Lucius didn't have to think too hard and could instantly figure out who was behind the attacks.
In fact, Lucius didn't have to even figure out who it was as not too long after the person in question appeared like a ghost standing on top of a tall tree branch, her snow-white hair flowing through the air.
Diana watched the cruel scene of mass slaughter with no expression on her face but as she saw something it was impossible for her to remain calm.
Diana was simply left speechless
'Who...what was this!'
In front of her was what could only be described as a monster!
Flickering scales composed of crimson lightning, a giant pair of wings and a long, swaying tail.
This didn't even begin to describe the erratic and maddening aura that radiates from the being.
It was only after getting a closer look with her hawk-like eyes that she made out the man within the monster, but this didn't lessen her shock in any way
'No way... Is... is that Lucius?!'
The truth was in front of her eyes but it was still difficult for Diana to accept it as the aura around him was too unsettling. She even subconsciously began to raise her bow in defence
Lucius had also been watching Diana but when he saw her slowly lift her bow his face instantly collapsed
The wings on his back flapped causing Lucius's body to flicker forward at unimaginable speeds
Due to her shock and awe, Daina was still a bit slow to react, only being stunned for a brief second, but with the speeds Lucius was moving at, a second was all he needed!
His giant monstrous physique landed in front of Diana as his draconic bore down on her like a demonic dragon descending from the skies
The red rage burning in Lucius's eyes didn't hold back as sparks erupted from them crackling over his body
.The mad aura around Lucius was overbearing. It was like standing at the edge of a massive bonfire, the terrifying aura would sear your skin!
If Diana was any ordinary person she may have just collapsed from the aura alone but Diana was anything but ordinary. The blood of a great hero flowed in her veins, so Diana just let off a cold snort.
The bow in her hand began to buzz and shake as a white and saintly glow started to emote from the weapon in her hand.
In just an instant the overbearing aura of Lucius faded away like a patch of melting snow.
She stood confidently in the face of Lucius's aura, the pride and power in being the descendant of one of the great heroes not letting her take even the slightest step back.
Lucius was perfectly matched!
But even if Diana had easily resisted Lucius's aura, Lucius was still the one with the last laugh.
Seeing Diana standing in front of him, Lucius looked down on her , sneered and just turned away.
He wasn't there to Fight Diana after all.
He had just been sick and tired of Diana targeting him the entire day he had been able to bear with it til now but raising a bow at him was too much.
This was not a fight but a display of power, a threat even.
It was to show that, he, Lucius Vexx could still be a threat to even a descendant of heroes.
Diana knew what Lucius was trying to do but what made her even more annoyed was that it had worked!
She was an archer after all.
Any other hero may have snorted at Lucius's provocation but the same couldn't be said about her.
At range, she was confident in annihilating Lucius but up close she was only stronger than average and it would still take much more than that to take down the monster in front of her.
Diana could only grit her teeth and stamp her feet in hatred as she watched Lucius fly over to Nina.
The second Lucius landed near Nina he quickly put away his berserk aura and retreated his transformation.
But even with this, he could still see that Nina was still shaking.
Lucius didn't say much and hugged her body tightly.
Sure a little bit of the reason for her shaking was the feat she felt in front of the endless amount of monsters, but if one went past the obvious it was much deeper than that.
Nina was an extremely astute individual
She knew just how much of a burden she was. She had stood there as useless as could be
For someone as kind hearted as Nina it nearly broke her heart to do that to anyone much less Lucius, her first true friend in life!
"Lucius, it's really like my t teachers said. I'm useless. You should have just left me to die alone. now look at you. You're covered in blood and terrifying wounds and yet I did nothing but make your situation worse."
Lucius only realised now that he was covered in blood.
The wounds had long since started scanning over
Barbarians were a group of lunatics who fought shirtless, wounds like that were as common to a barbarian as simply breathing.nOVe-lb)1n
Under such circumstances, the scabbing and recovery ability of a barbarian could be deemed supernatural adding the blood of the high king of barbarians and a scientific dragon into the mix only made things more magical.
The wounds were already recovering, and even if they weren't, Lucius wouldn't care.
"Nina, you better get these ridiculous thoughts out of your head right now."
"Huh?"
Lucius's stern and powerful voice was so unexpected, that Nina didn't even know what to say.
"If someone doesn't know how to use your talent, how is it your fault? All the words of the people before you are nonsense spouted by fools."
"But Lucius, my magic tutor said this and even the magic tower said..."
"The magic tower doesn't know shit!"
This time, Nina's jaw dropped to the ground.
The magic tower could be said to be the heart of the academic world in today's era.
The place was filled with nothing short of the greatest minds of today and yet Lucius had slandered them, And the craziest part of it all was that Lucius didn't appear to be joking!
"Nina, listen to me, Your talent isn't in direct combat and it will never be.
No, your talent It's something that surpasses that.
The ability of creation and invention isn't simply a personal talent, no, it's universal.
You can create something that surpasses imagination that can revolutionise not just magic, but the entire world as a whole!"
Hearing Lucius thunderous and shocking words, Nina was left in awe as she opened up her now sparkling eyes
"R-really, you think I can do something like that?"
Lucius just smirked
"I don't think Nina, I know."
The confidence struck Nina speechless, rattling around in her head like a ping-pong ball
'Th..that's right. If Lucius believes in me
Then maybe I can do this.. he's never been wrong about anything so far...'
The thought of her one true friend having almost blind faith in her was something extremely alien for Nina.
She has never experienced something like this before having someone actually bribe in and trust her so it naturally made her want to get up and try her best.
But even more than that, the words of Lucius had rekindled something she thought long lost hidden deep inside her.
Ambition.
The orphan girl who had magically discovered two golden talents
The girl who thought she could rise up to become an amazing heroic person of the next generation.
The ambitious girl who had been crushed by the years of sneering and brutal disparagement from the members of Magic Tower was now reborn again thanks to Lucius's encouraging words and now she wanted to live up to his aspirations!
....
Lucius's talk with Nina was very effective, almost instantly eliminating her sadness and depression allowing them to begin their journey back rather quickly
The journey back was much calmer.
The Stunt Lucius pulled didn't affect his result and scoring in any way, in fact when he took into account that Lucius had to fight and defeat, the Grey wolf King
In that regard, Diana's character was commendable. To not let personal emotions affect her evaluations, she was a better person than Lucius for sure.
Lucius was currently walking through the hallway of the magic department and taking some of the equipment to the storage room, one of his last tasks before he could leave