"Haaap!"
Hauser met the flaming blue edge of John's sword with one of his Light Spears. He didn't wield them personally, instead choosing to control the ones he had cast.
For a magician, Hauser was frighteningly fast. His reflexes were on par with John's, and he had the endurance to keep up with the swordsman's unrelenting blows.
Ting! Sparks of energy flew past as John covered the distance between his foe with a single, mighty downward slash. Hauser met his strike with a sneaky move of his own.
In the blink of an eye, he had flipped through the Tome's pages, landing on one that had a drawn image of an Ice Shield spell.
Dignitas did not simply watch the fight, though. He had no actual way of inflicting damage to the demonized human, but in times like this, a mind that wasn't one's own was more susceptible to fear.
A second later, Dignitas had appeared behind Hauser. His hand was on Dainsleif, which he had chosen to keep sheathed in its scabbard. Then, in one swift move, he brought out its terrifying blood-soaked red blade upon Hauser.
The area in front of him–specifically where he slashed–seemed to disappear from reality for a split moment, before it eventually converged into a display of cracks.
"Wha- he dodged it."
Hauser had long retreated. With a snap of his fingers, the scenery around them morphed uncontrollably. One by one, small portions of the room changed their appearances from a rustic medieval-dungeon style to something more dangerous.
Dignitas' right eye suddenly quivered. Trusting his gut, he leapt backwards, just in time for a poison-covered arrow to dart past him. John didn't personally move, his Chronos Interval teleporting him a short distance away.
The two of them looked around. The room had now turned from an old dungeon into an even older temple. And not the good one, either. Dignitas counted more than twenty groups of holes carved into the walls, most likely where the arrow came from.
The holes were scattered all around from top to bottom, leaving no area completely safe. For now, the best thing they could do was not get hit.
Hauser waved his hand. Another arrow was shot, but this time Dignitas was prepared for it. Without even turning around, he twisted his torso, cleaving the air behind him with a no-look slash.
John took this opportunity to pressure Hauser. He blinked forwards several times, closing the distance between them in a flash. He slashed his sword downwards, only to meet an invisible shield.
Hauser was stretching his hand out, supplying the shield with his mana. With his other hand, he gestured the walls to fire, and this time multiple volleys of poisonous arrows were shot.
"Not good." Dignitas gritted his teeth. He managed to dodge all of them by flexibly maneuvering his body, but he couldn't help but get brushed by one of the arrows.
It didn't seem potent, but the effect would most likely kick in and worsen once more hit him.
John retreated backwards to where Dignitas was. He placed his palm on the shoulder of the author and asked, "Are you okay? Is the wound deep?"
"I'm good. It wasn't too deep, so I think my body will be able to fight it off if given time."
John nodded without looking, instead keeping Hauser in his vision. The librarian seemed to have no intentions of moving from his spot as long as they didn't attack.
"Anyway, tell me. You're planning on severing the link the guy has with the demon controlling it. Don't you realize this is a Lockheart, and as such most of what happens is an illusion?"
"I know. But perhaps freeing someone from the chains their master tied them with will bring me some sort of peace." His tone suddenly turned solemn. "Will you help me, Dignitas?"
Dignitas hadn't heard of a Hauser Friede in the original story, but maybe he was also an anomaly that the world added. After all, Wang Jin and Alicer weren't part of the novel. Nevertheless, if John asked, then it had to be done.
"Alright, alright. As thanks, I want you to recommend a good restaurant for a dinner date." The author sighed as he stood next to the protagonist.
"Oh?" John smiled. "Planning on taking Lorelai out? You two have gotten even closer, I see."
"Enough of that. Sync up with me, John."
"I should be the one to say that, Dignitas! You're slower than me, so accompany my swings."
"I'll make you swallow those words, slowpoke."
In an instant, the duo disappeared, catching Hauser off guard. The librarian seemed to have not expected this outcome, and hurried to protect itself with the same shield spell from earlier.
Sadly, the spell wasn't instant. It needed time to fully surround its caster. For John, this was the opening he needed.
The first to reappear was the protagonist. His body shifted low, and he swept his foot sideways. Not having time to defend, Hauser staggered backwards, but didn't fall over.
Dignitas exploited this moment; a small platform manifested itself slightly above John, from which the author ran off and jumped. He raised Dainsleif over his head, delivering a powerful overhead blow.
His sword connected with Hauser's skin, leaving a shallow wound. It wasn't enough to damage his insides, but still enough for blood to trickle out.
John timed his movement when Dignitas sent their opponent reeling and blinked forward. He activated his Severance Style and swung in the air above Hauser.
But instead of the feeling of cutting an ethereal, ephemeral string, John's sword kept moving, slicing the air instead.
Hauser had sidestepped the slash, and with a sudden war cry, he charged forward like a bull.
Dignitas took a short moment to activate Author's Insight.
_____
Hauser Friede – Demonized
1200, M
Rank: B+
ATK: A DEF: B
AGI: B MANA: B+
Skills
[ Grace Of The Mental Demon ] [ A- ] [Active]
Being one of the thralls of a Demon General enhances the user. At the cost of one's ability to think, the user can enter a mindless state where they receive increased stats. Borrowing power from a Demon, much less a General, is not without consequences.
[ Tome Knowledge – Superior ] [ B+ ]
A passive skill. As the keeper of the Mental Demon's archives, the user is granted a vast understanding of tomes and grimoires. Lessens the time required to chant when wielding a Tome.
[ Light Spears ] [ B- ]
Use one's control over the Light Affinity to conjure spears that seek out enemies. Cannot be affected or destroyed by other skills, unless the user wills it.
_____
Without warning, Hauser's stats had improved by a single sub-rank. The [Active] sign that had appeared beside his first skill indicated he was currently rampaging about mindlessly.
Still, the sudden power boost had proven too much for John. Hauser's now-augmented strength supplied him with the speed and power to be able to catch the protagonist in the air and slam him into the wall.
"Get off him, you…!"
Dignitas appeared behind Hauser and slashed Dainsleif in an X angle. However, his sword mysteriously bounced back, unable to pierce the toughened skin.
"So it's like that, hmm? Then… Distortion Slash."
Unsheathing and sheathing had become second nature to Dignitas now. In less than a second, he had performed the movement.
Ttang! No luck on this one, either. Dignitas grunted as he kept on slashing at the same part, hoping to pierce through.
"Aim for… the back of his knees." John muttered as he struggled to breathe.
"The back of his knees, you say." Holding Dainsleif like a spear, he thrust the sharp end into the back of Hauser's knees, forcing the demon to kneel slightly.
The force wasn't enough to deal any significant damage, but it served its purpose by freeing John from the demon's grasp.
Just then, slam! The door to the underground dungeon-now-temple room burst open, and two figures walked through.
Bigsby smiled as he saw the scene unfolding in front of him. It had been quite a long time since he was able to face off against a strong opponent, so seeing the amount of pressure the demon was giving off being equal to him made him excited.
Meanwhile, Alicer hung back as he watched the battle like he was watching a movie. He seemed to have no intentions of joining whatsoever.
"I'm glad we found you. Here, the Mind Link should help sync your thoughts a little more clearly."
Curie's voice sounded throughout Dignitas' head, and he knew the same went for John.