KEIICHI MIURA

I rushed towards Wallace, my heart filled with anger and determination, as he relentlessly charged at Cyanthos. I couldn’t bear the thought of him dying, especially with Celina lying on the ground, her eyes filled with despair over the loss of her older brother.

Even though I knew I might not reach Wallace in time, I pressed on, holding onto a sliver of hope that remained for us.

As I closed my eyes, anticipating the sound of the impending blow from Cyanthos’s mace hitting Wallace’s head, a strange silence fell upon the scene. Opening my eyes, I witnessed a miraculous sight: Cyanthos’s mace was automatically repelled when it attempted to strike Wallace, as if a protective white light had enveloped him.

Suddenly, a pillar of white rose up around Wallace, surrounding him in its ethereal embrace. There was no sound, even as the pillar slowly dissipated, vanishing like a withered tree.

When the pillar disappeared, Wallace stood before us, brandishing his weapon. However, something had changed. His eyes reflected the night sky, giving the impression of peering into the vast expanse of the universe. His hair had transformed into jet-black, and his complexion had turned pale.

His grip on his weapon shifted to a more effortless and proficient stance, as if it were an extension of his very being. His clothes seemed to ripple and shift as he moved, creating an aura of illusion around him.

The aura surrounding him had transformed completely, as if he had become an entirely different person. A grin formed on his face as he stood face to face with Cyanthos, the leader of the Voidshades.

"Cyanthos, my doubts about you have been confirmed. Your betrayal is no longer a secret," Wallace said with a voice that had matured, resonating through the area as though amplified by a small megaphone.

"So, it was you all along. Leaving your original body behind to come here must mean that this boy named Wallace is indeed important to you. Who knows what will happen if I kill you here, Master Mrizem?" Cyanthos replied calmly, although his previous air of authority had diminished.

This made no sense. Why was Wallace speaking as if he already knew Cyanthos, and why did Cyanthos address him as "Master"? The only conclusion I could draw was that the person standing a few metres away from me was not Wallace himself. Someone else had taken control of his body. I could also discern that this person’s name was Mrizem.

"In this feeble vessel, I cannot unleash my powers to their full extent, but they will be sufficient to end you. The Order has no use for individuals like you who abandon their principles for the sake of power. Our grand objective surpasses your petty ambitions," Wallace Eclipse retorted.

Then he turned his gaze towards me.

"Keiichi, you have cared for Wallace well, ensuring his survival. I hope you will continue to do so for the next few months until I can devise a solution. Your life shall be spared," Mrizem said.

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Suddenly, I found myself standing near Celina, who was sobbing, with Elsie providing comfort. I had been warped away, helpless to do anything but observe as Mrizem, inhabiting Wallace’s body, prepared to confront Cyanthos.

*

Pure, crystalline ice materialised around Cyanthos, lifting him up as he lunged towards Mrizem. However, the fabric of space around Mrizem distorted, and in an instant, he warped, appearing behind Cyanthos. The manipulation of space itself was so swift that it dwarfed Wallace’s techniques, rendering them child’s play in comparison.

Cyanthos swiftly turned around, hurling his mace at the attacking Mrizem, resulting in a clash between Mrizem’s scythe and Cyanthos’s mace. The clash produced a resounding noise, and once again, the space around Mrizem distorted, allowing him to reappear in the blind spot of Cyanthos, aiming his weapon at him. This time, the blade managed to inflict a small wound before Cyanthos could block the blow.

I observed as this pattern repeated. Mrizem continuously warped, appearing at different locations around Cyanthos’s body, but Cyanthos’s monstrous reflexes allowed him to barely block the blows every time. Eventually, they both backed off.

Mrizem, inhabiting Wallace’s body, gasped for breath while Cyanthos inspected the scattered cuts on his body. Mrizem was a formidable opponent. Wallace could only manage to use spatial warp once, and even that was slow and took a heavy toll on his body. In contrast, Mrizem effortlessly employed spatial warping countless times at superhuman speeds.

"This body is too weak," Mrizem sighed.

"You’re running out of time. I know that maintaining this possession is taking a toll on you. It seems I need to go all out from the beginning to kill you before you leave this body," Cyanthos declared.

Soon, the surroundings morphed as the area around Cyanthos transformed into a dense, growing mass of white ice. It encased the entire battlefield, creating an enormous birdcage-like structure that trapped Cyanthos and Mrizem within it.

Meanwhile, I observed spatial distortions occurring at various spots near Mrizem, with doZen distortions happening simultaneously. Before I could comprehend it, Mrizem appeared at all twelve locations simultaneously. Wait, how could he be in twelve places at once? It suddenly dawned on me that he had manifested twelve distinct versions of himself. Distinguishing the real Mrizem from the clones became a challenge.

I watched as the twelve clones and the real Mrizem lunged towards Cyanthos while the ice birdcage acted as a trap, launching sharp spikes made of pure white ice at them. However, they skillfully dodged the spikes and hurled their weapons through the chains, attacking Cyanthos from multiple directions.

Cyanthos spun around like a tornado, his crystalline armour deflecting all the blades.

I witnessed the clash of these two otherworldly forces, their battle making the earlier confrontation between Indikar and Baek appear trivial in comparison. Cyanthos constantly manifested ice, engulfing the area in a white fog, while Mrizem and his clones evaded the manifestations, warping through space and appearing at different locations, poised to unleash their weapons on Cyanthos.

As time passed, the dissipating white fog unveiled a scene before my eyes. The ice birdcage had suffered significant damage, and Cyanthos bore bruises all over his body, yet he remained standing. Slowly, he approached the real Mrizem while the clones gradually diminished, fading away like dying embers.

Mrizem also displayed minor wounds and struggled to catch his breath. "It seems you have finally depleted your energy. It’s time to end this," Cyanthos declared, his words punctuated by laboured gasps.

However, just as Cyanthos was about to launch himself towards Mrizem, something peculiar occurred. He was struck mid-air, forcefully hurtling backward towards the ground as if an external force had intervened.

Suddenly, a figure emerged, revealing itself to be Baek, the Ninth Herald, who had previously been exhausted. "Thank you for buying me time, unknown person," he uttered, his gaze fixed upon Mrizem.

"There is no alternative but to employ this technique. I had kept it in reserve for the opportune moment, and it appears that the time has come," he proclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the surroundings.

[9th Divine Art: Sacred Illumination]

He concluded, his words reverberating through the vicinity.