*** Black Mage's POV ***
I asked Bianca's Disciple about the dome. "Why are you doing this?"
"To cut off your access to the living, of course."
"Hah. Are you afraid I will fight infinitely and drive you to a corner? Free me right this instant and face a mage's wrath!"
Bianca's disciple smiled at that. "The one who sounds afraid is you, Black Mage. What are your thoughts about living forever in this cage?"
"Damn bastard…"
No, calm down. There is no way I will stay trapped inside forever. There must be other ways to get out. I just have to grind him to half-death until I get the information out of him. As he saw me taking a deep breath, he smiled and unsheathed his sword.
"Let me ask this just in case, Black Mage. Can you please go back in peace to where you belong?"
I laughed at his question.
"No way. Even more so now that I have found one of the priority targets I should kill."
"Yeah, I figured."
"I will sacrifice you to become stronger and even earn a reward from my lord."
"You should say that after you win."
"Heh. What of it? I can see that you are much weaker than me. Be it in mana, circle, or magic skills."
"How funny. Could it be that you can't see this sword I'm holding? Or are you senile? I am originally a swordsman, you bastard."
"Hahaha! Which idiot would fight a black magician with a sword? The only way you can fight me is with magic!"
"Ah, is that what it is? You must have been so focused on me to not notice the change in your body."
"What lies do you speak of?"
"You can see for yourself whether it's a lie or not."
I circulated my mana to check my inside - and froze. "You got me, boy."
I spoke through gritted teeth, barely containing my wrath as the runes' effects set in. My magic twisted and struggled under an unseen force, an alien sensation that sent cold dread through my bones. Even worse, my mana was leaking as if the world was sucking it by force. There seemed to be more change, but I couldn't be sure until I experienced it firsthand.
"Nope, you knew it was a trap all along and you still come here." The disciple met my furious glare calmly, yet beneath lay steely resolve. "It was you who got yourself into this mess. You should have run away when you could, Black Mage."
"Run away?! Me?!" I roared, hands clenching my staff so hard the wood creaked. "Insolent whelp, I will break these runes and your pathetic body with them!"
A slight smile touched the boy's lips, further fueling my rage. "You barked a lot, old man."
"Hahaha."
How arrogant. It has been so long that someone belittled me like this. I also dislike how such a young boy can stay calm in front of me. From his expressions to his tactics and fortitude, everything about him unnerved me.
"Well, it's no use to cry over spilled milk, old man. Regret always comes last, after all."
"Do you think you can defeat me by resorting to petty tricks?!"
"Who knows. We'll see."
We faced off in icy silence, the air thick with building tension. I took in every detail of this opponent who dared cage me—from his composed poise to the disgustingly bright aura flickering to life around his form.
"Don't you have any pride as the white dragon's disciple? You only delay the inevitable, boy. But come - show me what skill you possess, without trickery! Fight me without resorting to such tricks if you know shame!"
"Come on now, don't tell me you really are afraid of losing to me if I do this? After all your boasts?"
He laughed as if amused at my reaction. It was unpleasant—very unpleasant—to be looked down upon by a boy such as him.
"You'll pay dearly for your tricks, boy."
"Yeah. Sure."
"I am not joking. You are still way weaker than me, even after you resort to dirty tricks like this. I can defeat you just fine even now."
"Can you? Try it, then." His hand rested lightly on his sword hilt, ready to draw at the first sign of battle. "Let us see which of us walks free from this place."
The boy then enveloped his body with an aura of light. It was such an enormous amount of aura that it doesn't make sense for a 1st-level aura user to have. Was my information network wrong? Was he a much stronger entity than I thought?
Either way, it doesn't feel good to know that he has been taking the initiative so far. I don't know whether he provoked me on purpose, too, but he must be one hell of a talker if he did. I raised my black staff and accepted his provocation.
"Fine."
In this field, where my power got weaker the longer I fought, I had to aim for a decisive strike to finish him fast. And he just had to wait until I got weak enough before dealing the final blow. Who would emerge as the victor in a battle where time is the key to life and death?
We stared at each other for a moment. Then, finally, I launched several barrages of dark magic attacks that I had secretly cast beforehand.