The room fell silent as the Angel’s aura intensified.

Despite this, I could see that the deputy was quite cocky and sure that he would win the round easily.

Meanwhile the deputy squared his shoulders, stepping forward with an air of defiance.

Before now, I would have gone over his status screen to see what gave him that confidence but that wasn’t an option now because of the restriction.

I only had to wait a while to see his abilities which would be displayed soon.

Perhaps it would be a very powerful offensive ability guaranteed to decimate the opponent easily.

The rest of the board members all had varied expressions on their faces.

They must have been used to his bragging by now based on some of the looks he was getting.

"You know we have to take this outside for obvious reasons. Wouldn’t want to mess up this place with Angel blood," He said, puffing out his chest as he stood up.

"Naturally by all means, lead the way," I said standing up.

There were shuffles in the room as everyone took the cue and stood up to leave.

We followed the deputy outside, stepping into the harsh sunlight that flooded the courtyard.

The deputy strutted ahead, his confidence almost tangible.

I could sense a mixture of anticipation and dread among the onlookers, their eyes darting between him and the angel.

The courtyard was spacious, bordered by high stone walls that offered privacy from the outside world.

The ground was covered in sand, creating a makeshift arena.

The angel’s radiant glow dimmed slightly in the bright light, but his presence was no less imposing.

He had floated alongside us while we walked.

The deputy turned to face me, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You might want to step back, just in case," he said, his tone dripping with arrogance.

At this point, I couldn’t help but assume an amused face.

No one was eager for the match to begin than I was.

I nodded, taking several steps back to give them space.

The other board members formed a loose circle around the two combatants, murmuring amongst themselves.

The deputy raised his hand, and with a flash, his ability activated.

A series of small blades materialized around him, each one glowing with a menacing energy.

They hovered in the air, ready to strike at his command.

"Wait, is that it?" I asked, surprised that he thought his blades were enough to defeat the angel.

"Be patient, that’s just the beginning," He said with a grin.

Even as I looked, I could see that his body was changing - rather, fading.

His form looked intangible and I could see right through him. Literally.

He looked like a ghostly apparition essentially and I now understood his pride.

It was actually quite a powerful ability.

He could summon weapons at will and launch them while being invincible himself.

It meant the opponent had to be on the defensive throughout the fight.

He just had to be firing missiles even at a close range. Eventually the opponent had to slip up at some point which made for an easy victory.

The drawback to such an overpowered ability had to be the mana consumption rate.

Maintaining the form had to expand quite a lot though.

I reminded myself that I didn’t know what the deputy level was so there was no gauging the outcome just yet.

He and the rest of the board members had to be powerful though since they weren’t all going weak kneed at the sight of the angel like I had been when I was first confronted by their kind.

I was curious to see how the angel would handle such an opponent since he had to be creative.

After all, I had some few ideas of my own if I were to be in his position.

The angel, however, remained unfazed by the deputy’s ability. He took a step forward, his wings spreading wide and casting a shadow over the ground.

~SWISHHHHH!!!~

The deputy didn’t waste any time. With a sharp gesture, he sent the blades hurtling toward the angel, each one slicing through the air with deadly precision.

It was so fast even for me that I could barely see it.

But the angel was faster. With a graceful sweep of his wings, he deflected the blades, sending them spinning harmlessly into the sand.

The deputy’s eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting his attack to be countered so effortlessly.

"Impressive," the angel said, his voice calm and measured. "But you’ll need more than that to defeat me."

The deputy gritted his teeth, summoning more blades, this time in greater numbers.

He unleashed them in a furious barrage, determined to overwhelm the angel.

The air was filled with the sound of clashing steel.

The pattern went on for some time, with the deputy on the attack while the angel skilfully dodged everything.

The Angel’s patience wasn’t for nothing though, its movements were precise and calculated.

I almost wept in joy as I felt like a master watching his protege. It was almost as if I was telling it what to do.

Taking time to study the opponent and evade attacks while he expanded his mana was just what I would do.

After some time, I saw what I was expecting.

The Deputy was glitching.

As expected, his mana was running low.

I wasn’t the only one that noticed it though because almost immediately the angel switched from defensive to offensive.

~BOOMMMMMM!!!~

He clashed swords with the deputy who suddenly looked flustered by the surprise attack.

The attack had been well timed to coincide with when he was tangible because a second later, he glitched back.

With each clash, it adapted, anticipating the deputy’s shifts between tangibility and intangibility.

Sweat beaded on the deputy’s forehead as he realized the Angel was learning his patterns.

The deputy now activated a second item, a shimmering shield that surrounded him, hoping to protect himself from the strikes.

~BANGGGGGGGGG!!!!~

The shield exploded into fragments as the angel’s sword shattered it with a loud clang.

He staggered back, realizing he was outmatched.

With a final, desperate lunge, he aimed to phase through the Angel and strike from behind.

The Angel, anticipating the move, turned with blinding speed.

~BOOOMMMMMMM!!!~