Chapter 92: The Battle of the Archmages

"Hot stuff." I jokingly said. The area around us was just waves of hellfire.

Grytua simply stood there without saying anything. "Area Cast, Ground Zero."

"What...? NO WAY! That can only be activated if there's 3 or more casters with the same skill!" He restricted flight. I can't cast Dispel. Dispel works when I fully understand the entirety of the spell. I can't even understand how he casted that without anyone with him. "Fireball!"

"Dispel." The spell I casted was instantly cancelled. "Are you insulting me? The very basic fire spell?"

"Just wanted to try." I said but I was shaking from the inside. He dispelled that instantly. I couldn't even do that even if it was a basic spell.

"Dragon Lightning." Two shaped like dragons being shaped and imaged by the lightning suddenly appeared behind his back.

"Dragon Lightning!" I responded with the same spell.

We both raised our hands as if we were targeting each other. The two dragons behind our backs collided sending out a massive shockwave and cancelling each other.

"Impressive. We have the same firepower."

Yeah no. Just by seeing how he easily casted that, he's still holding back. I need to catch him off-guard. I planted my hand on the ground. "Rock Pillar!"

"Hmm?" He looked below him and saw the ground rumble he jumped in the air trying to avoid the pillar. But I used Dual Casting.

"Phoenix Flame!" A phoenix like appearance being illustrated by the fire I casted found its way to Grytua.

"Five-Layer Barrier!" Grytua instantly casted deflecting the pursuit of my Phoenix Flame. He then tumbled onto the ground. "HOW!?" He seemed agitated.

"What?"

"How can you Dual Cast!? That spell was last seen at the Great War that happened hundreds of years ago! HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT?!"

Yeah, I know. I'm just as curious as him. I got this skill from Zieglind. I don't know why he had this skill despite him being a melee combatant. He doesn't even use any magic other than physical enhancement. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just casted two different spells at different times." I tried to act dumb.

"Is that so. THEN YOU'LL JUST BE FORCED TO SHOW IT TO ME!" Grytua then clapped his hands then as he separated them, lightning was traveling in both of his hands. "Lightning Maelstrom!"

"Water Manipulation, Cellular Change!" A tall water wall was formed and I splashed it onto Grytua.

"AGH!" He writhed in pain as he was being electrocuted by his own skill. He then dispelled his own skill.

"I changed the cellular form of water to be more dangerous and more conductive."

"I'm done playing games!" He opened his book and looked for a certain spell. "Trey Hi Da Ma Lu Tyr Pro Ga Za Ba Na! Come to me, Lightning Body!"

"That's..."

"Feast on my appearance!"

"That's just like Zieglind's... without the Cursed Art..."

"Are you making me angry? If so, you're succeeding. I spent years trying to endure the backlash of this power! But now, I'm completely immune to lightning! And this! Without Cursed Art?! You're definitely bluffing!"

"Yeah no... I'm not." Zieglind's skills are way too unorthodox. This demon spent years to obtain this skill but he says that he just appeared in this world.

"YOU'VE DONE WELL TO ANGER ME!" Swoosh! In an instant that his feet went off the ground, he disappeared right as I was looking at him intently. He then left a trail of lightning whenever he ran by. But there's more trouble. He casted spells as he ran around. "Lightning Orbs!"

I know how to dispel that spells since I looked at Zieglind's spell list but I can't get ahead of him! I need to protect myself. "Five-Layer Barrier!" I was guarding myself from his barrage of lightning orbs.

"Dispel!" My five layer barrier was gone without him even attacking it.

"Rock Deformation!" I ruptured the ground to try to limit his movement..

"Wrong." He murmured.

"Huh?!" I looked at the ground and tons of lava erupted nearly burning me off.

"Lightning Whirlpool!" He stopped and waved his hand then water and lightning appeared both under me sucking me both in and electrocuting my body.

"Water Manipulation, Cellular Change!" I changed the water's properties to stop being a conductor. I then jumped up trying to avoid the lightning.

"Gravity Retract!" He's trying to pull me down.

"Dispel!"

He then ran towards me. He was too fast for my reactions. "Thunder Strike!"

"That's- UGAH!" I was blown away a couple of meters. Thunder Strike is a close ranged spell that explodes and electrocutes on contact and the worst part of it all... It silences me for a minute. Meaning I can't cast any spells. Enough for him to kill me!

"Lightning Maelstrom!" He clapped his hands and as he seperated it, lightning appeared. He then rushed at me.

Damn it! I don't have enough time to protect myself!

[Corpse Defiler, requirements met.]

[Debuffs removed.]

[Petrification skill activated.]

Grytua's body is slowly turning into stone. "What's this...? Petrification!? This is a highly leveled skill used by Death Reapers... That staff... Don't tell me..." Grytua had a sudden revelation. "THAT'S THE CORPSE DEFILER!" As soon as he said those words, the stone reached his head petrifying his whole body completely.

I barely won that... No... It's safe to say I lost. I couldn't use any skills. Him running around in that insane speed while being able to cast absurd spells... I definitely lost that. But this staff... What was that skill that the system forcefully activated...?

"AGHHH!"

"What?!"

Grytua slowly broke through the petrification.

"Good thing this skill was still activated. Or I would've been done."

"Lightning Body!?" I have now the chance to dispel it. "Dispel!"

"No you don't!" He broke through the petrification and instantly got away.

"Book of Knowledge, show me what I need!" Grytua then smirked.

"No you don't! Dragon Lightning, attack Grytua!"

"Lightning Body, Enhance!"

"No way..." As soon as my Dragon Lightning got near to Grytua, he absorbed the spell.

"Book of Knowledge, enhance my magic!" A giant circle formed behind his back and slowly passed his body then disappeared. "Dragon Lightning!"

"Dispel!" I tried to but when I took a look inside of the magic, it became even more complicated. It didn't work. "Five-Layer Barrier!"

"Dispel!" In an instant! Again! He dispelled my skill in a matter of milliseconds.

"Damn." I couldn't block the incoming Dragon Lightning.