’What a troublesome situation...’

Lucien Zevalis sighs solemnly as he watches the crowd in front of him.

His vision is keen, and his heart is racing abnormally, but he maintains a calm disposition through it all.

How many times has he been in deadly situations?

Just how many impossible odds has he overcome throughout his life?

There are too many to count!

Failure upon failure!

Mistakes after mistakes!

He has experienced all of them, and yet he has managed to survive through the venture.

Because that is what it means to be alive.

’But what is the point of living if I do not even know who I am?’ A bitter smile forms in his inner consciousness, but he suppresses such a display before his enemies.

’I thought I knew what I was living for... that somehow being a member of a collective gave me my own identity. But I was wrong. I was only a cog in a machine. A puppet devoid of my own will. I didn’t know anything. I was nothing.’

This is why he—Lucien Zevalis—is so determined to see this through to the end.

He has made up his mind already.

His resolve is absolute!

’I will see it—the memories that have been locked away in my mind!’

Even if he has to destroy the entire Randalorion Kingdom.

Even if he has to destroy a hundred Kingdoms after this one.

No matter how long it takes or what he has to sacrifice, he is willing to pay any price.

’For my identity... to find out who I am...’

He clenches his fist while nearly glaring at his opponents. For a second, he almost breaks character, revealing the agitation that lurks beneath his confident demeanor. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

However, he maintains his form.

He can’t afford for them to see through him—especially now.

’The ritual cost a lot more than I expected. Not only am I currently experiencing Existential Deficiency as a result of its activation, but my Interference Power is at rock bottom. I can’t use Jumping anymore, and my utilization of Tracing is very limited. I’ll have to conserve this for as long as possible, so I can gather enough power to escape when the time is right.’ Lucien sighs a little deeply while glancing at the ritualistic dome for a moment.

Then, he stares at the surrounding Magivores.

’Even for an Adept, the limit for Cadre 5 Magivores I can control at a time is twenty. Thanks to my Existential Deficiency, that number has reduced even further. It’s a good thing I outsourced control of these beasts to the ritual. Since I control the Ritual, I indirectly control them.’

This is his only source of relief.

The only downside is if the Ritual is somehow affected.

That would mean he loses control of the Cadre 5 Magivores, and they would instinctively turn on him. Since he is already in a weakened state and is surrounded by them, it would be the worst place to be in.

’I’m already outnumbered, so if these creatures were to turn against me also, I’d be finished.’

Thankfully, he has a great deal of confidence that this situation will not happen.

For one, to interfere with the Ritual, the Leviathans would have to deal with its protective barrier first. Lucien already spent a great deal of Special Resources to strengthen the dome, which means it’ll be difficult to get past it.

Even if one gets past it, unless they possess a fundamental understanding of the ritual’s mechanisms, trying to interfere would only backfire on the intruder.

In essence, all of these people would basically be guaranteed a death sentence within the dome.

’The only exception is Alistair...’ Lucien’s gaze turns narrow as he stares at the Flying Bug Construct. ’This ritual is top secret, even in the Ouroboros Sect. Even an Adept shouldn’t know about it, not to mention someone who recently advanced. The clearance necessary is Valiant, at the very least. No, Master would be more appropriate. It was honestly an auspicious opportunity that led me to the secrets, and it was my fortune that I could escape with it unscathed.’

Because of these reasons, Lucien Zevalis doubts that Alistair would know the true mechanism of the ritual. However, this person is cautious.

He has to prepare for even the most unlikely situation.

’Alistair possesses the highest security clearance here, which means if anyone should know about it, it’s him. As long as I ensure he doesn’t get close to the Ritual, they won’t be able to stop it.’

That’s one of his win conditions.

However, there are still several other things he has to consider.

For one—

’How do I beat all of these people by myself?’

Lucien is not one without options when it comes to offensive capabilities.

His Magivores are one of such options.

’It’s unfortunate that they possess Level 6 Mystical Characteristics, and these Cadre 5 Magivores are capped at Level 5. If not, I would have been able to cause some damage to them. If only I could bring forth Cadre 6 Magivores now. No, I already used too many Special Resources, so that couldn’t have been possible. There’s also that other matter...’

He has to make do with what he currently has.

That much is clear.

Still...

’Although my Interference Power is extremely low and I should avoid resorting to Conceptions, it’s obvious that they are also not fully recovered. They possess minimal Interference Power, which means they aren’t much of a threat—even with their numbers. I also possess four Mystical Characteristics, which should be an appropriate replacement for Conceptions.’

His four Special Traits are certainly not offense-based.

However, they should suffice.

Designated Fortification casts an invisible barrier that protects him against all of a chosen target’s attacks, but it can only protect against one person at a time. Shadow Transformation allows him to temporarily transform into a shadow, even making him intangible and undetectable in the dark. Unfortunately, it has a trade-off.

When in this state, Lucien loses all senses and can’t use any of his other abilities.

As a result, this Special Trait is preferred for covert operations and stealth maneuvers. It should only be used defensively in combat as a last resort.

Then there’s Skywalk, which allows for ease of movement in the air as though it were the surface of the ground. This ability isn’t particularly flight, as it does not allow for truly free movement in the air. All it does is treat the air surface as though it were the ground.

Lucien will still have to run or walk to cover distances.

Of course, with his superhuman abilities, which make him at least ten times faster than a regular human if he tries hard enough, his speed is on another level.

If he could still use his Conceptions freely, he would be an even bigger threat.

Still, even in his limited capacity, he has more than enough ability to evade assaults from multiple sides—especially with the Magivores providing an appropriate cover for him.

Last but not least is his offensive Special Trait.

—Kinetic Repulsion.

This special ability has a simple but indispensable effect.

It creates an effect that pushes away all kinetic activity within range. As such, it can be used as both a defensive move and an extremely powerful attack.

With all of this, it is clear.

Out of everyone present, he is the most powerful!

’But they outnumber me, and their teamwork is superb. They also have access to their floating constructs, which means they have aerial mobility.’ Once again, Lucien quietly analyzes the situation while suppressing a frown. ’Sigh... what a headache.’

He would have resorted to his plethora of Armaments and Potions, but he sacrificed most of them to this ritual.

It had to be done to raise its efficiency to the maximum.

’I only have a few Expenditure-type Armaments, a single S Grade Armament for last-minute defense, and one S Grade Armament for offense. I should focus on destroying their Floating Horse Constructs with these Armaments in order to cripple them and permanently damage their mobility. Ah, but then there’s the Caster...’ Lucien stares hard at Richard and finds a complex feeling swirling inside him.

If he destroys the Floating Horse Constructs, Richard could use his Conception to fix them—returning them to a state before they were destroyed.

’Of course, he’ll use up a great deal of Interference Power since he is interfering with objects that possess Mystical Characteristics, but it’s clear that he has a lot more Interference Power than everyone else. Even during our battle in Sarvosia, he used his Interference Power sparingly. I initially assumed it was because of his hesitance to burn through lifespan, but it must have been to conserve his resources for dire situations.’

Then, should he first target Richard?

No!

That’s a rather direct way of thinking, and it would make his intentions too obvious.

’He’s a sharp person, so I’m sure he’ll be able to read that line of reasoning. Wasn’t he the one who ordered everyone to retreat even though the path was right in front of them? If he hadn’t interfered, I would have dealt a great deal of damage to them. I could have even killed one of them—no, two if I count that Javier Aditi.’

Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out the way he intended.

’I underestimated his perception, I suppose. But I was in a hurry, so that was the most I could come up with. In the end, I lost the initiative. If I rush things too much this time, it would be the same outcome.’

Thus, Lucien has to find another way.

’But it has to be a decisive move. Since I’m suffering from Existential Deficiency, I can’t fight for very long. I must settle this really quickly and leave before the situation becomes too bad.’

While contemplating these things, he studies everyone before him well.

’The most threatening existence is still Alistair, since he is an Adept like me, and he could have a way to disrupt the Ritual. The second most threatening is Richard. That lad has a keen insight, and his identity as a Caster makes him problematic to deal with—especially since he has allies protecting him.

The third most threatening are Rias and Jamie. Those two definitely possess above-average combat capabilities. I can’t react to Rias, so I have to resort to using Designated Fortification against her. I’ll run a predictive model in my head, so I’ll know when to switch to another target during dire situations. She won’t be able to maintain her speed for very long with her current Interference Power, which means she will likely use short bursts of Frontflow—replacing the Second Layer with the Minute Layer. As for Jamie, his sphere of influence is the most problematic, and now that I can’t use my Conceptions well, it’ll be very difficult to avoid whatever projectiles he thrusts at me. I’ll use the Magivores as my meat shields when it comes to his own matter.

Then, the least dangerous bunch are Amnesis, Elma, and Javier... in that order. Amnesis does not possess the combat ability to harm me, and as for Elma, she possesses the ability to harm me, but her inexperience limits her greatly. She won’t be able to land a blow.

Then, there’s Javier Aditi, who neither has the combat ability to harm me nor the experience to render such harm if he had it in the first place. He’s the weakest here, which means I can simply overwhelm him with the Magivores and he’ll eventually fall. As long as I separate the others from him, he’ll ultimately be overwhelmed and die.’

Lucien completes his analysis, having a few other thoughts in his mind as a cruel smile appears on his face.

Everything that went on in his head barely took a minute.

He’s ready now.

’Then it’s decided!’ Snapping his fingers, he commands his Magivores to initiate an attack.

’The first one to die is Javier Aditi!’