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「What the-!」

That water that seemed to have a faint glow was holy water used as a catalyst by exorcists. The man in long clothes had fired an arrow filled with holy water which would explode on contact. Still, it amounted to nothing more than a splash of holy water, which had no offensive properties of its own. Unless it was used to channel a spell.

Exorcist Holy Rule: Blue Fire of Atonement

The man in long clothes cast a spell. At the same time, the holy water burst into flames as if it was fuel, blue flames engulfing Isaac.

「F̲u̲c̲k̲ you and your little tricks!」

Isaac hurried to take off his burning coat and threw it away before leaping back. But a thin blade was already chasing him. The man in long clothes used the short opening to rush in closer with his thin sword, using the blue flames as a simple distraction. The blade reached Isaac’s shoulder. And there was a loud metallic clang.

「I didn’t think you could react to that.」

The man in long clothes muttered in astonishment. The tip of his blade had not pierced the flesh, instead getting blocked by Isaac’s short wand at the last instant.

「Heh, unlucky.」

Stopping the crossbow from moving with his dagger, Isaac cast another spell from close range. This time the spell created a powerful gust of wind, which flung both men up into the air.

They both landed at almost the same time, their positions almost identical to those at the start of the fight. In other words, Isaac had regained his positional advantage.
Out of all classes of spellcasters, magicians had the fastest spells. Getting hit by them was rarely deathly, but Isaac knew how to fight to his advantage and had turned the fight in his favor again. He was clearly aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

Once again, Isaac unleashed a barrage of spells on the man with long clothes. Lightning striking around him, showers of hail raining on him, and powerful gusts of wind stopping him from moving.

He kept trying to get closer to Isaac again, but was too busy evading the endless stream of spells and could hardly move from his spot. Still, his face remained calm, only his sharp gaze seething with bloodlust against Isaac. He was still thinking of hunting Isaac down.

Meanwhile Isaac looked somewhat desperate. His constant spells were quickly draining his mana, while the man in long clothes skillfully evaded everything. Isaac knew things would get nasty if there was no change to his plan, when he found an opening.

A lightning strike that had just been evaded cracked the rock under his opponent’s feet.

「Take this!」

As the man in long clothes lost his footing, Isaac focused all his remaining mana into a countless barrage of fireballs. There was a sound like cannon fire every time each fireball was released, black smoke rising everywhere while the ground shook slightly. That was a true display of a magician’s worth, a powerful attack that could take down even the most powerful monsters.

「No way…」

But the man with long clothes was still standing. Looking more closely, a thin transparent veil could be seen covering him.

Barrier Art: Anti-Fire Formation, an exorcist skill that formed a barrier, which could be modified to resist various elements. But Isaac’s magic had been incredibly powerful, wearing down the barrier and it faded away as soon as his attack was over.

Not a scratch on him, the man in long clothes slowly walked forward.

「Dammit!」

Isaac was already at his limit, he had no mana left to stop the man. But he knew that a single attack that was at least a bit more powerful than the barrage of fireballs would break through a barrier. So he threw his short wand away, reaching into his chest pocket to take out his trump card.

It was a dagger, not a regular one, but one imbued with the power of spirits. A moment later there was a fiery storm, the ground rumbling loudly while the area surrounding Isaac was scorched by an ever-increasing red glow. The laments from the spirit whose powers had been taken by force turned into anger, which manifested as flames that gathered to attack the man in long clothes.

‘Calm down’

The blazing wave of spiritual magic was so violent and powerful it looked impossible to defend against. But the man in long clothes simply chanted two words. As soon as they came out of his mouth, the raging flames vanished as if snapped away by a magician.

「What in the-?!!」

Having been so confident in his attack, Isaac’s eyes were round, staring dumbfounded as his shoulders began shaking. All that remained now was warm air, which was quickly dispersed by the wind.

That had been his hidden, most powerful attack. But it had disappeared through some incomprehensible method, leaving him in shock. Isaac struggled to understand what had happened.

The man in long clothes knew that as well, his eyes focused on Isaac the entire time waiting for such an opening. Barely a second passed since Isaac lowered his guard, but that was enough for an arrow to pierce his knee.

His mouth unable to produce any sound, Isaac fell down. Then a second shot was fired, an arrow digging into his elbow. At the same time, the spirit dagger was released from his hand and fell onto the ground.

「You lost.」

Even though Isaac’s mobility and attacks had been restrained, the man in long clothes did not lower his guard as he slowly walked to Isaac, flicking away the dropped dagger with his sword. Isaac lifted his gaze, his eyes filled with anger as they focused on the man who stood in front of him.

Isaac used what little mana he had managed to recover and cast Flame. It was one of the most basic skills of a magician, but used by a skilled person it could still be powerful. But the man in long clothes dispersed the fireball with his thin sword, even though it had been cast right in front of him.

Isaac was not done trying to resist though, as he attempted to swing his untouched arm with the spiraling dagger.

The dispersing flames masked the movement of the dagger, but the man in long clothes instantly flicked it away with his crossbow, and instantly shot another arrow piercing through the arm. A pained moan came from Isaac.

The man in long clothes had incredibly sharp reflexes, almost as if someone was watching from afar and whispering everything that was happening into his ear.

「Now you’ll answer my questions. There should be a man named Zele Schedar in your group. Tell me where he is.」

He pointed his crossbow at Isaac’s forehead, asking with a terrifyingly cold voice.