The Black Necromancer

"Khuuk!" Leonidas coughed up a mouthful of blood as waves of pain suddenly overwhelmed him. He looked down at his chest that had been turned into a leaking faucet with red eyes. How? How had so much damage been dealt to him in such a short moment?!

"Time magic!" Someone yelled.

Ashtar grimaced. He had never shown his skills to the public, and those that had been unlucky enough to face him in isolate battle had never lived to tell the tale so very few knew of his small mastery over time magic.

Leonidas was shocked, but his shock did not leave him frozen. He instantly unlocked the power resting within the depths of his body without hesitating. He knew it was for the best that he did not hold back. If Ashtar used that ability again, then he would surely die. He had no idea that Ashtar could not even use the ability again even if he wanted to.

"Grrraaah!!!" Leonidas growled in pain as his body suddenly grew to twice its size. The energy and mana within his body also spiked as he grew in size, making him seem even deadlier and more powerful.

Ashtar's eyes trembled as he quickly regained his energy and jumped forward to strike Leonidas in the middle of his transformation.

However, unexpectedly, Leonidas reached out and grabbed his hand. He was not rendered immovable by his ongoing transformation. He clenched his hand and crushed the bones in Ashtar's forearm, shocking the Demon.

The bones of a Demon were incredibly sturdy! Especially that of a Peak A rank Demon. There was no way they would lose out to a Beastkin's. In fact, they should even be slightly stronger!

However, even with precedents on his claims, there was nothing that he could say in regards to how Leonidas had broken his arm. It surely had to do with his sudden transformation!

Ashtar quickly distanced himself from Leonidas while nursing his broken arm. His powerful physique was already at work on repairing the damage and healing it at a speed visible to the eye. However, he was not sure on how he would cope after Leonidas completed his transformation.

"If I can't get close, then I'll just attack you from afar!" Ashtar held his bastard sword with one hand and began to unleash a flurry of slashes. Crimson flames bloomed over his sword as he sent wave after wave of attacks to Leonidas.

Leonidas did not even move, allowing the strikes to land directly on his body. It was only after half a minute had passed that Ashtar realized his folly.

With each successful strike, the energy boiling within Leonidas seemed to grow!

"Dammit! He tricked me!" Ashtar realized that Leonidas had intentionally lured him into a trap. The earlier time when he crushed Ashtar's arm, he had most likely used a lot of his power, which left other parts of his body weaker. It had given Ashtar the impression that confronting Leonidas in close combat would be a bad idea, which had led him to delivering long range strikes. The long range strikes were something Leonidas desired, as they would empower him while allowing him to avoid the brunt of Ashtar's full force close quarters attacks.

As Ashtar deduced this, he immediately rushed forward, but it was already too late!

BOOM!

A powerful force erupted within Leonidas' body, blowing Ashtar away from him. A powerful yellow aura lingered around Leonidas' body. The yellow aura seemed to be the doorway to something much more ominous, as a black mist danced within it.

Whoosh!

The black mist and yellow aura were all absorbed into Leonidas' body, revealing the emperor in his golden armor. The Beastkin stood with his head held high. His injuries were all gone and his armor was now restored. However, his eyes glowed brightly with golden light.

Ashtar reoriented himself and gritted his teeth before flying back to Leonidas. He was furious, and his anger showed visible as a red aura formed around him. The aura was even darker around his sword that he held in front of him.

Boom!

Space shattered as Leonidas vanished from where he was only a moment ago. He appeared before Ashtar a moment later and his right hand wrapped around the High General's throat.

"Too slow, time user." Leonidas' voice carried a hint of mockery as he cocked back his left arm. Black rings of mana appeared around his forearm just before it blurred and he buried his fist into Ashtar's middle.

"Argh!" Ashtar spat out a mouthful of blood as he found himself unable to move under the powerful pressure that was emanated from Leonidas' eyes. The Beastkin was wholly covered in black fur now and his eyes glowed with golden light. Ashtar felt a primal fear bloom in his heart as he beheld Leonidas. This man was not the same person he was moments ago.

Before Ashtar could continue that line of thoughts, a flurry of punches rained down on him, breaking his bones and bruising his skin. The defenses he tried to put up with his magic and skills all fell short under the powerful strikes of Leonidas. He could feel his consciousness begin to fade and he knew that if he lost consciousness now, he would not wake up again.

"No... I can't die here!" Ashtar held onto his consciousness as tightly as he could. He withstood the attacks while protecting his most vital parts. As long as they were not destroyed, then he would live.

As the rain of blows continued, Ashtar realized that the way Leonidas attacked him was a bit odd. The powerful Beastkin did not hold back anything, but his attacks were not coordinated. It was almost as if the man had lost all his common sense and only wanted to pulverize the enemy before him.

'I might be able to exploit this!' Ashtar thought to himself. As a powerful A rank, he had many means. It should be no surprise that he had a treasure that he could use to escape situations like this.