A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 168 Game Over (Part 2)

Rumbling--

The sound of muffled thunder was the sound of smoke grenades.

This is a corridor located in the upper level of Grindelwald's Eye. Numerous branching, closed, and narrow roads are scattered throughout each floor of the tower. These are passageways used for the maintenance of power supply lines. Due to poor ventilation, thick smoke can spread unchecked. No matter how good Quinn's eyesight is, all he can see at this moment is a white blur.

Fortunately, he had memorized the engineering blueprints for the Eye of Grindelwald, and after getting up from the ground, he began to run wildly with his head down.

Sequence Six.
Jonin?

There are nine sequences in the Extraordinary Path, which are further divided into five tiers based on their level of evolution. There is an almost insurmountable gap between each tier. If the fifth tier, sequences eight and nine, is "extraordinary" based on the amplification of a mortal's original abilities, then the fourth tier, sequences six and seven, is "hidden" that completely transcends the mortal realm.

Without damaging the wall structure, it passes through the wall, transforms into smoke to deceive the shadow clone that was immobilized by the spell, and pulls out smoke bombs and kunai like a magician.
"Interested in telling me what you're planning to do? That giant soldier seems to be Grindelwald's student, right?"

Ike's voice seemed to come from far behind him, as if he had been left far behind.

But then a chilling premonition of death struck without warning.

Even though he couldn't see what was in front of him, Quinn still stopped in his tracks. Although the Demon King's Eye was extremely taxing in the airship launch tower environment full of arcane pathways, he had no choice but to activate it.

The smoke was cleared from the pure gray-white mana lines of his vision, and an impossibly fast, blurry figure was already at Quinn's feet—

Escape technique!

Quinn swung his sword ahead of time like playing whack-a-mole, and this time he finally managed to keep up with Ike's speed. He clashed head-on with the kunai that stabbed out from under the floor. The bright red blade made of mana flashed, and the katana technique instantly fell into an extremely unstable state.

This shows that Quinn is not only weaker than Ike in speed, but also in strength, and can only compensate by increasing his output with his wand.

Even with traits comparable to Sekiro's Sekiro (Sequence 8), it's still no match for Sequence 6.
Quinn turned and ran away, abandoning his fight with Ekko.

"Ha, an arcane weapon? How dare you use my wand against me?"

Ike, who was hiding underground, sounded somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Quinn to be able to block the sword.

"Borner said he could tell the purse wasn't full just by the weight. An ordinary cashier might not be able to do that even after five years. And the academy wouldn't accept clergy as teaching assistants, so I guess he's a thief. How could a thief have that kind of strength?"

A voice muttering to itself drifted out from the smoke.

"Hey, are you mute?"

"Should I fight like this? Ha, I don't really care. I'm just afraid of killing him; if the academy questions me, I won't be able to explain it."

Quinn fled while pondering a plan.

How did this guy realize there was something wrong with the jar containing the Starflower?

That was prepared by Ankuya. Given Aqua's cautious nature, she shouldn't have given herself away. Does Golden Wind have such a powerful arcanist?
Never mind, Ankuya is still up there; we have to deal with him first.

Sequence Six. This is the limit permitted by the city's restrictions in Axwell. Quinn had never even encountered a Sequence Seven before. He never expected that Axwell's strongest superhuman would be the leader of the Golden Wind. No wonder the data says "Sequence Unknown." Those who have seen him fight are probably all dead.

My mental energy is still sufficient; the immobilization spell I just cast on the fake body didn't consume much of my energy.

Quinn's mind raced. Could I use the cost of the immobilization spell to deduce the true and false bodies?
The biggest problem right now is that he has a hard time spotting Ekko burrowing into the ground through the thick fog.

Mista had it in his pocket, but if he didn't freeze, the pistol would be almost ineffective against a Sequence Six superhuman. Once they reached the speed of the two of them, they could dodge in advance simply by observing the action of pulling the trigger. Even if Mista's auto-tracking hit, it would be difficult to cause a fatal wound.

There are still level 0 sealed items in the suitcase, but the Gates of Heaven cannot be used here.

There was also a branch brought from the abyss, and five scrolls inscribed with fourth-order arcane spells.

A battle strategy gradually took shape in Quinn's mind.

Aside from the specialization in escape thieves, each of the seven combat professions has its own area of ​​strength and advantage. The ninja is the most well-rounded, possessing good strength, stamina, speed, and even the ability to manipulate mystical inspiration. The ninja's strength lies in their ninja tools, such as the dense fog that currently surrounds them, and the small lightning bolts that previously nearly shattered the arcane mage's robes.
Ninjas can create and carry a large number of these strange and unusual ninja tools. Quinn once killed a Sequence 8 Genin, but his ninja tools were far less terrifying than Ike's. Ike's smoke bombs not only completely blocked Quinn's vision, but also caused the suppression of the Mystic Rank, making the thief's senses dulled.

Ike was not an arcanist and had no trace of mana on him. The Demon King's Eye could only barely make out human silhouettes, and it was difficult to capture them from a distance.

In the current situation, the only option is to engage in close-range combat and rely on immobilization spells. Focus on dodging and look for an opportunity to immobilize the target before using arcane scrolls to finish them off.

Within the thick, white mist, gleaming darts shot forth like threads in an instant. Quinn caught the faint buzzing sound of their blades slicing through the air, and by the time he reacted, several shurikens were already upon him, surrounding him from all sides, their speed comparable to bullets fired from a gun—

Click, click, click! ! !

The shuriken embedded itself completely in the wall, sending fragments flying. Quinn rolled to the ground at the last second, using Shadowfall's second roll to accelerate and narrowly avoid the attack. Amidst the whistling wind, Ike's tall figure broke through the mist and delivered a punch— "Quick, huh?" he even praised, still with some energy left.

Quinn, who had just gotten up from the ground, had already drawn his Mista and fired two shots in quick succession. Ike waved his hand and threw three more shuriken. In the gray-white vision of the Demon King's Eye, the spinning shuriken accurately intercepted the bullets. Amidst the splashing flames and light, the shuriken in the center tore through the air and attacked Quinn!

He knew he couldn't roll again; the Shadowfall Twice roll could only lock onto a single target. However, his opponent had already swiftly closed the distance. Quinn suddenly sidestepped, the shuriken slicing across his shoulder and drawing a long trail of blood. Ike, with a reverse grip on his kunai, slashed towards Quinn's neck. Quinn not only didn't dodge but instead raised his hand—

"Certainly!!"

By trading injury for a break in his spellcasting, Quinn gained the upper hand. Just before the kunai was about to tear open his throat, golden light shone, and Ike's body was tightly bound by magically constructed golden chains. However, Quinn only felt a slight dizziness, and his mental energy was not significantly depleted.

It's fake again!

He strode across, twisted his body, and slashed diagonally with his katana. At such close range, the killing intent perception of his dual extraordinary abilities finally took effect. Ike, who had sneaked around to the side, had no choice but to dodge the slash. His smile disappeared after a series of failed sneak attacks. He felt that the guy who could enter Grindelwald was really a bit strange.

Putting aside the almost unheard-of katana, an arcanist using a wand as a katana? And then there's the pistol, the inexplicable "ding," and the heightened senses to pinpoint one's location in dense fog.
It doesn't look like a low sequence.

"Sequence Seven? Six? With such high levels of extraordinary attributes, aren't you afraid of losing control if you continue researching arcane arts?!"

Amidst the cold, harsh rebuke, the two clashed. Although there was a clear difference in strength and speed, Quinn was, after all, a dual-sequence fighter, and Ike couldn't overpower him for the time being, as he had to be constantly on guard against Quinn's immobilization spell.

Two figures crisscrossed the narrow passage like phantoms in the smoke. Taking advantage of the weightless inertia of the wand blade, Quinn wielded the blade almost like a crimson, impenetrable net, cutting through and blocking the hidden weapons, shurikens, and explosive bombs that kept attacking him.
"Exceptional skill." In the relentless exchange of blows, Ike appeared far more composed, but his gaze had turned utterly cold: "An arcanist obsessed with research could not develop such swordsmanship—"

The clanging and deafening sounds of collisions grew more and more frequent. Although Quinn managed to hold off Ike's attacks, he was still forced to retreat continuously. The katana conjured by his wand trembled violently and was about to give way.

In the misty corridor, sparks flew as katanas and ninja tools clashed, creating a path of light that flashed and burned the eyes.

"You've fooled me! You were close to the Golden Wind—"

Suddenly, a roar erupted, and this time it wasn't a projectile-like ninja tool. A tornado-like flame erupted from Ike's mouth, sweeping towards Quinn. The Mana Blade finally crumbled under the intense heat, and Quinn, with nowhere to dodge, was instantly engulfed by the heatwave.

"What for?!"

at the same time.

In the tower atop Grindelwald's Eye, Ankuya's figure remained frozen in place, as if completely frozen.

Before him, the crystal ball controlling the Eye of Grindelwald was riddled with cracks, and the chaotic and violent mana was once again filling it. Just as the cannon was about to be ready again, it froze as if a pause button had been pressed.

It should be noted that this crystal ball contains enough mana to activate ninth-order arcane magic, making it as difficult as freezing a turbulent ocean instantly.

But it stopped abruptly right in front of Ankuya.

Not only spells, but also Ankuya.

A chilling voice came from behind, like the whisper of death: "This is called a freezing spell. Kadiuros died from this magic. Merlin's freezing spell can even freeze consciousness and soul. I've studied it for over a thousand years and I still can't do that, but it's enough to freeze you and this tower."

"Hermes raised snakes his whole life, only to be bitten by his favorite one in the end. Why was that, Ankuya? I had high hopes for you, young man. Oh, are you wondering why I was able to leave the Nibelungen's blockade of the academy?"

If Quinn were here.

He'll definitely recognize the voice.

It was the mysterious figure who had appeared in Merlin's Tomb—

“How could creation possibly stop its master?” Her voice suddenly became kind, and in the abrupt contrast, it was as if the always smiling and leisurely professor of spatial magic had stepped right in front of Ankuya.

“I can take the Nibelungen Lockdown Academy as a prank. But why are you destroying my most beloved creation now? Hmm?”

Her voice paused.

It was as if it was scanning the entire tower.

"That kid's here too. With you? Oh, I see."

She spoke calmly, but the words sent chills down Ankua's spine—

"So he was an undercover agent from the demon race."

"You didn't mistake my Colossus for a hero, did you? Hmm?"

(End of this chapter)