His force of gravity tilted forward as he began to run towards the Monster, but this time with more alertness.

Due to the earlier attacks, Ozul's t-s.h.i.+rt was battered and had many cuts and holes in it. One such cut extended from the base of the s.h.i.+rt to the chest, almost ripping in half.

The torn apart s.h.i.+rt showed his muscles with burnt skin patches. Ozul kept feeling a tinge of sensation spreading in his body, but he ignored it as only due to the extreme headache.

As he ran towards the Monster, Ozul realized that it would not be as simple as he thought it to be. Because this time, Podas was in between him and his target.

Although he did not pose a threat to Ozul because of the attribute of his Element, he was still a Rank-8 Mage. Going around him wouldn't be an easy task.

Looking at Ozul's figure running towards him, Podas was again stunned as he did not expect this kid to attack again after that punch.

He had felt the winds. .h.i.t his face just from the force of the impact, even surviving that punch head-on was already a miracle.

It also confirmed Podas's earlier suspicion that this kid was not normal. Just the force from the Monster's punch was enough to kill some weak bunch of people, and he survived all that without using Mana?—Impossible.

He must be hiding his Mana with the help of some artifacts. Otherwise, there was no way that a teenager could win against a Rank-7 Mage without using Mana!

Podas thought of many conclusions as to the mysteries behind Ozul's power, but he kept his focus on the approaching figure of Ozul.

Not wanting to make a fool out of himself this time, Podas readied his best attacks to stop Ozul.

All this while, the 'Abomination' kept growing in power. The speed at which it increased its energy was mind-boggling.

Only a few minutes had pa.s.sed since it advanced to Rank-10, and it was already in the middle stages!

There were three stages in every rank above Rank-3. The individual is said to be in the Initial Stage when he just had the breakthrough. Then came the Middle Stage when the person in question had fully grasped all the gains from the advancement.

It helped the individual to increase the quality of Mana inside his body. And at last, came the End Stage, the person is said to be in End-Stage when he had enough Mana, or he has enough understanding of his path to breakthrough to the next rank.

But the Monster just kept increasing in ranks as if there was no limit to his growth! Even Podas was surprised to see how much it grew in just a short matter of time.

Back in the fight, Ozul was quickly approaching Podas when both of them got ready to attack. Podas decided to strike first as he chanted, and suddenly, the surroundings became a little colder.

It was a Spell that made everyone weaker in the vicinity except for himself! The Spell used darkness as a catalyst to dull the senses of his enemies.

Podas did not even think that this Spell would be countered just as Ozul did with the earlier corrosive ball.

Already confident that the kid in front of him had experienced the debuffs from the Spell, Podas started to chant the next Spell.

It did not take Ozul even a second to understand what the Spell was supposed to do, but he did not care as it had zero effect on him... Well, not actually zero effect.

He had received some buffs from the Spell instead! It was in the middle of the night, so it was barely noticeable, but the Spell used the Mana to stir up the darkness that was present everywhere, which disrupted the enemy's senses.

In contrast, the same Mana also protected the senses of who used the Spell. But agitating the darkness in the surroundings only helped Ozul to have a more sound connection with it!

This not only not reduced his power, but instead, improved his capabilities! It was indeed a blessing in disguise.

Raven had also developed the auxiliary Spell made only for Ozul, but it wouldn't have much effect because it was already night time. And not to mention that Raven was in no condition to stand up much less help him in the fight.

Ozul produced the Ball of Purity out of him and started forming a thin s.h.i.+eld around him.

Podas thought that the kid was finally afraid of him and felt gleeful of himself. Ozul did not slow his pace when he ran towards Podas; this caused him to be a little suspicious.

He immediately became wary of his opponent as he had already underestimated him, which left a bitter taste in his mouth. Podas would not repeat the same mistake twice.

Just as Ozul closed in on Podas, instead of taking him head-on, Podas chanted a Spell, which created a force to burst out towards him. This Spell did not include darkness directly to attack Ozul, so it only had adverse effects, unlike the previous ones.

Ozul was pushed a few meters back due to the force. But there was no injury since Ball of Purity s.h.i.+elded around him.

Both Ozul and Podas were stunned by the outcome. Ozul did not expect for Podas to be vigilant towards him, while Podas was surprised to see that Ozul survived his attack unscathed!

'Tch... this will be a problem.'- Ozul felt his headache increase as he wanted to get over this battle as quickly as possible, but his opponent wouldn't let him.

Looking at the way things were going, the battle would continue to drag on until his leg would be sucked dry by that 'Anomaly'!

In the heat of the moment, Ozul could not devise a solid plan and just opted to rush forward, while hoping that he could find any opening.

But could it be that easy to find an opening while fighting against a Rank-8 Mage? Moreover, Ozul had wounds all over his body, which affected his fighting abilities by a significant margin.

It was also a weird sight to see when there were just small injuries on his skin, but no blood came out of it. It was a frightful sight in its own sense.

Only now, Ozul realized that approaching that Monster wouldn't be so easy. Moreover, even if he somehow managed to get past Podas, it was not guaranteed that he would be able to find any weakness of that 'Anomaly'.

He could only give it his all against Podas and hope to kill him before his leg runs out of any energy and perishes.

Both of them started their clash. Ozul kept charging straight at Podas while the latter chose to be on the defensive. Podas did not dare to underestimate Ozul after all the previous attacks.

Though Ozul was always on the offensive while Podas chose only to defend, the battle clearly indicated that the former had the upper hand in the fight.

Mostly, Podas pushed Ozul back with his attacks, but in some instances, Ozul was able to strike past his defenses.

Injuries kept piling on Podas's body while Ozul also started losing his stamina. His breathing was rough while cold sweat poured all over his body.

The white s.h.i.+rt which barely held itself also fell on the ground. It could not survive all the impacts and collisions with the attacks of a Rank-8 Mage.

Ozul had also noticed that Podas had trained as a fighter too. Because whenever he struck him, it felt like he was. .h.i.tting against a Rank-7 Beast's skin.

Their fight continued as the Monster also kept getting stronger. Duke Edwin had noticed the battle between Ozul and Podas, but he chose not to intervene.

There was already so much going on in his mind that he could not focus on anything else. In front of him stood an ent.i.ty that could devastate countries; how could he remain calm!?

It was at this moment when Ozul finally found an opening in his opponent's stance! He had a single wisp of Ball of Purity in liquid form to sneak behind Podas, and fortunately, this was not noticed by the latter.

Ozul had been waiting for this moment. The only downside in this attack was that he would also have to take a non-lethal hit before he could strike!

Podas did not notice anything unusual as he was praying for the moment that the Monster could complete his last phase.

He attacked Ozul, who was approaching him, expecting the latter to dodge or block the attack, which would again create a distance between them.

Much to his surprise, Ozul did not dodge or block his attack; instead, he even increased his momentum!

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?...W-wha..."- He could not help but get mad at Ozul. For the first time in his life, Podas was reminded that not everything would go his way just because he planned everything!

Podas was using a saber to fight in close range when he noticed that his darkness based Spells had close to no effect on Ozul. The saber was a Magical Weapon, which also amplified the power and added extra damage affects.

The saber pierced Ozul's shoulder, who only let out a small smile when he noticed the dumbfounded look on Podas's face...

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