Chapter 321 -: 320 Dire situation.
Julius was hurled through the sky like a meteor, the force behind Magnus’ punch so overwhelming that his jaw creaked violently as several of his molars shattered from the impact.
Blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth before the pain could properly register.
Almost instinctively, Event Horizon activated once more, pushing the injury forward into his future.
Yet even that miraculous spell had begun to reach its limits. Julius could only borrow four weeks from his future self, and those weeks had already become a nightmare overflowing with accumulated wounds.
Every broken bone, every torn muscle, every ounce of exhaustion he had postponed throughout the day was already waiting for him there.
For an entire month, there wouldn’t be a single moment where he wouldn’t be writhing in agony.
His body would continuously break apart and heal only to break apart again, leaving him perpetually balanced on the edge of death.
Even so, he had no other choice. If he accepted the injuries now, he would never reach the Nightmare Forest.
All he could do was pray that his Void Core physique would prove resilient enough to survive the month of torment awaiting him.
Rather than resisting the tremendous force of Magnus’ strike, Julius allowed it to propel him forward.
His figure shot across the sky at a speed impossible for ordinary eyes to follow, rapidly shortening the distance toward the Nightmare Forest.
Unfortunately, Magnus was even faster. Julius carried Rosalina securely against his shoulder, and although her weight barely affected his strength, it inevitably reduced the freedom of his movements.
Magnus, on the other hand, pursued without restraint, every beat of his powerful body closing the distance between them.
Behind him, the enormous golden lion charged through the air with terrifying momentum.
The wound Julius had inflicted only moments earlier had already regenerated, the beast’s mangled foreleg restored as though nothing had ever happened.
With every bound it seemed to step upon the empty sky itself, drawing closer until it finally opened its massive jaws.
A river of blazing lava erupted outward, stretching across the heavens like a burning tide determined to swallow Julius whole.
Julius clenched his teeth and immediately summoned a gigantic circular shield behind himself.
The construct was nearly the size of a house, its polished surface gleaming brilliantly as it intercepted the incoming torrent.
The instant the lava collided with it, the shield began melting at an alarming speed, layers of condensed mana dissolving beneath the unimaginable heat until the entire construct collapsed into countless glowing fragments.
It hadn’t survived for more than a heartbeat, but that heartbeat was enough. The attack lost its momentum, allowing Julius to continue flying without being engulfed by the molten wave.
Casting a brief glance over his shoulder, Julius silently assessed the situation. Fortunately, Magnus remained considerably weaker while fighting in open skies.
Most of his devastating earth spells required contact with solid ground, and according to everything Julius knew, Magnus possessed very few long-range techniques capable of threatening someone at this distance.
To truly unleash his strength, he had to close the gap and engage directly. Yet despite recognising that advantage, an uneasy chill still crawled across Julius’ spine.
Magnus’ expression had become frighteningly ferocious.
The hatred burning within those eyes no longer resembled the fury of a warrior trying to stop an enemy.
It looked far more personal, as though Julius had murdered someone precious to him.
"...Wait."
Julius frowned despite himself.
He thought back over the past several months, replaying every interaction he had experienced while disguised as Kavin.
’He really looks hurt...’
For a brief moment, an utterly absurd possibility entered his mind.
’...Did his niece actually fall for me?’
He almost snorted.
No... impossible.
Kavin’s face wasn’t exactly handsome. Even by human standards it was painfully average.
His expression gradually turned thoughtful.
Then what does that leave...?
’Don’t tell me... she actually believed that ridiculous backstory I made up...?’
The bizarre train of thought lasted only an instant before every instinct inside his body exploded with warning.
Julius abruptly twisted sideways as two arrows tore through the space he had occupied a fraction of a second earlier.
Simultaneously, another powerful presence rapidly approached from directly ahead. It wasn’t quite as overwhelming as Magnus, but the difference wasn’t large enough to offer any comfort.
"Curses..."
Julius suppressed a curse as his complexion gradually paled.
His All-Seeing Eyes had already revealed even more figures converging upon his location from multiple directions.
If they continued advancing at this rate, he would soon find himself completely surrounded. Under normal circumstances, escaping such an encirclement would still be possible.
Unfortunately, Rosalina remained unconscious against his shoulder.
The spell she had created—Purgatory, or whatever she ultimately decided to call it—had consumed nearly everything she possessed.
It was only because of that extraordinary spell that the two of them had escaped the arena in the first place, yet the price had left her utterly incapable of helping him now.
Grinding his teeth together, Julius searched through memories he hadn’t revisited in years.
Truthfully, the number of spells he had mastered far exceeded what anyone outside the great families could possibly imagine.
Many were powerful enough to alter the outcome of entire battles, spells coveted by countless organisations throughout the world.
Rosalina possessed similar knowledge herself. Neither of them lacked talent or inheritance.
The problem had always been their disguises. While pretending to be Kavin and Jasmine, using such techniques had been completely out of the question.
Kavin was publicly known as a Time Path spell caster born from an insignificant background.
If someone like him suddenly unleashed a high-level Fire Path spell, or displayed mastery over Space Path, Light Path, or any number of other advanced disciplines, suspicion would arise immediately.
On the path toward ascension, mastering even a single path demanded decades of effort and unimaginable resources.
No former bandit should possess knowledge that even powerful noble families desperately sought.
But...
Those restrictions no longer existed.
A faint smile slowly spread across Julius’ face.
His identity had already been exposed.
There was no longer any reason to continue hiding.
His father had personally instructed him. His mother had done the same. His aunt had spoiled him endlessly with techniques gathered from across the world.
As the sole heir of his family, Julius had been raised amidst countless precious inheritances.
The spells engraved within his memory were treasures capable of driving even Void Core experts into madness with greed.
They were the reason he had always remained far stronger than his stage suggested.
During the arena battles, he had fought while constantly suppressing himself, carefully selecting techniques that matched Kavin’s identity instead of his own.
Had those shackles not existed, the battles would have unfolded very differently.
"...Though perhaps not easily," Julius muttered with a bitter chuckle as memories of being sliced apart repeatedly by Lyra resurfaced. "She still cut me up far too many times."
His amusement disappeared almost immediately.
Looking ahead, the approaching presence rapidly became clearer. Through the All-Seeing Eyes, Julius wasn’t observing the present, but a future roughly ten seconds ahead.
A broad-shouldered Zlycon raced toward him at terrifying speed, crossing the sky faster than even the bullet trains from his previous life on Earth. More importantly, Julius could already see the spell that man was preparing.
Ten seconds.
That was all the time Julius needed.
"If you’re bringing me a present..."
He slowly raised his right hand toward the future image before curling his fingers into a tight grasp, as though crushing an invisible object within his palm.
"Then allow me to return the favour."
"Space Bomb."