"The barrier appears to be protecting them." Dorian thought as he looked at the mercenaries he'd downed. He hadn't held back. They were trying to kill him, after all. Yet, despite his powerful blows, they were merely injured or knocked unconscious.

The blue light that glowed around their skin was lessening the impact of his attacks.

That said, it could only do so much. Their strength, like many warriors, came from their uses of the power of Law. Defensively, they were no match for Dorian's raw physical might.

"Don't think you can escape by drawing attention to yourself. Not a soul in sight will hear or sense anything that happens out here." The obese Nightlord's voice was full of irritation as he hissed out harsh words, his hands weaving as he quickly cast a Spell.

"Darkness Magic: Flailing Whip!"

WHOOSH

A fifteen-meter long whip of pure darkness appeared and cut through the air towards Dorian.

At the same time, the Aeth Vampire Lord Ru clasped his own hands together.

However, before the injured Vampire could get a Spell off, the obese Nightlord punched out with his left hand, his right hand focused on guiding the Darkness Whip he had spawned.

BOOM

The blue energy that covered the Nightlord's body blasted out in a jagged square shape, slamming into the Aeth Vampire and knocking him backwards, hitting through the innate barrier that protected him.

BOOM

A second explosion rang out as the Darkness Whip slammed into the ground where Dorian had been standing. In the instant it slapped down, Dorian had spun off to the right, his mind racing ahead of him.

'I need to break this barrier.' He thought, his eyes narrowing. He made several quick movements, his legs a blur as he ran past the mercenary that had originally attacked him with some type of Curse.

He casually punched out with his arm, knocking it against the chin of the fighter. According to the memories in his head, techniques like that were extremely effective against warriors at this level.

thud

The fighter spun around through the air and then landed hard on the ground, instantly knocked out. Once more, the blue energy covering him protected him from the brunt of the impact, leaving him only slightly wounded, though still unconscious.

The rest of the warriors stood frozen as they glanced at the naked scaled Minotaur they were battling.

"Screw this."

"I'm out."

The mercenaries backed away, storing their weapons in Spatial Rings as they checked on their downed warriors. After seeing that they were all alive, the fighters retreated, no longer attacking Dorian.

"Wha-what are you- I order you to attack him!" Nightlord Javel's voice was full of exasperation as he saw this. He'd never lost control of a situation like this.

"No sir." The apparent leader of the mercenaries, a Mid Lord Class warrior wielding a longsword, spoke up,

"We were hired to stand basic guard duties for the casino, not to risk our lives trying to assassinate some naked warrior freak, and this is assuredly not casino property."

The entire crew backed out, standing in a corner of the barrier while the Nightlord yelled at them, irate. The mercenary leader was unrelenting.

"Ohhhh. Hire a team of mercenaries, she said, it will be cheaper and won't Lord Buick take issue if you form your own?" The Nightlord's eyes were bloodshot as he cursed at the warriors, his voice high pitched he imitated someone else.

In that time, Dorian had rushed over to the downed Aeth Vampire, helping him stand.

"Are you alright?!"

The old Vampire was injured, the jarring impact cracking several of his bones. Blood dripped out of his mouth as he got to his feet with Dorian's help and then reached for his Spatial Ring.

WHOOSH

Protective green energy surrounded the Aeth Vampire as he pulled a small, glowing miniature tower out of his Spatial Ring and broke it. He then tossed a Light Pill into his mouth, the healing energy washing over him.

"Thank you, beast. I forgive you for any of our differences." The Aeth Vampire wheezed out, nodding at Dorian. Blood continued to trickle down his lips, his entire body shaking.

"How do we break this barrier?" Dorian quickly asked, skipping over other questions. The Nightlord was still distracted trying to get his men to fight.

"We need to create a sufficient amount of force to overcome its defensive interior. We'll have to depend on you, young Minotaur. My physical strength isn't what it used to be, and I am an Alchemist, not a fighter." His voice wavered as he motioned at the glowing blue barrier. He then clasped his hands together, casting a quick Life Magic Spell that centered around healing his injuries. The Life Magic seemed to contradict the Aura he gave off, but the Spell functioned all the same.

Dorian's eyes narrowed. From his Spatial Ring, he quickly withdrew a pair of Pills and swallowed them down.

Immediately, he felt magic energy gleam under his skin, the Lord Class Ironskin Pill he'd swallowed activating. It enhanced his already tough exterior, making him resistant to large impacts or blows.

The second Pill was another Lord Class one that he'd won. A Lord Class Earthfeet Pill. It gave his body the temporary ability to pull himself towards the ground, making it easier to make quick movements or abrupt turns.

"Alright. I can do that."

Dorian bursts into a sprint, ramming himself towards the opposite side of the barrier.

His Moving Force Ability was still active. He could keep it active almost indefinitely if he was standing still, the Ability itself only drained energy when it was building up his force.

thud

thud

thud

His footsteps were momentous and menacing, obliterating the ground beneath him with each step. When the barrier had teleported, the Nightlord, in his anger and haste, had misaligned it slightly and sliced off the top of the florist's roof.

"I'll do it myself, you worthless bastards. But know that I will be filing a complaint." The Nightlord spun around as Dorian charged, cursing at the mercenaries one last time. He couldn't actually do anything to them, the contract he'd signed did indeed indicate they only had to defend the casino. Killing them would spawn an investigation, and he would be tracked through Fate without a doubt.

"Darkness Magic: Greater Darkness Spears." In a split second, the obese Nightlord sent out a half dozen spears made of darkness.

The Aeth Vampire was still recovering, his injuries almost fatal to the point where if he didn't focus on them, even with the Light Pill he'd swallowed, he could still die.

Dorian saw the attack out of the corner of his eye. He was already halfway across the barrier, his body a blur.

He smiled.

'It's good to be rich.'

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

A series of explosions rang out as the magical spears made of darkness slammed into the air around Dorian and fizzled out, depleting their energy.

At the same time, several Artifacts Dorian had pulled out shattered, their energy spent. Small Red Iron Artifact Shields, powerful tools that could release energy barriers strong enough to stop an Early Lord Class level Spell. One of the more common types of defensive Artifacts used by the extremely wealthy.

Nightlord Javel was a Pseudo-King Class Darkness Wizard that had built up his strength over time, establishing his own, miniature rule in a popular world traveler's city. The luxury and power that came with his position, alongside the little to no responsibilities, was incredibly enticing. While he wasn't the strongest or smartest in combat, the energy of his Soul Spell Matrix was still at the Pseudo-King level of Lord Class.

He'd built up his strength largely through wealth, using every avenue to increase the power of his soul that he could. He had no real chance of breaking through to the King Class, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.

That said, he was not a God. In the split second he had to cast a Spell, he was forced to go with one of his near instant cast Spell, his Greater Darkness Spears. It wasn't a particularly powerful Spell, but it was fast.

Unfortunately for him, Dorian had won several Red Iron Artifact Shields while at the casino. He'd brought them all out as he charged, activating them.

Four of the six he had won shattered as the spears collided with Dorian, but the last two remained in perfect condition.

Leaving him completely unaffected.

Every step he took powered him up. Dorian's body was like an unstoppable meteor of force as he crashed into the side of the blue barrier, punching forward with a lethal strike.

"Rumbling Earth – Boulder Breaker!"

BOOOOOM

The air in the barrier exploded into ricocheting chaos as energy blasted around in a haphazard fashion. The remnants of the roof that Dorian was standing on was pulverized, throwing up a small cloud of wood and stone dust.

"Wheeze." Dorian coughed as he jumped backwards, his right arm stinging slightly.

"Hahaha!" He couldn't help but laugh, feeling euphoric. Throwing a punch that strong felt incredibly good.

The dust cleared quickly as the air in the sealed off space whipped around.

Revealing a badly damaged, cracked barrier, but one that was still functioning.

Previously invisible lines of energy could be seen moving in erratic patterns. Dorian could make out a line of metal and stone plating, set into the barrier and covered in mysterious symbols.

"You damned bastard! Do you have any idea how expensive this Grand Seal was? It will cost me a fortune to repair that!" The Nightlord cursed savagely, the fat on his chin jiggling in his anger.

"I didn't break through it?" Dorian looked at his arm as if it had betrayed him.

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T BREAK THROUGH IT! I spent more than 100 Million-Mint Shields creating this! This would stall even a King Class warrior!" His voice sputtered as he yelled.

Dorian turned to look at the irate Nightlord.

"Well, I still broke part of it, no? And I'm not a King Class warrior. Soo…" He casually held his hands out and shrugged.

"ARRRGH!" The Nightlord almost spewed blood, his eyes nearly rolling up in rage.

"DIE!" He began casting some type of Spell.

'Dammit, bad Dorian. Don't antagonize your enemies, smartass.' He berated himself.

'Hold on. This is an Artifact, right?' His eyes widened as he remembered something.

Back on Taprisha, he had absorbed a huge barrier full of energy, helping Evolve his Titan form. If this whole barrier was a similar type of thing…

His eyes locked in on the exposed metal line.

He leapt forward, resting his hand on it.

"Absorb."

The metal artifact seemed to shiver.

A second later, a flash of warm light overtook Dorian as a huge store of energy flowed into his body.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"What kind of barrier is this?" Leader said aloud, tapping on it gingerly.

He was standing in the middle of an abandoned farming plot. Overgrown grass, a few random bushes and weeds, the land around him was barren and rather non-arable. He could see why it was abandoned, returned to the wilds.

In front of him was a large, glowing blue barrier. It was of raw energy, and reminded him of the barriers powerful Schools, Sects, or Organizations would put up around their main or side bases.

He punched it lightly, his eyes flashing.

It showed no result.

'Hmm. The Wrath inheritor is inside.' He rubbed his chin.

Leader was technically a Wizard, complete with the innate barrier all Wizards had. But he wasn't a normal one. The style of magic he practiced was unique.

He only ever used a single Spell.

"Summoning Magic: Ruler's Bow."

An aged, black wooden bow appeared in Leader's hands, one that was covered in mysterious carvings. Faint brown light emanated from this bow, giving it a mystical appearance.

If anything, Leader was far closer to a warrior than a Wizard.

A rainbow of colors flashed around him as he jumped backwards, a majestic Aura slowly forming around his body. This Aura was held close, not allowed to leak or spill away.

As this Aura of Pride formed, the air around him seemed to change. The aging man transformed from looking like a simple huntsman to donning the air and might of a powerful ruler. Small black scales appeared in a few spots on his face, arms, and legs, as held his bow at the ready.

"A barrier this tough will take a bit of effort to break through. It must be some Artifact to be able to not show anything at all when I touched it." He spoke aloud, his eyes confident,

"4 full powered shots? Or 3? Hmm, if I use my full strength could I break it in 2? Probabl-" Just as he was musing to himself, trying to guess as energy began to swirl around him, charging up, the barrier shuddered.

And then collapsed completely.

A huge explosion of light and energy rocked Leader's eyes, an unexpected blast that nearly blinded him. He instantly went on full guard, holding his hands up in a defensive posture as he snarled. His King Class Aura spread out, exploding down on everyone within 100 meters.

The light faded as soon as it came, leaving Leader stunned. He didn't allow himself to stay weakened, however, blinking furiously as his vision started to restore itself. Fear filled his heart at the display of sheer, destructive power.

An attack of this potency was something that could easily destroy him. Even his towering pride acknowledged that.

His vision mostly cleared up, revealing the blurry figure of the being that had just obliterated the powerful Artifact barrier with what appeared to be a light touch.

.

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