"Aaaargh!"
Blitz Steps!
Eren quickly got away from the female demonic ranker after he was stabbed in his guts by her. The pain had helped him get control of himself. He activated his healing spell while trying to maintain a safe distance from her.
"You are quick on your feet, aren't you? I just hope you are not this quick in everything you do. Hehehe!"
She tried flirting with Eren with her cute gestures and pretty face some more. But this time, Eren could sense what was going on.
He immediately shifted his focus to her shadow instead of directly looking at her. He could sense that looking at this demonic ranker directly was the reason behind him getting trapped in an illusory spell.
The demon ranker was shocked by how quickly Eren figured out her spell. The ensemble she had worn, the accessories in the forms of rings and earrings she had on her as well as her seductive talk were meant to enhance the effects of her illusory spell.
However, that was not the only thing she could do. She was also proficient with her two curved daggers– Bichuas. She played with them in her hands like some juggling act before speaking to Eren.
"You know, boy. I had taken you for some immature ranker who had come here to die. But it turns out that you are not half bad. Still, the fact that you'd die here won't change. Hehe.
A shame really. I liked you. At least know the name of someone who'd put you to sleep for good. It's Ariadne."
Ariadne disappeared from her position after saying this. The next thing Eren knew, she had almost closed the distance between them.
Eren activated his spell again and tried to create a distance between him and his opponent. But there was only so much space he could use to maintain the distance.
Ariadne's cute laughter rang in Eren's ears once again. And suddenly, he came face to face with her while she was playing with her daggers.
Eren saw Ariadne using her left arm to launch an attack on him in the form of a mana-imbued slash. So he tried to defend it using his Tachi. But the next thing he knew he was stabbed in his right thigh.
Ariadne's left arm which she had used to launch an attack disappeared from its position. Her left arm was still in the defensive position. It was her right arm she had used to attack Eren. And that right arm appeared in its real position only after her attack found its target.
Ariadne was planning to continue her attacks. Eren activated his defensive artifact, his ring, and prevented her from injuring him any longer.
'This bitch!'
Eren looked at Ariadne's shadow while cursing her in his head. Ariadne retraced her steps and created a safe distance from her opponent after she saw an almost transparent energy dome protecting him.
Ariadne didn't have the power to brute force her way through the defense layer to get to Eren. Her skills lay in making use of her illusory spells. And she was doing a fantastic job landing multiple blows on Eren without him being able to deflect any of them.
So all she could do was wait for Eren to run out of patience or for the shield's limitations to kick in. She was also surprised that an insignificant-looking man had such a precious and life-saving artifact on him.
She looked at Eren's ring with keen interest. But then she shook her head before replying.
"Boy, you won't be able to attack me as long as your defense artifact is active. It's not really helpful if your allies are scattered all over the place. I'll just attack them instead of focusing on you. Hehe."
Ariadne said and smirked. She then charged in Rhea's direction with exceptional speed. In the next moment, she sensed something coming toward her– an attack. It made her smile from ear to ear, knowing that her strategy had worked.
Eren dispelled his shield as soon as he saw that Ariadne was charging at Rhea. Everyone was engaged in a fierce battle with their opponents. Ariadne joining Rhea's opponent at a crucial time would only put Rhea in harm's way.
It could lead to a disastrous outcome for him and the rest of his team. So Eren decided to dispel his shield. Technically, he had used the shield twice tonight. He only had one usage left before needing a recharge.
However, Eren started using his infinite mana core to charge the defensive artifact. The artifact still had its limits in allowing Eren to use it multiple times. But Eren knew he could use the artifact two more times in a row if he was given ample time to charge it.
The problem this time was not the defense. But how could Eren land a blow on Ariadne without being hurt in the process?
Eren had come to know that Ariadne didn't only use illusory spells to hide her real actions and the actual position of her body. She could also use them to make her actions slower or faster than they are, throwing off Eren's perception of countering them effectively.
Eren gritted his teeth and endured all the injuries he had sustained in his fight with Ariadne. He had also tried his martial arts on her. But since his perception of her attacks and stance was off, he couldn't land any decent attack on her.
Eren also tried casting his offensive spells on her. But the result wasn't much different. Ariadne would use the spell's effect as a diversion to appear from a different direction and launch an attack on him instead.
All Eren could do was guard his vital points against her while keeping her busy with him. Using his infinite mana to constantly heal himself so as not to be incapacitated by his injuries.
He was spamming healing spells and trying to overcome his injuries and his opponent like an undying cockroach.
'I am the best there is for what I do. But what I do isn't very nice.'
A thought rippled in Eren's mind. But he ignored it and kept fighting.
Ariadne and Eren fought for some time. And the demonic ranker was getting tired. Her mana reserve was not infinite like her opponent.
Ariadne was still a long way from being exhausted. But she could see that Eren was still keeping up with her even after sustaining many injuries in the process.
'How could this be?'