"Hahaha!"

Kyle laughed, a sound that resonated with the confidence of an Immortal.

"Spare me? You should be pleading for your own salvation."

With a flourish, he brandished the Rift Blade, its edge cutting an arc through the air.

Whoosh~

The Vessels hesitated, their certainty faltering in the face of Kyle's weapon.

"Enough talk" Kyle said, his voice a low growl. "Show me the strength of your Sage Spirits."

Lesley frowned at this as she knew that even Demon Saints would cower in front of the five weapons with the power to alter space!

Furthermore, she was already possessed by Astaroth, and Sage Spirits possessed the five other vessels! They were a force to be reckoned with!

'I don't feel good about this'

The man in front of her shouldn't be this confident while facing them!

Nonetheless, they had no choice but to fight against the Holy Arts Practitioner whom they suspected as the Church's Young Saint!

Boom!

The battle erupted once again. It was a clash of space-controlling techniques between the two sides.

Kyle met their attacks bravely and it was something that not even the Demon Saints would do.

His Rift Blade was surely doing its job!

Each swing of his Blade would shatter the Vessels' spells and the powers of the Dimensional Creature's bones became ineffective on him!

Nonetheless, the Dark Arts Practitioners of the Order of the Evanescent Vessels didn't give up!

Lesley and the other Vessels fought with desperate ferocity, and their combined might resulted in a storm of death energy that was slowly destroying the land they were at

Well, the land was already in a terrible condition as it seemed that a Demon Horde had laid waste on it. But with the addition of their Death Energy, the place became even more inhabitable!

Nonetheless, even with their combined efforts, Kyle was the eye of that storm, calm and unyielding in front of the enemies

Luckily, Lesley's squad hadn't given up yet and seeing that their opponent wasn't taking them too seriously, they were able to complete their rituals.

"You cannot win!" Lesley hissed, her form flickering with the strain of Astaroth's power.

Kyle met her gaze, his own eyes alight with an otherworldly fire.

"I do not need to win, Lesley. I only need to endure until you break."

Lesley frowned as she confirmed that she hadn't misheard Kyle's words a while ago. The man he suspected as Kyle Marshall had truly called her name! It means that she was really the target of this Young Saint!

'Did I kill too many Priests already? Ugh It's not surprising that I became their target then'

Lesley thought for a moment before she took a deep breath as she allowed Astaroth's Spirit to possess more of her body and allow the Spirit to release more power!

Whom~

Because of this decisive move that could even threaten her life, the visage of Astaroth materialized behind Lesley.

It was a spectral colossus; its form was closely similar to the god of death, but it was also like a Demon! Its eyes, twin abysses, seemed to draw in the very light around them. Chains of ethereal energy draped from its limbs, clinking with the sound of inevitability.

"Mhmm? This possession is really incredible No wonder the other factions just couldn't defeat the Dark Arts Faction, even if they were fighting without the assistance of other factions. The Vessels' possession was just too absurd." Kyle couldn't help but comment after sensing Lesley's power increased by a huge mark once again.

To be honest, he already tried using his Slave Mark Spell and Dominion Thirst Spell on this woman.

However, perhaps due to the two blessings she had received from two powerful figures, his Spell had completely failed without even damaging her mental defense.

'I guess I should just weaken you, huh' Kyle thought as a plan occurred in his mind.

The battle escalated, the surrounding atmosphere was filled Arcane Energy from the two sides.

It was the collision of Kyle's Holy Energy and the unholy forces from the six Dark Arts Practitioners.

'Traceless Shift doesn't work either I can't steal their weapons' Kyle complained in his mind as he parried the attacks.

Kyle, with the Rift Blade in hand, danced through the voids torn by the Vessels' space magic.

There were times that he had to dodge since he wanted to counterattack with his Rift Blade

At this time, many of his Spells would not be able to display their full might because of the Space Magic coming from their weapons. Furthermore, everytime he tried to gather his strength to cast a stronger Arcane Art or Celestial Art, Lesley would unleash a powerful attack back by the other Vessels with Sage Spirit.

As Kyle tried to cast his Meteor Summon Spell to surprise his enemies, he immediately sensed a danger aiming directly at his soul!

Apparently, Lesley, empowered by the Reaper of Souls, channeled Astaroth's formidable essence to directly attack him!

"Haha! Behold the might of the Soul Reaper!" She cried out, her voice resonating with the power of the entity that loomed behind her.

It seemed as if Astaroth's image became clearer!

Of course, Kyle had to use his other Spells this time. There was no longer any point deceiving them as a Holy Arts Practitioner.

Kyle first used his Spell Dispersion in an attempt to remove the targeted Spells that were made by the Vessels with Sage Spirits.

It was effective, and quickly, he met Lesley's attack with his Abyssal Fire!

After all, the Abyssal Fire wasn't just an unending flame but it also has a unique property that could destroy other Spells!

The Soul Repear's might was met by the Abyssal Fire and it was something Lesley didn't expect since Abyssal Fire should only be possessed by the Demon Saints!

"You're using a Demonic Artifact?!" Lesley's eyes widened as she didn't expect the Church's Young Saint would rely on such a weapon!

However, Kyle didn't stop his attack!

His Rift Blade moved and it was like a streak of purifying brilliance against the dark.

Whom~

It struck the surrounding space and completely shattered the might of the Soul Reaper!

This time, however, Kyle didn't just use the power of the Rift Blade, he added his Shadow Divinity to it!

This was something that the Vessels did not fail to notice at all! Furthermore, they knew that it did not came from his weapon but from his body!

"Divinity!" All of them said at the same time as they realized that the young man was indeed a Half-Immortal at the very least.

Kyle smiled after seeing their reaction.

"Impressive attack, but it's futile in front of me, Lesley" Kyle declared, his tone even, betraying neither concern nor strain.

However, Lesley and the others just became even more desperate.

Once again, they drew power from their summoned beings

This time, Kyle decided not to hold back as he allowed them to use up their power, hoping that the blessings they had, or the mysterious spells that could stop his Slave Mark, would wear off.

As the duel wore on, it became clear that Kyle's endurance was as impregnable as his resolve to enslave them.

Lesley's form began to waver, the strain of channeling Astaroth's immense power taking its toll.

At this rate, Astaroth might really take this chance to take over Lesley's body and mind, making her soul disappear.

Well, that would be the case if Astaroth was stupid After all, he would just be enslaved by Kyle if he took that chance. Kyle believed that even if Astaroth had an opportunity, he wouldn't waste his Spirit at all.

'Ahh I think this Rift Blade can help as well.' Kyle recalled the other effect of this blade. Apparently, aside from cutting space, it could also cut Arcane Energy.

'Let's try'

Whoosh~

With a final, graceful maneuver, Kyle disarmed Lesley, the Rift Blade severed her connection to the Reaper of Souls!

Then, Astaroth's image behind Lesley seemed to look at Kyle for the last time before it flickered and then faded, its chains of power dissipating into the ether

Thud!

Lesley dropped to the ground, feeling completely drained. The blessing of the Death God and the Deadly Sin Wrath had also weakened a lot.

Lesley, now bereft of her otherworldly patron, faced Kyle with defiance and resignation.

"What will you do with me now?" She asked, her voice a mere echo of its former strength.

She also looked at the five other Vessels and realized that they were already subdued by 30 or so Moonlight Specters!

'Dual Arts Practitioner, huh No, this is Half-Immortal we're talking about. Maybe he actually learned 5 Arcane Paths. His body could surely take it' Lesley thought as she couldn't help but envy the man for a moment.

If she also had the physique of a Half-Immortal, there was no way she would lose. In the end, she knew she was defeated because her physique wasn't good enough.

'Maybe even if my physique is as good as Cressida's I won't be like this' Lesley thought as she couldn't help but pity herself.