As her body was replenishing, nuon activated his trump card, the second technique he had worked on developing.

Manipulation Art [Confidence of Spirit]

Manipulation Art [Force of 10,000]

This was too much. Even before she could fully recover, the man had caused a tremendous explosion.

No… it was not quite correct to call it an explosion. Even though he had spent all of his energy earlier, he was still capable of utilizing magic.

How was one able to do such a thing? This was what one might call a cheat.

When aura is completely depleted, one taps into physical energy in order to utilize it any more. This usually results in someone passing out after over-exerting themselves.

Nuon, however, worked his way around that. [Absolute Pinnacle] allowed him to convert all his aura into raw physical energy, heightening his own physical capabilities. It allowed him to be unlatched for at most 10 minutes before he depleted his aura reserves.

The technique [Confidence of Spirit] had allowed him to convert Physical energy into raw aura. This man was switching between the two as if they were playing pingpong. Before the ball could run out of momentum it was pushed back to the other side.

Nuon…. Was truly a genius among geniuses.

His final technique, [Force of 10,000], allowed him to spread his tremendous aura around the battlefield, and then compress all aspects of it. This created a density build-up of aura.

Before allowing it to die down, he then releases this highly compact dome of aura, causing an explosion brighter than one could even bear to see.

“There. It pains me to put an end to talent like yourself. Perhaps if I were to meet you elsewhere, I would have made you my partner. Let’s leave.” He said this as though he was talking to someone else in the area, but alas he was talking to himself.

Too naive. Lusha had been much too naive to believe that this was not going to be the outcome.

If there was any wish she truly held, it was to have never faced Nuon in combat. If she had known this, she would have never….

Wasted her time like this.

Lusha’s body reformed this time much quicker than before. Nuon who was already mid sprint stopped immediately. He had now made a good 200 plus meter distance between the woman, but this time it was much different. He could feel the tremendous aura exuding from her being.

The thoughts before her death reformed in her head.

“Had I known this, I would have never wasted my time entertaining this scenario.”

Nuon was flabbergasted. He knew this time it was no illusion for sure. Yet, he had reason to doubt his own eyes.

Luckily, finishing off such a match had only spend a quarter of Nuon’s total reserves. He reignited his aura.

The problem with Nuon’s abilities is that they revolved around manipulation magic. The time when he’s at his strongest, is when he is fully rested with both aura and physical energy at their peak.

When he had bounced his aura into physical energy, he depleted all of his aura in the favor of physicality.

When he had done the reverse transaction, he had depleted his physical energy in favor of tremendous aura.

As it stands, he could not move or have the same strength he had before. Of course, he could do it again, but it seems attacks on the physical level would not be effective.

The only thing he had not tried yet, was magic composed of the ethereal variety. Perhaps he could burn her should he try it. It’s clear blunt force trauma was not doing the trick, nor was piercing trauma.

He’d need to feel the situation out and utilize a variety of different attacks. The problem is, he was not proficient in other forms of magic aside from manipulation magic. If it comes down to it, he knows a basic fire spell.

Yes, that’s it, he’ll use the basic fire spell to finish her off. Though the spell was an easy one to learn, when put in the hands of greater aura levels, it can be truly formidable.

The level one [Fire-Starter Spell] was normally not too strong in and of itself, but with the amount of aura Nuon held, he could certainly make a much greater version by concentrating a sizable amount of mana into his technique.

Yes…. t-that’s right. I’ll deal with this utilizing elemental magic. All I have to do is focus the remainder of my- You can’t be serious.

His train of thought was stopped by the enraged Lusha. An aura pool higher than his own ravaged the terrain. He could feel the density of it at his current distance. What was worse was that the woman was not straining herself to release this much.

That…-Bastard! This is surely it. This was surely the reason behind that giant mass of energy.

No.. but it doesn’t seem high enough to be sensed from over 10 miles away.

I don’t get it….. What’s going on?--- In any sense, I need to get myself out of he-

“Manipulation Magic [Blessings of the One Being]”

He could hear her mutter those words just now, what kind of spell was that? He hadn’t heard of it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic? What kind of spell is that? He hadn’t heard it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic?

He could hear her mutter those words just now, what kind of spell was that? He hadn’t heard of it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic? What kind of spell is that? He hadn’t heard it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic?

He could hear her mutter those words just now, what kind of spell was that? He hadn’t heard of it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic? What kind of spell is that? He hadn’t heard it. Why was she capable of utilizing manipulation magic?

Wh-what kind of spell wa...s that…? He could hear her mutter those words just now. Manipulation magic.---

W---

-what kind of utilization.

Lusha stood right where his body should have been, with her hand through what should have been a skull.

She had circumvented the flow of time in the increase of limitations she had set upon herself. She had never been one to utilize manipulation magic, but she did know quite a bit of its inner workings.

Increasing all of her body’s capabilities with her aura, just as she had observed Nuon doing, she had managed to transgress her own limitations and the limitations of universal law.

While she had done this various times before, she was never once to take interest in utilizing her own body. She felt it was beneath her. The only exception was now, where she had acknowledged Nuon’s potential.

Though Nuon had killed her multiple times, it was solely because she, a magic caster, had entered this battle without putting up defenses around herself. She had somehow hoped that Nuon would have been able to kill her.

Upon realizing Nuon’s only capabilities relied on the physical- as good as he may be, the rage within her swelled. For she had allowed all these opportunities, and wasted this much time for an event that could not be possible.

Nuon was someone she may have let live if possible. But to satiate her own disappointment this man required death. After-all, that is what he seemingly promised her with his words of certainty.

In Nuon’s mind, he was stuck within the same thoughts he was having. This was the fate of someone killed much before he could even realize what was occurring. His mind continued to think the very last fragments of thinking until the realization had caught up with him.

In about an hour's worth of time, Nuon would have been dead. Purely and utterly deceased.

The young, ‘old’ witch was now bathed in a banquet of blood and disappointment.

“The Chancellor…. Valkyrie. I will have your head.”

Only after she acknowledged those words, did the sonic boom of such a speed occur. This shook the entire city just 20 miles away, with a vibrant light.

For many this light only gave them a dark premonition. Something that was not supposed to be had befallen this city. It could be felt in this thick air.