Angelâs arrival had not yet ceased to ripple across the venue. But at this moment, with the countdown on the light screen reaching its final seconds,
the light sources outside dimmed once more, leaving only the Boundless Battle Arena aglow within the dome.
All eyes were compelled to turn toward the Boundless Battle Arena.
As the countdown returned to zero, within the Boundless Battle Arena, Dominico, who had been smiling and bantering theatrically with Spiwey, suddenly drew his sword with a focused aura, rose petals phantasms sprinkling around him: âAre you ready to unveil the curtain to a play where you lose and I win?â
âWho wins and who loses is still up for debate.â With the tip of his finger, Spiwey lightly touched the crimson lips of the Joker mask, and thick Dark Mist immediately swept in to assault.
Dominico appeared to carelessly let his rapier drop slowly, and just as the tip touched the ground, he abruptly burst forth with an immense energy.
The prepared Trick model was finally unleashed at this moment, the magic casting channels flowing into the rapier with his fingertips, and then seeping slowly into the earth along the rapier.
Invisible energy was accumulating deep below the ground.
Underneath, Spiwey felt a slight tremor and simultaneously, an ominous premonition from the ground beneath his feet.
The crisis awareness that had once been cultivated as a Wizard now came into play. Sensing the anomaly, Spiwey unhesitatingly leaped into the air.
At the instant he left the ground, a greedy maw erupted from beneath, and countless roots and thorny vines burst forth like an exploding fountain, turning his previous standing spot into a sea of menacing vines.
âDo you think youâll be worry-free by jumping to higher ground? Naive!â
Spiwey turned sharply, only to see Dominico, who at some point had plunged his rapier into the ground, which immediately turned into countless rose vines.
These rose vines grew rapidly, quickly reaching over ten meters in height and encircling Spiwey in a dome of greenery.
At that moment, one after another, vibrant red roses bloomed on the vine.
The pale red pollen, along with the blooming of rose buds, sprayed outwards. Numerous rose petals also cascaded down in the bluster, sharpening into deadly blades, hurling towards Spiwey.
Beneath was a sea of thorns, above was airborne unknown pollen, perfectly stuck in between.
One could either break through forcibly or just endure passively.
The former would surely lead to entanglement by the vines and thorns, the latter was akin to sitting and awaiting doom. Thus, whichever choice he made, to Dominico, Spiwey wasâŚ
âDestined to lose!â
Just as Dominico reveled in smug satisfaction, a cold voice suddenly echoed: âReally?â
He spun around rapidly, only to see a Joker mask floating behind him.
Its bizarre crimson smile seemed to mock his ignorance.
Dominico glanced from the corner of his eye at the center enshrouded in pollen and vines, where now only a dark cloud of mist remained, and the Jokerâs mask had disappeared.
Moreover, the black mist inside was darkening, while behind the Joker mask before him, a shadowy figure stealthily emerged!
Surprise flashed through Dominicoâs eyes. How did this Deceiver manage to get out? There was no movement at all, so how did he escape?
As Dominico reeled in shock, one of the Joker maskâs eyes suddenly sparked with dazzling silver light.
In an instant, innumerable rapiers flew out from within the eye. These rapiers, uniquely designed, had Joker heads carved into the handles, and from the middle of the âMâ shaped Joker hats, silver gleaming blades had grown.
Hundreds of Joker rapiers targeted Dominico.
Caught off guard, Dominico was pierced by a Joker rapier in the back of his hand. The rapier went clean through, leaving a bloody hole.
Even with a Defense Spell to protect him, the rapier pierced through, showing the formidable force!
As more rapiers bore down, Dominico dared not wait to be struck. He promptly turned the rose vines into layers of defense, shielding himself from the razor-edged onslaught!
Yet when the next wave of Joker rapiers met the vines, not a single sound arose. Dominico reached out to catch one, only to find that all those Joker rapiers were mere Illusions!
Hee hee hee hee, it was all to trick you â
The eerie laughter of the Joker reached Dominicoâs ears.
It appeared he had realized something; he abruptly turned back, looking toward the previous rose vines. Spiwey, whom he thought had escaped, was now leisurely walking out from within.
With Dominicoâs vines retracted for defense, a gap had opened, allowing Spiwey to nonchalantly step out from the seemingly inescapable deathtrap.
âYour rose vine prison was perfect. Alas, you were fooled, yâknow.â
As Spiwey casually passed by, Dominico heard his murmur.
Only then did he understand, Spiwey never truly escaped; he had used the illusion of a Joker mask to make him believe he had. With one real Joker rapier and countless illusions, he had forced the retraction of the rose vines for defense, allowing Spiwey to just stroll out into the open.
Without lifting a finger.
A surge of anger raced to Dominicoâs eyes. Just as he was about to withdraw the rose vines, another Joker rapier flew towards him from a not-so-distant place.
The rapierâs blade reflected a faint, cold light.
Itâs an illusion, right? Dominico hesitated for a moment, still retracted his creeping vines, but when the Jokerâs rapier pierced his shoulder, it was Spiwey who chuckled from not far away, reminding:
âThis time itâs real.â
âŚ
Outside the Boundless Battle Arena.
Farina slowly moved her floating chair closer to Angel: âA name well deserved as The Deceiver, creating illusions that blur the line between reality and fiction.â
Angel: âWithout fluctuations of the Illusion Node, itâs just a trick of light and shadows. Breaking through it is not difficult.â
âYes, itâs a pity that Spring Waltz has fallen into the atmosphere crafted by The Deceiver and was deceived for a moment. However, to perfectly construct such an atmosphere in this kind of competition shows his techniques are indeed excellent.â Farina paused: âFor this match, who do you favor?â
Angel remained silent for a moment before saying, âI would still say Spring Waltz.â
Farina looked at Angel with curiosity: âOh?â
âI thought youâd say The Deceiver, given his excellent performance just now. Moreover, Iâve heard from Lianna that Floraâs new Disciple is a rare talent, with a promotion speed not inferior to yours. Of course, Iâm referring to the Apprentice stage.â
Angel nodded: âNot just at the Apprentice stage, I believe his speed in advancing to Official Wizard will not be any slower than mine.â
After all, Spiwey was once the infamous âLittle Demonâ Glarke.
Although he has become Spiwey, his memories and experiences havenât vanished, and even Sanders returned his space badge to him. With all of Glarkeâs fortunes contained in that badge, his advancement would naturally not be slow.
It can be said that his rapid promotion is to be expected. Even becoming an Official Wizard is just reclaiming what he once lost.
Farina: âIf thatâs the case, why donât you favor him? Or do you also know about Spring Waltz?â
Angel, silently watching the ongoing match, had no knowledge of Spring Waltz and did not think that Dominico could truly defeat Spiwey. Whether it was in terms of technique, experience, or even the props in the space badge, Spring Waltz was at a disadvantage.
You see, Spiweyâs space badge surely contains a myriad of items enough to secure his victory.
But Angel still didnât think Spiwey would âchooseâ to win.
Yes, Angel had believed from the beginning that the result of the match was in Spiweyâs hands.
He could choose to win or lose, all within a fleeting thought, depending on how he decides to act out this play of victory and defeat.
So, if Spiwey controls the rhythm of the match, would he choose to win or lose?
Angel believed he might choose to lose.
As for the reason, Angelâs gaze drifted lightly and looked towards the other side of the dome: âOld Nightâ Kemonir was carefully observing the match, appearing very dutiful in his judging duties.
Kemonir is the reason Angel thought Spiwey might choose to lose.
Kemonir and Spiwey are close friends; Kemonir himself has said this, and at the time, both Farina and Hydra were clearly aware of it.
Taking into account their friendship, Angel re-examined the match.
Since Spiwey has âreborn,â he wouldnât acknowledge his past friends until he reaches or exceeds the achievements of the past Glarke. That means, he has to avoid giving away any hints to Kemonir in this match.
Therefore, he canât show his full strength, such as his previous fighting style, combat details, handling of combat experiences, including the props in his space badgeâall of these he cannot use.
Spiwey can only use common Tricks and newly learned combat methods. However, he has only been reborn for a few short years; thus, the new things he has learned are not many.
In other words, he is almost completely handicapped right now, while Spring Waltz can fully utilize all his strengths.
Spring Waltz is also not weak, he can even be said to be strong; otherwise, the Official wouldnât have arranged for him to compete in the first match.
Given these circumstances, even if Spiwey has the advantage for a short time, he canât afford to let loose, and the outcome would only result in a loss.
Angelâs train of thought continued, but he did not voice it. Farina waited for a long time but did not receive an answer, she shrugged: âWell, I was leaning more towards Spiwey before, but since you said Spiwey will lose, then Spiwey will probably lose.â
The fight on the stage was still fiercely underway.
Five minutes into the match, exactly as Angel had predicted, Spiwey hadnât made any effective counterattacks apart from a beautiful play at the beginning.
Moreover, Dominico was no fool; after being tricked twice, he became more cautious. It wouldnât be easy for Spiwey to succeed with deceptive tactics again.
Even though Spiwey didnât use other special techniques, based solely on combat experience, he hasnât shown any signs of defeat yet and is still holding his own.
This made Farina couldnât help but exclaim: âThe Deceiverâs battle experience is very rich. If he had a few more powerful attacks, I guess the match would be over by now.â
Angel silently mused on the side: His techniques are anything but scarce. Knowing that the âLittle Demonâsâ mischief could give Dusknightsâ Blade wizards such a headache, his techniques are definitely plentiful.
Itâs just that he doesnât dare to use them right now.
Angel sighed, this could only be said to be bad luck; if Kemonir wasnât a special judge, Spiwey would probably have won by now.
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