The Golem Mage

566: Blood Maze.

566: Blood Maze.

“Damien, will you continue?” the red-haired referee inquired, his gaze fixed on Damien, whose right hand had just regenerated.

The crowd watched in fascination as tissues and muscles intertwined, knitting together until the flesh completely enveloped his Right hand.

“Yes, I will continue!” Damien declared, a smile on his face as he flexed his right hand, demonstrating to the referee his readiness to resume the fight.

“Alright, if you say so,” the referee conceded.

He then turned toward the Holy Grail Academy stands, as the referee’s eyes met theirs, Gabriel shifted his gaze to Julian, who was looking down at the ground.

“You don’t need my permission, if you’re eager to fight, go ahead, Michael only warned against letting you face the lady, And hey, if you do end up losing, don’t do it disgracefully”

“ I don’t want any more of my team members needing critical healing at this stage of the competition,” Julian, the captain of the Holy Grail Academy, chided Gabriel.

Gabriel then glanced at Cassandra, who had returned to her seat, arms crossed, while a healer from the reserve team attending to her, casting spells to expedite the healing of her internal injuries.

“Why phrase it like that?

It’s almost as if you’re expecting me to lose , well, I’m certain Michael couldn’t have foreseen that I’d be up against the brother of the one who put him in his current predicament,” Gabriel retorted as he made his way to the battle ring.

He summoned a massive shield from his space ring, readying himself for the confrontation ahead.

As Gabriel Lightbringer finally stepped onto the battle ring, the referee announced his entry,

“And the next fighter representing the Holy Grail Academy, Gabriel Lightbringer!

A Mid Tier 5 Mage.”

Gabriel approached the stage, casting a cautious stare at Damien.

“Begin!” This time, the referee wasted no time initiating the match, and Gabriel swiftly dashed towards Damien the moment the match started.

The entire crowd of spectators was caught off guard as they witnessed a blur of white light moving towards Damien.

The mages in the low-tier realm struggled to keep up with Gabriel’s incredible speed using their own eyes.

As they had to rely on the screen displaying the battle above, watching in slow motion before they could truly appreciate the swift movements.

Although Damien was taken by surprise by Gabriel’s speed, he remained alert.

With a swipe of his hand using the remaining blood floating above him, he erected a blood veil for protection.

And the moment Gabriel crashed into the veil, it quivered with intensity.

“Arrrgh!” Gabriel didn’t relent after his shield bash against the blood veil, he swiftly strapped his shield behind his back, his fists shining with blinding light.

With relentless determination, he smashed and kicked at the blood veil that Damien was hiding behind.

Gabriel was aware that his actions would deplete his mana faster, but in that moment, he acted without hesitation, solely focused on eliminating Damien and paying no mind to the consequences that might follow.

“This is exactly what Michael didn’t want – this idiot fighting next after him, he never considers the bigger picture,” Julian complained, shaking his head in frustration.

Julian’s complaint, however, only caused Marcus, who was seated close by, to burst into laughter.

“If someone else had said that, it might have been less amusing.

But it shouldn’t be coming from you, someone who always disregards the bigger picture as long as it benefits you,” Marcus remarked, causing Julian to avert his gaze and avoid any further interaction with him.

Meanwhile, Marcus continued to avidly watch the ongoing match on the battlefield.

—

Crack!

The sturdy blood veil, after enduring several rounds of relentless smashing from Gabriel, showed signs of breaking down.

However, before it could completely collapse, it transformed back into its liquid form and plummeted down, leaving Gabriel in a state of disbelief.

His right fist remained raised high, frozen in a striking position, as confusion clouded his thoughts, Damien took the initiative to speak.

“Surrender now!” Damien declared.

The words nearly made Gabriel’s head explode.

He had been the only one relentlessly pursuing and attacking Damien since the beginning of the battle.

So he couldn’t comprehend where Damien’s sudden confidence was coming from, nor did he understand why Damien would ask him to surrender.

“In your dreams,” Gabriel retorted, conjuring two short axes made with light element, as he advanced towards Damien.

However, as he took his third step, something caught his peripheral vision, prompting him to attempt a retreat.

Yet, it was too late his back collided with a rebounding wall, leaving him trapped.

When he turned around, he realized there was a glowing red light blocking his way, lowering his gaze, he discovered he had been ensnared within a blood array.

Gabriel was utterly bewildered, unaware of when Damien had cast the Blood array.

He had relentlessly attacked Damien, leaving him no opportunity to set up such a detailed array in such a short amount of time.

This only meant that the array was already in place before their confrontation.

“Are you ready to surrender now, or are you still planning to take me out?” Damien questioned Gabriel, as both of them were trapped within the blood array.

Even though the array had only been partially completed before, it now completely encircled them.

And Damien exuded complete confidence that he could defeat Gabriel at this moment.

“When?” Gabriel queried without lifting his head.

“Oh, this array has been slowly constructed while I faced Cassandra, Initially, I intended to use a trapping array against her, but then I realized that her unimaginable strength would easily thwart such a straightforward move, So, I devised another strategy for her,” Damien explained, offering a somewhat incomplete explanation.

“But since I had already shed blood, I couldn’t let it go to waste, so I gradually created the array, knowing that if my gamble paid off, I would be able to defeat my next opponent,” Damien added.

As the realization hit Gabriel, he looked around their surroundings and realized that they were standing in the exact spot where Damien had sacrificed his right hand just to emerge victorious against Cassandra.

On any ordinary day, Gabriel would have refrained from entering such a zone, particularly while facing a Bloodline path mage who could control blood, and have been continuously moving towards one position.

He should have noticed these details earlier, but as his brother had warned, when his emotions were involved, he lost sight of the bigger picture.

[> Mid Tier Array spell – Crimson Blood Prison