Insightful

"Are you okay?"

Bigsby placed his hand on Dignitas' shoulder. Something about his tone seemed to rub the author the wrong way, but he decided to let it be.

The latter nodded, to which the veteran replied, "Sit back! I've got this demon."

Before Dignitas even realized it, Bigsby had disappeared. There was no sign of movement, nothing. It was like he had completely teleported.

Bigsby was already on Hauser the next second. With a fearsome battle cry, he brought down his formidabble waraxe on the mage.

Kkkkk… The ensuing blow was stopped by the same transparent barrier Hauser had used before. While Dignitas and John found no hopes in destroying the barrier, Bigsby seemed to think otherwise.

Cracks instantly began appearing on the barrier, forcing Hauser to supply more Devil Ashra to prevent it from breaking.

The one-eyed veteran wasn't the type to stay still, however. In the blink of an eye, he had brought the axe behind him in preparation for a devastating spinning blow.

Hauser knew the increased momentum and strength put into this attack would be more than enough to completely shatter his protection. For that reason, he prematurely withdrew the barrier and fired off multiple small firebolts at Bigsby while retreating.

"Oh, right. I should save John."

Now that Bigsby and Hauser were engaged in an intense duel, the latter was forced to remove his attention from the swordsman.

Seeing the protagonist slumped over now that Hauser wasn't pinning him against the wall, Dignitas took this opportunity to run past the carnage and bring back John.

With some luck and fortunate timing, he was able to weave through the chaotic battle and carry John towards the exit, where he placed him down.

"How are your wounds? That blow from earlier looked painful."

"You saw it, right? My back feels broken, but I think my regeneration should start kicking in and heal me."

John most likely, at this point of the story, already had access to techniques that allowed him to augment his abilities. And given that he was a C+ rank, that meant his body naturally repaired itself faster.

Instead of joining in on the fight by assisting Bigsby, the two of them simply watched. At their current stage, any would-be assistance they tried to give would only be a hindrance to both sides.

"He doesn't look like he's going to join anytime soon."

Dignitas turned towards Alicer, who was located at the back of the room, where the door was. With a calm expression, he watched the battle, yawning.

Ignoring John and Dignitas for now, if the assassin were to join in on the battle, they would most likely have already overwhelmed Hauser by now. Compared to them, Alicer was clearly someone who preferred killing his targets with one hit, and undetected.

"I know it says demons… but I wonder if it'll work on him. Oh well, nothing else to do but try."

Dignitas' lone eye shone with grayish energy. Like Death's Vision, Author's Insight functioned the same way, in the sense that it relied on his eyes to work.

| Alicer Roskii | | Illusion - Hauser Friede |

| 21, M |

Rank: B-

ATK: B DEF: C

AGI: B- MANA: B

| Skills |

| Frost Manipulation - Defensive | | B+ |

Temporarily imbues the user with the "Ice" Affinity and grants them the ability to cast spells of the type. Using the skill to cast Ice Wall, Ice Mirror, Ice Barricade, and other defensive structures ensure an increased cast rate and durability.

| Flame Manipulation - Offensive | | B+ |

Temporarily imbues the user with the "Fire" Affinity and grants them the ability to cast spells of the type. Using the skill to cast Fireball, Flame Wall, Flamethrower, and other offensive skills ensure an increased cast rate and power.

| Nightingale Manipulation | | B+ |

Skill obtained from attunement with the artifact "Nightingale Daggers." Allows the wielder to telepathically control the daggers through the air as if they were being held.

| Lessen Presence | C |

A passive skill. Makes the user less likely to be detected by surveillance skills and makes them not as noticeable.

___

Dignitas shook his head in confusion. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, hoping that what he saw wasn't true.

"I should check again."

He shifted his view to look at Bigsby. As expected, he was still engaged in a heated battle with Hauser. Neither seemed to have the capacity to overpower the other.

Bigsby relied on his superhuman physical strength and stamina to mount a series of powerful attacks on his opponent, but to no avail. Hauser was more evasive, making sure he was always outside of the veteran's melee range.

Whenever Bigsby managed to close the distance slightly, Hauser would fire slightly stronger spells to keep him at bay. This allowed him to keep retreating while the cat and mouse game continued.

In a few moments, the same grayish glow appeared in Dignitas' eye and Bigsby's status was shown.

| Byrie Mortem | | Illusion - Hauser Friede |

| 59, M |

Rank: A

ATK: A DEF: A-

AGI: A MANA: B+

| Skills |

| Axe Proficiency | | B+ |

A passive skill. Grants the user improved proficiency when wielding weapons under the "axe" category.

| Earthshatter | | A- |

Manipulates the flow of mana to gather towards the user's weapon. When slammed on the ground, releases an intense shockwave that knocks anything in the vicinity prone.

| Axe Style - Steel Shredder | | S |

A style for use with weapons under the category of "axe." The style commands deadly blows that seek to enact destruction on one's enemies. Any hit that connects is sure to deal damage.

| Mana Domain - Steel Hell | | ? |

A Mana Domain that takes on the form of the most comforting field of battle for the user. Gathers the flow of mana and releases it into the world, forcing the surroundings to obey the user's will and shift into their Mana Home. This Domain takes the form of a rustic dungeon littered with thousands of axes that swing endlessly.

___

"...who would've guessed."

It started off as a mere suspicion, but the first line pretty much sealed the last nail in the coffin.

"I have to be careful. This is Malphasia's domain, and if I act up, she'll be able to read my mind."

Curie wasn't here in the room, so Dignitas wasn't sure if the Mind Link she supposedly activated was actually her doing or Hauser's.

Forcing himself not to think of it, Dignitas placed his hand on John's shoulder and said,

"We should help out. Neither side's gaining the upper hand."

"Are you sure? I doubt we'll be able to provide any meaningful assistance with our current strength."

"Well, there's nothing against us playing a few sneaky tricks to impede Hauser's momentum." He slid his finger across Dainsleif's blade. "A few underhanded tricks ought to do it."

"I see! Wonderful idea, Dignitas."

The both of them nodded towards each other, before suddenly blazing across the room in an instant.

While John was on board with the plan, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. So to make himself useful, he did his best to land a few sneaky slashes on Hauser, capitalizing on the slight stutters caused by Bigsby's attacks.

Even then, Hauser still seemed aware enough to retaliate. He'd instantly cast the spells he had prepared beforehand to make sure John couldn't close the distance.

It was times like this when Dignitas appreciated the Time Affinity. Specifically, the skill that belonged to that class, Chronos Interval.

Despite the difference in stats between Hauser and John, the latter still found time to focus on the offensive due to his skill protecting him.

Dignitas had other plans, however. He did not join John, nor did he try to do anything to interfere with Hauser's momentum.

Instead, the author gathered up as much mana as he could and made it flow towards his feet. The added boost from this made his already noteworthy speed ascend to greater heights.

Then, without letting out the slightest bit of killing intent, he charged into the fray. Only this time, he wasn't planning on ending the fight.

No, no. He was planning on starting it.

Stab. The sound of a sword piercing flesh resonated throughout the room. The battle that seemed to show no signs of ending abruptly stopped. One of them had fallen.

"You…! How did you know?"

Dignitas did not answer him. Instead, he turned to Hauser. The robed individual seemed to show no sign of emotion ever since the start of the battle, but now was the first time he did.

"If this is your sick way of using illusion magic, then I welcome it. Though, you might want to step up your game. Maybe take some impersonation classes."

"Your face tells me you want to know how I knew. The answer is…"

Dignitas pointed to his lone eye and his ears. "Something called an Author's Insight."