Not only was James being launched towards the Bloodwell at a dizzying speed, but as the Overloading Mana Prongs shot forth, they were about to reach the Bloodwell even quicker.

Despite having mere seconds to react since James and Helios began their assault, one of the neophytes still managed to intercept it.

Moments before the prongs could reach the Bloodwell, the neophyte used his own body to block its path.

James’s plan hadn’t entirely failed though. Just a second more, and the neophyte could’ve cast a spell to block his prongs from ever reaching the Bloodwell. But now, he was forced to block with his own body.

In the chaos of the moment, that seemed like a sound move to the neophyte. By all logic, his body should have blocked the prongs. It would be impossible for the prongs to touch the Bloodwell as long as his body was in the way. Even if he died from them,

But his thinking wasn’t foolproof. As long as his body was standing, the prongs would be blocked, and the Bloodwell would be safe. But he didn’t know who James was. He had enough mana to make it so there was no body in the way any longer.

James had already sacrificed a good deal of health for the Chaos Barrier, but the effects of [Reckless Abandon] still weren’t very pronounced. Pain was the real fuel for it, and you don’t get enough pain from your first sacrifice when you’re at full health.

As soon as he noticed the agent moving to block the prongs, James knew he’d need a lot more speed or power to get through him.

He couldn’t buy more time to cast another spell. If he didn’t deal with it right then and there, it would be too late, and the agents would power up with the powers of the Bloodwell before he could taint it.

With so little time to even think, he sacrificed again without hesitation. Wasting a second to think could end up the thing that got them killed.

With a bloodcurdling scream, James sacrificed even more of his health. The amount of health didn’t really matter, but the pain sure did.

The pain was so much greater since he had just sacrificed his health, and now he did it again, with his body still sore from the previous dose of pain.

But pain was worth it as long as he could destroy that god damn well and make this a fairer fight.

Through bloodshot eyes, James could see the neophyte moving in slow motion. But even with an enhanced perception of time and reaction speed, it was already too late to change the trajectory of the prongs. The other neophytes were just a few feet away, rushing to drink from the Bloodwell, so he couldn’t even cast another set of prongs either.

But even though the extra speed from [Reckless Abandon] couldn’t help much, the extra power was good enough.

An agents’ body wasn’t made of wet paper, not even a neophyte’s. It was bound to be strong enough to at least stop any projectile in its tracks, even if they ended up killing the neophyte.

But James’s prongs were no ordinary projectile. They were specifically designed to take advantage of his large mana pool.

He designed them because he felt he lacked power. He wasn’t strong enough to use Chaos magic whenever he wanted yet. No matter how powerful a spell is, if you’re taken out of the fight after using it once, it’s not a good spell.

He needed something more, so he developed the prongs.

And while at their average power, they might have seemed to the neophyte like they were something that could be bodyblocked, James created the prongs with the sole purpose of being able to pour as much power into them as he needed.

And at full power, no mortal body could stop it, even if it was an agent.

At their current power, the prongs would definitely be stopped. But he designed the spell particularly with the idea of being adjustable. It wouldn’t be pretty, but he could sacrifice all his mana to make the prongs as strong as possible.

Which was quite ironic, since the reason he wasn’t using Chaos Javelin is its incredible cost. But mana was the one resource he had an abundance of. Unlike after using the Javelin, at least he’d still be able to cast spells, he only needed to regenerate enough mana. Which was easier said than done, since he’d immediately have several neophytes rushing at him. But that was a problem that he’d just have to solve after he dealt with the Bloodwell. If he failed to disable it, they’d certainly be dead.

With no regard for anything else, James sent every ounce of mana in his body into the prongs.

The prongs, still attached to James by the transparent mana string, received all his mana like an overwhelming current.

So much mana was being poured into the prongs that uncontrollable gusts of wind were exploding from the sheer force of the mana. Even way up in the air, Helios could feel the overwhelming aura of James’s mana.

He was quite concerned, James’s whole plan was as reckless as it gets. But he couldn’t keep himself from smiling. His brother had grown into a quite mighty mage already, the sheer aura was enough to give him goosebumps.

The neophyte braced himself. In the milliseconds that it took James to do all that, the neophyte had even managed to conjure a barrier over himself to try and stop the prongs.

But it was of no use. James had forgone training any other possible attribute or skill in favor of making his spells strong and mana aplenty. He could’ve become a mighty warrior that leapt from mountain to mountain. A sneaky rogue that tore people to shreds before they even realized someone was near them. A necromancer with an army of minions.

But he chose to focus on being a glass cannon mage. With a body as strong as a geriatric toddler, but with the mana pool and spell power of an autistic savant.

The mana prongs reached the neophyte’s barrier, but they didn’t stop for even a millisecond. The barrier shattered quicker than the time it took to be cast.

The prongs reached the agent’s body unhindered. Even though his flesh had been tempered by whatever ungodly magic they engaged in, it wasn’t enough to stop the attack.

James put his entire mana pool into this one attack. As if that wasn’t enough, even though it made him scream in pain, he had sacrificed his health for [Reckless Abandon] again, which further empowered his spells.

No matter how tough, nothing in existence could possibly resist such an attack.

Like a hot knife through butter, the prongs passed through the neophyte’s chest unhindered, plunging straight into the Bloodwell.

The prongs were a weapon that would continuously attack an enemy. And just like a taser delivers electricity, the prongs were delivering a powerful torrent of mana into the Bloodwell.

Even though the Bloodwell contained an unimaginable amount of energy, James had sacrificed enough mana and health to immediately make a difference. The dark crimson blood was instantly tainted, even its aura was noticeably altered.

With the Bloodwell befouled, the agents immediately knew a big blow had just been dealt to them. But with the ruthless efficiency of the coldblooded murderers they were, they didn’t say a word, they didn’t waste a second, immediately leaping towards James.

Helios had already moved in close to James, but he couldn’t reach him before the agents did.

Five neophytes were already jumping at James, while 5 others directed their attacks towards Helios.

Helios had already pulled out his sword and shield, ready to fight back, but that’s when he noticed a familiar energy signature.

The true agent! This was no mere neophyte. A full-fledged agent at the peak of his power was running towards James.

And this wasn’t just any agent! It was the very archmage that had betrayed them and sabotaged the Soul Grinder.

The link he had with these neophytes was the very reason they came here. But Helios didn’t quite expect to actually find him right away. He thought that they’d be on a wild goose chase for weeks or even years, going from trail to trail, a seemingly never-ending quest that finally climaxed with them finding the traitor.

But no, he was right here. No wild goose chase, no endless sequences of clues, he was in front of his very eyes.

Was he expecting them? Was this a trap? Helios’s mind was racing.

It was a psychological shock, he hadn’t expected this at all. Denmac had noticed an agent, but the likelihood of it being him was incredibly low. It couldn’t be this easy! Nothing ever was.

Even worse, the number of neophytes didn’t even seem to make sense. With the neophyte James had just killed, there shouldn’t be as many of them running around. Could there be even more, lying in wait?

No, no. “Pull it together, Helios!” He told himself.

That didn’t make any sense. They were the hunters in this situation. The agents were the prey.

Even though it wasn’t completely unimaginable that he deliberately let the diviners find the link between him and the neophytes, and that he purposely lead them here, that was just too far-fetched. He couldn’t have known their group would be the ones sent here.

So they just got lucky. The link that the diviners found was authentic. Things went just according to plan. No twists, no additional goose chases.

If they killed him, it would help Hedonia in many ways. They would end this problem right then and there.

As fortunate as that was, right now he didn’t feel all that lucky. James had 5 neophytes and a true agent lounging at him.

After he tainted the Bloodwell, James unceremoniously crashed into the pavement. His Chaos Barrier protected him from most of the damage, but no matter what barrier was protecting you, being launched like a human torpedo would always be a painful experience.

He was discombobulated from the crash, he couldn’t even tell what was left and what was right. But he knew one thing in his mind, something he had hammered into himself repeatedly: he’d die if he just stood there like that.

These were agents, not just one of the stupid ass monsters he faced until now. They worked on more than instinct, they were even shrewder than him when it came to combat. Trained killers of mages.

Even in his confused state, James sacrificed his health once again.

The agents were already on him, he could hear their blades scraping against the barrier.

The sacrifice hurt a lot more than any blades would. James nearly passed out from the pain.

But it kept him safe. The Chaos barrier was even stronger now, and his perception of time was slowed. He had a few seconds to regain his footing.

As his eyes were regaining focus, all he saw around him were agents, their daggers and spells stabbing and flying at him from all directions.