Chapter 457: Chapter 459: Mage Killer Damon had heard rumors of Renata’s magic attribute. It wasn’t elemental like fire, water, or even his own. No—it was one of those rare, conceptual types. Renata Malcrist was very powerful. Her attribute allowed her to reduce anything to zero. In simple terms, she could lower the value of something—anything—until it hit absolute zero. And that’s exactly what had happened to Damon’s magic bullets. Before they ever reached her, their value had started to decline, getting weaker, fading... until they were nothing. If each magic bullet had a power value of 10, she made sure it reached zero before impact. Damon clenched his jaw. He hated to admit it... But her attribute was overpowered. How were standard attributes supposed to compare? Even with his own upgraded version—Umbral, a superior form of the Shadow attribute courtesy of the Unknown God—it still felt weak next to hers. ’And even then... it doesn’t compare to Void,’ Damon thought bitterly. That belonged to Lilith Astranova. Not only could she control space, she claimed to influence other phenomena too. As for Renata—he didn’t even know her full class history. Her first, second, third class? A mystery. Still, Damon could feel it—she was stronger. Her power was somewhere in the realm of Ruin Fairy-class threat. He glanced at Matia who was just watching him lazily. He wanted to cry... save me damn it. Back when he’d fought Matia, he’d needed everything: strategy, magic artifacts... even the Staff of Carnage and its devastating area effect. He had to go ravenous to survive. And the only reason he won... was because he was completely insane. Right now? No ravenous. No magic artifacts. No Ascendant Armor. No madness to lean on. There was no way he was beating her. He was strong, sure—but defeating Renata? Not happening. Their stats weren’t even close. But still—that didn’t mean he couldn’t put up a fight. Just because he couldn’t use ravenous in public didn’t mean he was weak without it. And he wasn’t about to back down now. Had he ever? ’Still... I don’t have to win. I’m good at evading...’ Renata raised a brow, glancing at the fading violet sparks around her. "Maybe you don’t know this... but I suppose I should make it clear and tell you my class." She smiled. "It’s called Mage Killer. It’s a mage-type class. Basically, I’m a mage... who kills mages." She shrugged casually. "I have no idea why, but apparently I’m the bane of all magic users. [Zero]—my passive—reduces the value of any attack." She crossed her arms like it was already over. "My second class is called [Delete]. It didn’t come with a skill, so I bought a barrier skill—lets me create and control barriers." A smirk curled on her lips. She wasn’t just explaining—she was mocking him. "My third class came with a skill, though. It’s called [Canceler]. The skill I received is [Negative]. What does it do?" She tilted her head coyly. "Well... you’ll find out soon." Lilith scoffed, placing a palm on her cheek. "Her skill lets her mark you—then it starts draining your mana or any energy you have. When your mana runs out... it starts leeching your life force." She scoffed. "Stop acting mysterious..." She gave Damon a look. "It can drain any energy." Damon froze slightly. That changed everything. If she could drain any energy—she could even drain shadow energy. If that happened, his Ravenous form would trigger. He could control what he did in Ravenous now... but he couldn’t stop himself from transforming into it. "Carp..." he muttered under his breath. Still, he plastered on a smile. "Senior Renata... erm... you look very beautiful in that outfit..." "No way... is he buttering her up?" "Ahh, yeah. I remember now. Damon Grey has no honor." "Shameless wretche." Someone raised a hand, whispering, "Don’t be stupid. It’s Damon. He’s definitely planning something." Renata glanced down at her attire. "You mean... my academy uniform?" Damon smiled brighter. "You pull it off wonderfully. No wonder you’re the prettiest girl in the academy." Renata’s smile faltered. Was he flattering her? Was he expecting her to go easy on him? How cute. Until he continued— "Second to Lilith, of course... wait, no, sorry, my bad—also Sylvia." Renata’s temple twitched. He wasn’t done. "You’re also behind Evangeline. And... well, Leona’s kind of hot too." He grinned. "Don’t worry, you’re still good-looking. I mean... your looks are kind of like Xander’s." Someone from the crowd whispered, "Wait... isn’t Xander a boy?" Renata’s hands trembled. He’d just compared her to a man. Her aura surged, pressure radiating off her skin like waves of lead. Damon staggered slightly under the weight—his lungs compressed. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖 How...? "If you’re wondering how," Renata said, smiling wickedly, "it’s simple. I turned your resistance to gravity... to zero." Damon straightened, coughing slightly. "Impressive loophole. But enough yapping—" He hurled a blast of black flame. The arena ignited—but he wasn’t aiming to hit her. He was buying time. Recovery time. He’d stalled just long enough for his Ashborn skills backlash to fade. Renata activated her second skill, her barrier flickering into view. He watched the flames weaken in real time—diminishing until their strength evaporated entirely. He expected that. Overpowering her was pointless—it would cost more energy than the damage he could deliver. ’That barrier of hers... just too broken.’ But he had other ways. He slid under his own flame, his body morphing into shadow. A swift, darting wisp of darkness. Renata might be a mage killer... but she was still a mage. If he could overwhelm her in close combat— He reformed just in front of her, fist wreathed in compressed black flame. He struck the barrier. The barrier resisted—but he felt it weakening. His momentum slowed as its value was reduced to zero... but he surged forward anyway. Her eyes widened. He smiled. She was open. He clenched his fist for the follow-up— But Renata smirked back. She swung. Their fists collided in an explosion of air and shadow. Damon was thrown backward, skidding across the stone tiles. What?! Her strength—her physical strength—wasn’t just unexpected. It was absurd. He stared at her in disbelief. Her class... was a mage-type. There was no way she should’ve hit that hard. He had killed the Beldam herself, and even she didn’t hit like this. At least not pyshically. Renata twirled her finger in the air. "Tag. You’re it." Damon felt a jolt. A mark settled on him—sickly and invisible. His mana began to leak. His shadow energy too. Slow. Steady. Relentless. "Carp..."