Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Azrael frowned at the sight of Alex taking a one sided beating.

Alex was a Level 15 Class Warrior, while Harris was Level 17.

The difference between the two wasn't significant, and Azrael had believed that even if Alex couldn't defeat Harris, he would at least be able to injure him and consume most of his energy.

At that point, Azrael would finish off the exhausted Harris, completing his trial.

"That inky black aura around him is the problem..." Azrael muttered with narrowed eyes as he stared at the swirling darkness around Harris.

'Is this what they mean by borrowing the power of the Enders?'

He watched as Alex's hand was struck by Harris's earth hammer, sending him rolling across the ground as he coughed out blood. If he hadn't protected himself with his aura at the last moment, he would have definitely lost his arm.

"I can't let this go on any longer..." Azrael turned his head toward the distant black magic tower and took a deep breath.

'Considering both of them are fighting without holding back, Claudia, as a Tower Master will definitely come to investigate.'

Azrael calculated everything in his mind and estimated that Claudia would arrive within ten minutes at most if nothing goes wrong.

Once she joined forces with Alex, it wouldn't be impossible for the two of them to seriously injure—or even kill Harris.

'I need to make sure this guy doesn't die before that woman gets here. Otherwise, once he is dead, even if I join forces with Claudia, it'll be impossible for us to kill Harris.'

Azrael watched the fight for a few more seconds, and the more he observed, the more irritated he became.

'This guy has completely lost his mind,' Azrael cursed inwardly as he saw Alex get hit again—an attack he could have easily avoided if he had just shifted his body slightly.

Without wasting any more time, Azrael burst out from his hiding spot and dashed toward the two fighters.

As he closed the distance, he could feel the oppressive pressure radiating from Alex and Harris bearing down on him.

But with his current stat points, as long as he didn't clash with a Class Warrior head-on, he could withstand the pressure without much trouble.

As he drew nearer, Azrael noticed that Harris was not in the right state of mind. He seemed to be moving purely on instinct, swinging his hammer at Alex without pause. His eyes had almost turned completely inky black.

'Is this the side effect of using the power of that inky black aura...?' Azrael thought as Harris resembles a monster more than a human now— fighting based solely on instinct.

Azrael processed everything in a matter of seconds and was soon only a hundred meters away from the battle.

From that distance, he could feel the shockwaves generated by their clashes.

"Tower Master, Alex!" Azrael suddenly shouted, drawing Alex's attention. "This bastard Harris is a Vessel of Corruption! He is using the power of the Enders and has lost his mind! Just hold on a few more minutes and avoid a direct clash! You can counterattack once he makes a mistake!"

Alex was stunned by the unexpected call. However, upon hearing Azrael's words, a shocked expression appeared on his face.

Although he had sensed something off about the eerie aura surrounding Harris, his muddled mind couldn't identify what it was.

Moreover, Vessels of Corruption were mere legends in modern times, having not appeared in the world for thousands of years. The thought that Harris might be one of them had never crossed his mind.

But after hearing Azrael's warning, he finally understood why Harris's aura felt so unnatural and why his strength had increased so dramatically.

"You filthy bastard! So you sold yourself to those monsters!" Alex roared in fury and slashed his sword at Harris. "There is no way Claudia would ever side with scum like you—you must have forced her!"

Harris didn't respond Alex's words and blocked his sword with his hammer.

As he blocked, he was pushed back several meters due to the powerful force. Seizing the opportunity, Alex also backed away.

Even after Azrael exposed Harris's identity, the latter didn't even glance in his direction. He continued attacking Alex with a crazed expression, as though Azrael didn't exist.

With Azrael's warning fresh in his mind, Alex began avoiding direct confrontations with Harris and focused on defense, waiting for the right moment to strike.

However, despite his efforts to avoid head-on combat—and despite Harris seemingly losing his mind and attacking purely on instinct—Alex couldn't avoid injury.

Harris's current power was close to that of a Level 22 Class Warrior, and the inky black aura surrounding him was growing thicker by the second, enhancing his strength even more.

Though his sanity seemed to deteriorate further with the aura's growth, it didn't change the fact that Harris was now far stronger than Alex and each of his attacks carried lethal force.

From a distance, Azrael attacked using the Fallen Star to support Alex. However, the sword beam only managed to slice away a small portion of the inky black aura around Harris and failed to cause any real damage as the gap between their power levels was just too vast.

Even though Azrael already knew how massive the difference between them was—especially since he hadn't yet activated his Power of Wind—he still felt a deep irritation upon seeing his attack fail to even break through Harris's aura.

'Damn it...' Azrael cursed inwardly as Harris completely ignored him, unfazed by his efforts.

Meanwhile, though Alex had managed to make Harris bleed with a few strikes, his own condition had worsened drastically.

The earth hammer in Harris's hand had just smashed into Alex's left shoulder, dislocating it completely and rendering the arm useless.

'It's only been three minutes, and this guy is already on the verge of death...' Azrael narrowed his eyes.

Even if Claudia had started moving the moment the fight began, it would still take her some time to arrive, as the distance between the Magic Tower and the Old Moon Market was considerable.

'Is there really nothing I can do?' Azrael's mind raced, trying to devise a solution.

Suddenly, he remembered something Ashara had told him during their last training session and a flash of cold light gleamed in his eyes.

'I need to... No. I will do it.'

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