He should have been shredded into pieces by this point. There had been hundreds upon hundreds of blades attacking him from every direction, and even his mana reinforcement was clearly no longer enough to protect his body.
Yet somehow, he was still standing.
Worse...he still had that calm expression on his face.
That was what unsettled Evangel the most.
Even after everything, even with blood covering his body and his movements reduced to barely anything, Caius didn't look afraid.
He didn't look desperate.
It was almost as if none of this had truly surprised him.
Evangel clenched his fists.
He didn't have time to dwell on it.
If Caius couldn't move anymore, then this was his chance to finish the fight.
Evangel began gathering mana for one final attack.
The remaining energy within his domain converged toward him, forming a dense concentration of power as he prepared to unleash everything he had left. His breathing grew heavier from exhaustion, but he forced himself to keep gathering more mana.
Caius barely reacted.
In fact, he couldn't.
His body was too battered, his strength nearly exhausted, and even raising his arms had become difficult. He could only stand there and watch as Evangel prepared the attack that would most likely finish him.
Evangel's expression hardened.
It's over.
But just as he was about to release the attack, something unexpected happened.
The countless blades surrounding Caius suddenly began disappearing, dissolving into particles of mana as the darkness that had filled the domain started breaking apart.
The barrier itself followed, cracks spreading through the space before the entire domain finally collapsed.
He had run out of mana.
Or rather, his mana had fallen so low that he no longer had enough left to maintain the domain.
Evangel cursed under his breath, frustrated that he couldn't finish Caius while he still had the advantage of his domain.
He had been certain that the attack would be enough to end the fight, but maintaining thousands of blades and continuously controlling them had consumed far more mana than he had anticipated.
Still, he wasn't worried.
He had seen Caius's condition.
The goblin's entire body was riddled with slashes, blood covering his clothes and dripping steadily onto the ground. His breathing was heavier now, and he could barely keep himself upright, having to use his blade like a makeshift support just to prevent himself from collapsing.
There was no way someone in that condition could continue fighting.
At least, that was what Evangel believed.
He vanished once more.
His body disappeared from sight as he activated his invisibility, moving quickly through the battlefield while keeping his presence concealed.
This last attack must finish things.
He appeared behind Caius, blade already in hand and ready to strike.
But despite the state he was in, Caius suddenly felt a faint sense of danger coming from behind him.
His instincts reacted before his mind could fully process it.
Caius turned slightly, his injured body shifting just enough for him to glance toward the direction where the threat seemed to be coming from, but nothing happened. No blade came flying toward him, no attack followed, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence.
Caius frowned, his instincts still warning him that something was wrong despite the absence of any visible attack.
Then his expression changed.
Evangel appeared directly before him, his invisibility dropping as he committed himself to the attack. His blade drove forward again and again, stabbing into Caius's body without relent, each strike fueled by the frustration and desperation that had been building throughout the battle.
"Die... die... die... just die already!"
Caius staggered backward as blood poured from his wounds, his body barely able to remain upright under the relentless assault.
But he still didn't fall.
That only drove Evangel to attack harder.
He continued stabbing Caius repeatedly, refusing to give him even a moment to recover, until finally, his blade drove upward and buried itself beneath Caius's jaw.
Caius's body went limp.
For a moment, he remained standing only because Evangel's blade was still supporting part of his weight.
Then the weapon was pulled free.
Caius plopped to the ground, his lifeless body hitting the earth as a pool of his own blood slowly spread beneath him.
Evangel stood over him, breathing heavily as he watched the unmoving body.
This time, he was sure.
Caius was dead. He had to be. No one could survive that.
He had stabbed him repeatedly, pierced his body from multiple directions, and even unleashed his domain on him. Whatever tricks Caius had been using before, there was no way they could have allowed him to survive something like this.
At least, that was what Evangel told himself.
He continued staring at the body, waiting for any sign of movement.
There was none.
But then...
Something felt wrong.
Evangel's eyes narrowed.
Caius's body began to distort. Not like a normal corpse moving.
The outline of his body flickered unnaturally, his form warping for brief moments as though the world itself was struggling to render what was lying in front of him.
Evangel's breathing stopped.
"What..."
Evangel stepped backward, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"No. No. No. Not this again."
His heart pounded violently as he looked around, his eyes darting across the battlefield in search of anything that could explain what was happening. He couldn't accept this.
He had already experienced something similar.
He had fought Caius.
He had pushed himself to his limit, exhausted his mana, activated his domain, and endured everything the battle had thrown at him. He had finally managed to land the killing blow.
So how could this be happening again?
Evangel took another step backward.
He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't accept that everything he had done had been a waste.
The thought that the entire fight had been an illusion made his stomach twist. All those attacks, all that blood, the feeling of his blade piercing flesh...
Had none of it been real?
"No..."
His grip tightened around his sword.
"I won't accept this."
He suddenly spun around and swung his blade through the air.
"Show yourself!!"
The shout echoed across the battlefield.
He yelled, but the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed in his ears.
SHIEKK!
Then he felt something solid buried deep within his chest.
A moment later, warmth spread across his body.
Evangel's eyes widened as he looked down.
His chest was soaked in blood, his armor slowly turning red as the liquid spread across its surface. A blade had pierced straight through his chest, the weapon buried deep enough that he could feel its presence inside him with every breath.
Then the pain came.
It hit him all...
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