Zack pushed his battered body to shove the grand paladin out of harm's way, but even with his hyperspeed and the fact that the beam was more than just light, he couldn't fully dodge it. The spell's speed rivaled his own even when he was imbued with the concept of speed..
Swoosh! Bang!
As time returned to normal, Zack glanced over and sighed in relief. The grand paladin’s chest was bloodied but he had managed to avoid a direct hit to his heart. For a level 3 powerhouse like him, this injury shouldn't pose too much of a problem to bounce back from.
Zack refocused his senses, realizing he'd let his guard down earlier, thinking the brawl was a wrap. But now, he sensed a subtle disturbance in the mana, a faint ripple that most folks—except him and level 3 powerhouses—would miss. The concealment was top-notch, hiding not just visually, but also life signs and mana.
Yet, maybe 'cause whoever was in there just cast a spell, there was a tiny hiccup that betrayed the concealment's location. Once locked in, the person couldn't slip back under cover, as their mana signature leaked out, albeit just a smidge. But for Zack and the grand paladin, it was enough to zero in on.
Sure enough, the grand paladin locked eyes with Zack, both homing in on the same spot. The person in hiding seemed to catch on, ditching the concealment and revealing themselves.
The grand paladin's gasp said it all. "Pope!?"
The pope ignored the grand paladin’s yell and turned his head towards Zack as he spoke while smiling softly, "Well, well, it seems I underestimated your resilience, wizard. You still had that much energy after such a big fight."
The pope rocked this fancy white robe, all decked out with golden stripes, and he's gripping this flashy golden staff with this massive gem on top. His silver hair and gold eyes were shining real nice in the afternoon sun, and he had this smile plastered on his face. But even Zack could see right through that fake-ass smile.
With a resigned sigh, the pope lamented the limitations of his current situation. "If only I could unleash a devastating attack to eliminate both of you in one fell swoop. Alas, the mana disruption would be too conspicuous, even with this concealment device," he gestured to his robe, claiming it to be the source of his stealth.
"Now that I'm fully exposed, there's no need for restraint. Consider yourselves doomed," declared the pope, his voice ringing with determination. With a decisive gesture, he formed a complex hand seal, channeling his divine power. A sigil erupted from the pope's chest, soaring through the air before settling atop the gem adorning the pinnacle of his staff.
Zack and the grand paladin weren't just chilling there, though. They bolted out of there a while ago. Well, to be precise, Zack was hauling the grand paladin on his back while making tracks away from the scene.
However, rather than pursuing immediately, the pope calmly allowed Zack and the grand paladin to leave as he unleashed his sigil. With a serene demeanor, he watched as the sigil found its place upon his staff, a smile playing across his lips.
"It's futile to flee now that I've intervened," he remarked confidently, his voice carrying an air of finality. With a resolute determination, he infused his staff with divine energy, causing a colossal divine pattern to materialize above his head.
[Reflection - Fleeting World]
The pattern glowed bright before shooting out a golden ripple in all directions, including towards Zack and the grand paladin.
Zack couldn't sprint at full speed with the grand paladin on his back. So, even though he had put some distance between them and the pope, the pope's lightning-fast speed spell caught up in no time.
But since the spell was cast over a long distance in a straight line, Zack could easily dodge it. He smirked, "Ha! Too slow. We're already too far for him to hit us with any spell."
Meanwhile, perched on Zack's shoulder, the grand paladin muttered grimly, "No, it's us who are too late. The moment the pope unleashed his sigil, our fate was sealed. If you doubt me, simply sense the environment around us."
As Zack listened to the grand paladin, he was taken aback. The grand paladin was onto something. He'd seen that tree before, yet here it was again, despite him trekking far from that spot. It seemed like the pope had woven some kind of illusion, trapping them in this spot.
Zack frowned, thinking, 'Weird. Didn't pick up any magic formation fluctuations, so it must be from that pope's spell. But messing with the heads of level 3 powerhouses? That's next-level stuff! Damn, griping won't help. I gotta find a way out or shut down whatever the pope's cooking up.'
Zack sensed the pope gearing up for a massive spell, judging by the divine power vibes in the distance. He figured he could bust out another big spell to shatter this illusion, but he knew by the time he finished, the pope would have already unleashed his own magic, leaving them both toast.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
All that pondering and strategizing happened lickety-split in Zack's mind. So after the grand paladin spoke, Zack went quiet for a sec, then spoke up, "Alright, I got some friends who might be able to lend a hand."
The grand paladin's face showed clear confusion. 'What kind of friends can take on a level 3 powerhouse?'
Meanwhile, Zack brushed off the confusion and quickly split his mana cores into four, sending each to one of the clones he'd scattered around the area. Yup, Zack wasn't messing around; he'd brought a whole army of 100 clones to this showdown.
Then, he divided his mind into four more and focused on the four clones, giving the least attention to the one holding the paladin. Instantly, Zack got hit with a pounding headache, trying to wrangle control over all four clones simultaneously. In the past, handling three clones was his limit.
But, it didn't matter much because he intended to unleash the innate spells stored in his mana cores. All he had to do was channel mana into the magic circles within the cores to activate the spells. That way, he wouldn't drain too much mental energy. Most of his focus would be on steering the clones to sprint at high speeds toward the pope.
In four spots scattered around the area, four buried bodies blinked open their eyes. They looked like your average Joes, faces you'd forget in a crowd, except for their dead-eyed stares. Each clone sported a unique appearance and mana signature, thanks to Zack's [Thousand Faces] ability.
Suddenly, the four clones clawed their way out of the earth. If regular folks caught sight of this, they'd be scared witless – it'd be like watching corpses rise from the grave. Then, crackles of electricity danced around each clone, and their feet were encased in sleek sneakers with wings. These kicks were woven from lightning, but they looked just like the real deal. The crackling lightning and the cool sneakers were from Zack's innate spells, [Lightning Flesh] and [Hermes' Shoes - Talaria].
Surrounded by lightning, all the clones turned their heads towards the pope's direction before sprinting off, still wearing those emotionless expressions. It wasn't that Zack wanted them to look all stoic; he just didn't have enough mental juice to tweak their facial features.
Anyway, the clones had activated [Hidden Strength] to mask their life and mana vibes. The only giveaway was their appearance and the strange void left in the mana concentration when they vanished – a side effect of [Hidden Strength]. But, again, Zack was tapped out; he couldn't conjure up [Camouflage] or [Environmental Mimicry] to cover that up. Still, Zack reckoned that with just [Hidden Strength], he could get close enough to the pope.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Zack and the grand paladin were together. Zack grinned like a loon inside. 'Finally, time to unleash [Project Fireworks] for the first time. Let's see how they roll!'
*** Pope Location. ***
The pope, suspended in the air amidst majestic divine patterns, abruptly opened his eyes. His expression furrowed as he surveyed the peculiar sight unfolding before him. A sensation prickled at the edges of his consciousness, drawing his attention to a swiftly approaching presence. Its brilliance, akin to a cascade of lightning, pierced the atmosphere, illuminating the space around it. Curiously, there was an absence of mana fluctuations, leaving the pope to discern its presence only as it neared, shrouded in radiance.
As the figure drew closer, the pope's instincts surged with a primal warning, signaling the imminent threat to his life. Reacting with lightning speed, he abandoned the spell he had been preparing and unleashed it directly at the figure. In an instant, a colossal beam of light, with a radius of 100 meters and a thickness akin to a pillar, erupted from the divine pattern above his head, hurtling toward the approaching entity.
The figure, moving in a straight path, made no effort to evade the incoming attack. Even if attempted, dodging would have been futile against the sheer velocity of the light pillar. Furthermore, the pope had imbued the spell with additional properties, making it a formidable weapon worthy of the time and energy he had invested in its preparation.
Upon impact, the light pillar rebounded off the ground with astonishing force, behaving as if the earth were not solid ground but fragile glass. It ricocheted through the air, rebounding multiple times before redirecting its trajectory back toward the figure. Each rebound added to the onslaught, creating a dazzling barrage of light pillars that overwhelmed the figure in a relentless assault. With each bounce, the brilliance intensified, illuminating the surroundings with blinding radiance as the figure found itself engulfed by the luminous onslaught.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
As the radiance peaked, a colossal explosion rocked the surrounding area, scattering the remnants of the luminous pillars and the figure they had engulfed. With a wave of his hand, the pope conjured a huge hand made of light particles, dispersing the dust and revealing the aftermath of his assault. To his relief, the crater lay empty, devoid of any trace of the figure.
Exhaling heavily, the pope felt reassured that his enemy had been vanquished. However, a sense of frustration lingered as he contemplated his inability to swiftly dispatch the grand paladin and the mysterious wizard..
"Well, it seems I couldn't eliminate those two as swiftly as I'd hoped, now that the divine spell has dissipated," he muttered, his disappointment evident. Yet, upon sensing on the situation within the [Fleeting World], he found a glimmer of optimism.
"Both the wizard and Reginald appear to lack the power to escape their confinement," he reasoned. "Their previous outburst seems to have depleted their remaining energy. I still have ample time to cast another spell to eliminate them."
Yet, a lingering sense of foreboding gnawed at his consciousness, the pope's expression darkened. "Why is the danger warning still active? Didn't I eliminate the bright figure?" he muttered incredulously. His grave realization prompted him to swiftly turn his head, confirming his worst fears: three more lightning-cloaked figures hurtling toward him at alarming speed.
Caught off guard by their sudden appearance, the pope's danger instinct surged even more, urging him to action. With lightning reflexes, he cast a spell, enveloping his body in a radiant glow as he attempted to retreat from the looming threat. However, his efforts proved futile; the figures were already within striking distance, their emotionless eyes piercing through the distance between them.
As the figures drew closer, a disturbing transformation overtook them. Cracks spread across their bodies, each fissure emitting a brilliant light.
A sense of dread gripped the pope as he watched cracks spiderweb across the figures' forms. Panic surged within him as he inwardly urged his body to move faster, to evade the imminent catastrophe.
Then, with a deafening roar, the world erupted into chaos as a colossal explosion enveloped the surroundings in a blinding flash of light and force.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!