Almost instantly Tibaut summoned all the fireballs he could muster. The lights from them fully illuminated the surroundings to the point it was almost blinding; the other eight quickly made themselves sparse while the man in the mask just casually watched on.

"BURN IN HELL ASSHOLE"

He dropped the cluster of five fireballs on the man and the shockwave of the explosion sent him flying back a few feet.

He didn't know what this place was made out of but the floor was still intact from his attack. While looking up at the blackened floor, he said "Is he dead?"

There was a thick smoke covering some parts so he'd have to wait a bit until they cleared to check if he was dead.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He tried his best to move away and got back on his feet. He looked at the figure before him. Half of his cloak had been burnt but other than that he seemed peachy.

"Bit slow for a finishing move don't you think?" The man in black commented as he rubbed his chin. "But I suppose you'll make a fine appetizer for tonight's main course."

He said as he pulled out something.

It was a knife. But it was far more different and crueller than Ezekiel's bowie knife. It was a stiletto. It looked like a really thick ice pick attached to a hilt. That thing wasn't for cutting meat or slicing opponents. It solely existed for stabbing.

Tibaut didn't care about any of the words he was saying and launched a few fire lances at him. The man easily dodged them in an acrobatic-looking movement but was taken by surprise when he saw a fist moving to his face. He blocked it with his stiletto and Tibaut was surprised by how sturdy it felt. The man in black swept his legs and aimed for his chest while he was still on the ground, but Tibaut swept him off his feet instead and rolled away. The two men soon got back to their feet though Tibaut was looking more out of breath than his opponent.

"What? Did you do some cardio today?" The man remarked.

Tibaut gritted his teeth and launched a fire lance at his face, but he simply blocked it with the stiletto. Not only did he block the attack with his finger-thick blade but the weapon didn't seem any worse for it except for some soot on it. The man held it out sideways as if to say "See, no bending or cracks".

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Was it one of those special weapons Elizabeth had told him about? No, this wasn't any time to get sidetracked. As he took a step forward, another of the black cloaks stepped in front of him. He seemed like he was going to use some magic but Tibaut simply put his hand on the man's chest and hit him with a point-blank fireball. This sent the cloaked lackey flying and also left Tibaut reeling from the pain of damaging his hand. A few of the other cloaked figures gathered around their comrade and dropped green-looking liquid out of some bottles onto his opened chest.

The man in black, face palmed at this.

"What the hell did you think you could have done against him, huh dumbass? Oh, he's passed out." He said as he looked at his comrade. "Anyway, the rest of you stay back, this seems like it'll actually be pretty fun."

He soon wiped the soot off of his stiletto and began walking over to Tibaut.

His hand was broken beyond use and the pain was raging through his body. He was amazed he had gone through this pain once before and still had the energy to keep moving.

("Shit, I lost most of my energy when I trained with Elizabeth.") He thought while watching the man approach. He wasn't sure if he'd even be able to keep himself standing if this kept going for five minutes. ("Tch, looks like I'll have to bank on that.")

Based on what he saw, the only major threat was the original man in black. The others all seemed to be lackeys. So what he had to guarantee victory was simply. Take the bastard out for good. He was lucky he decided to fight him one-on-one but based on what he said earlier, the group's target was Elizabeth. But what if they find anyone else? Would they just let them walk away? He couldn't take that risk. So he resolved himself and stood there waiting for him to come. He knew there was only one way he was going to get the chance to kill him. He'd wait until the man in black attacked him and try to go for a mutual strike with his remaining good hand. Even if the lackeys use that liquid on him it seems he'll still be knocked for a while. But this mutual strike would only work if Tibaut could survive the blow in the first place. Earlier he aimed for his heart so he'll probably try the same this time.

("Can I survive if he stabs my chest? Who cares!? I'll land that blow on him even if I have to do it from the afterlife!")

"Why'd you stop moving? Shit your pants?" the man black said as he approached.

Tibaut's body tensed up.

("Get ready for it")

The man in black soon backed away and the rest of his group that were still conscious soon circled around Tibaut.

"What the?" Tibaut mouthed before hearing the reason for the group's sudden caution.

"What are you scum doing in my home!?"

The person behind him was Elizabeth. She was looking ready to kill with her sword drawn and her armour on.

"Took you long enough," Tibaut said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well the first explosion had me wondering if you were up to buffoonery so I had to check it out." She looked at his damaged hand and continued "A few more moments and you would have tried something reckless."

"Wait, how did you know?!"

"I haven't seen you emit bloodlust like that since the end of our first fight."