Askruak seemed far weaker than I had expected. I pressed the advantage without hesitation. Kosetsu carved a sharp arc through the air as I closed the distance in a single step.

The broken blade caught the light, its scattered fragments humming faintly with the vectors flowing through them.

Askruak reacted quickly and twisted aside.

But I had expected that.

I forcibly halted my own momentum by bringing the vectors to an abrupt stop before instantly shifting my footing toward his new position.

Before he could even realize what had happened... I was already above him. Every vector within my body and blade surged into my downward swing.

Askruak retreated as a smile spread across my face.

The shattered fragments of Kosetsu extended just beyond the reach of the blade itself as the slash carved cleanly across his chest, drawing crimson blood but not a flicker of pain appeared on his face except annoyance.

"You are talented for a mere insect. I had intended to spare you despite your rudeness since I know neither your clan nor the trouble killing you might invite..."

"But you have pushed your luck far enough, boy. For the sake of a handful of slaves, you dared make an enemy of me."

"You shall pay the full price for that."

"And perhaps... your soul will prove far more worthwhile to devour than those pitiful slaves who possess not even a shred of pride."

As the last words left his mouth, black energy erupted from his body. Instinctively, I took a step back.

I knew exactly how dangerous that energy was.

Even my master had been unable to resist it and if she had fallen to it, then allowing it to touch me, even once, would spell disaster for my soul.

Just as I had expected, the moment the black energy coating his body touched the ground, the lush green grass instantly withered away.

The once vibrant forest died wherever it spread.

Touching him... Would be a terrible idea.

I immediately circled around him as he hurled black flames in my direction.

They were fast.

But with my reflexes and the aid of my Vectors, avoiding them wasn’t much of a problem. For now, the real issue was my mana.

Even with my mana capacity temporarily elevated to C-Rank by the villagers’ faith, maintaining my Vectors consumed an enormous amount of it.

Still... I didn’t rush.

Because his affinity demanded an equally terrifying price. The stronger a power was, the greater the cost of wielding it.

But something was strange.

His attacks were far too desperate and far too reckless. For someone whose affinity likely consumed an enormous amount of mana, fighting like this made no sense.

And yet...

He continued hurling those black flames around without restraint.

It was as though he was luring—

The realization had barely begun to form before an ominous chill ran through my body. My eyes dropped to the ground beneath my feet.

A black magic circle had been carved into the earth. I moved but I was too late as my body was frozen in one place.

Askruak was already before me. He moved faster than he had at any point during the battle, his fist wreathing in black flames.

"Did you truly believe you were the clever one? Buying time with your pointless questions. Provoking that foolish Murgin into charging at me."

"Did you think I failed to notice such a pitiful scheme?" A sneer spread across his face. "Young fool. Did you truly believe that because you possess a shred of strength, you could defeat a king who has lived for centuries?"

"Your tactics did remind me of my younger days. The same cold rationality and the same desperate methods."

"But..."

"You are far too clouded by your emotions and someone like me can exploit that with ease."

With those words, his fist crashed into my abdomen like a speeding truck. Even though my body couldn’t react in time, I redirected most of the impact through my Vectors, channeling the force and his cursed mana down my legs and into the ground.

The earth beneath me exploded apart as the magic circle shattered along with it, disrupting its effect.

"Impossible! How could you shatter that magic circle? It should not have been affected by anyone else’s maan except mine."

His flames had already disintegrated the clothes covering my abdomen as a sinister black rot spread slowly across my skin even as I had redirected most of it through my foot.

That same black mana, the one that had claimed my master’s life, was now trying to claim mine. But even as pain exploded throughout my body, I used the recoil and the brief moment of surprise to counterattack.

Kosetsu flashed toward Askruak’s neck.

He hadn’t expected me to shatter his magic circle... Nor had he expected me to move after taking a direct hit as for the first time since the battle began, his eyes widened.

The blade sliced cleanly through his neck.

Or at least...

It should have.

Instead, Kosetsu passed straight through him as though his body didn’t exist. Not a single drop of blood fell nor did a single wound appear. It was as if I had just swung my sword through a glitch in reality.

What was that?

Even Askruak’s eyes raised in genuine surprise. Which meant, it wasn’t one of his abilities either.

Without hesitation, I leapt backward.

Right on cue, [[Insight]] activated on its own as a small status window appeared before my eyes.

[A fatal strike against Askruak has been prevented.]

"...Prevented?"

[This was never your path to walk.]

[No matter what means you employ, you cannot be the one to kill him.]

[Guide the one who is destined to walk this path.]

[That... is your true trial.]

Looking at the small status windows and then at the black corruption rapidly spreading across my stomach, my grip around Kosetsu tightened...

... Because this damned trial had just become a whole lot more complicated.