Human Sage vs Elf Prince

Atlas closed his eyes in preparations to fight Prince Deios. He employed the same tactics he used to fight Prince Saul.

He added a layer of mana over his eyes as extra protection and kept his distance from Prince Deios.

Atlas couldn't see them but Deios eyes followed him. The eyes were demonic. All black, not even a design of sorts was there like Prince Saul's.

(Read Man vs Beast 1 and 2 if you want to remember how the eyes looked and what they did.)

Atlas remembered Saul's eyes having the ability to repel his spells. He had to be careful so he doesn't take damage from something that might rebound back and hurt him.

Deios had a grin on his face. The prince may seem normal but he was far from it.

"I'll kill you! I'll take the title of Sage from you!! That's what the world wanted!!"

Atlas didn't understand why Deios was so obsessed with the Sage title. All he knew was that Deios was slowly losing himself.

When he fought Saul, Saul kept referring to Atlas as his dead brother. Deios this time around could only talk about becoming the Sage.

'Maybe… those eyes mess with their minds?'

That was all Atlas could think about. Those eyes weren't just hard to fight against but they were also hard on the user.

"That's right! When I become Sage I will save the elves! I will do it and they will sing my praise! I will even eliminate the humans if I have to!"

Atlas knew that the elf prince was no longer a viable option when it comes to making peace between the elves and humans. The prince seemed set on killing everyone.

"Prepare yourself Sage!"

[Flash Step]

Even though Deios' [Death's Aura] was the same as Saul's, Atlas didn't struggle as much against it. With that said, it was still at 50%, 10% higher than his own.

With his [Aura] and eyes, Deios had an advantage. Atlas had to heighten all his senses and fight to the death if he had to.

After using [Flash Step], Deios vanished from his position and reappeared behind Atlas. He swung his leg up and brought it down, aiming to hit Atlas right on top of his head.

Atlas felt the change in the air. Ever since he became the Sage, he has become more sensitive to any change in his area. He noticed a sudden presence behind him so he countered accordingly.

"I can do the same you know."

[Thunder God: Flash Step]

Atlas unleashed a huge amount of mana, with it's help, he moved up into the air, dodging Deios' kick and brought his own leg down quickly. He wanted to make sure that Deios had no time to counter.

Atlas however seemed to have underestimated Deios. Deios had gathered a huge amount of mana and sent it straight below him. Gathering up all the dirt he could.

"Let's see how fast you are Atlas!!!"

[Mud Geyser]

[Breath of Life: Complete Control]

The ground beneath Deios cratered in, he jumped back and when he did, the crater opened up and a giant mud geyser exploded up, aiming to take Atlas out.

Atlas reacted the best he could and tried dodging it.

[Air Burst]

Atlas began shooting air out of his hand, using it to dodge the incoming attack from below. It just barely missed him but Atlas forgot about Deios second spell, [Breath of Life: Complete Control].

The mud geyser suddenly split in the air and turned towards Atlas. He couldn't see it but he could feel the sudden danger speeding towards him. The geyser had come to life and taken control of itself. It's aim was to end his life.

Atlas couldn't think of a spell that could stop the incoming danger so he did what he thought was right. He gathered all the mana he could and built it up. He was like a pot of boiling water that would spill over at any moment. That's exactly what he did.

The moment he took off the lid that held his mana, it shot out from every part of his body.

[Begone]

The moment the mana touched the geyser, it exploded into pieces. The burst of mana was so strong that it even ripped up near by homes, completely destroying a small area, even though Atlas was a few feet up in the air.

Deios was genuinely impressed. Even though the Eyes of Kavac were clouding his judgment and behavior, he still had some of his senses left. He was witnessing the Sage fight right before him.

Deios created a thick layered mana shield to protect himself from the blast. Atlas slowly landed back on the ground.

"You're quite impressive for a human. You also seem to know about my eyes, is that why you've been fighting with your eyes closed?"

Anyone would have been fooled by the prince. He seemed to be praising him but Atlas could feel the murderous intent behind every single word spoken.

"I do know about those eyes. I've actually fought against someone with those eyes."

"Someone else has these eyes?"

Deios was shocked. He had one day, randomly received these eyes after Jonathan's funeral. He didn't know why he got them but he only knew one thing about them. Those that looked at it could see their death.

"Yeah, someone else does. The thing is though, their eyes were far more difficult to fight against."

Atlas tried taunting Deios. He wanted to see if Deios was more emotionally unstable compared to Saul.

"What!??"

Just like Atlas predicted, the taunting sent Deios into a frenzy. Deios rushed at Atlas again but Atlas quickly created these ice shards and shot them in Deios' direction. Deios had to jump up to dodge them then he used [Air Burst] to shoot himself back.

Atlas took the chance to taunt him again. "You see? The person I fought was able to repel my attacks just by looking at it. It seems he was far more adept at using those eyes compared to you."

"Who?!! Who was it?!" Deios was once again loosing his composure and he didn't even realize it.

"It doesn't matter. I already defeated him. Now that I'm even stronger than before, I know that I will bring you down as well."

Atlas came running at Deios. He coated himself in mana armor and prepared to battle. Deios did the same, his only wish was to kill Atlas and make sure no one recognized his body.

-

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Back in the area where all the leaders were watching the event.

Ivory POV

Disgusted.

That was all I felt watching the Salvis. From what I heard, the event changed a couple hundred years ago when the elf prince was put in charge. Since then, it has lost its main purpose. To show the elves that they were once deemed as heroes too.

Now it was used to kill prisoners. Whether they were other elves, beast, humans or even children. The entire event was now built around killing these individuals.

I look to where Roxy was sitting. She looked nothing like her past self. She showed no interest in the event, even though she was witnessing it herself.

Prince Deios was allowed to do whatever he wanted because of her. But it wasn't just her fault. I look to the person not to far behind her.

Loki.

I sent my best to investigate the elf kingdom while we waited for Eva and the others to meet with us. They found a lot of things that disappointed me.

Loki had taken the role of the father figure in Deios' young life when the Elf Sage died. Roxy had shut herself off from the world, including shutting her son out.

Based off the investigation, Loki took Deios and began to slowly brainwash him. Using him to lead a revolution against the other races, mainly targeting humans. I couldn't figure out why Loki hated the humans so much though.

While thinking about this, I felt a sudden overwhelming sense of dread. I could see all the other leaders with similar looks. Loki being the only person in the room who seemed unbothered.

The spirits set up in this room were used to project the different battles for us to see more clearly. I scanned through each one until I saw something that shook me.

It was a fight between Atlas and Prince Deios! But Deios' eyes were weird, they looked almost demonic. That's when I recalled what Atlas told me about Saul.

'When I fought him, I had a sense of dread wash over me. It was when I saw your son, Saul, with those strange eyes. The Eyes of Karvac.'