In the sea of darkness, Rino allowed himself to be assaulted by third rate magic spells. It was good to wait it out to see if the other magician had any other tricks up his sleeve. 

As someone who was a former quinti-elemental mage, Rino knew these two elements very well. Earth and water complemented each other, and depending on the mage's mastery, they could be used to nurture or destroy.

Rino liked to use it with a little light magic to produce nature magic, otherwise known as life magic. It could help to maximise the growth potential of plants or heal them when they are hurt. Druids were great users of this combination magic.

However, this necromancer used it with a hint of dark magic, turning the combination into a rotting spell. With too much water, the earth starts to rot and takes everything along with it. Rino was sinking into the swamp. He could feel it. Yet, he did not make any attempts to break free. Thankfully, his clothes were enchanted with self-cleaning. He hated to wash the mud out of them or appear covered in gunk from head to toe once this was over. However, the feeling of mud sliding down his pelvic bones felt gross, and Rino was going to make the necromancer pay when he became his slave.

The spell stopped, but Rino was still sinking. He could feel the gravity magic enchantment within the defence array, and it was working against Rino. He might be able to deconstruct the earth and water combination magic, but the gravity magic was going to be a pain. Thankfully, he knew that the caster wasn't too far from him in radius. If he used a powerful area attack, it would hit the caster and disrupt the spell.

However, right before Rino could get to deconstructing his muddy prison, the lich felt a familiar tug at his soul. He fought quickly against the mental attacks by the cypress magic tree and kept himself anchored using the voices of his shadow army to remember what he was. The illusion magic did not work as Rino was simply far too used to pain and was a master at being emotionally numb. He desired nothing that simple mortals wanted. Richness, fame or power was on the bottom of the list of things he wanted. 

If there was one mental attack that Rino almost fell for, it was the lull of a lazy rest. However, the feeling of stuff in his pants was too uncomfortable for Rino to be happy about his resting grounds. If he were to rest forever, it would be on a very comfortable silk sheet cotton stuffed mattress with a warm cat by his side. Not this!

Snapping out of the illusion, Rino countered the necromancer's soul spell. This link went both ways, and the lich had no intention of becoming anyone's puppet. If anything, this old fart should serve under him. This swamp might be dreary at first glance, but Rino discovered that it had a precious resource that could not be replicated elsewhere. 

Reeds! 

With reeds, Rino was able to process paper and eventually bind a book. His research dreams are all dependent on his success at enslaving this old magician, and failure was not an option!

Soul splitting magic and spare bodies were common for dark magicians. It helped them escape enemies and dangers easily, but there was a risk of losing their minds when used as a gambling chip to acquire a more powerful slave.

Rino had more spare bodies and soul splits, so the backlash was stronger. Not to mention, he had many named slaves who responded to his call when the swamp master linked their consciousness, trapping them in an invisible battle of wills.

Rino did not push or defend. He simply allowed the bog master to attack his mental state while watching his other soul fragments defend him valiantly. With so many parties keeping the swamp master busy, Rino searched for the other magician's other soul - the magic cypress tree.

That was his true motive when he allowed the bog magician to hold him hostage in this soul-stealing spell.

The magic cypress tree had a horrible soul colour. Rino's soul was dark violet, very close to black, but it wasn't there yet. The bog necromancer's soul was dark grey, but the magic cypress tree's soul was pitch black. The lich had to pause and wonder just how many evil things this tree did on its own accord. 

When Rino looked at the colour of his split souls, he noticed how different the colour spectrum was. Depending on the weight of his split soul, the colour for each spare body's soul would appear differently. Mutt, who received the least of his split soul, was light blue. The World Tree Rino, who received almost half of his split soul, was a vibrant amethyst. Fronzo did not receive too much of his soul, so he was a very light pink soul hovering beside Mutt in the background, not knowing what to do.

When Rino looked over to the necromancer and his magic tree, he suddenly came to understand why the magician's soul was only a dark grey while the tree's soul was black. His main body was not the necromancer. It was the cypress tree! Whatever the magician did, he was now more tree than human and Rino could not help but want to mock him for abandoning humanity. No wonder that tree was able to do things other magic trees did not do. The bog master was controlling its actions to commit evil acts.

Rino went up to the pitch-black soul behind the preoccupied necromancer and rushed into it headfirst.

For an enemy that could not be defeated from the outside, Rino found it most effective to destroy it from the inside. It was no secret that the ex court magician took down terrifying monsters in the same manner. Only this time, he was doing it in the mental arena.

Souls clashed and collided while Rino defended valiantly using psyche spells. The necromancer kept using dark magic to manipulate the soul's emotions by recreating traumas in illusions, but World Tree Rino protected Mutt and Fronzo as they ran circles to block the bog master's escape route when he discovered how the lich's main soul was approaching his magic tree.

"Stop!" the bog magician called out desperately and tried to connect with his more powerful half when Rino collided headfirst into the magic tree's black soul.

A powerful clash destroyed the bog master's mental spell, and souls were expelled from the mental battle arena back to their respective bodies. From where he stood, the bog master could only desperately chant his spells to undo the damage Rino was causing to his tree.

The pain caused by Rino's attack on the cypress tree made the defence array collapse. The swamp master's control weakened gradually, giving the fairies and hobgoblins the advantage they needed to tear through the remaining walking dead army.

In the mental battle arena, Rino rejoiced. Finally, a worthy opponent.