That satisfying slap could be said to have shattered Kaecilius's "battle mage" fighting style.
Lying in a sea of books, Kaecilius saw stars, and half of his face felt numb, nearly losing all sensation
Waves of intense pain kept crashing through his mind.
Yet his expression remained unchanged. He quickly recovered, the crimson mark on his forehead emitting a faint glow.
Dark, malevolent power surged through his body, repairing his nearly destroyed head.
"This kind of power…"
Even with his cold temperant, the brush with death made him feel a trace of fear toward Matthew—along with shock.
That force was simply inhuman.
In truth, if he hadn't pledged himself to darkness—if the great dark lord Dormammu hadn't granted him power—he would have been dead from that single strike.
Kaecilius realized sothing was off about Matthew.
It suddenly struck him how little he actually knew about him. Now he understood—soone favored by the Ancient One couldn't possibly be ordinary. It wasn't just talent.
Can I win?
Kaecilius made his judgnt instantly.
No.
If he couldn't win, then he had to escape.
From recovering his injuries to making that decision took less than a second.
With a flick of his right hand, sparks erupted around the floor beneath him, forming a circular ring large enough for two people.
A Sling Ring portal.
But just as he thought he could escape using teleportation magic, his expression changed in shock.
The portal collapsed.
The ring of sparks broke apart.
So kind of force was interfering with space itself.
Kaecilius's face darkened. At that mont, Matthew's voice sounded in his ear:
"I said it already. Beat , and you live."
"Trying to run now? Too late."
Kaecilius stood up abruptly, the countless books pressing down on him sent flying by the power of Eldritch Manipulation.
A torrent of magical energy surged from his body. Dark violet currents coiled around him, and combined with his grim expression, he looked utterly nacing. The overwhelming pressure flooded the entire Mirror Dinsion library.
"Your so-called loyalty ans nothing in the eyes of the light, child," Kaecilius said, his voice low and hoarse.
But to Matthew, it was nothing more than empty posturing.
"Maybe we have very different definitions of 'light.'"
Matthew raised his right hand. A brilliant golden sphere of light appeared in his palm, radiating dazzling brilliance that drove back the darkness spreading from Kaecilius.
The library, once shrouded in shadow, instantly beca bright—vivid with color.
Did Matthew have loyalty?
Of course he did.
But Kaecilius assud that loyalty was directed toward the Ancient One, toward the Vishanti, toward the so-called side of light.
Matthew himself knew the truth.
The only thing he was loyal to—was himself.
Or rather, others could offer him their loyalty, but no one could ever claim his.
It was this pure, unrestrained ambition that allowed his Conqueror's Haki to grow stronger by the day.
Willpower and conviction determined the upper limits of that power.
Matthew had previously confird that Haki had no upper limit, and that was because his own ambition—and his vision—were simply too vast.
From his current level of strength, it might even seem ridiculous. A man who hadn't even reached planetary-level power was already looking toward the vast cosmos, and even toward the great beings that existed only in legends.
But ambition and conviction worked exactly like this. Setting an extrely high goal and charging toward it—this kind of drive was the hottest fuel on the path of growth.
Kaecilius was willing to abandon everything and turn to darkness, to Dormammu, becoming a servant and puppet.
That was the cost of his narrow vision—and his obsession.
He believed he had seen through the essence of the world, through the truth of the Ancient One, and through so-called "light." But in reality, he was the one who had been truly deceived—by his own obsession and limited perspective.
A person like that had already walked onto a dead-end road. Matthew couldn't be bothered to lecture him, nor did he intend to correct him.
To him, Kaecilius was nothing more than a test stone—a way to asure how far he had progressed on the path of magic.
"Your ti is running out. Your master can't hold back the Ancient One for long. So your best option now is to use everything you've learned in your life… and defeat ."
"That arrogant attitude of yours makes sick. You self-righteous bastard."
Kaecilius finally snapped under Matthew's repeated provocations. Fury flashed in his eyes.
Realizing there was no retreat, Kaecilius erupted.
He raised both hands, rapidly forming seals in front of his chest, then pushed his palms outward.
Rumble—!!
The world tilted and twisted. The entire library began to fold and deform. Wooden bookshelves, countless books, floors, ceilings, ladders—everything was forcibly reshaped and twisted, turning the originally modest library into a terrifying rotating at grinder.
Books and parchnt scrolls were restructured midair, transforming into chains that whipped toward Matthew from all directions.
Gears and chanical constructs linked with those parchnt chains, generating absurd torsion beyond physical limits. Once they bound Matthew, they would unleash a force capable of tearing apart even a train.
Kaecilius was confident—no matter how strong Matthew's body was, it would be torn apart.
Not only that, those chains were wrapped in layers of Eldritch runes glowing with golden light, designed to suppress all magic. Once bound, Matthew wouldn't be able to use any spells at all—reduced to a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter.
As the most talented sorcerer of Kamar-Taj, Kaecilius had reached the peak of Eldritch Manipulation.
Even Matthew couldn't help but feel a flash of admiration.
This was how sorcerers were supposed to fight. A "close-combat mage"? That was just ugly. Those thin arms and legs—compared to his own monstrous physique and reflexes—it was basically no different from performing so kind of sham ritual dance.
Facing the overwhelming chains of parchnt and the collapsing, rotating space that constantly restricted his movent, Matthew's response was simple.
He crossed his hands.
A circular red magic array appeared on his wrists, filled with intricate, mysterious runes.
BOOM!!
A violent storm erupted out of nowhere.
Raging winds swept through the entire space, shredding the parchnt chains into pieces.
Matthew stood in the eye of the storm, like a god of wind. He used the storm to resist and push back the collapsing walls and floors, forcing them outward.
Even the twisting gears were destroyed within the storm.
Caught off guard, Kaecilius was blown away by the gusts, slamming repeatedly against walls and floors in the confined space. He was quickly battered and injured all over.
Fortunately, Kaecilius reacted in ti. He stabilized himself with magic, anchoring himself to the floor and summoning multiple magical shields around his body to protect himself.
…
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