Chapter 436: Can’t win with brute force.
Once the signal for the match to start was given, the rank 3 of the capital wasted no time firing an ice arrow that left a large frosty path in the air.
“Holy cow!” Castiel screamed as he used a flameburst to get out of the way just in the nick of time.
“What the fuck?” Castiel didn’t have the time to complain because not only was the ice arrow coming back to him, but the rank 3 had also fired another arrow.
With the arrow changing direction, Castiel guessed the bow’s ability. So he decided it was time to act.
Dark bringer!
Instantly, Castiel vanished, causing the eyes on the bow to dart all around the battlefield in search of their target.
With both ice arrows losing their target they slammed into each other causing a miniature explosion.
.....
BOOM!
Seeing that even the eyes on the bow couldn’t track Castiel, the rank 3 began continuously firing wind blades at random locations.
“There you are!” The rank 3 grinned as he saw explosive fire arcs countering wind blades at the left side of the battlefield.
Without wasting a second, he stretched the string of the bow and fired a few shots while also casting multiple wind blades in that direction.
‘Does he think I am that stupid to reveal my location?’ Castiel thought as he released 2 large fire arcs from Typhlosion at the normal wind blades at the side.
Just when the ice arrows were about to hit the spot he was in, Castiel sunk into the ground and rose from the shadow cast by one of the large flame arcs.
“...” The grin on the rank 3’s face turned upside down when he saw that the ice arrows passed through the area without hitting anything.
It was then that he realized the true purpose of the large flame arcs, but that was when over 6 flame arcs were coming for him.
“Shit!”
The rank 3 cursed because the fire arcs originated from a closer position than before.
This was bad not only because he was a ranged fighter and close-quarters combat was his weakness, but because unlike Blake who had lightning reinforcement, he didn’t have the mobility to escape the spells of the darkness element.
Wind Dome!
To make sure that the distance between them would no longer reduce, he cast wind dome which was a large dome of wind that covered a radius of 5 meters.
The wind dome had a powerful suction force that prevented anyone that stepped in from escaping while hundreds of wind blades were fired to all parts of the dome from the center.
The only safe place was the center of the dome where the rank 3 stood, but that was also where the wind blades were coming out from, leaving the wind dome with no blind spots.
The downside of the wind dome was that not only did it drain a lot of mana, but it was stationary, meaning the caster couldn’t move out of the safe spot without deactivating the spell.
‘That was the plan all along.’ Castiel grinned as he activated night mist.
With the activation of the wind dome, the power behind each shot, and the bow’s ability to convert water to ice, it was clear to Castiel that the rank 3’s mana was being heavily drained.
So this was the best time to use night mist especially since he was forced to remain stationary in the wind dome.
‘Fuck me sideways!’ The rank 3 cursed as he could only stand and watch as night mist make its way into the wind dome.
‘What do I do now?’ The rank 3 began raking his head for a solution that would bring him out of this tight spot.
‘I still can’t see him, the wind element is useless against this mist, and I can’t leave because activating the wind dome costs more than maintaining it. So even if I can make it out I won’t be able to use it again, leaving me defenseless.’ The rank 3 thought.
Leaving the night mist was the best choice, but he knew the moment he deactivated the wind dome, Castiel would warp to his location and finish him.
‘If you try to leave I will end you, if you don’t either you are completely drained or you succumb to my illusions. Checkmate!’ Castiel thought with a wide grin as he closely watched and waited for the rank 3 next course of action.
‘Fuck my luck for being paired against him.’ The rank 3 cursed as he decided to remain in the same position.
Although the Nystrom family had given him a very powerful weapon, it was useless against the darkness element.
If he had faced anyone else he would have been able to dominate the match since they couldn’t dodge the attack or continuously block so many powerful shots.
(AN: For those thinking why wasn’t he given something to counter the darkness element? You should remember that both the element and artifacts as well as the counter of the element are rare.)
It didn’t take long for the rank 3 to succumb to the illusions of the night mist and for his mana to be completely drained.
It was only then that Castiel went in and finished him up by stabbing him with 5 of his darkness tendrils.
“Winner Castiel!” The host announced the outcome of the match causing the crowd to cheer at the power and amazing performance of Castiel.
“GG.” Castiel smiled as he walked out of the battlefield.
...
‘Because of the rarity of the space and darkness element, a lot of people don’t understand them. The space and darkness elements are not straightforward, so they can’t be defeated by just using brute force.’ Blake thought with an impressed expression after watching Castiel’s fight.
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