No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

"Another Death Mage? Didn't Ardan say that death energy is a very rare energy? Why are they popping out like mushrooms after a rain?" Damien Bloodbane mused slightly.

Death energy users were actually truly very rare.

The world only knew that there was such a thing called death energy when the Devil King appeared. And with his appearance, it was as though the door was opened.

Multiple reports of death mages began to appear all over, and death energy was introduced to the world.

But even then, they were very few, numbering less than a thousand, and mostly weak D or C ranked.

There has never been a report of a B rank death mage outside of the Devil King's entourage of 13 Apostles.

"That means that Johnson is an Apostle too." Damien Bloodbane concluded in his mind even as he raced to pursue Johnson.

Having killed Boris once, killing him a second time was not a problem.

However, now that a Death Mage had surfaced, killing Boris had dropped in priority.

Killing Johnson the death mage was the current top priority!

Not only was he the stronger one then, he also had the intriguing spell [Death Swap] which Damien Bloodbane was extremely interested in.

"Very good, boy! Focus on killing this Devil spawn! Haha! The European Baccalaureate is actually in cahoots with the Devil King! This is a shocker! This time, Japan and India would have no choice but to join in the war, you guys are screwed big time! Hahaha!" Ardan Flameborn ran his mouth ceaselessly.

All the while, he directed his powerful flames to surge this way and that way masterfully, seeking to overwhelm and block all of Johnson's escape route as fast as he could before the re-awakened Boris could join the fight once more.

"That is if you can make it out alive." Johnson sneered.

Facing Ardan Flameborn's ferocious attack, Johnson could not keep all of his focus on the rapidly approaching Damien Bloodbane and had to act to defend himself from being roasted alive.

"Tornado Total Defense!" Johnson spun his body like a top and instantly, a terrifying tornado appeared all around him out of absolutely nowhere.

It devoured all of Ardan Flameborn's flames and rendered it completely ineffective against him.

In a battle of contrasting elements such as wind and fire, one could easily theorize that wind would feed fire and cause it to grow much faster.

However, the reality was that who feeds on who would totally depend on the strength of the awakened.

Against a weaker awakened, yes fire would devour wind and cause it to grow stronger instead.

But if the wind was stronger than fire, especially in the form of a tornado, then the wind would devour the fire instead, bringing the fire's fiery energy into its fold to create a fire tornado that was under the wind element awakened's control.

The [Tornado Total Defense] was certainly a top tier spell.

With one move, Johnson defended against Ardan Flameborn's direct fire attack as well as whatever tricks Damien Flameborn had in store.

"So he has been hiding his true strength all along? Why would he do that?" Ardan Flameborn glanced at the re-awakened Boris who was lumbering rather slowly towards his position.

His eyes were fully black, and his arms were moving very slowly this way and that way.

He was casting some sort of spell.

Ardan Flameborn frowned deeply.

The situation was spinning out of his control.

In most novels, battles were long and drawn out events, with one party throwing out one strong move after the other, each one drawing out the MC's latent energy and awakening this shit and that shit.

It was not the case in real life battles!

You were either strong enough to kill your enemy, or you were killed because your opponent is too strong for you.

In this case, Johnson was definitely stronger than him and with Boris re-awakened, continuing in this battle would only lead to his eventual death.

"Damien! Fatty! Kit! Retreat at once!" Ardan Flameborn roared decisively and turned around to help Kitiara disengage.

He waved his arms and his flames immediately surged towards the heavy melee mecha. With his added support, it would be very simple for Kitiara to run away.

However, Damien Bloodbane had other plans.

Sheila Shadowbane's Ice Daggers were already in his hands and a pair of highly compressed orbs of death energy was already charged up and ready.

His eyes were narrowed in concentration, his mind already calculating the speed of the tornado and the speed that his daggers needed to achieve to successfully pierce through it to kill Johnson.

The chaotic swirl of wind in front of him blurred his vision, streaking dust and debris through the air in a spiraling frenzy. The howling wind screamed in his ears, its deafening roar drowning out nearly all other sound except the sharp hiss of his own breath.

He quickly realized that his dagger throw would not be able to achieve the required speed to pierce through the tornado's defense.

"In that case… Let's try this!"

Damien Bloodbane suddenly stopped circling around Johnson and started to sprint towards him directly!

Shua! Shua!

His left hand fired out a powerful [Death Energy Blast] while his right hand flicked the Ice Dagger with the propulsion technique he just created.

The [Death Energy Blast] slammed into the raging tornado and sent out a wave of death energy that struggled against the wind's natural force. The swirling currents resisted, scattering some of the death energy outward. But traces of it managed to seep through, creating eerie black streaks within the vortex.

At the same time, the Ice Dagger shot forward like a bullet, enhanced by Damien Bloodbane's newly crafted propulsion technique.

The dagger spun through the air, its frozen edge slicing through the debris-laden wind barrier.

The cold steel barely managed to hold its course against the violent gusts, but instead of shattering against the wall of wind, it was dragged into the tornado's rotation.

Damien Bloodbane's eyes sharpened as he saw his Ice Dagger being swallowed into the storm. A normal weapon would have been rendered useless, but his mind was already moving ahead to his next move.

The moment his Ice Dagger got caught in the wind's flow, Damien Bloodbane clenched his fist.

Boom!

The [Death Energy Blast] that had partially seeped into the tornado detonated, sending out a pulse of corruptive energy. The explosion didn't break through the storm outright, but it created a momentary instability.

That moment was all Damien Bloodbane needed.

"Now!"

His death energy flared to life as he reached out toward the Ice Dagger inside the tornado.

A thin, nearly invisible string of death energy tethered him to the weapon allowed him to call his dagger back at will, but more importantly, it allowed him to exert his will upon it.

With a sharp pull of his energy, the Ice Dagger, now laced with death energy, broke free from the tornado's influence and shot inward, straight toward the eye of the storm.

Johnson's eyes widened in shock as the cold steel, infused with Damien Bloodbane's death energy, suddenly changed trajectory and aimed directly at his chest. He barely had time to react.

With a grunt, Johnson twisted his body, trying to dodge at the last second.

Slash!

The Ice Dagger sliced into his side, tearing through his robes and cutting into flesh. A sharp pain flared through his ribs, but more than that—the death energy clinging to the dagger immediately started eating away at his life force.

Johnson staggered, his concentration wavering as he directed a chunk of his wind energy to resist the invading death energy.

The tornado flickered.

Damien Bloodbane grinned.

Before Johnson could recover, Damien Bloodbane launched himself into the air, his body propelled by a sudden burst of death energy beneath his feet. He shot forward, arms outstretched, his second Ice Dagger ready to strike.

Johnson grit his teeth, his mind racing. He couldn't let Damien get close!

"Tch… You're forcing my hand!"

Johnson's eyes flashed as he activated his trump card.

Death Swap!

A dark pulse erupted from his body.

In an instant, his wounded body vanished—and in his place, Boris suddenly appeared, his soulless eyes blinking mindlessly.

Damien Bloodbane's blade was already in motion.

By the time he realized what had happened, it was too late.

Shhk!

The Ice Dagger plunged deep into Boris's chest.

A moment of silence fell over the battlefield.

And then—

Boris exploded in a burst of death energy.

Damien Bloodbane barely had time to react before he was hurled backward, his body crashing into the dirt with enough force to leave a crater. The sheer backlash from Boris's sacrificial death energy attack sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.

Johnson reappeared several meters away, panting hard, his hand clutching his wounded side.

His gaze locked onto Damien Bloodbane, who slowly pushed himself up from the ground, blood trailing down his lip.

"This piece of trash… is dangerous," Johnson muttered under his breath.