On the surface…
The fight between Drakas and General Genevieve had reached a point of no return. Drakas, realizing that he couldn't win against her because of the difference in strength, immediately unleashed a counterattack by sacrificing one of his minions.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion reverberated across the sky. General Genevieve was blasted by the force of the explosion, causing her to retreat to a safe distance. Fortunately, she sensed the threat ahead of time and managed to put up a barrier to negate the impact. Otherwise, even if she didn't die from the full brunt of the attack, she wouldn't have been unscathed either.
Drakas seized the opportunity to chant his spell swiftly and clapped his hands together as if praying, intending to activate the ritual in the hidden chamber.
—The trump card that he had saved up for emergencies like this.
Black fog surged, covering his entire body. Whispers of hell filled the void with countless voices overlapping to create a cacophony of dread that would send a chill down those with weak mental fortitude.
"Genevieve, playtime is over. You'll soon be meeting the king of hell."
From the cocoon of the black fog, Drakas confidently declared as if he had already achieved victory. However, after waiting for a long time, he felt nothing. He couldn't feel any connection to the ritual he meticulously set up in advance.
"Why isn't it responding?"
Drakas was puzzled that his meticulously crafted ritual diagram failed at such a critical moment, but he didn't lose hope right away. With an unrelenting resolve, he sensed the core of the ritual and tried to activate the ritual diagram again, but he still received no response.
"What's going on?"
Drakas began to panic as a terrifying thought crept into his mind, but he dismissed it right away. Instead, he turned to the cabin that led to the hidden chamber and, with a ball of compressed dark energy, he blasted the thatched cottage to pieces, revealing a shocking revelation.
The underground stairway was opened, as if someone had activated the mechanism and entered with intention. Seeing this, Drakas trembled in anger, his teeth gnashing as he pieced together what had happened.
—His ritual had been destroyed in advance by his opponent.
Drakas coldly laughed as he addressed his archenemy with incoherent words that clearly demonstrated his seething anger.
"Genevieve, you despicable, conniving wench! How dare you ruin my plans! How dare you! How dare you!"
Realizing that something had gone wrong with her opponent's schemes, General Genevieve scoffed and couldn't help but mock him.
"When you mentioned you had laid traps everywhere in this Dark Ruin, was this what you meant? How pathetic, Dark Summoner Drakas. For the most ruthless and cunning dark thaumaturgist to dare call me a conniver is the most ironic statement. Do I look like I have the time to play games with you?"
Drakas narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized General Genevieve's disdainful expression.
Based on her reaction, Drakas could easily deduce that the one who sabotaged his ritual was most likely not her. But who could have done it? He regretted not setting up traps when he first created the hidden chamber. The main reason was to make any intruder neglect the inconspicuous cabin because it did not have any restrictions, but that seemed to have backfired.
Wait a minute, is the person who sabotaged my ritual still around? What if they are from a different force or one of the assassins that my clan sent after me? What if they join forces with Genevieve?
Thinking of this, Drakas felt that his only choice was to flee as soon as possible. He couldn't take on Genevieve by himself, let alone fight her and another intruder.
Naturally, General Genevieve had been watching his strange behavior and immediately caught on to his intention to flee.
"Don't even think about it!"
She pounced on him, not giving him any chance to flee.
BOOM!
Once again, the two were locked into a deadly battle. The sky trembled, and the ground shook from the residual force. Drakas, having lost his trump card, resorted to using his minions as explosives to blast General Genevieve, hoping to wear her down before finding a chance to escape.
However, his efforts were in vain. The residential buildings below collapsed one after another, including the one that the original Elias resided in. Fire illuminated the gloomy sky, sword lights flickering like fireflies.
Drakas's roar and curses could be heard from above, watching his minions get destroyed but failing to harm his opponent. He was overwhelmed and was at a disadvantage due to the difference in power.
Damn it! Damn it! Is this the difference between a 5th Stratum Enlightened Thaumaturgist and a 9th Stratum Enlightened Thaumaturgist? We're both Enlightened Thaumaturgists, yet why is she dominating me and my minions all by herself? How is that even possible?!
Drakas couldn't believe that even with his careful preparation, he was still unable to gain the upper hand in this confrontation. Upon second thought, it wasn't his fault. If his trump card hadn't been tampered with by the unknown intruder, he would have easily secured victory against Genevieve.
"Genevieve, do you really dare to kill me? Are you not afraid of killing the subordinate of the Devil Lord? If I die, aside from the Devil Lord, the Enigma Race would also see you as a threat and would do everything in their power to wipe you and the Manera Kingdom out!"
Drakas resorted to threats, realizing that he was on the verge of losing this battle, but General Genevieve wasn't one to cave in so easily just because of a dying man's last words.
"Doesn't the Devil Lord hate worthless people the most? If a useless person like you dies, would he even bat an eye? Besides, the Enigma Race is the archenemy of my Human Race. Don't think I'll be afraid of them simply because of your words. You and the Devil Lord are also human, but you all chose to align with the Enigma Race against your own kind. If not because of your and the Devil Lord's help, would the Enigma Race have a chance to breathe and become a great enemy of humanity?"
As she spoke, her energy surged as she seemed to be preparing her final attack. Drakas immediately turned around, ready to flee, but he was blocked by a flying bird that emitted a terrifying force no worse than him.
A Blazing Phoenix.
Sensing the power fluctuation from the creature before him, Drakas swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry.
—A Second Stage Beast with power rivaling someone like him.
Where did that wench get hold of a beast like that? Last time I saw her, she never had such a contracted beast.
Under normal circumstances, Drakas could have easily defeated this creature, but in his weakened and battered state, he couldn't contend with the creature before him, let alone elude it. He despaired, realizing that his fate was sealed.
However, it was at this moment that Drakas felt his vision distort, a wave of dizziness assaulting his mind. Strange memories suddenly surged into his mind, catching him off guard.
He clutched his head in pain as he barely summoned the remaining minions he saved within his Soul Cage to block the Blazing Phoenix's advance. He had initially intended for it to be used as a sneak attack against Genevieve, but he couldn't hide it anymore as he seemed to be ambushed by the hidden enemy, who was likely the one responsible for sabotaging his ritual earlier.
With the Blazing Phoenix kept at bay by his strongest minions, Drakas fell from the sky to the ground. The moment he landed, he began screaming in agony, wailing as he thrashed about.
"AHHH—!"
Drakas was reliving the nightmare of his projected self. He kept yelling "spare me" and "let me die" repeatedly as his dark energy turned chaotic, as if he was on the verge of committing suicide through the explosion of his body.
Meanwhile, Genevieve forcefully stopped gathering her power, noticing the changes occurring in Drakas. Although she had no idea what was happening, she couldn't miss this opportunity to end him for good. However, witnessing her contracted beast surrounded and in danger because of Drakas's strongest minions, she decided to apprehend them along with her contracted beast before dealing with him.