The Golem Mage

As the smoke finally cleared, Aria was surprised to see Damien smirking at her, he appeared unscathed, with only a few dishevelled strands of hair and a small scratch on the left side of his face.

”Tch! I don’t believe the mages of the Great Eight Academies are invincible; I just believe I’m invincible,” Damien said, but Aria was too preoccupied with examining the material of his uniform to pay much attention to his words.

Suddenly, Damien seemed to materialize in front of her, his outstretched hand moving to clamp down on her throat.

”It seems you’ve finally realized that I’m wearing Tier 5 spirit clothes engraved with defensive and protection runes., so you’ll need more than a weak blow to hurt me,” Damien said as he closed in on her, almost strangling her.

Taken aback by his sudden appearance, Aria swiftly deflected Damien’s hand with her left hand, feeling a surge of anger at him as he was still attacking with one-hand, determined to subdue him, she shouted,

”Don’t hold back! Beat this arrogant mage!” before unleashing a side kick, however, Damien effortlessly sidestepped her attack, a smug smile playing on his lips as he attempted to grip her neck with his right hand again.

But a massive earth wall suddenly materialized between them, but Damien’s fingers still pierced through it as if it were no obstacle, his confidence and charisma enchanted the ladies in the crowd every time he flashed his signature smile.

[Mid Tier Spell – Earthen Spikes]

Vice-captain Ethan cast a spell to keep Damien distracted from going after Aria, as he sent out his earth mana to the ground, causing it to rumble and crack, followed by the sudden emergence of sharp, earthen spikes shooting upward with force.

The spikes of solid earth emerged rapidly, attempting to impale an unprepared Damien, causing him to leap into the air.

However, Seraphina was already waiting for him there, her wings of light propelling her upward as her sword emitted a luminous glow, she swung at Damien’s back as he approached, sending him back to the ground, just as he was about to land, a large tidal wave controlled by Tristan slammed him into numerous trees.

The four of them displayed a level of teamwork not seen since the tournament began, showing the crowd a different approach to fights.

However, they knew it wasn’t over yet, as no white light had struck down to remove Damien’s body, indicating that Damien was still alive.

”I have to admit, you’re all a little more difficult than I expected,” Damien’s voice reached them before he appeared before their eyes.

”But come on, is that all you have? I’m bored now, and playtime is over!” Damien finally appeared before them, looking good as new except for a few tears on his uniform, and more bruises.

Now, he was no longer using just one hand, as a small, ancient-looking dagger rested in his left hand, causing the four members of the Crimson Rose Academy to tense, thinking he was going to come after them with the blade.

However, that never happened. Instead, he stretched his right hand forward and cut himself in the palm.

”Please allow me to show you what it means to be a member of the Great Eight Academies!” Damien said as the dagger disappeared, and his blood started to float around him, defying gravity.

His eyes had now turned a deep, menacing red, and his fingers had elongated significantly.

”Sanguis impetus,” Damien intoned in Latin, and the drops of blood swirling around him coalesced into large blades, hurtling toward the four members of the Crimson Rose Academy, in response, they cast various defensive spells to shield themselves.

In a blink, Damien materialized behind Tristan, driving his sharp claws into his chest and wrenching out his heart.

His blood drawn out of his body by an unknown force, his blood swirled around Damien, with his right hand stained crimson as he clutched the lifeless heart.

With Tristan’s blood, he now had more ammunition for his attacks, a white light flashed and enveloped Tristan’s body, and when he vanished, the heart Damien held disappeared, prompting him to shake his head in frustration.

The remaining members of the Crimson Rose Academy were both shocked and incensed, while they wouldn’t truly die within the Colosseum space, they would still endure excruciating pain and sustain injuries.

And Aria recognized that Damien was far more powerful than them, capable of easily dispatching Tristan, but the fact that he had chosen such a method made her realize that behind his handsome face lay a maniac.

They stood rooted to the ground, uncertain of how to proceed, they couldn’t defeat Damien, and they certainly couldn’t contend with the remaining four mages defending the flag.

In that moment, Damien’s image seemed to loom larger, but Aria refused to give up, as she charged forward, wielding massive fireballs in both hands, hurtling them toward Damien before closing the distance.

Damien ran towards her matching her pace, as he extended his hand, and two blades crafted from blood sliced through the fireballs, causing another explosion, undeterred, he slid beneath the blast, closing in on her without hesitation.

She attempted to unleash an ultra-sized Fiery Fist once more, but the blood swirling around Damien coalesced into a blood shield, thwarting her attack.

While Seraphina ascended into the skies again , her sword blazed with a radiant light element, while Ethan dashed into the fray to aid Aria in battling Damien.

Ethan aimed a direct kick at Damien, seeking to propel him toward Aria, but Damien deftly contorted his body in an unconventional manner, swiping his hand and unleashing a barrage of blood slashes from the blood pool surrounding him, forcing Ethan to retreat and defend against the onslaught.

Seizing the opportunity presented by his unorthodox balance, Aria attempted to sweep Damien off his feet with a low kick, but he executed a somersault, evading her attack and then directing blood tendrils toward her.

Despite her attempts to incinerate the tendrils, they deftly evaded her assault and ensnared her, immobilizing her, Damien then performed a series of hand signs with his right hand, causing the blood tendrils to sprout spikes that pierced Aria’s skin, draining her of blood.

Simultaneously, the wounds and bruises he had sustained in the battle, along with the deep cut in his right hand, rapidly healed, leaving Aria pale and weakened as she collapsed to her knees.

”Aria!” Ethan shouted, hurling a massive boulder toward Damien, who promptly erected another blood wall, deflecting the projectile, however, reinforcing the blood wall significantly depleted the blood surrounding him.

”Tch! I need a refill,” Damien muttered.

As Seraphina thrust her sword toward him, he effortlessly deflected her luminous blade with his left hand and then drove one of his right claws into her neck, Seraphina retaliated by casting a light beam, temporarily blinding him before retreating to Ethan’s side.

At the moment Aria remained bound and unable to break free, while Seraphina was injured, and Ethan was visibly fatigued from repelling the last attack.

Damien raised the finger that had pierced Seraphina’s neck to his mouth, savouring her blood with closed eyes and a blissful expression.

”Sweet! Now, kill him!” Damien commanded after consuming her blood.

In that instant, Ethan felt a sense of foreboding as Seraphina, who stood beside him, swung her sword horizontally behind her, aiming to sever Damien’s head.

[> Mid Tier Spell – Aqua Sphere