Manaless Mage-Chapter 302: A determined Bonny

But then his gaze fell on Sonny again.

Unconscious.

Bruised.

Lying on the cold, cracked ground, completely unaware of everything happening around him.

Bonny’s lips trembled.

Running would mean leaving Sonny behind.

Running would mean admitting that Trent had won.

Running would mean... betraying his brother’s trust.

"...No," Bonny whispered, slowly tightening his fists. "I can’t... I won’t."

Even if it was hopeless.

Even if he was terrified.

He wasn’t going to run.

He’d rather fall right here... than abandon the reason he was fighting.

With a burst of energy summoned from deep within, Bonny roared and charged forward, ignoring the pain wrecking his body.

"STONE DRILLS!!"

Ten large stone drills erupted from the ground around him, spinning rapidly as they floated in the air. Their sharp tips gleamed under the sun, and their rocky surfaces crackled with mana. Though rushed and unrefined, they were still dangerous, each one the size of a grown man’s torso.

Bonny pointed at Trent with shaky hands, and the drills responded instantly—whirling through the air like missiles.

Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—!

The sky filled with their screeching sound as they cut through the wind, heading straight for the Elementalist.

But...

Crash!

Smack!

One by one, the drills were destroyed before they could even touch him.

Trent’s water tentacles met them with savage grace, slicing, smashing, and breaking each one with ease. His expression didn’t change. He didn’t even move from where he stood. The tentacles did all the work—whipping through the air like fluid blades.

Shards of stone scattered, but instead of falling to the ground, they quickly dissolved into thin brown particles. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

By the time the dust and mana dispersed...

Bonny was no longer standing where he had been.

He had vanished.

Bonny suddenly appeared at Trent’s side, his body gliding across the ground at rapid speed. His legs were melded with the earth beneath, making it look like he was skating through solid soil.

A large stone drill spun furiously in his hands, the sharp, pointed edges rotating fast enough to slice through reinforced steel. Jagged rocks spiraled in sync with his motion, sparks flying as they clashed against pebbles and debris.

’Got you!’ He thought, his teeth gritting tightly together as he hurled the drill toward Trent with all his strength.

The massive drill spun through the air like a vortex of destruction, aimed directly at Trent’s side.

Fwoosh!

But in an instant, one of Trent’s water tentacles swung out and slammed into the drill mid-flight.

Crack!

The spinning stone weapon shattered on impact, pieces crumbling into fragments that vanished before even touching the ground.

Bonny’s eyes widened, and he barely had time to react before two more tentacles lashed out at him from opposite directions.

"Earth Glide!" he hissed, his body dipping lower as he glided to the right, barely dodging the strikes. The tentacles collided with the ground behind him, shattering the earth into countless bits.

’I’m faster with Earth Glide... but at this rate, I’ll run out of mana soon,’ he thought, beads of sweat trailing down the sides of his face.

He gritted his teeth and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Earth Hold!"

The earth beneath Trent’s feet rumbled.

Sharp edges of stone rose up from beneath him—thick slabs of jagged rock thrusting toward his legs like claws, trying to trap and clamp around him.

But the water tentacles beneath Trent reacted even faster.

Fwoosh!

In one powerful burst, they extended and pushed him upward into the air just before the earth pillars snapped shut.

Bang!!

The stone slabs clamped onto each other with a deafening crash, missing their target by just a second.

Bonny hissed in frustration, his eyes twitching.

’He’s too fast!’ He thought, trying to control his breath.

But the moment the thought crossed his mind, three more tentacles were already barreling toward him.

His eyes widened.

"Wall—!"

Too late.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The first tentacle slammed the ground where he stood, but he quickly dipped to the left. The second followed right after, scraping his arm and drawing a thin line of blood. The third one came down like a hammer, and he barely raised a quick earth wall to block it.

Crack!

The wall trembled violently, deep fractures spreading across its surface.

Boom!

It shattered instantly, and the impact sent Bonny skidding across the ground, his hands dragging trenches through the soil as he tried to stabilize himself.

He coughed, spitting out blood.

’This... this power... how can someone like that be a Stage Three?’ He thought, trembling.

Trent floated midair, completely still. His head was still bowed, his white eyes expressionless. The tentacles swirled around him like demonic spirits.

Bonny shakily rose to his feet, blood dripping from his wounds.

He knew he should’ve run by now.

Any sane person would have.

But when he closed his eyes, he saw Sonny’s unconscious body.

Saw how helpless he had been.

Saw the water cocoon crush him.

’If I run... then what was the point of all this?’ he thought, clenching his fists. ’I’d be betraying his trust. I’d be saying... it’s okay to leave him behind.’

He gritted his teeth.

"No," he whispered, his voice trembling. "I’m not done yet."

He slammed his hands to the ground once more.

"Stone Drills!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Ten spinning drills of rock erupted from the earth around him.

They hovered in the air for a moment, each one large and jagged, rotating rapidly as they pointed toward Trent like a circle of spears.

Bonny took a deep breath, his mana surging toward the weapons.

"Go!"

Whoosh!

The drills launched forward like missiles, slicing through the air with thunderous speed.

But Trent didn’t even move.

Three tentacles whipped outward, crashing into the drills.

Crack!

Each one shattered on contact, exploding into small chunks of rock that quickly dissolved into thin brown particles.

None of the drills even made it to Trent.

The last two disintegrated before getting close, their remains scattered by a sudden water blast from the tentacles.

Bonny’s jaw tightened as the dust swirled around the air.

But then, the wind shifted.

And when the haze cleared—Bonny was gone.

Trent’s tentacles twitched slightly, scanning the area.

Then—

Swoosh!

Bonny appeared at Trent’s right, another stone drill spinning in his hand.

He skated across the terrain with blinding speed, his feet completely merged with the ground. He was using Earth Glide again, pushing his mana to its limits.

"Take this!" he shouted, hurling the drill toward Trent’s ribs.

Fwoosh!

The drill cut through the air like a screeching blade.

But Trent calmly swung a tentacle sideways.

Boom!

The drill shattered once again.

Bonny’s eyes widened in shock.

Two more tentacles rushed toward him, lashing out from opposite angles.

"Earth Glide!"

He skated backward just in time, narrowly avoiding the attacks.

Dirt and debris exploded behind him as the tentacles slammed into the ground.

’This is insane... I can barely land a hit, and I’m almost drained dry,’ he thought.

His mana reserves were dangerously low, and the constant strain of casting spells while dodging tentacles had started to take its toll.

But he gritted his teeth and pressed on.

"I won’t stop!" he roared, stretching his hands towards the crazed Elementalist.

"Earth Hold!"