Chapter 573 Netherlore

Casting [Unknowable] on a Spell of mine, I launched it in Stefan's direction using Spellcraft.

As a result, the mass of energy lunged from behind him, enough to cause sufficient damage.

"Hm?" Stefan looked behind him, most likely noticing the Spell.

'He can see it?! Well, this is my chance!'

Since he was distracted by the Spell, I augmented myself with multiple Spells and summoned a blunt blade to use against him in combat.

'Stefan is a Mage, so I'll use Martial Arts to be certain of quick victory!'

Of course, I was still going to be on guard in case my opponent was a skilled fighter, but it would be a waste of time to prepare a contingency for everything.

>WHOOOSSHH<

With Mana completely shrouding my body, I darted at him with determination.

I spotted his gaze shift in my direction, but his body was motionless.

'Am I too fast for his body to react to? Or is he simply waiting?' It was hard to decide, but as my Spell closed in on him, I was also nearing Stefan at remarkable speed.

He could only evade one!

"I didn't come here to fight."

>DUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!<

Suddenly, I felt a pressure unlike any other. My body became too heavy, and before I knew it... my body was on the ground.

>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

The exploding Spell collapsed, and I could feel an unexplainable heaviness envelop me.

Hardly able to move my body, my eyes reached Stefan as I displayed shock.

'What? How? An Arcana?!'

"So you're an Upper Member?!" I blurted out bitterly.

According to the information I had, only the top brass of the Nether Cult could use Arcanas.

Placed on Stefan's fingertips was a spinning card. It warbled as the boy smiled at me.

"We're only down to eight Seat members, so every one of us has an Arcana."

'A-ah, that must have happened because of the Arcana Search. Why didn't I think about that?'

Was Stefan just a Lower Seat who was graced with an Arcana? The heaviness J was feeling, and the lack of mobility... it had to be caused by gravity manipulation.

'He's using an Arcana that controls gravity?!'

"You've given us a bit of trouble, Jared. Placing all those disrupters to mess with our search for Arcanas... it's a smart move."

'Yeah... but for Stefan to be here, they figured it out.'

"It must suck that two people who know how you think are in the Cult. You'll have to be smarter next time." He smiled, his hands in his coat pockets.

"Duly noted." I spoke, finally breaking free from his gravity manipulation by using one of [The Tower]'s abilities to teleport back to my previous position.

"Nice. Nice. You have Arcanas too."

The simple teleportation was done without having to resort to a Spell Card or my Original Magic.

Since I had been studying the use of Arcanas without a need for aids, I could perform simple Spells like this without using the Arcanas themselves.

'So, he controls gravity, eh? This will be tricky.' I glanced in Maria's direction to make sure she was safe.

Her eyes looked very frightful, and the fact the young woman wasn't speaking made me realize the situation was indeed very dire.

"Like I said, I didn't come here to fight. I'll just be leaving with the information I've retrieved here. There's no need to engage."

"Don't you want the Arcana?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Not really. It really doesn't matter what you do, we'll still win. Why do you think the Leader hasn't moved yet, despite your constant annoyance?"

I remained silent, thinking of ways to stop him.

'Anti-Magic doesn't work on Arcanas, so that one is out of it...'

For some reason, the energy around Stefan made it difficult for me to use Spellcraft in his immediate vicinity, and even if I could, it would be thwarted by his Gravity manipulation.

The only say to win was to overpower him with my sheer number of Arcanas and skills. Things would get a bit destructive, but I was going to win.

'What should I do to—'

As I readied myself to strike, I noticed Stefan's gaze shift to Maria. A wider smile formed on his face, and suddenly—

"Kyaaaahhhh!!!"

—Maria suddenly lunged in his direction.

'Wha—?!'

As if she was being pulled by an invisible force, she sharply moved toward Stefan, and the smile I saw on his face told me he meant business.

'Shit!' Quickly using another function of [The Tower], I switched positions with Maria and decided to take this as another moment to strike.

'Grand Fusion Mo—'

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH!!!<

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The 'Pull' effect suddenly became a 'Push' one, and my body was sent flying away in a mighty blow.

>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM<

Crashing on the wall far from Stefan, I coughed out in pain, struggling to regain my composure before any harm befell Maria.

"Argh!"

It hurt!

The blow from my front, and the crash on the shattered wall.

My vision was blurry, but I quickly teleported Maria to my side—just to be safe.

'Did I go easy on him because he was my friend? Did I underestimate him?'

I wondered why I wasn't playing as many Cards as I usually would.

"I had to resort to that since it didn't seem like you were going to let me go just like that." I heard Stefan, watching as he ascended beyond my reach, flying to the ceiling.

"Why are you in the Nether Cult? Don't you know all they've done? What their motive is?"

"I don't care." Stefan replied with a shrug.

I was surprised to see how much he had changed.

From the way he condescendingly gazed at me and Maria, he seemed to relish the moment of our weakness.

"Ah, and one more thing, Jared..." Stefan narrowed his gaze.

"I'm the Fifth Seat of the Nether Cult... so I guess you're wrong about that too."

My eyes bulged the moment I heard the absurd statement.

"We'll see eventually. I'll simply tell the Leader that you got away with the Arcana using another trick of yours. Legris always uses that as an excuse."

Before I could say more, Stefan vanished as he went through the ceiling, leaving me confused and petrified.

'What is going on here?!'