Strongest Warlock - Wizard World Irregular

But, this pain he was feeling right now was different.

It was as if someone was using his power against him, and making him understand that his level of understanding about his own powers was that of an infant.

Ethan managed to regain his balance mid-air and skidded on the ground. Blood seeped at the corner of his lips, because the damage he received wasn\'t light.

Sebastian, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.

\'This style of fighting…,\' Sebastian thought before glancing at Ethan\'s Other Half, who had a faint smile on his face.

\'Is she?\' Sebastian whispered.

Ethan\'s Other Half nodded, and confirmed his comrade\'s guess.

After that exchange, they no longer talked and simply watched the battle between the two.

As the two exchanged one spell after the other, an eerie feeling started to grip Ethan\'s heart.

It was as if his opponent could read his moves like a book and, not only that, she had the audacity to slap him in the face.

Literally slap him in the face.

Another giant hand made up of water, slapped Ethan in his blind spot. It appeared so silently, and without any warning, that he didn\'t have the opportunity to dodge it.

But, just as the first hand was about to slam its entirety on Ethan\'s body, the young man growled, and a giant hand made up of water appeared in front of him to block the hand that was about to press against his body.

Seeing this scene, the beautiful woman\'s smile rose slightly as if she found this whole thing quite amusing.

Ethan felt as if fighting against the woman using the abilities he knew would be useless. Perhaps, out of annoyance, he decided to imitate her instead.

Since she was using hands made of water to slap him silly, he decided to fight back using the same technique.

But, he didn\'t use the water hands to slap the woman. He used it to slap the hands she was creating!

While he put some of his concentration in manipulating the Water Hands, the rest he focused on fighting the woman in close combat with his trident.

Her opponent was using a sword made up of water with her left hand, while holding her wand with her right.

Although Ethan was doing his best to land a hit on her body, the woman expertly parried, blocked, and deflected his attack.

He could tell that she was an expert in both sword, and magic. But, what didn\'t sit well with him was the nagging feeling that whatever he did, his attack wouldn\'t reach her.

\'Should I use my Grand Aria?\' Ethan thought. \'Or should I call for Illumina?\'

Both options would drain him of his magical reserves, and he wasn\'t too keen on using it.

He didn\'t know how many trials were left, so draining his magic power by a large margin wasn\'t an option.

But, one thing was certain, he would need to defeat the woman in front of him in order to advance.

Faced with a dilemma, Ethan steeled his heart and called for one of his most trusted allies.

"Illumina!"

The mermaid princess appeared behind Ethan and unleashed a torrent of water that descended upon the woman like a tsunami.

The woman smirked before skidding away, moving across the surface of the lake like a skater on ice. The moment Illumina appeared, she abandoned all offense and focused on retreating.

The mermaid princess summoned a Water Dragon which Ethan rode like a Dragon Knight.

They understood that the woman intended to buy herself some time until Ethan ran out of juice before engaging him again.

"Ethan, I swear that even if she is related to you, I will not hold back," Illumina stated.

The young man didn\'t comment because he felt like answering wasn\'t appropriate. He just nodded, telling Illumina to do what she wanted to do.

After getting Ethan\'s permission, the Mermaid Princess dived at the lake.

A moment later the water started churning, as if it was boiling.

The smile on the woman\'s face disappeared, and was replaced with a solemn expression, making the mermaid princess sneer.

"You dare slap my Ethan?"

Illumina\'s hate-filled voice reverberated in the surroundings.

"Two can play that game!"

Right behind the woman, a hand made of water appeared and slapped her from the back.

The woman\'s body was sent flying, but Illumina wasn\'t done yet.

Several water hands rose up from the lake and started slapping the woman left and right, making her look like a badminton shuttlecock that was being hit by countless rackets.

Ethan couldn\'t stop himself from wincing after seeing this scene.

He had a feeling that Illumina was someone who mustn\'t be angered at all cost because her counterattack would be deadly.

Despite doing her best to fight back, and deflect the hands that were made up of water from slapping her silly, it was simply impossible to stop the Mermaid Princess\' rampage.

Even Ethan was forced to command the Water Dragon to rise higher, so that they wouldn\'t be accidentally slapped by the dozens of giant Water Hands that Illumina was using to vent out her anger.

A few minutes later, the body of the woman broke apart into countless water droplets.

The scenery also changed, making Ethan appear at what seems to be a garden, blooming with many colorful flowers.

He remembered this scenery because this was the place that he saw while memorizing the maze earlier.

\'I\'m at the center of the maze,\' Ethan thought. \'I\'m halfway finished.\'

A moment later, Illumina appeared behind him and gave Ethan a kiss on the forehead.

She then transformed back to Ethan\'s wand, and hovered in front of him.

The young man reached out to firmly hold it in his hand, while vowing in his heart not to offend the Mermaid Princess in the future.

With the Trial done, Fortis Dud\'s voice once again spread within the maze, and told Ethan that he should stop breaking lady\'s hearts…

Or it will come to bite him back in the future.

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(A/N: Only one chapter tonight. Too exhausted to write more.)