16: How dare you set your sights on me?

The sword was swift and fierce, the resulting gale arriving even before the blade, making the skin on his neck sting.

Just as the tip of the sword was about to pierce his skin, it was suddenly met by a fleeting red Ray that forcibly parried it away.

"You didn't think that my magic could only be cast from one hand, did you?"

Ronan sneered, staring straight at Shield Mountain, who had suddenly attacked him.

"How did you figure it out?"

Shield Mountain's face showed no emotion; having missed his strike, he had already quickly retreated a distance.

Ronan shrugged, his tone full of mockery. "Did I even need to 'figure it out'?"

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

Shield Mountain was no longer in a hurry, switching back to his usual friendly expression as he asked curiously.

"When the Rat Tide came, Evil Axe and I were separated by the surge, but how did you and Hawkeye get separated?"

"I'll just assume that was a slip of the tongue, but..."

Ronan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're blatantly carrying two storage pouches; do you think I'm blind?"

Storage pouches were storage equipment provided by the Adventurers Guild, with each member of the squad having one.

The second pouch hanging from Shield Mountain's waist clearly belonged to the missing Hawkeye.

"Of course, even without those factors, you never had any credibility with me to begin with."

Since things had reached this point, there was no need for Ronan to keep up appearances anymore.

"As fellow survivors of the tide, Evil Axe is far more reliable than you."

"Evil Axe relied on his bloodlust to escape the Beast Tide, but what about you? As a mere Shield Guard, how could you possibly survive such a ferocious Beast Tide?"

"So I was thinking, could that person Wolf Fang mentioned be the key?"

Ronan pretended to be deep in thought, but in reality, he was constantly watching Shield Mountain's expression.

"Let me think, what was her name... Crimson Gauze, right?"

"Truly worthy of a mage, to have uncovered the inside story so quickly," Shield Mountain said, clapping his hands and praising him generously.

"Correct. The reason I was able to survive the Beast Tide was exactly as Wolf Fang guessed—I killed his lover and took the magic tool she used to escape the tide."

Shield Mountain's expression remained normal. "But that's how it is for Adventurers; it's survival of the fittest. It's either you or me."

"One can only say it all comes down to one's own ability."

"So you took advantage of the Beast Tide to kill Hawkeye too?" Ronan asked.

"I merely gave him a push at the critical moment and took his pouch while I was at it... Wasn't he the one constantly watching you before? Now that I've killed him, you should be thanking me."

Shield Mountain spoke as if it were only natural, with no hint of sarcasm on his face.

"I don't really care what happened between the two of you."

Ronan stood up, his gaze like lightning and red light flashing at his fingertips.

"But... how did you dare to target me?"

Shield Mountain spread his hands helplessly, not bothered by the failed sneak attack. "I really didn't expect that even at a time like this, you'd still have the strength left to counterattack..."

"But with your current Spiritual Power, what else can you do?"

He could tell at a glance that Ronan's previous state of dizziness and retching wasn't just due to the impact of the Beast Tide, but was more a sign that his Spiritual Power was about to be depleted.

"A mage with depleted Spiritual Power will be drowned by the approaching Rat Tide even if I don't act."

"In that case, why not just let me benefit?" Shield Mountain said with a smile. "After all, we were teammates once."

"Being your teammate is far more dangerous than being drowned by a Beast Tide," Ronan sneered.

"White Night, don't think I don't know you're actually stalling for time to recover your Spiritual Power," Shield Mountain exposed him frankly. "It's useless. Without a Meditation Method, you won't recover much Spiritual Power even if I gave you a whole day."

He shook his head, a hint of pity in his eyes. "Just as that Mercenary said, you're nothing more than a 'Wild Mage'."

Wait, a Shield Guard is giving a critique on mages?

"Don't you want to know how I survived the last Beast Tide?"

After Shield Mountain finished speaking, he suddenly stomped his foot, and an obscure ripple spread out with him as the center.

Immediately after, he reached out and pushed aside the two pouches, revealing a small skull on his belt that had been hidden by them.

"There. Now, for a short period of time, we won't be able to use our storage pouches."

Ronan secretly tried and found that the pouch indeed could no longer be opened.

"It doesn't matter to me, everything I need is on my person. But as for you..." Shield Mountain wore a mocking expression. "Have you used up your concentrated elemental orb?"

"I see. You were also stalling for time, preparing to cast this skill."

Ronan realized why Shield Mountain had been able to chat with him for so long without any trouble.

"Hmph, as long as you know." Having achieved his goal, Shield Mountain no longer had any desire to continue the conversation.

He took off his bracer, revealing a pink bracelet inlaid with a small skull.

"Let me use a mage's method to grant you eternal rest."

"Pfft." Ronan almost died laughing at this contrasting scene.

"I didn't think that despite your looks, you'd have such a pink, girly heart... Hahahaha."

Shield Mountain didn't bother to argue, merely staring at Ronan with a sinister gaze as he activated the magic bracelet on his wrist.

In an instant, the skull on the bracelet spewed out a cloud of black mist that quickly spread over his entire body.

His face turned visibly pale, though it wasn't very obvious under the cover of the black mist.

"It seems you relied on this magic tool to survive the Beast Tide."

This should be Crimson Gauze's item.

Ronan didn't delay any further; he had no intention of letting his enemy finish charging up and then cause him harm.

In his mind, the Divinity's wish function had already been activated.

"I wish to immediately restore my Spiritual Power to normal levels at the cost of consuming 1 point of wish power."

[Wish established!]

[wish power reserves -1]

Ronan suddenly felt a wave of clarity.

The dizziness and lightheadedness caused by his depleted Spiritual Power all vanished.

However, after a moment of sensing, Ronan noticed something slightly off.

His Spiritual Power had only recovered by half.

But the wish had requested 'restoration to normal levels'... which meant that his total Spiritual Power was roughly double the normal level.

Thinking of this, Ronan felt a surge of joy.

But immediately after, he suddenly felt unable to mobilize his Spiritual Power.

When he focused his consciousness on the panel, he saw that the word "Descent" in the Authority column had turned red and was flashing incessantly.

A single thought touched it.

[wish power reserves: 0]

[Divinity Source Quality is about to leak, self-rescue mode initiated, Miracle Descent!]

In an instant, the surrounding environment was replaced by darkness and the Void.

Ronan felt his soul leave his body, following an unknown passage away from the surface, rising continuously until it reached the high heavens.

By the time he regained his senses, he found himself inside a Dark Hall.

The hall was in ruins, its ceiling open to the infinite Void; the entire hall was like a lonely island floating in the Void.

And he was sitting on a simple yet majestic throne at the highest point of the hall.

Below his feet was an endless staircase stretching downwards, as if spanning through time and space.

At this moment, on the bottom-most step of the staircase, stood a panicked and bewildered Shield Mountain.