like an arrow until he stopped a few meters ahead.
"Better go all out already."
Nerfe tilted his head, observing Enrico. Taking a deep breath, Enrico activated his full concentration state and anything he hadn't activated yet to increase his strength.
'Total focus'
A cut on Enrico's shirt appeared, showing that even without landing a full hit, Nerfe had still caused damage. Enrico was certain that even activating everything, it would be difficult for both of them—which Nerfe acknowledged by assuming a different stance, holding the sword with both hands.