Norris uttered a swift incantation, picked up a gem filled with necrotic energy as he gestured with his hand, tracing a small symbol of death in the air. This brief ritual casted a spell, Invite entity(5th tier), which connected him deeply to the death realm, allowing him to tap into its power and render himself invisible to detection.
A great will descended, and came over Norris. The death realm connecting to Norris was like a large mass of water descending on his head, oppressing his consciousness. Norris felt short of breath even in his lich form that doesn't need breathing, like a drowning man. His problem though was not physical.
After a few seconds Norris recovered with lingering fears, thankfully the death realm wasn't sentient. He wondered how saints prepared by churches feel when divine beings descend on them, having another consciousness so much greater than you, in your head. While also having the power of life and death over you at that moment.
It took a while for Norris to recover. But there was enough time to cast a clone spell(5th tier) with he himself straying far away from the core battlefield.
Away from the range of Lister's spell so as not to be accidently injured if Lister goes crazy, Norris looked at Lister still suffering from backlash. He began to muse waiting for Lister to recover, " Well! In a life and death fight, this guy is gone. Luckily for him though, I'm using him to demonstrate. Nothing too deep.
I actually underestimated this spell. Thankfully I did it when Lister was suffering from backlash. Well I'd not do it any other time though. This spell is the craziest 5th tier spell I have seen."
Mages as always, wanting to study the truth and mysteries of the universe. Things related to gods as the pinnacle of the world are of course the juiciest secrets. It was found out that saints are really not needed. It just makes it easier for the incarnation of gods to get used to their power quicker.
The strict dogmas that saints go through makes them very compatible with their gods. This makes the gods take over their body quicker in case of a fight. So Mages simplified and modified from a 8th tier spell to a 5th level spell. The spell, Invite entity(5th tier spell), allows the caster to invite a powerful entity into their body, tapping into its energy. It also comes with benefits rendering themselves immune to low level detection while also risking loss of control and potential corruption.
Norris camouflaged with magic was observing. "Well, as expected, he will doubt. Would be weird if he didn't", Norris commented seeing Lister looking at his clone with doubt. "That doesn't really change anything though. Lister has being thrown off balance. He's not calm anymore. Guess the big reveal must have shocked him. What he thought was hard to counter was countered. And himself being vulnerable for such a long time must have come as a scare. Now let's add to the tension and not give him time to calm down", Norris noted and began to act casting a spell.
Seeing the robe and sword wand, Lister doubt subsided though not much. He pretended to relax and engaged in a brawl. He was dominating the brawl easily but never tried giving a finishing blow as If waiting
Norris in his camouflage cast an illusion spell, mirror of the mind (3rd tier spell). It works better when the enemy to be in a heightened state of alert.
Seeing another Norris suddenly appeared. Lister swiftly ran with all his might to strike down.
Norris observed like a fisherman who sees a fish taking the bait, "To make my dream of reproducing a hologram in this world come true, I've become well versed in illusion. But not to the extent that I can fool mages at my level. This guy is really thrown off his game".
Though not elaborate and very cheap, it took advantage of timing and psychological activities of Lister who had been stalling for time.
"Well it's time for the big finale. It can also pave way for future sales in the death realm.... mostly the crimson domain", Norris decided to end the battle. While his invisibility spell was nice and effective, it was as dangerous.
Lister seeing this stopped. He realised that he had lost his cool. He had been led by Norris' rhythm. Going to fight when he was not sure if what he was fighting was a clone was not his style. His big brawny look is a disguise and diversion.
He's a mage at heart. Though he enjoys fighting and adores strength, he's still a mage. Stay rational Lister. Using this train of thought and a blend of self affirmation and criticism, he managed to adjust his bearings and calm down his agitated mood.
Lister, calm, prepared a normal conjuration spell, trying to summon an undead entity. The Echo though back to acceptable range is still not conducive to his summoning. This will make his 3rd summon redundant.
While chanting, a spherical object rolled to his feet. Any earthling who sees this will drop to the ground with their face down and their hands over their head to protect themselves.
Lister, though didn't understand. Seeing it wasn't activating, he shifted it to the side thinking it was a ritual prop and by doing so he had disrupted the ritual. He finished casting the spell, Bound Summoning spell (3rd-level spell). It allows a caster to summon and bind a contracted creature to their will. The summoner can also leverage its Summon's power and abilities for a short duration.
Still uneasy, he dispelled it incase there were traps. But that was the wrong move. A shock erupted from the device. He looked down at the masks he had hung on himself to protect using his Martial prowess even while fighting a half baked Norris clone who had tried every means to destroy the mask. Now it had been broken just by a spherical device which released unstable magic energy. He will later come to know that it's a shock grenade. That was in the future though. But for now, the duel was over as anyone could see that master Lister was done for.