Thankfully, he had little Phoenix Irene at his side, which gave him confidence that if things went south, they could get out safely.
But the big question was how to break the enemy's magic shield.
Alex had just realized that the shield likely depended on horned basilisk's own magic reserves.
It probably used its vast magical energy to maintain the barrier.
That meant to break through it, Alex might have to drain all of horned basilisk's magic power.
But exactly how much magic power did it have left?
Alex furrowed his brow and began calculating.
If the damage he inflicted was equal to the lumen consumed by the shield, then with his current lumen reserves, even counting all his boosts, he could only manage about 2,000 to 2,500 points of damage.
He only had one Phoenix Tear left on him, which meant his maximum potential damage was roughly 5,000 points if he used everything he had.
'I'd have to use all my lumen just to keep up my attacks, but there's no way horned basilisk would stand still and let me hit him freely.'
'Taking into account both defense and movement, I might burn'
Through 3,000 to 4,000 lumen points, an enormous amount.
But even if I managed to deal full damage, could I really break through his defense?
Horned Basilisk had been around since the days when the silver wand duel club was popular in the 18th century, meaning he was roughly three hundred years old.
Comparing that to the hundred-year-old Thunderbird, whose lumen was in the early 2000s, horned basilisk's total lumen should be somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000.
But was that really the case?
Logically, I had already killed two of his clones.
Even if Pete managed to transfer his magic back to the main body before dying, horned basilisk couldn't be at full strength.
Plus, I'd taken out more than twenty of his clones earlier, which must have drained over 2,000 lumen points.
When he split the mansion, I unleashed a full barrage of spells, probably causing around 2,000 points of lumen damage.
Adding all the magic used in our fight, I estimated that horned basilisk had consumed about 6,000 lumen.
Yet, looking at his current state, completely drained of physical strength, it seemed like his actual lumen reserves were far beyond what I'd calculated.
And I couldn't forget that horned basilisk had summoned more than fifty clones without hesitation before.
If my assumptions were right, that meant he used about 90% of his total lumen just to create those clones!
Would someone like him, who clearly feared death, really take such a huge risk?
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like his lumen reserves were unfathomable.
I had this sinking feeling that even if I spent all my lumen, I still might not break through his magic shield.
But wait, could there be something I was missing?
Suddenly, a flash of insight hit me.
It was Gerald, thunderbird!
Why had horned basilisk shown fear around thunderbird before?
I could tell it wasn't an act; the fear was real.
And that meant something, something important.
In other words, horned basilisk wasn't afraid of him, but he did have a bit of fear when it came to thunderbird.
Everyone knew about thunderbird's magical power reserve, Alex included.
While it was only in the early 4000s, not an overwhelming amount, if that power kept increasing and strengthening, and if the damage could be doubled, it could really reach incredible heights, something like [-] points.
Even if horned basilisk just stood there and let thunderbird attack, it seemed unlikely he could break through the defense.
So, was it possible thunderbird had some way to hold horned basilisk back?
Gerald, on the other hand, was probably the most straightforward guy in the club.
He only knew how to fight and kill, pouring all his energy into boosting his magical power.
Did he have any other skills besides his fierce aggression and strength?
Alex seemed to have a sudden realization.
Maybe, to break horned basilisk's magical shield, it wasn't just about exhausting the opponent's magic power, perhaps there was a certain threshold for the shield's defense strength.
That wasn't impossible.
As the club's top fighter, thunderbird's combat power was insanely high.
Combined with his incredibly strong will, the instant damage from his spells was way above anyone else's.
Plus, he was probably the most feared person around.
The people of the Horned Basilisk clan might even push themselves to 120% strength when facing him.
If the shield really did have an upper limit, maybe horned basilisk was worried thunderbird would go all out and smash through his defense, landing a fatal blow.
Well, that was definitely worth a shot!
Alex's mind raced as he planned to unleash the most powerful magic he had, something that could deliver a massive burst of damage in an instant.
Alex let out a light sigh and looked up at the sky.
Though clouds covered most of it, the day was mostly bright and sunny.
He lowered his gaze and gently patted the little Thunderbird resting beside him.
"Thor, do you know how to summon a thundercloud now?" he asked.
The bird confidently lifted its head and let out a sharp cry, clearly saying it was no problem.
Controlling the weather, and especially calling forth thunderstorms, was instinctive for Thor.
"Good," Alex said with a nod. "Now I need you to help me. Fill the sky above us with thunderstorms, the stronger, the better."
Thor nodded again and flapped its wings, shooting straight up into the sky.
On the other side, runic snake watched as Alex used the phoenix's teleportation to escape and rise into the air.
Frustration bubbled up inside him.
How did this guy have so many tools at his disposal, and even a phoenix as a pet?
But then his eyes gleamed greedily as he looked at the bird.
A magical creature with such vitality could make countless elixirs if captured.
The thought of killing Alex with the help of runic snake grew stronger in his mind.
After a moment's thought, runic snake ignored thunderbird soaring above.
Instead, he pointed at the giant stone ball on his back.
The ball split apart, breaking into thousands of smaller stones that hurtled toward Alex.
"Still planning to use that old trick?" Alex sneered as he saw this.
He activated his [Overload] form again and charged at runic snake without giving the stones a chance to surround him.
His goal was to buy as much time as possible so that Thor could change the sky and boost his chances of landing the final blow.
Seeing Alex rush forward, runic snake gritted his teeth and charged as well.
He disliked close combat, but to defeat his opponent quickly, he had to fight hard.
"Serpens Occulta!" he shouted while advancing, casting a spell that unleashed a swarm of magical snakes darting toward Alex.