One, two.
I looked on as the impact from the swirl and began counting the barriers as they cracked.
"Wow." Even after maintaining the swirl for several minutes, the barriers the lich was casting didn't seem to have reduced at all.
"No..." The barriers aren't increasing, they are simply regenerating after they are cracked.
Looks like he's regained consciousness.
I sensed a spell heading towards me and jumped backwards and watched as the area in front of me turned into a fiery hell.
"You should stop throwing spells like that anyhow." I sensed the oxygen levels in the cavern begin to drop and sealed off my breathing.
I could survive for a while by using my mana in place of oxygen but not for long.
And as an undead, my opponent didn't need to which meant I need to settle this and quick.
"Lifebound arts." I slammed my fist I took my chest and cracked my heart with the force and blood soiled out of my mouth. Along with mana.
"Limit remover." I raised my palms and slammed them into each other and generated a gust of wind to blow the fire that was headed toe in the other direction.
"Just die already." I muttered and almost felt like slapping myself. "Oh, you're already dead."
"You little brat!" The lich spar out and though I could see no injuries on him, I could sense that the death energy surrounding him had reduced.
For undead creatures, their death energy is a substitute for life force and is the main thing binding them to this world.
"What is it? Don't tell me you're about to throw a tantrum? I guess you are a child despite how many years you've lived. Sorry, you aren't even alive." I could see his aura fluctuating with every word I said.
As an experienced combatant, he wouldn't have let himself be tainted but now that his soul and body were in disarray from my earlier attack...
"You will regret this." He said in a cold tone and I felt something coming and twisted my body and a metal spike materialised.
Before I could even dodge, numerous metal spikes appeared with them stabbing into my chest, leg and arms respectively, pinning me to the ground.
"Inferna Everton." A white flaming spear about three meters in radius condensed in the air, illuminating the cavern before lounging straight at me.
Now, what to do.
...
"Amazing."
Katarina who had just woken up watched as the two human shaped figures battles in front of her.
Spells that she would only have enough mana to cast were launched repeatedly without stop by the lich king.
But even more amazing was the healer who was dodging all of them and even dealing severe damage to the opponent she could not even move against.
Katarina felt a sharp pain in in her palm and saw blood had started dripping from them from gripping too hard.
Katarina was in shock before she identified the reason behind it. It was frustration, plain and simple.
Frustration at her own weakness and arrogance and complacent attitude.
'After all...' she looked at the figure of her bethroed who was reading blow for blow with the lich.
"... He isn't using mana strengthening."
It sounded almost too insane to believe. That a mere human body could output so much power.
She heard a rumor that Sai couldn't use any magic apart from healing and originally dismissed it after meeting him in person and feeling his strength.
'It's just not logical to be on par with someone who strengthens his body with magic without doing so yourself.' and yet, there was someone who was tearing down her beliefs right in front of her eyes.
It was in this moment that she felt the vastness in the world.
"But no matter how much I try to rationalize it..." Her vision became blurry and and something warm flowed from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
"... It's still frustrating." She raised her face to the ceiling and tried to stifle her tears but the waterworks just kept on pouring.
Frustration. Anger. Nono of them were directed at anybody but herself. Despite the terrible battle going on, the scene of a crying girl would probably have made any bystander confused.
"Strength." She brought her head down and looked at the figures fighting amidst a clash of flames and explosions.
"That is what I need." Unbeknownst to her, the seed that was her ruler magic had begun to take shape into something even more.
...
"Aqua centonarius." I heard the lich king cast another spell immediately following the flaming spear and cursed under my breath.
Just judging from the amount of mana I sensed, this spell would most likely classify as one of the highest ranked spell of their elements and he was throwing it around like nothing.
Not that I planned to lose though.
"Fictilis dissolvo." Another spell. This time of the earth element. Now I understood just what kind of existence a lich king was. Just each and everyone of his spells was enough to wipe out a single town in an instant and he launched three of them in quick succession.
"But!" I ripped my hands out of my restraints ignoring the pain as I jumped up and brought my had back and slammed it straight into the tip of the fire spell.
I ignored the burning and suffocating heat and pushes on and broke the spell with sheer brute force.
"I won't lose to something of this level! One!"
I regenerated my burnt and destroyed body parts and kicked off against the air moving even faster.
"Two!" Repeating the same tactic I used against the fire spear, I punched the water blade and dispersed it and immediately accelerated.
Numerous circles appeared appeared in front of me and hundreds of spells shot at me but I ignored them all and headed for the caster.
"Three!" With a single punch, the mini meteor was gone and I used the fragments as footholds and jumped at the lich king who was barely with range.
"Tigris ungula tempest!" It's useless.
I ignored the wind that cut across my skin almost filleting me alive and finally, I reached my target.
Bringing my hand back, I slammed into the barrier with a single attack shattering numerous layers with a single punch.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the barriers already regenerating and began smashing my fists into them faster than they could heal.
One, two...
Twenty three...
After destroying forty, I finally came face-to-face with the lich king and was greeted with a formless magic.
"Soul magic, Death's Wail."
Faced with a soul type attack at blank point...
I grinned as this was exactly what I was waiting for.
I ignored the attack and slammed my fist into the the lich's jaw and watched as his eyes widened in disbelief and grinned.
"Sorry, but that attack won't work in me again." I grabbed him but the collar and headbutted him with a forehead choke full of healing aura and watched as he got partially purified.
"And for the final one." I threw him into the air and connected the sole of my feet to his stomach and sent him plummeting to the ground.
"This match is mine."