WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 148: The Magus True Power

CLANG!

Their clash sent shockwaves rippling through the cavern, stone shattering beneath their feet.

The Magus's lightning flared brighter, and Ben's chitin armor cracked from the strain, but neither stepped back. "You're tougher than you look," the Magus sneered, pressing harder.

Ben pushed back, a fierce grin spreading across his face. "And you talk too much."

In one swift movement, Ben redirected the Magus's force, spun around, and delivered a devastating strike with his pickaxe, tearing through the Magus's lightning armor and leaving a deep wound.

The Magus staggered back, wounded, lightning flickering weakly around him. But before Ben could attack again, the Magus jumped toward the fallen beast.

In an instant, he vanished into the beast's shattered chest.

The cavern filled with a blinding flash as flames and lightning surged wildly around the creature, enveloping it in a brilliant cocoon of raw mana.

Ben shielded his eyes, stepping back cautiously.

The cocoon burst apart violently, and from within emerged a new figure.

Standing tall was a Beast in humanoid form clad entirely in molten crystal armor, streaked with veins of pulsing lightning and blazing fire.

Its head bore dragon-like horns, its arms were lined with phoenix feathers burning blue, and its entire body crackled with devastating power.

"Finally…" the figure spoke with two voices merged into one, deep and resonant, layered with raw elemental force. "I can use this Relic true power."

Without hesitation, the newly transformed Magus moved. He vanished, leaving behind only an afterimage before reappearing inches from Ben.

A fiery, lightning-infused punch slammed into Ben's chest, sending him hurtling back through the cavern wall.

CRASH!

Stone exploded around him, and Ben grunted, pain radiating through his body as he struggled upright from the rubble.

The Magus advanced again, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. His fist lashed out once more, lightning and flame spiraling around his arm, intent on crushing Ben completely.

But Ben's eyes narrowed. His spider limbs dug into the ground, bracing himself. At the last moment, he swung his pickaxe with everything he had.

CLANG!

The force of their collision shattered the ground, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the cavern.

Both of them were thrown backward, but this time Ben landed firmly, eyes flickered with realization. "You're strong yes, normally I will never beat you, but in the end you're nothing more than lump of Mana."

He activated his magic destroyer skill and shot toward the Magus with blinding speed.

The Magus reacted instantly, lightning sparking as he slipped aside, narrowly evading the deadly arc of Ben's pickaxe. He move backward, weaving between Ben's relentless strikes, his elemental form flickering unpredictably.

But Ben was patient. Every swing forced the Magus into a tighter space, cutting off his paths one by one. The cavern walls loomed closer, giving him less and less room to dodge.

Realizing the trap, the Magus snarled, gathering power for a escape. Lightning flashed as he jumped upwards, aiming to burst free from the encirclement.

Exactly as Ben expected.

In that instant, Ben activated his mana displacement organ. To the Magus's senses, Ben's presence blurred, flickering between multiple points, an illusion of mana signals scattered around him.

The Magus hesitated for a split second, confused, unsure where to focus his next attack.

That split second was all Ben needed.

From the Magus's right, a sharp spider-like limb shot forward, forcing him to dodge left. The Magus moved, exactly into Ben's real path. Ben materialized beside him, pickaxe already swinging upward.

"You can't escape this!" Ben shouted, eyes fierce with triumph.

The Magus's eyes widened as the pickaxe sliced cleanly through his crystalline armor.

CRACK!

Mana exploded outward, shattering the Magus's elemental form. His body burst into a storm of flickering fire and lightning, scattering wildly in every direction.

Ben landed in a crouch, breathing heavily, his pickaxe glowing fiercely.

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But the silence was shattered by a burst of manic laughter echoing from the swirling chaos.

"Magnificent! Truly magnificent, traveler!" the Magus shouted, his voice warped, vibrating with excitement.

"But did you really think you'd already won? You haven't even seen the slightest glimpse of my true power!"

Suddenly, the air grew oppressive, dense and suffocating. Ben felt the hair rise on the back of his neck as a strange energy emerged, different from anything he'd ever sensed before.

Instinctively, his instincts screamed at him to move.

Without a second thought, he dashed back toward his base.

Elvira, whose gaze had been fixed toward Draeven's group approaching slowly from the distance, suddenly whipped her head around. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Ben sprinting toward her, urgency etched on his face.

"Is that... Aether energy!?"

Ben's pickaxe was capable of disrupting mana but aether was something entirely different.

Behind Ben, a massive figure stepped from the swirling tempest, each step trembling the earth beneath him. Twice the height of a normal human, the Magus emerged transformed again, this time covered entirely in dark dragon scales.

From his back erupted two wings of blazing fire, spreading wide crackling with purplish lightning.

His eyes, now deep crimson with a chilling glow, fixed coldly onto Ben's fleeing form.

Two curved horns, black as obsidian, protruded from his brow.