The Lord Is Too Overbearing

'He is moving weirdly…. Has My Lord done something to him?' Xander wondered as he observed August. 'It is as if he is fighting something inside him.'

[Haywire] was the Special Art Asia had that Basil had previously thought to be the secret ability belonging to Vagus. It would immediately take effect the moment Basil managed to cut his enemy.

[Haywire] messed with one's nerves. In the early stage, those who were affected by it would lose their mobilities and injure themselves when they tried to move. Their bodies wouldn't move the way they wanted. In the latter stage, it could even make those affected by it permanently bleed.

Previously, Basil still couldn't utilize his Mana well enough to use [Haywire] up to its full potential. Now that he had become a Seventh Circle Mage, the Mana he previously couldn't control could be controlled, dramatically strengthening the effect of [Haywire].

'This lad…he hath some interesting Art, he doth not?' August thought as he fought the influence of [Haywire] that wreaked havoc in his body. He couldn't get rid of the effect, so the only thing he could do was keep it at bay and adapted to it.

Swoosh!

When Xander's scythe almost cut the tip of his nose, he cursed inwardly. His foot had twitched in the wrong way and it had almost cost him his nose.

"Oh, Xander…look how the tables have turned," August sneered as he took a distance. "Thou used to be the one who constantly told me about how frail I was compared to my brother who fought in the frontline. Look at thee, now—old and frail!"

"Shut it, baby boy. You are not stronger just because you have an extra Magic Circle," Xander scoffed in disdain.

Swish!

Utilizing his Movement Technique: Feather Step, Basil combined it with [Frictionless]. He dashed at August without making a sound, almost catching the Rancuser off guard as he suddenly appeared before him.

When he swung Durendal, August immediately assumed a blocking stance. The clash between the two weapons produced an intense shockwave that disintegrated the ground below the fighting people.

August's daggers clattered as his hands shook uncontrollably. [Haywire] disturbed his focus so much that he couldn't put much power into his hands.

"Smirk, lad! Why thou dost not?" August smirked. "Smirk and let this one say the line!"

"Avaunt."

Blasting his Mana, Basil launched August away. He immediately crossed his swords and then swung them after using [Double Helix], which was the Technique that allowed him to cut and twist his opponent.

A double-helix-shaped light cut through the air like a flash, hitting August in less than a second. He was immediately covered in silverish blue and golden light as soon as he was hit; the air exploded in the next moment but no one could tell surely how he fared.

Whoosh!

As the shockwave swept past Basil, a disturbance could be felt in the air. August, who was already in a dishevelled state, was rushing at him with bloodshot eyes. He was radiating insurmountable anger which would scare a Sixth Circle Mage to death. Looking at it, Basil knew he shouldn't be careless.

Activating [One With Nature], he utilized the Nature Mana that his Magic Circles absorbed. Countering August was not an option for him, so he would block August and then defend himself.

"[Aegeas]!" he muttered.

A shield made out of golden light appeared before Basil. It then encapsulated him, obscuring people's vision of him but still allowing him to see everything outside clearly. It was his self-made Defence Art—one that was hailed as the impregnable Defence Art in his past life. The Art that none but him could use.

BOOM!

In his fight with Gorgophone in his past life, he had survived Gorgophone's mysterious Art with [Aegeas]. This Art gave him an extremely formidable defence—powered by the Nature Mana, stopping August's fierce swing was not out of the norm.

"What…?"

August widened his eyes in shock and then frowned in bewilderment. The ground beside Basil had cracked open, allowing anyone to see the magma hidden underneath, but the ground where Basil was standing was harmless.

He wouldn't say he had used his full power in his attack a few moments ago but he was sure that no Seventh Circle Mage should be able to use such a powerful Defence Art. His hands trembled as he tried to push forward but not even a crack was seen in the ethereal shield.

"Thee, accursed Pacifer!" he shouted indignantly.

Swish!

August had almost lost his head to Xander's scythe. He managed to avoid death but he had to sacrifice the beard that he cherished. Xander smirked at what he had done but was not satisfied with it. He used Iron Magic and summoned thousands of iron blades from the ground.

August clicked his tongue in annoyance and then swung his daggers fiercely hundreds of times. All of the blades that Xander had made were either deflected or broken.

Despite surviving the onslaught, still, August wasn't very happy. He knew what was waiting for him and he couldn't help gritting his teeth when his guess turned out to be true.

Basil was already behind him when he turned around; Durendal and Caliburn were swung diagonally at the same time. Given his state, even August wasn't very sure if it would be all right for him to just block Basil's swords. There was also Xander to mind about, so his mind was in disorder.

"Gadzooks! I will repay you mongrels thousand times worse!"

In the end, he chose to play bold by risking the safety of his ninth Magic Circle. Overworking it, he blasted all of the Mana it had.

"Die, you—huh…?"

The moment he thought he had gotten Basil and Xander, he realized something odd. He was planning to disintegrate Basil with the sheer power of his Mana blast; Basil must know what was going to happen, so seeing a triumphant smile on Basil's face chilled his spine.

"My sword does more than you can think about," Basil whispered. "Die in your delusion, August. [Derailing Charm]!"

The world that had moved so slow that time seemed to stop, regained its natural speed. Basil's visage disappeared like a lie and an explosion that was so big that it shook the entire area within 70 kilometres occurred soon after.

BOOM!

[Derailing Charm]—a terrifying Art of Vagus that let the user play with his opponent's mind. The user could control his opponent to do the thing he wanted his opponent to do and even let the opponent see what his opponent wanted to see.

For stronger people to be able to be affected by it, one had to make sure they weren't thinking straight. One had to make a situation that forced them to lower their mental defence, which was what Basil had done to August and Scylla two years before.

"Phew…look at how big the Mana Explosion is. Even though we have taken a distance, the Mana still almost envelopes us," Xander commented, looking at the perimeter of the dome of Mana enveloping August which was ten metres before him.

"Don't let your guard down. You know something like that won't kill him," Basil warned.

"This is annoying to admit but…you are right, My Lord." Xander furtively glanced at Basil and thought, 'If the current me fight with Lord Basil, do I have…Nah. Just look at that poor bastard. My Lord toyed him like a baby! I might die by the time I know it.'

Imagining how it would unfold if he became an enemy with Basil made him shiver in terror. At the same time, however, he was extremely ecstatic since he couldn't wait for how godly Basil would be when he became a Ninth Circle Mage.

Swoosh!

After some time, the Mana dome got smaller before eventually dispersing. August was revealed soon after. He was on his knees with his head lowered. His body is leaning to the back. His hands are hanging down limply on his sides. His daggers, however, are still held tightly.

His loose garment that was covering his upper body had disappeared, allowing Basil and Xander to see his red, half-burned skin. His body was still steaming; judging from the lack of movement, he had lost consciousness.

"My Lord, it is time to—"

"Thou shalt not move, Xander."

Despite so, Basil still reprimanded Xander for trying to immediately charge at that August. He looked around and noticed that the swords he had planted on the perimeter of the area were shaking uncontrollably.

"It is time to leave, Xander," he muttered seriously. "My knowledge regarding Space Magic is too shallow and thy Mana is simply too little to match his."

"What is happening, My Lord?" Xander gulped dryly at the urgency he sensed in Basil's tone.

"August's ability to bend space is returning."

Right after Basil said his piece, August that had been motionless the entire time raised his head and smirked at Basil. "Guess what, lad? This one hath shattered thy trick!"

The swords that Basil had planted on the perimeter area, which he had used to seal the entire area to prevent August from using Space Magic, were pulled out of the ground by an unknown force. Basil immediately stored them inside Solomon's Spatial Ring, grabbed Xander and teleported away.

…at least, that was what he tried to do.

"Pray to thy God, lad and he shalt tell thee that no amount of miracle could save thee!"

Warp!

The space bent a tenth second after Basil cast [Teleportation]. He was in the middle of crossing the Dimensional Tunnel but, thanks to that, he returned to the place where he had cast the Spell.

"Oh cripes! This is going to get troublesome."

Knowing that there was no chance of them teleporting away, Xander prepared himself to fight. Basil remained silent and then immediately dashed at August who was still on his knees, which surprised Xander greatly.

"I shall distract him. Prepare the—"

'…[Teleportation],' went unsaid. Just a second before Basil reached August; a dense, golden chain made out of Mana came sweeping at him.

Clank!

It did nothing but threw him out of his course; however, that gave August a chance to exploit. Much to his annoyance, as soon as he regained his balance, August was already behind him, daggers ready to strike his neck.

Boom!

His experience and meticulousness, fortunately, allowed him to block the daggers. Still, being able to do that meant nothing in the current situation.

"Ku-Ha-Ha! It has been a month, Basil Pacifer! I, Jaheim Abremson, am here bringing the Anti-Pacifer weapon with me!"

Basil's golden eyes turned a shade darker as coldness filled them; looking at that, August grinned irritatingly. "This one hath brought company."