The people who were watching the projection couldnât see anything inside the barrier because of the black mist that was blocking their vision.
It was a disappointment because they were looking forward to it but they couldnât do anything. They were just watching through the projection so their senses couldnât detect whatâs happening inside the barrier.
Well, if they were personally watching it maybe they could see whatâs inside using their powerful senses. Unfortunately, the projection didnât have powerful senses like them.
It couldnât even copy the sounds of the battle. All they could watch was the live video.
"What do you think will happen, Bargan?" Azrim, the Principal of the Ladro Institute, asked Bargan.
"Souta will defeat them," Bargan replied to him.
"All those B-ranks? Youâre telling me that he could defeat them." Azrim raised his eyebrows at Barganâs words.
"Souta has always been like this. Heâs fighting opponents and his chances of winning are low but you know what happened in the end? He always prevails in the end." Bargan paused for a moment before he added, "He will not win by fighting them head-on so he had to create a situation where he could defeat them and thatâs whatâs happening inside that barrier."
"You really know your student." Azrim smiled as he looked at the projection.
"Yeah, Iâm always observing them so that I could know what style fitted them the most. Just because they are in a mage class doesnât mean they have to become a textbook mage. They have to master a style that fitted them to increase their combat prowess to a higher level." Bargan said to him. What he wanted the most was to help his students increase their power and unlock their hidden potential so that they could become great figures in the future.
"Youâre serious about your job. Is it because of that?" Azrim said as he glanced at Barganâs expression.
Bargan didnât say anything as he simply watched the projection.
...
"Hmm...? That swordsman and shielder are pretty strong." Souta muttered as he saw them handled that [Shadow Bind] that could hold a third evolution monster for a few seconds.
âThey are stronger than you physically. But in terms of spells, you are still stronger than them. Thatâs what makes you special. Youâre B-rank in physical strength and youâre also B-rank at magical strength.â Saya said to him.
"So letâs slowly break them," Souta said as he drunk another mana potion. Casting [Dark Cloud Hunting] and [Shadow Bind] repeatedly drained a quarter of his mana.
âAnd how will you do that?â Saya asked.
"I will break their mind first before I break them physically," Souta replied to her as the corner of his mouth curved upwards while looking at his prey.
...
"We need to move and meet the others." The shielder said to his comrades. The situation they were facing was bad and it will only get worse if they couldnât meet with Frankie and the rest.
"Donât worry about them, leader. Frankie is the strongest person in our group so we should be concerned for our well-being." The rogue said to shielder.
"Yeah, you are right. If our enemies are going to attack then it will be our group. Iâm sure this is the reason why our enemies separated us from them." The shielder nodded.
Suddenly, several black tentacles emerged from the ground once again.
"Donât panic! We can handle it! We got caught off guard before but now weâre ready to face it!" The shielder shouted as he smashed his shield on the black tentacles.
The rogue swiftly moved his body as he slashed the tentacles using the sharp dagger in his hand.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
After one minute, the relentless attack of the black tentacles stopped. They were prepared so no one got caught in their group. The same attack wonât work on them again.
Although they managed to protect the C-ranks, they still havenât solved the problem.
What could they do in this kind of environment?
They couldnât see anything with black mist around them. If the rogue was two meters away from the shielder then he wouldnât be able to see him because of how thick the black mist around them.
Not just them, Frankieâs group was also attacked by black tentacles that emerged from the group. Just like the shielderâs group, there are no casualties to them this time.
"Everyoneâs fine," Ramie said to them.
"Iâm glad." Frankie sighed in relief when he heard it. He doesnât want to repeat what happened before. Thatâs why he will do his best to protect his comrades.
"Itâs here again. The voices." The mage said while glancing around with a wary expression.
The crying and grieving voices in the surrounding area give them chills. It feels cold and ominous at the same time. Their instinct that they honed in their adventures was telling them that something dreadful will happen.
Suddenly, the voices changed. Malice and hatred were overflowing and everyone could feel it. They could feel the extreme pain in the voices around them.
It feels like countless pairs of eyes were looking at them. The weak-willed person wouldnât be able to handle it.
"Damn! Get out of my mind!"
The mage turned his head and saw his comrades holding his head. It seems that they couldnât take whatâs happening at this moment.
"Hey, take a hold of yourself. Iâll get you out of this place." Frankie said as he grabbed the shoulder of his comrades.
Their morale plummeted without them noticing it.
Looking into the darkness around them, they felt like they were slowly sinking into the endless abyss which they couldnât escape no matter what happens. They felt that it was seeping into their pores.
Lalala~ Lala~ Lalala~
Everyone was shaken as the voice of a girl sounded in the area around them.
"Whoâs there?! Show yourself you coward!!" Frankie shouted angrily when he heard a voice of a girl.
"This is... A strong person is watching us in the darkness..." The mage muttered with wide eyes.
Fluctuations of high energy appeared in front of them. It was followed by a huge red slash heading in their direction.
"DODGE!!"
Frankie and the rest of the B-rank jumped away to avoid the powerful crimson color slash.
"Argh!!"
Frankie and the rest looked behind and saw some of the C-rank members didnât manage to avoid it. They saw the arms and legs of their comrades on the ground, spurting blood.
"My arms!!"
"H-Help me! My legs are gone!!"
The C-ranks members screamed as they looked at their body parts on the ground.
"Damn! If itâs not for this black mist then I would be able to detect the attack!" The mage cursed as he punched the ground in frustration. He never felt useless as a mage before.
The others were about to help their comrades when several black tentacles emerged from the ground once again.
"Damn!!" Frankie shouted as he charged towards the black tentacles to cut it down. He wanted to destroy it as soon as possible and helped his injured comrades.
"Wait! Frankie! Donât go!" The mage tried to stop him. He gritted his teeth and lifted the wand in his hand.
[Lightning Blast]!!
A ball of lightning formed above him and it began to strike everything around them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several small explosions occurred around them. Since he couldnât sense their opponents, he could only strike everything so that their opponents wouldnât have a chance to get close to them.
"Hurry up and use heal potions to injured people." He said to his comrades in a loud voice. Then, he realized something.
"So thatâs how it is..."
He looked around him with wide eyes. The sounds of the explosion werenât that loud. It was as if something was interfering with the sound in the air.
"The mana... How could I forget it..."
So this was the reason why their leader hasnât heard them even though they were creating a commotion here.
"Tsk! I finally understand the trick behind this. I know how to counter it." The mage said as a smile formed on his face.
"You really are our great mage!" Ramie smiled while giving potions to their injured comrades.
The healer glanced at the mage and saw something terrifying.
"Iâll counter..." The mage said as he gathered a large amount of mana in his wand. Suddenly, he heard someoneâs voice in his left ear.
"Please... Be... Quiet... Donât... Give... Them... Hope..."
Swoosh!
The mage felt chills as he turned around but his hand which was holding the wand flew in the mid-air.
He was caught off guard. He was basking in pride as he understood the trick of his opponent but he didnât expect this to happen.
"Huh?"
He looked at his hand in the mid-air with a confused expression. His brain hasnât registered that his arms were gone.
When he comes to his senses, he screamed loudly as he felt the extreme pain. The lightning above him disappeared as he fell on his knees.
"ARGGGHHH!!"
The healer and Ramie stared blankly at the mage. They only saw a figure clad in black energy disappeared into thin air. The energy of that figure was so dark.
At the same time, they heard some singing.
"Oh, donât give up your hope~ you will lose yourself~"
The creepy voice made them sunk towards the abyss.