At those words, Linius couldn't help but frown and take another look at the monster that was rampaging. He then again looked at Cygnus who was breathing hard and sighed. He stood up and signaled for one of the soldiers to look after him.
The monster was battling Nina and Lieutenant Leif while the other members of the brigade were in charge of making sure that the damage would be kept at minimum. The soldiers were busy evacuating the people and making sure that none of them would be able to sneak in.
Nina was laughing while continuously attacking the monster who had a shield around him. She was constantly summoning magic bombs that wouldn't let the monster have time to attack. Leif wasn't falling behind in giving additional damage to the monster. His earth magic was particularly powerful with all the pointed pieces of rock that were flying around.
The magus who turned into a monster was nearing his limit and at that moment, the power from all the mana cores he had consumed converged into his and it exploded. The convergence of the different magic created a wave of energy that knocked back the Leif and Nina even the mages who were maintaining the barrier around the area were affected.
Even the ground shook because of how strong the magic power was. Dust and dirt filled the place and before any of them could recover from the impact, the magus was already above Nina with his fist raised in the air. The mana energy that was covering his fist was now in the color of black and it has some sparks of lightning within it.
Nina raised a shield above her to stop the attack but when the fist connected with the shield, it cracked together with the ground below Nina. She felt the impact of that punch travel through her body and causing some internal injury which made him spat out blood. The magus raised his fist once again and hit the shield for the second time which finally broke it.
A boulder flew through the dust and hit the monster before his fist could land on Nina. Leif appeared and pulled Nina as he retreated away from the enemy. They got out of the swirling dust and stayed on the sides where he carefully laid Nina. He looked at the woman and gritted his teeth because of her condition.
"How is she?" Linius appeared beside Leif. He gave the woman a short glance before he looked forward.
"He got her badly. I suspect internal damage," Leif reported. His eyes were still focused in front where the enemy could appear anytime.
"All right," Linius nodded. He held the hilt of his sword and was ready to attack whenever the enemy appeared.
"So, who is this guy?" Leif was clenching and unclenching his fists as the rocks around them started to float above them.
"According to my brother, he is the culprit to the deaths involving mana cores." Linius's hand tightened on his sword as he felt movement from behind the already subsiding cloud of dust.
"We've been patrolling for several days now and yet we didn't find him and now he suddenly attacked in broad daylight?" Leif's jaws clenched and his eyes were narrowed towards the front.
"He must have thought that he is already powerful enough to kill anyone that will try to stop him." Linius took a deep breath and a shadow finally appeared followed by the monster that was running towards them.
Both of the monster's hands were coated with the same mana energy that he used to attack Nina. Leif made the first move, he raised his hand that was resting on his side and opened his clenched fist. The rocks that were silently floating around them flew towards the enemy to reduce his momentum and at the same distract him. Linius who was standing beside the lieutenant dashed towards the enemy using the rocks as a cover.
He unsheathed his sword and slashed towards the monster's foot. The sword created a deep gash which caused the monster to lose its balance and heavily fell on the ground. Leif saw this as an opportunity and materialized a boulder above the monster which he motioned down.
The monster raised his arms to catch the boulder and push it away from him. Leif was already breathing heavily as he tried his best to crush the enemy with the boulder but he was having a difficult time. He was gritting his teeth and he could feel that his body was about to give up.
Linius gritted his teeth as he could feel the power of the master's blood in his system. His hands that were gripping the sword tightened then he launched himself towards the enemy and cut through his barrier and unto his other feet. The monster was sent fully kneeling on the ground. Linius did not stop from inflicting injuries to the enemy.
His movements started to speed up until only his shadow could be seen. Several cuts appeared on the monster's body as black blood started to ooze out. The monster roared in pain and in the blink of an eye, the boulder was crushed and he was already gripping Linius in his hand.
"Major!" Leif shouted when he saw the sudden turn of events. It happened so fast that he had no time to save the major.
He stood up even with his unsteady feet. He channeled a spell which appeared below the monster and rocks with pointed ends blossomed from the magic circle which successfully trapped the enemy for a while. He wanted to step forward and pull the major away but his feet suddenly gave up.
The monster's arm abruptly exploded then Leif saw Nina launching herself towards the monster with magic circles ready on her hand. She landed on the monster's head then she touched its eyes and with a short incantation she jumped away. Followed by her escape, the monster's eyes exploded.
His grip on the major loosened. Linius used that chance to free himself and also launched an attack. He landed on his feet then he bent down as he gathered force on his feet and used that to propel him upward. He then channeled that momentum to his hands that were gripping his sword.
In that moment, his sword gave out a silver glow. He then slashed it downward and successfully cut off the monster's hand. A howl came from the monster followed by the shattering of the rocks that were holding him down.
Nina jumped away and so did Linius. After he got his balance, he attacked once again with his sword that was still covered in a silver light. Nina followed behind as she tried to touch the monster. Every part she touched would explode.
They could feel that the enemy was already at its limit too so they persevered and did not stop. The Mage Brigade saw that the enemy was getting overwhelmed so they also attacked using ranged magic attacks. They only needed a little bit more time and the monster would already fall but at the last moment, Nina felt a vibration very similar to her bombs before they blew it.
"Major, retreat!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Retreat!" She waved her hands at the mages for them to back out. "He's about to explode!"
At that moment Linius detoured and turned back, he looked for a place where he could hide then he remembered Cygnus. He went straight to where he was just as the entire place was covered in a black blinding light followed by a very powerful explosion that destroyed all of the building within a fifty-meter radius.
The soldiers and bystanders who were yet to evacuate were all caught up with the sudden explosion. The people who were faraway still felt the aftershock brought by the blast as they all looked towards the direction of where the loud sound came from. It was once again a disaster as nothing was left of the monster whose body exploded.
