What hell just happened?! Wu didn't see the details of Fatera and Ghost's exchange at all, but Ver was able to sense everything through the Kraken's tendril.

"He's able to partially...make his body dematerialize and go through everything!" Ver said sharply, as she expanded her a black whirlpool from underneath her feet, stacking it on top of Lera's Cast Arrays and preparing to summon the Kraken just in case, "So Fatera's attack past right through him, and his fist past right through Fatera's until the moment's impact!"

"Great." Wu clicked his mouth, "I always thought those kinds of abilities are broken."

"So what can we do?" Lera said underneath her breathe, applying the physical enhancements to all three of them, then she subtly activated the Aura of Weakling, targeting specifically Channelers as a grey haze slowly started to rise up from the ground around the Ghost.

The Ghost looked around before shaking his head, "Pathetic."

Then, he dashed across the field as Ver led the Kraken to rise up from the ground, its shells growing around her and the humongous body forming a protective shielding around Lera and Wu. Seeing through the Kraken's vision, Ver caught the glimpse of the fist of the Ghost as it materialized in front of her face.

"Watch out!" Wu said, reaching his hands forward and projecting the Void domain, focusing the conic shape onto the hand of the Ghost as it suddenly solidified while still passing through the outer layer of the Kraken.

As no two things could occupy the same space at the same time, the hardened and Wave-reinforced arms of the Ghost shoved the Kraken's flesh aside, ejecting pieces of shells everywhere before he forcibly ripped through that opening, exposing Wu, Lera, and Ver.

The Ghost wound up another attack, but Wu had already launched himself forward at him, tackling him out of the Kraken's body as Ver chased after him, her body supported by the Kraken's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Your Cast is troublesome, I'll give you that." The Ghost said, his fist held up high, "But against me, you are nothing. If you try to dominate over my Wave, you just leave me with my own physicality, which just happens to be my greatest weapon. But if you don't dominate over my Wave, I will be able to beat you down in a single second. So consider this...mercy."

The Ghost slammed his fist down, and it clabbered Wu right in the head as his body went limp before he fell right into the snow and stopped moving. Ver held out her Sky-Splitting Sword to the side, and she let out a battle cry before striking down at Ghost, when the blade past right through his body.

Lera watched the battle, and she bit hard on her lips out of frustration. They have all gone so far, yet the apex of power is still so far out of reach. In their current state...they cannot win this match. Nothing that Wu, Fatera, Ver, or herself have was actually effective against the untouchable opponent that is the Ghost. Right now, in order to win, they needed something different. Something out of the box.

Lera glanced towards Augen, and she sprinted towards his unconscious body before sliding through Ver's black liquid and stopping just shy of the man. She checked for his vitals, and saw the slim man with the now black headband breathing slowly and steadily, though his arm and elbow is completely pointing the wrong way.

Drawing up the medical Cast embedded within her Cast Array, Lera tried her bests to treat Augen's injuries, guiding the flow of the Wave within his arm while giving a kick to his systems. There were slight twitches on his face before his mouth started moving, and some grumbled words came through.

"...ah...fucking hurts..." Augen said, his fingers suddenly shooting up and grabbing onto Lera's wrist, "Shit. Do you have the Manuscript?"

"We got it, but Ghost is too strong." Lera said, "He can also follow us anywhere, so we need to take him down now."

"...And you thought I could help?" Augen asked.

"Well..." Lera said, looking at Wu and Fatera's body as Ver was slammed down by the Ghost again, "I wanted to go to Wu really badly, but...we need something new. What can you do?"

"What can I do...what can I do..." Augen said, his good hand rubbing over his temple as he was still dazed after waking up. Then, he tapped himself on the chest as a deck of playing cards fell out, "Ah...yes...there are a few thingsonly I can do..."

"These...cards?" Lera asked, but Augen shook his head.

"Not just cards." Augen said, his finger flipping through the deck before taking out one that has a painting of a red tree leaves over it, "So here's the plan..."

"Tsk!" Ver grunted as yet another one of Ghost's hit landed firmly in her stomach. However, the Kraken was able to counter the Ghost's attacks by opening up Whirlpool Purples over her body, letting his attacks pass straight through. However, this tactic merely stalemates the battle, rather than give Ver any chance of victory.

Lera seemed to have a plan though, and to her surprise, she actually went to Augen first.

"Hey!" Augen's voice came through, "Fight me, you big idiot."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Huh?" The Ghost kicked Ver back before he landed hard on the ground, "Really?"

"Yeah." Augen said, loosening his shoulders, "Why don't you finish the job you have started? You want to kill me? How about this?"

Lowering his head, Augen approached the Ghost with a sharp focus, his steps light and quiet, comparing drastically to the heavy stomps from their opponent.

"I hereby challenge you by the Law of Combat." Augen said, "You want to kill me? Then here's your chance!"

"Augen!" Ver and Lera both shouted, "Don't give him the..."

"I accept your challenge." The Ghost smiled from ear to ear, his hands reached up into the air as the symbol of the Law of the Combat Cast formed in the air between them before dissipating rapidly, "Congrats. You have just killed yourself."

Then, the Ghost charged forward, his giant body floating through the air as Augen took out the card of the red tree leaves and let it go as lines of the Wave connected his body with it, allowing it to float in front of his body. There might be some sort of a trick, but the Ghost didn't care.

He never had to, as his knuckles found its way onto Augen's face, and he nearly caved it inwards with a single punch as Augen's body was thrown back until it bounced off against a tree.

"So what? This is what you want?" The Ghost said in confusion, "Are you blind and stu-"

Then, he felt a slight tingle over his wrist as Augen slowly pressed himself up, a smile on his face as blood streamed down from his broken nose. Reaching his hand into the pocket, he took out another card with a green flower before it glowed brightly and slowly started to restore his face after the Ghost's punch.

"Spring Flowers." Augen murmured, all of the injuries on his body instantly reverted, the rate of healing surprising everybody around, "You feeling okay, Ghost?"

"What did you do?" The Ghost asked, his fingers flexing and extending as the tingle over his knuckle started becoming more and more intense. Then, he noticed lines of the Wave being slowly drained away from his knuckle until it connected with Augen's hand on the other end.

"Forbidden Cast: Autumn Leaves." Augen said, pointing towards the Ghost, "I win."

With a hand reached up high, Augen snapped his finger when the tingle over the Ghost's knuckles started becoming a visible surge of greyness. Then, layers of his skin started peeling away into the wind as the surge of decay started to expand outwards on his body.

"Shit!" The Ghost cursed, dematerializing parts of his hand, but the decay continued even in his intangibility form, and the tingle had subtly transitioned into a ripping pain. It was small and gradual, yet so inevitable.

The progress is slow, but...it is over. At this rate, the Ghost will be completely disintegrated, piece by piece. But that's not over, is it? The Ghost dropped his hand and ignored the ever-expanding radius of pain.

There is still time. So much time.

If he could kill Augen before Augen kills him, that will conclude the Law of Combat. Then, to prevent him from dying after the battle, he may be able to draw on the power of Combat Cast itself to heal him? He has heard this a few times before about how the winners of the Law of Combat are able to survive just by staying alive long enough.

In that case, there was a simple timeline for his victory. Augen may have been able to use his forbidden Cast of some sort, but it won't matter. Physically, he was still nothing but a frail skeleton. He was still someone that the Ghost could crush underneath his boot easily.

"That's how battles like these usually goes." The Ghost said, "Nifty trick, but that won't save you from your death."

"Perhaps not." Augen agreed, "but worth trying."

The Ghost's body vanished, then, he reappeared in the space right over Augen's head before he was kicked into the ground. A crater was created as the Ghost pummeled away at him, Augen's face being flattened and his body completely and utterly broken.

The Ghost continued swinging until his right hand had completely disintegrated away, and he simply slammed the exposed bony parts of his right wrist into Augen's disfigured face as blood continued streaming out onto the ground. The crater now starting to collect a mixture of Ver's black fluid and Augen's own blood.

"We have to do something!" Ver said, though she knew that they cannot afford to get on the bad side of the Law of Combat right now.

"No...we will have to trust him." Lera said, ignoring Augen and Ghost's battle before she brought Wu and Fatera back with her medical Cast. Wu blinked awake as Fatera's body shot up, and they all turned to see the Ghost roaring with his left hand covered in Augen's blood and flesh and his right arm now completely gone.

"WHY...WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" The Ghost cursed, looking down at Augen's body as it regenerated constantly right under his eyes, "WHY?!"

"You Channelers are inherently gifted in combat, I will give you that." Augen said with an airy voice, his knocked-out teeth slowly growing back out as his caved face became restored as if someone is blowing a balloon into his skull, "But you all lack creativity, and the will to go where no one has gone before."

"Shut up!" The Ghost screamed, slamming his left hand through Augen's chest when he felt the internal organs of the skinny Caster grow back around his hand.

He stumbled back, now having difficulty breathing as parts of his right lung started to disintegrate away. Augen sat himself up, his body drenched in his own blood as he watched the Ghost with sympathy.

"Please...please make it stop..." The Ghost said, his voice whimpering, "I...I cannot die here...I still have my...mission..."

"You will die here." Augen said, his voice cold as he slowly walked towards his opponent that realized his inevitable fate. He reached forward, his long slender fingers holding around the face of the Ghost as the wave of decay continued spreading, "But your mission doesn't have to. Tell me, what are your dreams? What are your next steps?"

"I am not telling you shit..."

"Then you will be forgotten, like leaves in the autumn." Augen continued, propping up Ghost's chin as his voice became even weaker.

"...The grand commander is here, and I want to take over before that...John King is hindering PORA's true plans with his stupid personal games, and his reckoning is coming...if not from me...then it will be from the grand comm-"

That was when his face fully fell apart, and his body collapsed backward until it all turned to dust. The symbol of the Law of Combat became shattered next to Augen's body, signifying the end of his fight as he fell back onto his butt out of fatigue, the card with the red leaves dropping out from his pocket onto the ground.