The moment Vicente spoke, the metal of his sword transformed, swiftly generating micro-weapons within the Paragon's body.

These microweapons acted like shredders, rapidly destroying the Paragon's heart as he looked on, his face pale with shock.

In that instant, the Mid-level Paragon couldn't help but rue his ambitious plans against Vicente, whom he had hoped would elevate him to the 6th stage.

Tragically, this Dark Path magician proved far stronger than he appeared from afar!

Despite his predicament, the Paragon was taken aback by Vicente's formidable power.

'Why didn't he ever reveal his Dark Path powers? Did he not deem me worthy?' he wondered, ashamed that he had underestimated his opponent and that his demise would come before a group of Sovereigns.

For a Paragon, what could be more disgraceful than dying at the hands of Sovereigns?

He wouldn't have much time to ponder as his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, his bamboo weapon vanishing as the Paragon's oppressive presence faded from the area.

Torne ceased channeling his mana into Vicente's first gem and couldn't help but exhale deeply, relieved that it was finally over. 'That was close. We all nearly died.'

Although it appeared that Vicente and his group had controlled the battle, their success was largely due to Lina's premonitory abilities, which had saved them all.

Throughout the fight, Vicente and his team adapted their strategies based on the potential outcomes Lina's visions had warned them about, deviating from their original plans as necessary.

Without the support of Casey and Lina, nearly everyone in the group would have perished right there!

Because of Lina's premonition showing them what would lead to their deaths, everyone there acted differently than they would have in another situation. By avoiding what would cause their death, they used the enemy's weaknesses to weaken him and then help Vicente kill him.

But even with Lina's power on their side, everyone there was exhausted, while some of them even had their souls wounded after this short battle.

Some had powers that, when directly countered and destroyed, wounded their souls. That was the case with the Paragon himself, who was severely injured when his Bamboo Avatar was wounded.

Torne was aware they had barely escaped, so he couldn't help but sigh before saying to Vicente. 'Anyway, it's good that we fought like this before your hunt, master. That was a foretaste of what we could expect during your hunt.

But make no mistake. Fighting a High-level Paragon or even a Beginner Archmage will be even more difficult and risky. That's why we need to make new advancements before we hunt your pentagram or our chances will be very slim.'

'Hmm, I know. We'll try to get it in the next few weeks,' Vicente mused, then shifted topics as he gazed at his enemy's lifeless form. 'Any idea why we were attacked today? He seemed to know about my second magic form.'

'That might be linked to your recent encounter with Miss Death,' Torne speculated. 'From what I gathered from his earlier comments, he had some means of tracking you. It's likely that when you used the Throne of Darkness recently, it triggered some sort of alert within the Congregation of Revelations... But exactly how it happened and what he used to track you, you'll need to figure out with Jasmine and Layla. I'm not sure about the details.'

'Then it's best if I avoid using my throne until I can handle bigger threats,' Vicente concluded thoughtfully. 'Do you think the vampires might have sensed it too and are now after me?'

"There's no way for me to know, master. You'll have to investigate today's events to find that answer," Torne said, regretfully unable to offer more assistance.

Vicente's companions converged around the Paragon's body, all wearing expressions of exhaustion as they gazed down at the corpse.

Layla looked particularly troubled, having delivered a critical blow to one of her superiors.

"What the hell happened here?" she demanded, her voice laden with confusion and frustration.

"I'm not sure myself," Vicente replied. "You and Jasmine will need to help me make sense of all this. He accused me of being a Dark Path magician, but my abilities are from the Light Path. Could he have mistaken me because of my association with Onyx?" As Vicente posed the question, his companions glanced at the beast and speculated about its possible connection to this mysterious black raven.

"Did he mistake you for someone else?" Rory muttered.

"I'll send Jasmine a letter to look into it," Layla said as she thought, feeling that none of this really made sense.

Vicente knelt down beside the Paragon's body and quickly picked up his belongings.

"Let's leave this area. We'll find a place to hide and recover, but we can't do that here. This guy found us, so there might be others nearby."

They agreed and left without much delay.

They would continue on from there, and two hours later, they would find a place to hide and recuperate themselves.

Entering a dark cave, Vicente soon analyzed the Paragon's spatial ring and found in it a wealth unlike any he had ever encountered.

Paragons were magicians who could live for thousands of years. Amassing great wealth was only natural for someone with such longevity. Moreover, the enemy was a high-ranking member of the Congregation of Revelations.

So when Vicente found 5th-stage resources in the ring, he wasn't surprised.

Some were even compatible with Onyx, as they were items taken from negative monsters and creatures.

But most of the items there were of great value to Light Path magicians, and Vicente was already planning to let his companions use them in the future.

Unfortunately, most of them were in the same situation as him, unable to use magical resources because of the vampire blood they had used a few years ago.

However, the effects of consuming vampire blood wouldn't last much longer, so he saved those resources for the group's future return to the kingdom.

After separating all the resources according to their usefulness for the future or now, Vicente drank a restorative potion before beginning his meditation.

He secretly consumed some of the resources for Dark Path magicians that he had collected earlier in the Chutha Dynasty, something to help Torne recover from the previous battle.

His party would stay in the cave for the next two days when they would finally be done recovering, and it would be time to go hunting for Layla's pentagram!