He continued rolling away and soon found himself back in the light. He quickly picked himself up, but unlike most who had been kicked, he had a smile on his face. He wiped the dirt off his face and noticed the pair head his way.

(“She doesn't have her sword… hmm, I didn't think my magic had gotten this powerful.”)

The fact she decided not using her sword was better than using it, told him all the information he needed.

In most combat scenarios, his magic was nothing more than a nuisance. It didn't do anything more than add resistance to his enemy's weapon. It served as a tiebreaker if he and his opponent were evenly matched. But that was the only scenario he'd actively try to slow down his opponent's weapon or even focus on it.

His magic did more than that with the powder. It allowed him to fully nullify his opponents' weapon with, admittedly, a concerted effort on his part.

As Tina thrust her spear at him, he threw his hand into the blade's way.

She raised an eyebrow but as the saying goes on, beggars can't be choosers and she certainly wasn't going to be picky about this opportunity.

She shocked him for a few moments and as she did so, she felt something off about her spear. No, even she could tell this whole setup was odd. She expected to be stopped the moment her spear pierced flesh but he didn't do anything like that. She was ready to use her magic while frozen defenceless.

She tried to shove it further down his hand but it seemed the bastard had gotten a second wind while they got themselves together in the shadows. He kept dodging or moving backwards to ensure the blade didn't go deeper or rip apart his hand.

And now that she noticed it, the smell of burning flesh wasn't as prominent as when she started.

The thing that really freaked her out, however, was her spear. It stopped readily accepting her mana and started to feel harder to move.

When Elizabeth came close enough to run past Tina, the priest freed himself and jumped in the air.

Elizabeth jumped Into the air to catch him but he stopped and used her as a springboard to get himself higher.

The magic wore off and she fell down after having her momentum stopped.

He was now higher than Elizabeth or Tina could jump.

When she touched the floor again she couldn't help but wonder what he was planning. From that distance, if he did his usual song and dance of stopping them, he'd do nothing more than waste everyone's time. He couldn't hurt them from that distance and neither could they.

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Tina tried to pull on her spear but it seemed like it had been glued to the air itself. She used both hands and went red on the face trying to pull the spear but nothing came of it.

“That motherfucker, I swear I'll rip the little shit’s throat out when I get a hold of him,” Tina shouted as she broke out into a sweat.

(“I can't believe I got up here so easily. And I can't believe this magic truly is so wondrous. I can feel she is trying to expel my mana with her own but she'll have to do that for a while before it becomes hers again.”)

He reached into his pocket and Elizabeth immediately noticed how he stopped Tina.

He moved his hand back and she ran to her ally's side. She lifted her up and got running.

The area around the blade soon became surrounded by... caltrops? She noticed he had a bag on his side and assumed it was the powder. It looked like her assumption was wrong.

They were densely distributed and trying to move them with her bare fingers proved a challenge.

Tina regained her movement and tried to brush them aside with her arm. The only thing this action accomplished was a bloody arm covered in large gashes.

“Ow, goddammit, what the hell are these things!?” She shouted as she flicked her arm in pain, causing some of the blood to splatter on Elizabeth.

“I would appreciate it if you looked before committing to something like that.”

She grabbed her arm and healed it within an instant.

“But why didn't they move?” Tina asked. “These things aren't made of Mithril.”

“He can accomplish similar feats with regular materials. My sword, being an example.”

“Shit really? Isn't it made of Disiponium?”

“...correct. (If I had my original sword, it's probable it would still be of use to me, even in its current state...)”

If having her sword destroyed caused her end, she wasn't sure she could ever bring herself to forgive Tibaut.

She noticed Tina had been paused again and dragged her back as she heard a chain sound rattle through the air.

A scythe blade passed through the area her head was in a few moments ago. And it stopped on a dime. It turned around and was pulled in her direction.

She pushed Tina aside and grabbed the chain, now stiff as a piece of solid metal.

She grabbed one part and motioned to punch and possibly break it but she was briefly stopped. And in that moment, the chain went limp and Daniel pulled on it.

She lost half her fingers on one hand before she regained movement and batted it away.

She quickly decided fighting while he had the high ground was too risky.

Tina regained movement a second ago and Elizabeth began limping into the darkness with Tina following behind.

(“Hmph, so they've decided to stop entertaining me. It was good while it lasted but I suppose I can't one day build our lord a cathedral if I continue taking this easy. Regardless, that little rest did me good, that kick felt like it scrambled my mind. I had an opportune time to kill the pink woman and went for something as flashy as that instead.”)