After being parasitized by the symbiote, Su Ming gained a useful ability: the liquefaction of his body. However, due to historical problems, the skull modified by X Metal still cannot change shape.
The symbiote combined with all the cells in his body, allowing it to greatly stretch or transform, but X Metal was somewhat beyond its ability range, so Su Ming had to manually control the metal to cooperate with it.
Fortunately, his brain was strong enough that multitasking was not a problem.
After spying on the battlefield, he transformed into a puddle of dark liquid, which, from a distance, looked like a pile of watered-down ashes with a head on top.
But this sufficed; who would notice a puddle of liquid and a head on the battlefield?
"You stay hidden. Once the battle begins, prioritize your own safety. I will launch a sneak attack at a critical position on the left flank of the battlefield. After that, it is likely that Mind Magic will link to you, just follow the command."
On the ground, Su Ming's head rotated 180 degrees and looked up to instruct the doctor.
Holloway licked his lips, clenched his dual guns, and nodded strangely, talking to a head felt so awkward.
The Magic Floating Cloak seemed very dejected, even its floating appeared weak. It lost, as a Supreme Magical Artifact, it actually lost to an alien creature...
"Keep an eye on my uniform, I'm off."
He could only carry the Owl Dagger as a weapon. The Godslayer was imbued with the Divine Power of the Fire God, constantly emitting energy, making it difficult to go unnoticed by the mages nearby.
As long as X Metal wasn't activated by telekinesis, it wouldn't leak energy, but the Nightfall Greatsword was too large and sharp to hide.
The symbiote carried Su Ming slithering close to the ground. From above, it looked like a normal pulverized charred corpse, but from below, countless small tentacles grew out from beneath the ashes, quickly advancing like a centipede.
The symbiote was now a part of his body, and every action was controlled by Su Ming. Whenever his super brain sensed someone might be looking over, he would stop completely still.
I am a tiny, little stone...
Thus, those mages only saw an unburnt head within the ashes, and diverting attention to a mere corpse in battle held no significance; there were plenty of such corpses around, and both lightning and flame magic could achieve such effects.
So, they quickly dismissed it from their minds.
Su Ming maneuvered like this, moving when unnoticed, and sneaked behind Jibo not too far away.
.................
"Druid, you are no match for me. Now, are you feeling that sharp pain in your heart?" Jibo extended his tongue to lick his nose, a side effect of Dark Magic that made his tongue resemble a lizard's.
While speaking to undermine his opponent's resolve, he simultaneously clashed with the Druid, who used Red Fan Magic to parry the Magic Black Blade in Jibo's hand.
But as Jibo said, the cost of excessive casting was taking its toll on the Druid, though the pain was in his brain, not his heart.
It seemed the Phase Worms were beginning to gnaw at his will.
There was no choice. Previously, the Druid had been forced to use several Phase Magics in succession to evade attacks, akin to throwing bait into a fish pond.
Phase Worms are a dangerous magic virus, existing in a magic dimension that ordinary people cannot see.
They are attracted by certain magics, entangling with the magic user, hoping to obtain more phase energy, their favorite food.
Now the Druid clearly felt his Spiritual Power being drained, with no opportunity to use the Celestial Eye or engage in Soul Emergence to purge these creatures.
The battle among mages is fraught with peril. One misstep and it's an utter defeat.
"Leave, Jibo, before you make a grave mistake."
"Hehehe...my new teacher doesn't think so. The Ancient One is no match for her, and you're all doomed."
Jibo let out a peculiar laugh, swinging a blade towards the Druid. The Druid manifested a Magic Shield, barely blocking the strike, but the power of Dark Magic still took its toll on him, causing him to stagger back several steps.
"Die!" Seeing the Druid's defense falter and expose a weak point, Jibo immediately formed a series of Dharma Seals with his free hand, chanting the incantation silently: "In the name of Excorion's icy tentacles, Slow!"
Excorion, one of the Dimensional Demon Gods, represents delay and obstruction, often appearing as an icy Frost Giant with tentacles. Any mage intending to obstruct others' plans could easily borrow its power.
Of course, it is Dark Magic. Once borrowed, it must be repaid tenfold, and the casting cost often involves an involuntary journey to Hell. The payer's soul is extracted from its shell to spend a long, long time in Excorion's nearly time-stagnated Magic Domain...
If the soul manages to return to its body after those nearly endless years, it often loses the ability to perceive the world, endlessly muttering madness. Mages call this condition 'Foolishness'.
Jibo appears to have prepared enough sacrifices in advance, casting this heavily side-effect-laden Dark Magic without hesitation, but the Druid is struggling to cope. This level of magic must be countered with equal level magic, but he must bear the cost himself.
It's like playing cards, and now he only has a few single cards while Jibo just threw out a straight flush.
Now, the two Supreme Mages are locked in intense combat, with space turbulence everywhere. Others cannot use Space Magic unless they wish to face near-certain death.
And Phase Magic couldn't be used either, or he would be overwhelmed by Phase Worms and pass out.
Once the Slow Magic hit him, Jibo would certainly attack with Dormammu's Black Blade, almost guaranteeing death.
So the Druid decided to change his approach, intending to use a Dark Magic. White Magic is mostly Support Magic, offering limited utility in battle.
Indeed, there are quite a few Dark Magics at Kama Taiji; many are mastered but not often used, as The Ancient One does not advocate using the power of Demon Gods, emphasizing the risk of Dark Magic.
But at this moment, the Druid had no other choice. As for repaying the debt, it's a problem for later. First, he must overcome this hurdle.
"In the name of Valto's ethereal breath, Vaporize." He muttered the incantation in his heart, stealthily forming a Dharma Seal behind his back.
Valto, one of the Eight Great Dimensional Demon Gods, appears as an indescribable giant serpent-like creature, mastering all magic powers related to water.
Its mind isn't particularly coherent, so occasionally borrowing a bit of its power without getting noticed incurs no cost, such as conjuring some water or taking a bath. If unnoticed, no payment is needed.
However, transforming one's body into a gaseous form to evade attacks and creating fog to conceal oneself around is a High-tier Magic. The direct communication with the Demon God to acquire power surely doesn't go unnoticed.
If one day it demands repayment, the Druid's body will be filled with poisonous liquid from Other Planes, rotting his internal organs, using the dissolved flesh as a sacrifice.
The flesh of mages tastes quite good, containing Magic Energy and a robust Soul, often possessing exotic flavors from other dimensions. The Demon Gods enjoy eating such when passing time, much like having popcorn while watching a movie.
However, the Druid couldn't care less; his gaze fixed intently on the green beam coming his way.
Valto, as one of the Eight Demon Gods, was slightly stronger than Excorion, thus his magical effect was superior.
The Slow Magic passed through the Druid's misty body, taking away only some vapor.
Jibo displayed a mocking smile, perceiving those from Kama Taiji as too hypocritical, vocally opposing Dark Magic while knowing plenty themselves.
"Impressive counter, but how many more times can you cast spells? Hehehe...come to think of it, I recall a few White Magics as well." Jibo's hand seals transformed again, thumb clasping the ring finger, the other three fingers upright, representing the hand seal of Emperor Vishanti, chanting: "In the name of Hoggs the Most Holy, Transference."
Emperor Vishanti, the Trinity God of Magic, usually appears as a form with three giant heads — a man, a woman, and a tiger, with Hoggs being the tiger head.
Black Mages can also borrow the power of Emperor Vishanti. As long as the hand seals and incantations are correct and the Spiritual Power is accurately directed, they don't care who they're lending Magic Power to.
To the Gods, humanity's existence is too insignificant; right or wrong, victory or defeat are trivial.
Some black fog formed threads, shooting into the sky. From an unknown space came a scream, a soul's lament linked to it.
Jibo's spell transferred all his previous casting costs onto the already prepared sacrifices, possibly hundreds of living people or their hearts or brains crafted into Magical Artifacts.
No one knows how he did it exactly, but a Sacrificial Ceremony is never something that can be peacefully watched.
In any case, he can now release a whole lot of Dark Magic again, while the Druid's situation becomes somewhat awkward.