Cling—!!
As soon as I summoned my relic, a sudden burst of flame illuminated the dark hall.
Almost instantly, a mystical golden armor materialized on my body. The glowing red ruby on my chest cracked and shattered.
Despite the vampire assassin's sword clanging against my neck, it proved ineffective against my armor's defense.
I remained unscathed with fiery wings of brilliant orange flame visible behind me– slowly extinguishing.
As the smoke and darkness continued to obscure my vision, the piercing, ominous glow of Magnus' red eyes loomed in the distance.
A hoarse, demonic voice reverberated through the darkness, sending chills down my spine.
"This was your plan?" the vampire hissed. "To cause a blackout? Don't you know that we, vampires, are creatures of the night? We can see perfectly in the dark!"
I slightly raised my hands and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oh, the blackout wasn't meant to obstruct your vision," I retorted before quickly reaching out to grab Magnus' sword.
But with lightning-fast reflexes, the vampire pulled back his weapon and leaped backward, evading my grasp.
Yes, this darkness and smoke are meant for others to not be able to see me. It's to obstruct their vision not his.
As for myself, I have a way to fight in the darkness.
Suii—!
Channeling mana into my smart bracelet, I took out a full-face white mask. It was the same illusion mask I had used during the mock war.
However, I had made some changes to it before coming here today.
===
Item: Illusion Face Mask
Status: Normal
Condition: Excellent
Abilities: The mask can alter the user's physical appearance and create an illusion to mask their identity for thirty minutes.
The mask also provides the user with night vision and fog vision.
Rank: Silver
===
I quickly put it on my face and willed mana into it.
The ability of mask took effect almost instantly, and I was able to see through all the darkness and smoke.
This also meant my physical appearance might also have changed.
I needed that, just in case something went wrong and someone saw my face.
Although the power was cut to the security cameras were disabled, and most of the main cast was either down or out cold, I could never be too careful.
Aside from me, the protagonist and the female lead of the story would also not have a problem fighting in the dark.
Why?
Nero has honed his combat skills to a point where he can fight without relying on his eyesight.
His sixth sense, developed through countless days and nights surviving in the wilderness among fierce mana beasts, guides him in battle.
Anastasia possesses a unique ability to see mana in the atmosphere and within living beings with her 'God's Eyes.'
By utilizing this power, she can create a rough outline of a person, allowing her to discern her enemy's general location and movements even in the darkness. It's sort of like heat vision, except it's for mana.
The good part of all of this is that neither Nero nor Anastasia possesses true night vision.
As a result, they would be unable to detect my illusions or discern what weapon I'm welding in the dark.
Of course, since I am wearing a relic on my face, which exudes mana, Anastasia would detect a significant amount of mana on my face, but nothing beyond that.
Swish—!!
Right then, when I was done activating my Illusion Mask, the vampire assassin lunged at me and struck down his sword from an overhead stance.
Cling—!!
I quickly summoned my spear and blocked his sword with it.
"Mana Burst!"
Without wasting any time, I activated my Gift and released a massive amount of mana into the atmosphere with a loud shout.
Boom—!!
The sudden burst of azure energy created a powerful explosion that sent Magnus flying backward several meters.
Despite the force of the explosion, Magnus managed to execute a graceful mid-air somersault and landed back on his feet with a thud.
Thud—!!
But I gave him no time to recover as I brought out my Edit Pen and swiftly waved it in the air.
Fwoosh—!!!
Immediately, several earthen spikes burst out from the ground beneath him, piercing through his body.
"Arghhhhaaaaaa!"
Magnus let out a blood-curdling scream as he writhed in agony, unable to free himself from the sharp protrusions.
"Nero, now!" I yelled.
"On it!" he replied.
Upon my signal, Nero dashed towards the direction of the scream, and with a swift leap, he ascended high in the air, wielding his sword with a strong grip.
"Aaaaah!" with a ferocious battle cry, he unleashed his sword art as a dazzling azure aura engulfed his blade.
Descending rapidly like a shooting star, Nero delivered a devastating downward strike onto Magnus, who remained impaled in place.
The strike was so swift that it took less than a second to execute.
Thwoosh—!!!
The force of Nero's downward slash shattered the earthen spikes and left a gaping crater in the ground.
With a graceful landing, the protagonist stood over the vampire, sword at the ready to deliver the finishing blow to his heart.
Before Nero could land the fatal blow, Magnus reached forward and sank his claws into the boy's leg.
"Aaargh!" Nero cried out in pain as he stumbled back.
Seizing the opportunity, Magnus pulled one of his own legs in and swept Nero off the ground while rolling over and pinning him down, coming on top.
But in his intense focus on the protagonist, Magnus had forgotten about us.
Anastasia saw her chance and quickly put away her bow and arrows, then rushed towards Magnus with her bare hands.
With a swift motion, Anastasia wrapped her arms around Magnus' waist, locking him in a reverse bear hug.
Before the vampire could react, Anastasia executed a flawless German suplex by arching her back and slamming Magnus' back onto the ground.
The impact created a shockwave that shook the surrounding area as Magnus crashed onto the ground, stunned by the sudden attack.
Anastasia quickly released her hold on him and sprang back up, ready for another attack.
Meanwhile, I assumed a swordsman stance by bending my knees and pulling back my spear.
Nero had also risen to his feet.
He appeared to have sensed the amount of mana emanating from me, and it seemed he understood that I was going for the final blow while Anastasia was keeping Magnus busy.
