Chapter 253 Victory

"W-wait! Calm down! I'm just doing this to get some points… Don't take it personally." Mursel said but this just infuriated Magnus even more.

Apparently, Magnus only realized that he was facing the rumored Phantom Thief after his mask was stolen in his moment of distraction.

'What a blunder… My Master will scold me for this carelessness…' Magnus thought as he gritted his teeth in anger.

He did not underestimate Mursel when he challenged him. After all, someone already used a Mythical Beast's Blood just to try and eliminate him.

It means that anyone who dared to challenge him would certainly have an ace up in their sleeves. However, he did not expect that Mursel had no signs of any killing intent or aggressiveness at all. He was too focused on sensing any form of hostility or aggression that he failed to immediately act when assaulted by this thief who only want to take his mask and not harm him at all.

Unlike Vincent, Magnus is completely blind and relies on his senses to fight.

'Whew~'

Magnus took a deep breath as he calmed himself. Mursel might actually be waiting for him to be blinded by anger and make a mistake. So he knows that he needed to calm down at this very moment.

"That was your last chance… It won't happen again." Magnus grimly said as he raised his palm.

Whoosh~

A wave of mana was suddenly released from his hand as this attack headed in Mursel's direction.

PAh!

It happened so quickly! Mursel spat a mouthful of blood from that palm strike. From the audience's point of view, Magnus only hit the air with his palm strike but Mursel suddenly vomited some blood.

"What a vicious technique… This is the real Surging Palm Strike, isn't it?" Mursel asked while wiping the blood off his lips.

He then looked at Magnus as he tried to figure out the young man's weakness. Apparently, the mask is actually an item that disrupts any detection abilities targeted to his body. This is the reason why Mursel wanted to remove this mask in the first place. If it has other effects, he doesn't know.

As he attempted to find Magnus' weakness, Mursel couldn't help but clicked his tongue after realizing that Magnus has such a pretty face even with a terrible personality. Well, this is probably the reason why he was blind. He would just be too perfect if he doesn't have any form of deficiency.

Magnus, on the other hand, did not speak as he struck with his palm again. This time, Mursel was already prepared. Although he could not see the formless mana, he could still feel the invisible force heading his way.

With his Moonlight Treading Steps, he managed to get away from it.

***

"Hmmm?"

As Vincent was watching the battle, he felt the presence of Tara and Rem again. They seem to have gone somewhere and he was curious about their actions.

'Well, I can just ask them later on.' Vincent thought as he felt another gaze directed at him. This time, however, he can clearly feel the hostility from it.

This confused him for a bit especially after learning where it was coming from.

'It's from that high platform… That place is only for the Purple Emblem members, right?' Vincent recalled as he realized that he probably offended a few high-ranking members of the Black Tower.

'No, is it related to Tara and Rem?' He had a sudden premonition as the timing was just too coincidental.

Vincent shook his head. He can't be bothered with it this time. He still hasn't completed his challenges yet.

'That's right. Let's focus on this competition first.'

With that in mind, Vincent familiarized himself with Magnus' mana fluctuations as he fought against Mursel using a completely different tactic compared to when he fought against Necdet.

Previously, Magnus showed his Fusion Art called Pulsating Earth Bullets and his incredible defense after catching the mythical beast projection with a single hand. Vincent had an impression that Magnus is someone who is immovable like a fortress and has a wide range of arsenal thanks to his mastery of Fusion Arts.

However, this time, Magnus seems to be showing off his skills with Tier 2 Mana Arts instead.

'Oh? Mursel is no longer getting hit?' Vincent realized something after sensing that the thief's presence started getting weaker and weaker.

Well, he wouldn't be called the Phantom Thief if this is really everything that he had.

'I wonder what kind of technique is that? Is it similar to the hooded shawl that I enhanced or is that a Mana Art?'

Vincent pondered as he knows that aside from Mursel's movement technique, this stealth ability is very useful. He may have used this as a thief before but during combat, this can be a very important technique to launch an ambush…

Boom~

As expected, after Mursel's presence got incredibly weak, it means that he already completed his preparations. Suddenly, he threw out a smoke bomb covering the whole stage with a cloud of purple smoke.

Obviously, this isn't meant to block Magnus' vision, it is to further enhance Mursel's stealth form!

Perhaps, if Vincent doesn't have the item sense ability, he wouldn't be able to trace his movement at all!

It is such an incredible technique! He truly deserves the title of the Phantom Thief!

"You're really trying to hide from a blind man?!" Magnus taunted as he didn't falter even after his Mana Sense was obstructed by the cloud of purple smoke.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, three long needles were thrown by Mursel!

Clank! Clank! Clank!

They were blocked by Magnus' Mana Shield… He didn't seem surprised by the attack as he even created a Mana Bullet! It is smaller compared to what Elena could make. However, everyone can feel that the power inside of this bullet is several times stronger than hers!

Bam!

The Mana Bullet was shot as it suddenly hit something within the cloud of smoke!

"H-how?" Mursel couldn't believe that he was hit by a single bullet! He was confident about his stealth ability partnered with the cloud of disguising smoke. Even Grand Magus would have a hard time finding him!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was followed by three more bullets and Mursel could only dodge one of them as the two squarely hit his legs making him unable to use his movement technique…

At this point, Magnus was assured of his victory so he smiled and answered Mursel.

"You should've returned my mask…"