With his youth and surgically modified body, Barbey combated the aged priest with ease. However, the halberd still provided the priest enough advantage in defending. Although making no progress in attacking, Barbey kept swinging his tanto left and right without much force.

Sweats slid across the old man's wrinkles. He was reaching his limit. Many things crossed his mind during the stalemate. He despised his old age. He feared the consequence of failing. He recalled the spotless face of his son in swaddles. He needed a feat, and he was ready for it.

The priest dodged backward as thirty various blue polearms, hidden between the benches, levitated into the air. As all the polearm dashed at Barbey, he simply took out a red jade marble from his robe and tossed it upward. In a flash of scarlet light, the marble disappeared. Then, a red hemisphere popped up around Barbey, shielding him from the incoming attack.

This barrage of polearms was the Execution of the Blue Poles—the technique achieved by controlling multiple specifically made blue-pole weapons at the same time. The blue flower could not stop this technique. The immuno-wind could only prevent spells, not the functions of magical items.

One after another, all thirty weapons smashed on the hemisphere and had their tips and heads stuck on it. After all the thirty polearms were launched and landed, cracks appeared on the hemisphere. The priest saw this opportunity and started to switch his spell.

The hemisphere broke and faded. While the weapons were dropping to the ground, the gust stopped blowing, and the world froze for a second. The chief priest lunged forward and stabbed Winceim Barbey in the forehead.

That sudden freeze of time was the power of the yellow flower. However, the freeze could not surpass a second, even for a caster as strong as the priest. He needed all the steps before the freeze to distract Barbey. It was the only winning plan the chief priest could think of. While panting, the old priest felt a sense of relief.

Suddenly, Barbey shoved the tanto into the old man's round belly. The priest slowly tilted his head down and saw the blade in his abdomen. Shockness and blood from his mouth were the only things left on his face. Backpedaling, he lost his grip on the halberd. Watching Barbey tugging the polearm out of his head, the priest slumped on the floor. He already knew about Barbey's regenerating ability, yet he did not know it could operate on such a level that a headshot could not take the man down. Fear was the last thing left in him.

"Don't waste your breath, kid. I already know your next line: 'I won't tell you anything.' Well, that tanto can record one's memory." Barbey's head quickly grew back, filling the wound with fresh bones and new flesh, "I bet you don't even know it has this power. I mean, that ability is the sole reason for me to fight you with it." He crouched before the poor, dying man. His smile was still there.

Staker repeated Adea Haki's words, "A four-dimensional creature caged in a three-dimensional body… It's impossible," Staker said instinctively.

In contrast, Haston could not care less about what creature Barbey was. He was not interested in the science stuff and the villain's background. He only suspected the authenticity of what he had just heard, "Why hadn't the headquarters done anything about it if your family and the Dilonbian branch had been fighting with it for centuries?"

"Because those Aibeans in the headquarters wouldn't care about us Utlians until the problem also affects them," Adea peacefully described the centuries-long racism.

"So, how did your family traditionally fight Winceim Barbey?"

"Before he gains Field of the Ceased, we could still outmatch him by sheer numbers. Now," she hesitated and said, "I guess I can buy you some time to destroy the dragon's heart if we really encounter him."

"Don't worry, we will make it," Staker asserted with a firm voice as he put a dagger into the inner pocket of his overcoat. He forced a grin on his face. His fake confidence could not fool Haston, but the attitude did put a slight smile on Adea's face.

With Staker and Adea sitting in the front, the coupe started hurtling on the road. Haston Tale lay against the leather seatback with his eyes closed and his tan duffle beside him. He was not sleeping. The stress was too heavy for him to feel comfortable enough to nap. He could not stop thinking about his little brother.

His brother had the score to go to the best colleges in Darape. Yet, it was impossible. If Haston was not just a rank C attendant, he may be able to pay for the tuition. Whenever he reminded himself that his brother would graduate from high school in two years, Haston would fill himself with anger and desperation. He had many to blame, but none would matter. There were only two ways for him to send his brother to his dream school. The first was to get promoted. About the second method, he did not want to think about it. Haston needed a distraction, and Staker delivered one at the perfect timing.

"So," Staker suddenly began speaking, "Why did you only take the falchion? It was not even magical."

Moving her attention from the fast-passing street view, Adea Haki plainly explained, "Most magical items spend the user's magical energy, and I wasn't born with any. You can call me disabled if you want. I can't even use that lighter trick." Haki prodded the rusted pendant on her earlobe, "That's why I have this. It works very similarly to the lighter trick. The only differences are that it doesn't use my magical energy, and it can only stop gunpowder from exploding."

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Haston knew he was luckier than Haki. Despite his family conditions, he was, at least, good at using magical items. He opened his eyes, quietly watching this woman who treated her inborn impediment like nothing.

"Well, that's about ninety percent of the lighter trick's function anyway." Staker took out a pair of white arm belts from his pocket. He held them beside her, "I think this can work on you. It has its own storage of magical energy."

Haki, scrutinizing the buckles, took the belts closer to her face. The two square rubies inlaid in the buckles weakly glowed. Although magical, they were still a pair of jewelry. The red light glinted in her eyes as she put them on.

On the empty street, the coupe silently sneaked through the skyscrapers and office buildings as it steadily approached the east coast of Darape. If everything went smoothly, they would destroy the dragon's heart before Barbey collected what he needed to activate the dragon's heart. However, all three agents were pretty sure that some sort of accident would happen. After all, they were now against a four-dimensional being. Thus, it was unsurprising for anyone when Xaire landed atop their car. Haston fell and lay on the soft seat due to the sudden jolt. Fluckily, this involuntary posture change helped him dodge the golden spear that pierced through the roof. In the front, Staker stamped on his brake and made a sharp turn while Haki was barely affected.

Xaire was thrown off the coupe as it smashed into a fire hydrant. Xaire rolled thrice on the asphalt road while Haki and Staker exited the coupe. Haki stepped out of the car and faced Xaire with grace. Staker tumbled headlong out of the car after being hit by the airbag.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Xaire? Immortality is not real. It's just a myth." Haki held the falchion before her, inspecting the bald, black man a dozen meters away. Xaire wore only a white gilet and white pants. The rhombus crystal in the center of his sturdy chest was pink and gleaming.

"You think I will trust you liars? I will live forever with my master. I tell you," he responded with a stimulated smile as a golden throwing knife appeared in his right hand. The golden spear disappeared right away. Xaire flung the knife as Haki charged toward him. The golden projectile flitted through the air, aiming at the woman's face. Placing her left palm before her face, Haki blocked the shot and swung her blade at Xaire. The man dodged backward as a golden glaive appeared in his hand. The throwing knife disappeared. Following the knife, Haki's entire left hand dissolved into dark crumbs, flowing in the air.

"Did you forget what my weapons can do?" Xaire kept backpedaling while taunting with a grin. With the power of the pink crystal, he could summon these golden weapons at his will. Whenever these weapons touched a cell, the cells around the touched one would also be destroyed. Yet, the limit was that he could only wield one at a time. This ability had made Xaire one of Barbey's most fearful fighters. Nonetheless, it was his first time hitting Haki with it.

"No." Haki looked at her bleeding wrist, "I was just testing these arm belts." The ruby on the left arm glowed a scarlet light as a clot of white light extended from her wound. The light formed into the shape of a hand and faded, leaving the newly grown hand behind.

"Fuck," Xaire, losing his grin, murmured to himself and lunged forward with his glaive. Haki quickly knocked her falchion on the incoming blade, deflecting it from her torso. The offense did not stop. The glaive then swung back at her head. Swiftly, Haki bent her waist, stooping sideways to dodge the slash that went above her. As the glaive moved through the empty air, Xaire noticed Haston in the coupe. He was aiming a compound crossbow at Xaire through the lowered window. The bolt was shot, and the glaive was gone. Xaire quickly summoned a giant pavise, blocking the bolt.

Meanwhile, Staker had been holding his right wrist since exiting the car. His right palm faced the sky. A lump of orange light popped up in his palm and hovered in a circle. As the light finished one and another lap, the lump became bigger and left parts of itself on its circular path.

Haki charged to Xaire's side. Again, she swung her weapon. With the pavise, Xaire easily stopped the attack. The falchion tapped on the golden surface and bounced back. Hearing the clank of shield and blade, Xaire had the pavise gone and a rapier summoned. He jabbed forward while Haki's falchion was still under the impact of the clang. As the rapier punctured Haki's black T-shirt, she leaped backward and stumbled. Taking this opportunity, Xaire did a second thrust.

Watching the sharp tip of the rapier coming like a launched arrow, the experienced fighter gave herself to gravity. It was her only option. She stopped trying to regain balance and let gravity bring her to the ground, dodging the deadly gold. Although in a desperate situation, Haki didn't let her head hit the asphalt ground. She showed neither fright nor any other emotion on her face. It was such dead seriousness that made her a rank-A fighter.

Xaire rotated his wrist to stab downward, yet a sudden penetration of air stopped his action. The rotation paused when the rapier was perpendicular to Xaire's body. Then, he, swinging his entire body, made a mighty slash at his flank. The slash deflected and broke Haston's second bolt into two. The grin reappeared on Xaire's visage.

Behind Haston and the coupe, an orange, glowing spike was launched straight into the air, two meters above the car. A continuous string of yellow lights was left on the path of the spike.

Xaire recognized the spell. He knew what that spike was. The spell was The Capering Wyrm. It was the spell that only the best among the best could cast. Suppressing the instinctive fear, Xaire attempted to move out of the way as the spike swooped at him. Unfortunately for him, Haki had already sat up and gushed the falchion into his shin. Under the sudden rage that struck him, the doomed man jabbed Haki with his rapier. Yet, it only pierced through her fist before getting deflected by it.

In Xaire's desperate screech, the impalpable spike went through his chest like a ghost, leaving a trace of yellow light behind. His body was not pierced through, and there was not a mark left on it. The scream did not end.

Adea Haki expressionlessly covered her ears with a new hand and an old hand. Haston lay behind the car door. Staker whispered, "Explode, you fuck."

"Boom!" The body part that the spike went through exploded like dynamite. His head was blown into the air, and his upper body was torn into two. The blood had splashed on Adea's T-shirt. The corpse dropped in front of her. That was the power of The Capering Wyrm—the ability to let the caster detonate whatever flammables the intangible spike and its trace touched.