Chapter 652: Magnus
Magnus knew that he was at a disadvantage against the Pontiff, but he refused to admit defeat.
"You're incredibly strong... However, it's not every day that I get to meet a strong opponent like you. I will not fall so easily! Entertain me!" Magnus roared as he used one of the Arcane Paths that he hadn't fully mastered. It was the Dark Arts.
Well, if Vale hadn't extracted his Cursed Flame, he would've certainly used that Alchemy Art and had a good fight against the Pontiff.
Nevertheless, this allowed him to focus on other Arcane Paths!
This time, he decided to use his Dark Spells, hoping to gain an edge over his opponent. After all, his Dark Spells were the best when dealing with multiple targets.
Magnus chanted a series of words, and summoned a swarm of black crows.
"Kill them all!"
He commanded them to fly towards the Pontiff and the Storm Knight. They weren't too powerful but could peck and scratch with their sharp beaks and claws. Furthermore, they weren't easy to kill with lightning attributes.
They were perfect to use against these Arcanists.
"Night Crows? That's futile!"
The Pontiff saw the crows coming, and he waved his scepter.
He created a barrier of water that blocked the crows from reaching him. It didn't protect the Storm Knights, but he wasn't worried about them since they were all equipped with helmets and armor that had Runes imbued to them.
They should be able to defend themselves for some time.
He then gathered his Divinity sent out a shockwave of Divine Wind Energy that dispersed the crows and turned them into feathers!
Whoooshh~
They were killed so easily! However, Magnus was not deterred by this. He knew very well that his opponent was a Half-Immortal.
He chanted another series of words, and conjured a cloud of Dark Mist. He spread it over the area, and tried to blind and suffocate the Pontiff and the Storm Knights!
Magnus wanted to command his controlled beasts around the castle to attack the group of intruders but he stopped himself from doing so.
These beasts only had one life... Furthermore, most of them are trained to search or detect the Demons. It would be a pity if they get killed by the Pontiff and the Storm Knights this early.
Instead, Magnus applied a Severe Ailment Spell to the dark mist to weaken the immunity of the enemies. He also continued to cast several more curses that was absorbed by the Dark Mist that he made!
"A Dark Mist this time, huh... You're just prolonging your inevitable death." The Pontiff thought as he realized that the Dark Mist wasn't that threatening to them.
Well, at the very least, it was quite difficult to disperse since Dark Mist had a strange resistance against Wind Spells.
However, as the Pontiff felt the mist enveloping him, he immediately knew that something was off, and he held his breath.
He then used his Divinity to focus them in his eyes to enhance his vision.
This was quite a difficult technique when using Divinity but he pulled it off almost without delay.
After using this, he saw through the cursed surrounding the Dark Mist, and he also saw through the darkness, and he spotted Magnus!
Dealing with the Dark Mist might be difficult, but if he killed or heavily injure its caster, then it would just naturally disappear.
He then pointed his scepter at him, and fired a bolt of lightning, that pierced through the mist and aimed at Magnus.
Although this lightning was weakened a lot because of the Dark Mist's energy, it was still enough to threaten Magnus.
Magnus sensed the bolt of lightning approaching, and he dodged it!
It was close, and he was only grazed on his shoulder!
Because he imbued several Curses in that Dark Mist, Magnus failed to erect a defensive barrier at that time!
Magnus then triggered another Spell and created a circle of Dark Flames. It wasn't as strong as the Cursed Flame, but this Dark Flame could last longer than the Cursed Flame from the Alchemy Path...
"If I can't defeat you, I'll at least defeat all your subordinates!" Magnus roared as he pointed at the Pontiff's direction.
He expanded the flames and tried to burn the Pontiff and the Storm Knights behind him, who were still resisting the Curses he had thrown together with the Dark Mist!
"Dark Flame?"
The Pontiff saw the flames rising, and he frowned. Although this was indeed not a scorching flame that could melt through everything, Dark Flame greatly disturbed the energy of the Arcanists. It would mess up their energy flow, and they would have difficulty casting spells in a short period.
'Tsk... I can only use my scepter 5 more times... This is getting more and more annoying.' The Pontiff remarked as he swung his scepter and created a whirlwind!
He blew away the Dark Flames and removed the Dark Mist! However, he spent a huge amount of Divinity to make this work!
Nevertheless, this action finally exposed Magnus!
Marcus III could see that Magnus was also reaching his limit! Without hesitation, he charged at him and used his robe's brilliance spell to blind Magnus for a brief moment!
Then, he opened his palm and activated his glove's Drain Touch!
He only needs to grab Magnus to end this farce!
However, Magnus wasn't affected by the Robe's Brilliance Spell. With his Light Absorption Spell, he easily avoided getting caught off guard.
Then, he saw the Pontiff rushing at him, and he clenched his teeth.
Hell Chain!
He summoned a searing chain of dark metal!
He aimed the chain at the Pontiff and tried to bind him!
The Pontiff saw the chain flying at him, and he smirked.
"That's futile!"
He caught the chain with his hand and pulled it! He was actually unaffected by the Hell Chain! He dragged Magnus towards him and then smashed him with his scepter!
Boom!
Magnus felt the impact of the scepter, and he coughed up blood.
The man fell to the ground, and he groaned in pain.
He had used a lot of Arcane Energy in that bout, but he had failed to defeat the Pontiff and lost the battle.