Hindriad came at Jain so quickly and unexpected that Jain reacted when it almost too late - Hindriad aimed for Jain's vitals this time around , right at Jain's chest region but Jain quickly reacted - raising one of his feet to deliver a powerful kick on Hindriad's arm in order to redirect its trajectory - a crunching sound rang out as Jain's kick connected.

  The kick didn't only redirect Hindriad's attack but also blew him away several metres away from Jain. His arm which received the kick was bent in an usual angle , undoubtedly broken.

  ???????? , ???? ???????????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ??????????.

  However Jain didn't feel guilty about it , he knew if he reacted even a second slower he would have gotten his chest pierced and lost his life at that moment. it was thanks to Jain's instincts that his body was able to react fast enough. However even after narrowly escaping Hindriad's sudden assault , Jain's internal danger alarm was ringing , making his instincts to be heightened somehow - he couldn't help but get the feeling that Hindriad had gotten more dangerous somehow.

  Hindriad's bent arm quickly healed as Jain had expected it to.

  Jain jumped back , creating some distance between Hindriad and himself.

  However Hindriad didn't allow him to enjoy that freedom and quickly closed the gap with astonishing speed , this time aiming to sever Jain's neck , Jain dodged by taking a lunge to the left.

  Hindriad kept on the pursuit , slashing Jain who evaded them each time. Hindriad was obviously using his full speed , but Jain's own speed and perception had risen to the point where it was a stalemate.

  He had heard Hindriad grunt some jumbled up words before the attack and assumed he had returned back to his senses, but that foolish belief immediately disappeared after Hindriad attacked him.

  Jain figured Hindriad had been trying to make Jain drop his guard and after he had partially succeeded , he attacked Jain in that moment.

  ?? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????????? ??????????..

  With the way Hindriad had became , there was simply no salvation for him - Jain was not sure whether to even consider him partially human anymore or just a complete monster.

  Jain heaved a sigh , Hindriad was still relentlessly trying to attack him but so Jain swiftly dodged all his strikes, He hadn't tried to counterattack and was on the defensive for one reason -

  He didn't know how he could defeat Hindriad's regeneration.

  Worst of all , he realized that if he kept on this stalemate , it would be a waste of time and energy quite literally ,and with his instincts alarming him of a danger , he knew he couldn't keep the game of cat and mouse for eternity, eventually he or Hindriad would tire out and the tide of the battle would shift.

  Jain noticed that Hindriad had been attacking him with only slash attacks so far and hadn't even attempted a jab or roundhouse kick.

  ???? ???? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????????? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?????????????? ???? ???????? ???????? ? ???? , ?? ??????'?? ???????? ???????? ????????'?? ????.

  Jain couldn't help but feel like there was something he was overlooking , he quickly took a glance at the biological weapons, still jumping backwards continuously to create some distance.

  Jain noticed a strong purple mist surrounding the claws as he took a closer look - the mist swirled with each slash attack and certainly looked very similar to the purple mist which had surrounded Misha and Barbra after being attacked.

  ???????????? !! ???? ?????? ???????? ???????????? ???? ???????????? ???? ???????? ???????????? !

  That explained why he had been slashing at him repeatedly instead of using other methods of attacking , Jain had cornered him and the monster - Hindriad was using his last resort to attain victory.

  Usually monsters utilized their last resort when they sensed an enemy was dangerous enough to cause harm , of course there was the option of running away , but now that Hindriad had become the Queen's lackey - Jain doubt he would be granted that mercy and would be forced to fight till his dying breath.

  ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????????????????????? ???? ?????? , ??????????????'?? ???????????????? ???? ???? ???? ???????????????????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ? ????????... ???????? ???? ???? ??????'?? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ?????? ???? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???? ?????????? ???? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ??????'?? ?????????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ?????????? ????'?? ???????? ???????? , ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? , ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ?? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ???????????? ???????? - ?????????? , ?????? ????????'?? ?? ?????????? ???? ???????? ???????????? !

  Jain had made his decision , he stopped playing the cat and mouse game now - He would give it his all.

  He stood , waiting for Hindriad to attack again - he already had a plan in mind .

  Hindriad had become so frantic in killing Jain that he didn't care about his own defense , Jain could tell by how he got very close in all his attacks without making the slightest effort to protect himself -

  ?????????????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???? ? ????'?? ???????? ?????? ?? ???????????? ????????-???? ????????.

  Jain clenched his fist , pouring most of his strength and power into them -

  The hunter was about to become the hunted.

  ***

  Baam thuduh !

  Hindriad's eyes opened wide , not out of surprise but out of pain. His consciousness immediately returned after he felt pain ringing through his subconsciousness. Hindriad had lost his consciousness a moment after his body attacked Jain involuntarily.

  limping on the dungeon walls , Hindriad looked up to see Jain staring at him with somewhat cold and murderous eyes as he slowly approached him with a fist he noticed was stained with Hindriad's own blood. Jain completely looked like the personification of Death.

  ?????? ???????????? !!

  Hindriad knew that the monster side to him had probably tried to attack Jain - he even had blurred memories of it somehow ,and in them he could see himself mindlessly aiming for Jain's head with the poisoned claws.

  The boy's right arm had moved for a bit then Hindriad had felt an impactful blow on his chest region , which blew him away like a feather on a windy day. He had hit the dungeon walls with an impact which made the walls look like a paper torn into pieces.

  Hindriad knew then that Jain had attacked him with a speed so fast that it seemed like he only moved slightly , and with strength and power that immediately snuffed him out in one blow.

  ?????????? ???????? ?? ?????????????? !

  His chest had sunk , and his back curved in an impossible bend - he looked identical to a banana. Hindriad saw that there was blood which leaked from the wound , it was a miracle he was still alive and in one piece after such an unexpected monstrous blow.

  Hindriad speculated that he only gained consciousness only because the Queen had released it's control , undoubtedly not seeing any use in a damage and captured pawn like him.

  Just one punch. One punch had caused him that much damage , worst of all it looked like he wouldn't be regenerating anytime soon.

  ???????? ???? ! ???????? ???????????? ?? ?????

  Hindriad's feigned confidence to his own combat skills immediately disappeared , he had gained control over his body after that punch but control now was completely useless as he was reduced to a state where standing was a laborious task , hoping to defend himself in that situation was nothing but a pipe dream.

  All he could do was twitch some fingers , not even his voice made it out of his throat because maybe if he could explain to the boy that he had regained sanity and control over his body , maybe he would let him go.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  For the first time in his life Hindriad felt fear, Jain was a few steps away from executing Hindriad who was no different from a sitting duck.

  As Jain took a step closer , the air around him seemed to swirl like a void -

  Hindriad fell to his back - not having even the strength left to support his weight.

  The personification of death was only a few minutes away from claiming Hindriad's life - Hindriad's heart plunged into a deeper despair than before as he cursed ever coming to the dungeon.

  He had been too greedy for his own good.

  ****

  Vin masterfully weaved multiple fire spells towards his experimental subjects - the swarm of murderous ants.

  Multiple theoretical spells he could put to action overtook his mind.

  These theoretical spells were his normal spells but cast with higher destruction , profession and more mana. With an almost endless amount of mana entering inside his body - his 'theories' were just a breathe away from coming to life.

  " ?????????? ?????????? "

  Vin threw a lance made of flames towards the ants , the lance hit home exploding devastatingly and clearing a diameter of 4 metres. This was an evolved version of the ???????? ???????????? , although it was a minute slower than it due to it's decreased air versatility , it did pack a punch though in a sense that it hit one ant and purged 7 more which were near the first one after the spear exploded , after the fire explosion nothing remained from the ants.

  The spell itself was shaped like a spear ; it was 113cm long with a width of 3cm and could be thrown from either hand , but Vin preferred to use his right hand since it was the more dominant one and he could swiftly throw it using that hand.

  Some murderous ants continued with their planned assault despite their numbers getting reduced.

  ???????????????????? ???????????????? ???????? ???? ???????? , ?????? -

  However, the moment they got 4 metres near Vin , the ones in the frontlines began inflating like balloons up until they finally exploded - their guts spilled on the dungeon walls. Just like a herd of sheep , the ants behind kept advancing and soon they met their fate - inflating and bursting as well , the first swarm that burst looked no different than over burnt chicken then.

  This was the application of the " ???????? ?????????? " spell Vin had improvised in the beginning of the battle , it would be foolish to attack without defense with an assumption that the ants wouldn't find a way to attack somehow.

  This spell was a much more evolved version of ???????? ?????????? , instead of emitting heat from a palm , the spell covered heat all around Vin in layers. The nearer an enemy got to Vin , the more the temperature in the air gradually increased.

  This was area magic - magic which had an effect over a specific space.

  This spell was a bit taxing to his mana since it needed to constantly be maintained , however since Vin had a near limitless supply of mana - it didn't matter.

  The spell was entirely made of 4 layers : the first layer was nearest to Vin , by that it was the hottest - with a 1 metre range of effect heat of 4 500°c , it was only because of Vin's fire resistance clothing and a special ring that he was able to casually take all of that heat without suffering any drawbacks.

  From there on , the layers were minus 1125°C per layer , but still , the heat wasn't something anyone could drive into mindlessly since it used both physical and magical attributes , considering also a temperature of 1125°c alone could melt some metals.

  This spell was Vin's pride as a mage , an anti-attack spell for people who specialized in hand to hand combat

  In that moment , Vin was swarmed with displeasure momentarily.

  ??????. ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? , ?????? ?????????? ????????????'?? ???????? ????????.

  In that moment , Vin made an oath to himself to get stronger by cultivating his mana core.

  ???? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????????????

  " But now , it's time to fry some ants.. "

  Vin smiled with a tint of cruelty at his unfortunate enemies , he already had a nasty spell to use in mind before the final spell which would destroy them in one fell swoop.

  ?????? , ?????? - ???? ????????????'?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???????????? ???? -

  He prepared his mind over the relapse the spell would have ,while also making sure that no ants were near him to disrupt the casting of the spell. But that was just him being cautious , after all ,which ant could withstand his ???????? ?????????? ?

  " ?????????? ????????????????. "

  Vin silently muttered in the dungeon full of the muffled screeches of suffering , burning ants.

  This spell was area magic too , but it was one solely focused on attack rather than with defense.

  Flames instantly burst out of the ground in sync like erupting volcanoes , instantly purging groups of ants unfortunate enough to be on the spot. The flames were 5 metres far from each other with a width of 62cm and arrangement which made them seem like pillars which had sprouted from the ground to support the dungeon ceiling.

  The flames bursting alone had certainly eliminated some ants , but this wasn't the spell's true nature -

  After its epic entrance , most of its heat deflected from the dungeon's interior ,making the whole environment into a deadly and agonizing hot cocoon - while ???????? ?????????? could entrap some specific space in heat , the heat from ?????????? ???????????????? was several times stronger than the first layer of Vin's first layer , and even worse that the heat was somewhat mobile - spreading in the dungeon like a tsunami wave and deep frying several ants in just a matter of seconds.

  Vin's heart danced with glee , out of the thousands of dangerous murderous ants that dares to face him , only a few handful of hundreds remained and those numerous ants died , more than three quarters of the ant's forces was eliminated in the hands of measly three spells which was why Vin couldn't imagine losing here despite the still superior quantity of enemies on the opposing side.

  A sharp pang penetrated Vin's chest and he coughed blood , which quickly evaporated not even staining the floor after it left his body

  ?????????? , ?? ???????????? ??'?? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????????????????????. ?????????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????????

  In his experimenting, it seems he had gotten a bit carried away and forgot about his inferior mana core which couldn't host the large amounts of flowing mana.

  A frown could be seen on Vin's face.

  This drawback had greatly deteriorated his happiness , but not enough of him to sulk over it. He still had a trump card up his sleeve which he was about to utilise. He didn't have time to waste as spending more time hooked to that supply of mana could end his life , plus Vin hated dragging this battle for long since he had already experimented on every spell which came to his mind.

  ?????? ???????? -

  Vin closed his eyes ,trying to remember it's shape , it's ferocity and crushing power - The sword from his dreams.

  This wasn't a figure of speech , Vin had been literally getting visions of a particular sword calling out to him - like a servant would to a master.

  Almost immediately after closing his eyes , he envisioned it's shape - 74 cm long - it's shape could only be described as divine and it's surroundings were engulfed in hellish flames.

  Vin's opened his mind and its name naturally came to him , like a suddenly remembered once-forgotten melody.

  " Come forth , Plutherus. "

  Responding to the call ,all the flames and heat in the dungeon all started swarming towards the same direction - a point in space directly above Vin's stretched out hand which seemed to be grasping air in a literal sense.

  Confined in a smaller space , the intensity of the flames and heat magnified to the point where they even overcame Vin's B- rank fire resistant robe , immediately setting it ablaze. if it weren't for a strange ring Vin had purchased , he would have lost his life to his own creation He was able to get away with it with tattered clothes , thanks to his robe acting as sacrificial defense , preventing Vin from going all nude and let him keep a bit of his dignity.

  There was a black ring in his right hand which didn't move an inch nor melted in the swarming flames ,it was a ring Vin had picked and bought in a blacksmith's shop for the minimum price of 12 silver coins , in the eyes of the seller it was nothing but a decorative accessory but after Vin had put it on for 3 days without taking it off ,he discovered it's value as a high ranking item - no , it was probably one of a kind.

  The ring didn't just have the ability to nullify fire magic , it even nullified natural fire from hurting him.

  It was quite a shock when Vin figured it out during one of his experiments. Yes ,it seemed plausible to think this was the ring which was cancelling out some of the flames which brushed upon Vin in that moment , not even letting a single burn find its way into his skin.

  His robe finally crumbled and fell , revealing the maroon shirt he wore underneath the long garment , the ring somehow seemed to have extended it's fire nullification to his clothes.

  ?????? ????????'?? ?????????????????? ?????? , ?????? ??????????????????????.

  All the flames had been vacuumed, and not even a single live fire was left. All that remained was floating and condensed flames before Vin , coming forth to look exactly like the sword of his dreams - Plutherus. The sword majestically landed on his hands , the very flames making up it's shape swaying from side to side with a dark red tinge.

  Vin was rejoiced , but he didn't let that go to his head. He kept pouring mana on the flames shaped like a sword which further intensified their deadliess as Vin prepared himself for an attack he had mind.

  Vin then stared ahead. He hadn't lost his guard ,summoning the sword had sucked up all the heat in the dungeon including his ???????? ?????????? so he was currently defenseless thus couldn't afford letting his guard down , it was last minute mistakes which often led to a person's own downfall even if they could have won the battle ; recklessness.

  Vin's back was facing the path leading to Jain , and his opposition's forces were all in front of him , and there weren't several paths which could connect back to the Queen's chamber, thanks to that Vin didn't have to worry about the ants running back to the Queen - He'd eliminate all of them in one attack while making sure that Jain wouldn't get caught in it.

  His lips moved ,muttering two words with a calm tone as he raised above his new companion - the flame sword.

  " ?????????????????????? ????????????????. "

  Vin made a diagonal slash in mid-air , the ants screeched in unison as if realizing the danger of the coming attack , a bright light instantly covered the sword on his hand followed by a forwardly spread catastrophic flame explosion quite similar to a small atomic bomb. The explosion lit up the dungeon with a dark maroon colour. The heat which engulfed all the ants in the dungeon could be only be described as 'hellish'.

  The attack annihilated all the ants in one fell swoop in just under 5 seconds as intended, immediately after Vin forcefully cut off the mana supply the Rune cards , a minute later and he would have been dead.

  his flames and the sword of flames disappeared now that there was no mana to maintain them , not even the ants' ashes remained after the devastating attack but only the smell of fire and smoke

  Vin dropped to the floor with a painful thud , yes he had cut off the mana supply but still that wouldn't reverse the damage already done to his mana core ,his mana core had cracks all over it and was a spell away from being completely demolished. Vin coughed a bit of blood ,as he lay on the ground with his back facing the ceiling.

  All he could hope for was to survive this so he could make up for his past mistakes.

  ?????? - ???? ?????????? ?? ?????????????? ???? ?? ??????...

  He had done his part in the raid , he prayed that the boy with bright yellow eyes would do his.

  Darkness swallowed Vin's sight as he slowly closed his eyes.