Chapter 368: Stay Put (5)

Maple POV

Since Perseus is going to be busy for a while, I might as well make sure that the target doesn't escape. The enchantments are good, but not god-level worthy, it seems that this took years of setup, but with no god involvement.

I broke the enchantment and quickly replaced it with mine, I then teleported to Keith's room and imprisoned him in a mana box while I waited.

The machinery in front of me was complex, it had all sorts of traps that could be activated at any time. But now that Keith is trapped, I'll just have to wait for Perseus.

Perseus POV

I find myself in the midst of a fierce battle, my senses heightened as adrenaline courses through my veins. Three formidable adversaries stand before me, each wielding their own unique magical abilities. It was quite annoying.

Mana was the most annoying, her attacks were super destructive, and every time she did get damaged, she just healed herself in a flash. Mana is a skilled mage alright, her nickname isn't Sekhmet for nothing. She can channel the fierce aspects of Sekhmet's nature, harnessing both destructive firepower and healing magic. Her blood-red weapon is a manifestation of her own life force, making it incredibly dangerous. 

As I overpowered them, Richard then turned into a manticore. He has the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and a scorpion-like tail, all armed with deadly capabilities. His strength, agility, and venomous stinger make him a formidable close-quarters combatant.

As for the monster...it has super strength, super speed, immunity to several elemental powers, and immunity to several weak spells, not just that...his steps are silent and soft, and I'm not even including the whole other lot.

And you'd think that it can't speak, but there's a human underneath, a modified human who can speak perfectly well with the power of Loki, which I'm immune to.

Mana then switched to using her staff and fighting long range as her 2 ally fought me in close quarters.

Richard roars and with his wings unfurled, he lunges at me from the air, his lion-like claws poised to strike. I evade just in time, narrowly avoiding his powerful talons. In response, I summon a gust of wind to send him tumbling backward.

Mana then sent a searing bolt of fire hurtles towards me. I react swiftly, conjuring a shimmering barrier of ice to intercept the fiery projectile. Flames then erupted from her staff, forming a blazing aura around her. I respond by weaving a protective ward of water to shield me from the searing heat. 

The monster then shrouded itself in shadow, in an attempt to take advantage of the chaos. It conjures illusions of twisted, nightmarish creatures to confuse me. But I just charged at its true body.

It tried to also attack the other 2 at first, but it was super smart as it saw the easier opportunity to take me down first by teaming up with them.

With Richard in the Manticore form, bearing down on me, I gather my mana for a decisive strike. As he lunged forward, wings outstretched and stinger poised, I focused all my power into my fist.

With the powers of the roses, fire, and lightning magic, and a mix of Lucifer's speed, I thrashed his ass as he died by that one blow. After that, I sank into the shadows and appeared right behind Mana where I easily beat her up and knocked her down.

The monster then charged at me before I could deal the final blow, but I also slammed it toward the ground and planted its face in the ground with my foot. Mana got up, and I stood there with my gaze locked with Mana's, the battle around us momentarily silenced. She's bruised and battered.

But her eyes were alive as it burned with an unrelenting anger.

"You! You were the one who brought this suffering upon my family! What did they ever do to deserve this?" Mana's voice trembled with a mixture of fury and pain as she shouted at me, "My family, our home, our future. All gone because of you!" 

"I say that there's any valid excuse for what I've done, Mana. But it was never personal against you. It was about survival, about achieving a greater purpose."

Tears then well up in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall.

"Greater purpose?" she scoffs, "You destroyed countless lives for your so-called 'greater purpose.' Tell me, what could possibly justify that?"

"Oh, and what your family's doing is fine?"

"My family has taught me that the ends can justify the means. That sacrifice is sometimes necessary. You may see it however you, but we've made our choice, it's...And I won't let you or anyone else stand in our way. Only one of us will leave here alive."

"I'll give you a choice, I'm only after this thing and the guy up there, you can leave here if you wish."

"No...my family made the choice to follow the plan, and the thought of us being eliminated isn't an impossibility, but...that's not stopping me from killing you today."

"Dying it is then."

Mana then charged up her powers as the monster underneath me got up and fought me, it attacked me with so many magic spells and his speed almost matched mine, it was scary since I was now using Lucifer's power and traveling at almost light speed.

Mana's power surges as the monster distracts me, reaching a catastrophic level, and she unleashes her Extinction Class abilities with a deafening roar. The entire facility quakes as the energy implodes.

The building crumbled around us, and the earth shook beneath our feet, but I endured it easily with my magic. The destruction rages on, the very air crackling with raw power. Mana's desperation is evidently on the extinction level but my powers easily rose to meet the challenge as the barrier absorbed the devastating energy.

As the dust begins to settle, the facility reduced to ruins, Mana and I emerge unscathed. The monster got up with its skin seared beyond recognition, but it then healed super quickly before roaring.