The Author's POV

I took my time finding Prince Plintus.

It would be difficult for anyone, including myself, to see through his disguises, given how adept he was at cloaking himself... In fact, standing in front of him and looking at him, I realized that I was being overly confident in my abilities.

There was no way I could find him with my abilities. 

'Thankfully, I'm always prepared.'

Just prior to that, downstairs, when Prince Plintus was still in shock over the situation, I made the most of the opportunity to arrive in front of him and press my hand against his shoulder. I could have sneaked up on him back then and attacked him, but I decided to go with a different strategy instead.

…Leaving a mark on his body.

It was never my intention to kill him; rather, the goal was to locate the mana compressor and destroy it.

I had the opportunity to carry it out after I had Prince Plintus killed, but I chose not to. In all candor, it would have required twice as much time, and in times of war, time was of the essence.

I knew, perhaps more than anyone else, that each and every second was important, which was why I chose to proceed in this manner.

With the Akashic Laws in my command, everything was easy. Placing a thin thread around his body, I was able to find him regardless of his cloaking skills.

In my eyes, he was no different than a moving target.

"Let me guess…"

I focused my attention on the mana compressor that was right in front of me. It was violently shaking, and the demonic energy in the immediate area around me was in a state of disarray.

With a glance, I was able to determine what it was that he was attempting to accomplish.

My gaze moved toward Prince Plintus.

"…You're trying to destabilize the mana compressor to create a portal and then desync it?"

'Looks like I'm right.'

I smiled at the Prince's expression. That was enough for me to know that I was right.

"That's not a bad plan, to be honest."

I felt mildly impressed by his attempt. 

If he had actually constructed a dungeon and then desynced it, then the situation would certainly reverse the way he had hoped it would. 

Our current advantage does not come from the individual power of a select few but rather from the strength of our numbers. In terms of their individual power, the demons were significantly more powerful than we were.

They had far more Duke ranked demons than we did for <SS> ranks. The same couldn't be said for Marquis ranked demons and <S> ranked users.

Our advantage lay there, with over a thousand of them currently in the hall.

…They were the reason for our high chances of victory, and if not for them, then the ambush would've never worked, to begin with.

That being said, Prince Plintus had grossly miscalculated something. 

"Not bad.. Not bad…"

I took a step back. Away from the mana compressor and interlocked my hands behind my back.

"Wh..what?"

I smiled at the Prince's expression. He seemed utterly dumbfounded by my actions, and I couldn't really blame him if I had to be honest. With that being said… I didn't really care and continued to observe the mana compressor.

"What are you doing?"

Exactly at that moment, I found myself frowning and looking over at Prince Plintus. I gave him a gentle nudge with my head before turning my attention back to the mana compressor.

"Weren't you trying to create a dungeon? Go, I'm giving you the chance to do it. I promise I won't do a single thing while you inject demonic energy into it…"

At that very moment, the Prince wore a look that could only be described as wonderful. If I could have gotten a few pictures of it, I definitely would have, but I didn't want to push my luck too much. 

If he snapped, things would turn rather troublesome. 

Nevertheless, in spite of what I said, Prince Plintus continued to stand in the same place he had been. It was as if he no longer cared to create a dungeon as he had initially intended.

"Uh? Come on? Why aren't—" 

His actions irritated me, and just as I was about to say something else, I felt something being thrown in my direction. It was the tip of a very sharp nail.

Swoosh—!

"Wow."

I narrowly avoided it and took several steps back.

I didn't even have time to properly stabilize my footing before the Prince started to attack me again. He came at me with such speed that it made it difficult for me to dodge. 

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

His attacks were relentless and extremely ruthless, aiming for my most sensitive organs. His movements were extremely fast, and if not for [Eyes of Chronos] and the chip inside of my mind, I would've had a hard time dodging them.

'It looks like he's trying to stall for time and wait for the mana compressor to explode… Well, that's one way of doing things…'

I didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed by his actions, but as I stared at the incoming sharp nail, I twisted my foot on the ground and avoided the attack. Then, I raised my foot and smashed it against the other hand he was using to attack me.

Clank—!

I stumbled a couple of steps, barely keeping my face from changing. That… his arm was a lot harder than I originally anticipated.

Fwap—!

Out of nowhere, his figure blurred, and I felt someone appear behind me. His movements were so fast that even [Eyes of Chronos] was barely able to keep up with it. Despite that, I was still able to see it somewhat… it was just enough to let me know what had happened, and I ducked down. 

Swoosh—!

A large hand materialized out of thin air in the location where my head had been moments earlier. It reached out like it was going to grab something, but all it could do was grab air. I twisted my body, and a sword appeared in my hand.

Click—!

A familiar clicking sound rang out, and a figure hurled all the way back into one of the walls in the distance.

BOOM—! After his figure slammed into the wall, I took a few deep breaths and regained my composure. Everything took place in a split second, and despite the many advantages I possessed, I was having a hard time keeping up with him.

He… He was weaker than Waylan, and not by a small margin, but he was still extremely strong. He wasn't someone I could take lightly. 

'It looks like I still need to get used to my newfound power.'

In terms of rank, I was a little lower, and as I had only recently gotten to where I was now, I was a little unfamiliar with how to use the power I had.

It was only logical that I wasn't accustomed to my power as some of my body reacted faster than my brain did… a problem which used to be on reverse previously. 

'Still, it's not like I'm using my full power yet.'

I still hadn't used my demonic transformation or the Akashic Laws. One could say that I was going easy on Prince Plintus, and I guess it was true… but considering that my goal was to let the mana compressor desync, I didn't need to go all out.

'There's no better time then to get used to my powers than now.'

If one of the reasons why I was having a hard time getting accustomed to my powers was the lack of experience I had with them, then there was no better time than now to gain that experience.

Swoosh―!

Just as the dust began to settle, Prince Plintus materialized on the right side of my body. When he came at me with his claws, I was about to duck out of the way when I noticed several small spherical energy beams on the tips of his fingers. 

'Oh, shit!'

When I first saw them, my eyes widened, and instead of ducking, I pulled my sword from its sheath. At that moment, I could feel my muscles tensing up, and I brought my sword parallel to my body, and his claws landed perfectly against my sword at that angle.

BANG―! The point of contact between my sword and his claws generated waves of circular pressure that spread outward in all directions. 

Letting out a short groan, I stumbled a couple of steps back.

"Ugkh."

I only came to a stop when my back was against the side of a wall, stopping me from moving further back. Just as I was about to collect myself, I became aware of something approaching from my right side, and at that precise moment, my gaze stopped on the mana compressor.

Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak.

The body of the compressor began to develop cracks, and it began to tremble back and forth between the two extremes. The light that had emerged from the cracks was blindingly bright and white.

I was about to move away from the cracks that had formed on the side of the compressor when all of a sudden, Prince Plintus materialized in front of me. 

"Where are you going?"

A gleeful smile was plastered across his face, despite the manic expression that he was sporting.

"Didn't you want to see what would happen when the mana compressor exploded? Here, I'll let you see."

In a motion that rendered it impossible for me to react, he pressed his hands against my shoulders and held my body firmly against the side of the wall. 

My expression changed at that moment, and Prince Plintus shouted.

"Watch!"

BOOOOOM―!

Immediately after that, there was a terrifying explosion, and everything around me turned white.