However, everybody in the immediate vicinity immediately felt a change in the atmosphere. For some reason they felt like Benjamin’s lone figure seemed to have gone through some kind of change.
But still… they couldn’t tell exactly what this difference was.
As this happened, Benjamin slowly ascended into the air; he obviously wasn’t in any hurry to deal blows. Instead, he stared blankly at the two hundred mages and smiled.
"Do your worst."
His demeanour was beyond arrogant, and yet, Fafnir was not enraged by it. Looking at Benjamin mockingly hovering above them, he did not feel anger, instead, he felt intense fear.
He felt like a rat who had just run into a cat.
How, how could this be?
Fafnir was unsure of what was going on. However, he had already stepped onto the battlefield, there was no way for him to back out now.
That’s right… why should he be afraid anyway?
Looking at the mages around him, Fafnir did his best to suppress the fear within him. With so many other powerful mages fighting alongside him, there was no way they could lose!
And so, with their spells now primed and ready, Fafnir and his fellow mages simultaneously launched their attacks at Benjamin.
At that moment, the spells poured forward like a powerful waterfall. A brilliant display of flame showers and condensed gales… None of the present mages were pushovers, their attacks were a variety of medium grade spells. With their powers combined, their impact was tremendous. From a spectator’s perspective, the sky looked like it had come alive with fireworks - so much so that even the sun’s dazzling rays paled in comparison.
Many spectating mages observed the situation at hand and their expressions became slightly worried.
"Oh no… what a fearsome attack. Could Headmaster Benjamin accidentally receive a fatal blow?" gasped one onlooker.
Quickly, their gazes turned towards Benjamin. His expression remained calm, with lips curled slightly upward – he was even showing signs of being relaxed.
Slowly, he gently lifted his hand and raised his index finger.
SMACK!
Following the sharp sound, there was a sudden and drastic drop in temperature, as if the climate had just changed from summer to winter. The weather was supposed to be warm, and yet people could see the condensation from their breath. At the same time, the surrounding water affinity was stirred up like a hornet’s nest; it suddenly became violent, rendering the shocked audience speechless.
What’s… happening?
It was especially alarming for mages who specialized in water magic. At that moment, their sensitivity to water elements led them to a sensation similar to encountering a king among beasts, their spirits trembled in fear and they even had the urge to kneel in place.
In an instant, the surrounding water elements converged before Benjamin, conjuring an ice shield the size of a small mountain; before anybody had realized what was happening, half of the azure sky had disappeared behind the monstrous barrier.
The spells launched by the two hundred strong mages hit the shield before instantaneously scattering into various elemental pieces - the shield seemed unscathed.
Everyone was stunned.
It was as if a child had shot an armoured knight with a slingshot. Forget about the intensity of the spells that the mages had just launched, compared to the shield that now stood before them, they looked like child’s play.
The people felt a sense of outrageous disbelief.
What… exactly were they looking at?
A gargantuan ice shield that dominated half the sky, summoned by a mage with a lazy wave of his hand. Were they dreaming? For heaven’s sake! They were mages themselves, they KNEW how magic works. A magical conjuration as humongous as this, the amount of mana alone would be impossible, not to mention the complexity of casting it. With its difficulty, it might as well have been considered a forbidden spell.
But despite this, Benjamin had merely lifted his finger and flawlessly conjured it. The arc of the shield was smooth like a mirror without even a speck of error, it was far beyond even the most skilled weapon smith’s ability.
What was this monstrous level of control!?
Everyone fell silent. The scene before them was beyond their comprehension – at this point, all forms of conventional logic were out the window. Their consciousness temporarily froze and their jaws hung stupidly open.
The whole school field fell into a dead silence. All the ongoing discussions had abruptly stopped.
All that was left was the sky above them and the feeling of utter dread in the air. The crowd and mages alike watched as the spells continuously rained down on the shield – seemingly to no effect. The reactions of the two hundred mages were comical, to say the least.
Before long, all of the spells had struck the shield and were gone without a trace.
"Not to worry, my fellow mages. Please do utilize your most powerful spells, I can handle it." Benjamin stated, his voice booming from high above.
His tone made him seem rather bored; the people on the ground felt like they were listening to a god’s speech.
The spectators were dumbfounded, the mages in the field were dumbfounded, even the students and teachers who were close to Benjamin were dumbfounded.
None could understand what they were witnessing.
Benjamin saw no movement and began to taunt them. However, the two opposing mages stood rooted to the spot. It was as if they had been hit by a petrification spell and had lost their ability to move.
They seemed to have forgotten that they were in the middle of a sparring match with Benjamin.
Fafnir was no different.
As he was taking this in, he could only himself becoming lightheaded and his hand and feet drip with cold sweat. What exactly was happening? Was he lost in an illusion? Was he still in the reality he knew? Everything before him felt like a disorienting illusion. He felt as though he was sinking into a pitch-black abyss.
His being kept falling deeper and deeper…
"Attention mages, are you all still here? Speak up. If none of you will attack, then I will start my counter-attack."
Benjamin hollered for a good minute before the surrounding spectators slowly regained their senses. Slowly, they started to piece together the daunting scene before them. But having said that, some might never be able to digest what they had just witnessed for the rest of their lives.
Was this still even a sparring match between mages?
No… that ice shield… it was a display of divine strength.
The entire school field had turned into a graveyard where no one dared to utter a single word.
Should this battle even be allowed to continue?
Benjamin shook his head; his expression was that of cluelessness.
After giving it some thought, he waved his hand and dispersed the giant shield in the sky. Then he turned his head and directed a chilling stare at the two hundred odd mages.
The bone-chilling gaze enveloped them and quickly snapped them out of their daze. Their eyes opened wide and stared at the levitating Benjamin in disbelief.
"You… you…"
Thank the heavens, someone else aside from Benjamin was finally speaking.
"My fellow mages, I implore you all to unleash your best spell, do not hesitate to go all out on me. Otherwise, this sparring match would be underwhelming to watch." Benjamin said after letting out a huge sigh.
The two hundred mages however still had their gazes fixated on him, like he was some monstrous being from a horrible legend.
It’s all real…
Fafnir’s legs trembled.
Everything that just happened was real… With a wave of a hand, the mage before him had conjured an unbelievable shield and blocked every single attack without even breaking a sweat. Surely, no human could ever accomplish such a feat, right?
Yet, the person before him had done just that.
—A few minutes before this, Fafnir had criticized the young mage with words like "arrogant" and "naive"... before this, he had wholeheartedly believed that this was a mage he could actually defeat…
Where did all that confidence come from?
Fafnir was unsure, but he didn’t dare try to remember. The current him just wanted to run away with his tail between his legs and never have to see this monster ever again.
This man… was he the reincarnation of Cain?