The Golem Mage

"It's been quite a while, Damien, how have you been?" Marcus greeted, settling into a horse stance and stretching his arms outward while pushing his right leg forward.

"Don't talk to me as if we're buddies, the last time we met, you tried to kill me, remember? It's time for me to pay you back," Damien retorted, swiping his hand and summoning a pitch-black sword with red cracks.

"If you said that when you were in a better state, maybe I would have believed it, but how do you plan to defeat me with your current mana state? If you want, I can give you a little break," Marcus teased, but Damien chuckled.

"We both know you won't do that, so stop pretending to be nice and come at me, as for mana, you don't have to worry. I may not be at my best, but I managed to draw some blood from your previous teammate."

" Although converting his blood energy to mana will cause me to lose some of it in the process," Damien explained.

"But it's still enough to wipe off that arrogant smile you're desperately trying to hide," Damien added confidently.

"Begin!" shouted the referee, who was levitating in the air, signalling the start of the match.

Without wasting any time, Damien swiftly slashed the sword, sending crescent blood moon arcs toward Marcus.

The crowd watched with intense anticipation, curious to see how Marcus would respond, however, instead of reaching for the sword hanging at his waist, Marcus skilfully deflected each blood slash with the back of his hands, which were coated with light elemental power.

As a deafening explosion followed his expert move.

"Do you think you look cool with an explosion happening behind you?" Damien taunted, his sword transforming into a bow as he began shooting blood arrows infused with Qi.

"Of course I have to look cool, no matter what I do, haven't you heard? I'm known as the handsome knight," Marcus replied with a smirk on his face.

"Show off," Damien muttered under his breath as he swiftly dashed towards Marcus.

He had finished testing him and had no intention of using casual strikes to stroke Marcus's ego.

[> Mid-Tier Spell – Blood Burst <]

Damien cast the spell, swinging his right hand towards Marcus, sending a ball of blood flying towards him.

However, in an instant, Marcus's carefree expression shifted to one of seriousness as he conjured a round light shield to block Damien's attack.

Bang!

The crowd watched as the blood ball exploded before it even reached the shield, leaving them intrigued about Damien's true intentions.

Meanwhile, Marcus cursed under his breath, while others may not have known Damien well, Marcus had clashed with him enough to understand that Damien always had a purpose behind his actions.

Feeling frustrated that he couldn't anticipate Damien's intentions quickly enough, Marcus looked at the light shield before him

A shield now completely covered in blood from the explosion, disrupting his vision and rendering him unable to see Damien.

"Shit" Marcus cursed.

[> Low Bloodline Spell – Blood Mist <]

All Marcus could hear after that was Damien casting Blood Mist in every direction.

Within a matter of three seconds, the entire battle ring was engulfed in a swirling haze of crimson, as Damien successfully covered the area with a thick, obscuring Blood Mist.

"This is not going to stop me, hope you know that!" Marcus declared, but his words were cut short as he heard a swift swoosh sound behind him and he turned back trying to chase where the sound came from but he quickly realized that might be what Damien wanted.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly tried to turn back as he heard another sound, so he attempted to defend himself by extending his right hand to cast another light shield spell.

[> Mid Bloodline Spell – Blood Lance <]

Damien's voice resonated from all directions, disorienting Marcus and concealing his true location.

As a sharp lance formed from concentrated blood soared through the air with tremendous speed, hurtling towards Damien.

[> Mid Tier Spell – Reinforced Light Shield <]

Marcus wasted no time, taking no chances as he cast a new light element shield in heater form to fortify his back.

"Ahhh"

However, a resounding crack followed by Marcus's anguished groan filled the air.

As the blood lance not only pierced through the shield, but it also passed through Marcus's hand before dissipating into the surroundings, adding to the swirling blood mist.

Grimacing through the pain in his injured right hand, Marcus locked eyes with the Blood mist before him.

"If you think your schemes will make me fall like the others, think again, Damien, I too am a schemer, maybe not at Michael's level, but I possess the ability to see through your plans, even if it's a little late."

As Marcus turned around the battle ring, as he cast a healing spell on his hand.

[> Heal <]

Although the spell couldn't regenerate the damaged bones and flesh of his hand, it effectively stopped the bleeding and alleviated the pain temporarily.

This would allow Marcus to refocus on the fight, no longer hindered by his injured right hand.

"I have always despised that attitude of yours, thinking you know me, I'm not the same person you once knew, and be aware that I can easily defeat you," Damien stated firmly as he emerged from the mist, steadily advancing towards Marcus.

However, as Damien took his first step forward, a light sword materialized behind Marcus and swiftly darted towards him with incredible speed with a flick from Marcus's hand, surpassing even the fastest movements of the mages the crowd had witnessed before on the battle ring.

The sword pierced through Damien's shoulder, prompting a smile to spread across Marcus's face.

"Got you now!" he exclaimed confidently.

But Damien's expression remained unperturbed.

"No, you don't, I have you exactly where I want you," he calmly responded.

Suddenly, Damien before him transformed into a pool of blood, losing its human form and splashing onto the ground as if all support had been withdrawn.

"A blood clone," Marcus mused, observing the blood seeping into the ground.

His thoughts were interrupted when the real Damien swiftly emerged from the blood mist, launching a powerful fist directly towards his face, punching him hard.

Marcus staggered backward, spitting out the blood in his mouth, and stared at Damien, who smirked confidently.

"Welcome to my realm, you arrogant narcissist, welcome to the Blood Maze," Damien taunted.

[> Innate Bloodline domain – Blood Maze <]