"Licht?! How is this possible?!"
Rades stared wide-eyed at the figure deeply embedded into the stone wall of the cave, his face twisted in disbelief.
Just moments ago, Licht had the upper hand.
Ethan might've been fast, but Licht was even faster!
So how did he end up smashed into a wall in the blink of an eye?
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind scattered the lingering sandstorm.
Countless blades of wind poured down from above like a flood.
They were so sharp that even steel would be sliced in half!
Boom!
"Licht!!" Rades cried out involuntarily.
Because from start to finish, Licht never reappeared from the storm.
His entire body had been engulfed by that terrifying barrage of wind blades.
"Did it work…?"
Noelle stared forward, barely daring to breathe.
Her heart was pounding in her throat.
She desperately wanted to help—but deep down, she knew that if she stepped forward, she'd only be a burden.
And the children behind her still needed her protection.
"Spirit Creation Magic – Spirit Clone!"
As the dust settled, Ethan's figure slowly emerged from the sandstorm.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
One on the left, one on the right—two identical Ethans stood side by side.
They looked exactly the same—in appearance, in presence, and in mana.
There was only one conclusion:
Both were real.
The two Ethans remained alert, warily scanning the area with grim expressions.
Clearly, the battle wasn't over.
"Where is he…?"
Ethan's sharp eyes swept across the battlefield. His combat sensory magic was running at full capacity.
The success of the previous blow was all thanks to a misdirection strategy—drawing attention one way while attacking from another.
He had used the spirit clone to launch a frontal feint, while his real body struck from the blind side.
But even then, Licht had managed to dodge the fatal hit at the last second.
Now, Ethan had to stop thinking about how to defeat Licht.
He had to start thinking about how to escape.
His Spirit Assimilation time was nearly up!
"Wind Creation Magic – Storm Tower!"
Reusing the same tactic, Ethan whipped up a massive tornado from the ground.
Using the swirling sand and wind as cover, he slipped away and appeared at Noelle's side the next second.
"We need to go! I'm running out of time!"
He reached out and grabbed Noelle's arm, preparing to retreat.
But Noelle hesitated.
"What about them…? What about the children?"
Ethan looked toward the side.
The group of young children stared back at him with wide, terrified eyes.
He knew—if he and Noelle left now, those kids had no chance of surviving.
A storm raged inside his heart—divine instinct versus human compassion.
If it were Asta or Yuno… what would they do?
Ethan let out a bitter smile.
There was no doubt—Asta or Yuno would have stood their ground.
That was their character—undaunted, fearless, ready to sacrifice everything for what they believed in.
If Julius Novachrono was the Wizard King of the present,
Then Asta and Yuno were the ones destined to inherit that mantle—
Not because of power, but because of their will to protect.
But Ethan… he couldn't do it.
This wasn't some hot-blooded anime where shouting a few lines activated buffs or summoned backup.
If they didn't leave now, they'd all be cornered and killed.
"I…"
He struggled, his face twisted with emotion.
But before he could finish speaking, the sandstorm suddenly split apart—
Crack!
A glowing whip of light—flexible and serpentine like a viper—lashed toward them out of nowhere.
"Water Creation Magic – Sea Dragon's Nest!"
A massive surge of mana erupted from Noelle's body.
A swirling water barrier enveloped the entire group in an instant.
She still couldn't accurately aim her offensive spells,
But when it came to defensive magic, she was fully capable.
"Damn it!"
Ethan's expression turned grim.
Now they couldn't even run.
Those few seconds of hesitation had cost him his chance to escape.
"Screw it! If there's no way out—then I'll go down fighting!"
"Spirit Magic – Sigh of the Wind Spirit!"
Sometimes, it's the reckless that scare you more than the brave.
In his rage, Ethan's magic output surged to an entirely new level.
The violent wind magic tore through the radiant whip, shattering it into glowing fragments.
The aftershock didn't stop—it surged forward and slammed into Licht like a crashing wave.
"Impressive…"
Clutching his wounded left shoulder, Licht's expression turned feral.
"To think someone at the Fourth Domain level, using wind magic no less, could actually wound me… Ethan Hayes, I truly wish I could tear you apart!"
He had only gotten injured because he'd let his guard down, curious to test Ethan's power.
Otherwise, with his Light Magic and Third Domain strength, he shouldn't have been hurt at all.
But it wasn't too late.
That burst of Fourth Domain power from Ethan was only temporary.
After fighting this long, he should be at his limit.
"Master… I can't go on… hang in there… please… survive…"
Zephyra's faint voice echoed in his mind.
Ethan felt despair creeping in.
The glowing crown on his head and wings of light on his back flickered—and then vanished.
Spirit Assimilation had ended.
He had fallen back to his original Fifth Domain strength.
"No…"
Seeing him in that state, Noelle's heart dropped.
If she hadn't hesitated earlier, maybe they'd have already escaped.
But now, even Ethan had no strength left.
They were going to be buried together here.
"I'm sorry, Ethan… I…"
"Don't. If you're going to blame something, blame me… for not being cruel enough."
Ethan shook his head, eyes bitter.
If he'd been colder, he wouldn't have come back for Noelle.
He could've escaped alone, using the storm as cover.
If he'd been heartless, he wouldn't have hesitated when he saw the kids' terrified eyes.
But he wasn't a monster.
He was human.
And if death was coming—
Then he'd face it head-on.
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