"A fake...shit...I can't believe I fell for that. I should've known from the moment you didn't use our telepathic connection to communicate with me," I muttered, frustrated with myself.

"It's alright, Master...this is my fault for not getting here sooner," Mei Gui replied with a concerned expression on her face. She then turned to face the imposter with eyes full of killing intent and hatred.

"You...you hurt Master..." she said, voice cold and unwavering. She was trembling from rage, but since she had to support me, she couldn't just go slash the imposter apart...though from the look in her eyes, it was clear she wanted to.

Mei Gui...you really care about me, huh?

Then, suddenly, the fake Mei Gui in front of us faded away into the green gas all around us, and was replaced by a cloaked figure wearing a conspicuous plague doctor mask. He was clapping, clearly amused with something. "Hm...so you survived that, impressive, I must say." For some reason, I could hear him, so I assumed he could hear me as well. He probably could use Sound Magic.

I clenched my fists. "How despicable...using Mei Gui to trick me."

"All's fair in love and war, as they say," Plague replied with a chuckle. "I expected you to get hit by my Void Magic there, but oh well, I guess this is fine too. It wouldn't be any fun if I killed you too quickly, after all. But I wonder...you should've died by now from inhaling my poison. How are you still alive?"

Yeah...that's probably thanks to all the training I did to improve my physical body back before I obtained magic. My body is far stronger than the average person, so it makes sense I can survive after inhaling poison...for longer than most people, anyway. I didn't know how long it would take before I finally succumb, but by the looks of it...it wouldn't be long. My vision was getting hazy and I grew even weaker than before.

"Hold still, Master," Mei Gui said, before moving behind me and placing her palms on my back.

"Mei Gui...? What are you..."

"Using the power of Chaos which consumes all, I can suck the poison out of your body," Mei Gui replied with a serious expression.

My eyes widened. "But wait...wouldn't that mean the poison would end up going into your body?! No, you can't do thi-"

"Worry not, Master. Do not forget, I am a Chaos Elemental - and Chaos gave birth to everything. Thus, I have the powers of every single type of Elemental...including Poison ones," Mei Gui explained.

"...So you're resistant to poison...I see," I said and let out a relived sigh as Mei Gui closed her eyes and began channeling her Chaos Energy into my body. What is this feeling...? It feels nice and warm...

After a short while, Mei Gui snapped her eyes open. "Found it."

I screamed in pain as the poison was taken out of my body and injected into Mei Gui's. However, the pain soon subdued after Mei Gui moved her hands away. "Master, how are you feeling?"

"Much better..." I murmured. "Thanks."

Mei Gui smiled in return. "I live to serve Master."

Plague, who had been watching this entire scene play out, laughed amusedly.

"To think you can dispel my poison, girl! Interesting!" he said with a clap of his hands. "It seems your luck isn't too bad, boy...well, it doesn't matter, I suppose."

Plague then moved closer to us, and took an elegant bow. "This was quite amusing - and I thank you for the performance - but...I reckon it's time to end things, don't you think?"

I stood up on my own, now that the poison within me was gone. "Yeah...but the ending is already set in stone. This fight will, inevitably, result in your death."

"What an arrogant attitude! Though confidence is not necessarily a bad thing, you should know your limits, Xuan Kai," Plague replied with a chuckle.

"Whether it's arrogance or confidence, you'll find out soon enough," I muttered, then turned to Mei Gui.

"Mei Gui, I have a plan in mind."

She tilted her head cutely. "What is it, Master?"

I then leaned in to whisper in her ear since I didn't want Plague to realize we could communicate telepathically, and she nodded along to my plan. After a while, I backed away. "Alright, you ready?"

"Yes, Master."

After hearing her confirmation, I smiled devilishly and turned back to Plague. He smirked when he noticed this, and said, "Done strategizing? Oh well, no matter what clever ideas you may come up with, it won't help against me."

Ignoring his taunt, I calmly raised my hand and pointed it towards him. Level Two Fire Magic - Flamania.

My attack sailed straight through my water barrier - that was another reason I chose Mizu Shield as my defense against the poisonous gas. It blocked all outside attacks, but allowed for interior attacks to go out, thanks to it being made of water - flexible and convenient.

As for Flamania...this was the first time I was using this spell in an actual fight, but it was basically an empowered version of Flame Lotus, a Level One Fire Element spell. The only difference was that the projectile didn't take on the form of a lotus, but instead just a normal fireball. The most distinct feature about it, however, was the long trail it had behind the actual ball of fire. It was like a comet...a comet of pure fire and destruction.

Then, a bright light enveloped the entire area - Level One Light Magic, Illumination. This was Mei Gui's work, and everything is going according to my plan so far. Taking advantage of this momentarily blindness for Plague, I cast another spell - one that would lead to victory. As the white light died out, my flaming projectile rushed towards Plague at high speeds.

"Ha! You think just by using a useless flashbang, you'll be able to surprise me with your attack? Nice try!" Plague declared condescendingly, and easily dodged out of the way. A dull explosion echoed back after a while, meaning my attack probably hit something far away.

However...although my attack didn't hit, I wasn't disappointed in the least. The first stage of my plan, was complete. And now, it was time for the second.

I raised my hand and put up a frustrated facade to continue tricking Plague.

Level Two Ice Magic - Frozen Terror.

A phantom of ice slowly rose in front of me, and I instructed it to head towards Plague. A non-living being wouldn't be affected by his poison, so even after leaving my Mizu Shield, the phantom was still able to move and carry out my order just fine. This spell was originally not one made for offense, but instead for hindering anyone chasing you. But in this situation - and in my plan - this was the perfect choice.

Plague, however, wasn't fazed in the least. He merely laughed as the phantom slowly lumbered towards him, weak and unthreatening.

"Oi oi, are you getting desperate? This is the best you can do? Hahaha!" Plague jeered.

I didn't reply to his mocking, but merely bent down and acted as if I had no other ideas and was on the verge of giving up. I covered my face with my hands to imitate frustration, but behind my arms, I wore a devious grin. I then casually touched the ground with one of my hands, and cast a spell.

Level Two Earth Magic - Stalagmite.

The earth began to rumble at my feet, and the stalagmite I had concocted began rushing towards Plague from underground at insane speeds. However, thanks to my huge ice phantom, Plague had no idea. Just a little more...

BOOM!

The stalagmite sprouted from the ground with a deafening roar, catching Plague off-guard. Unfortunately, he wasn't hit squarely. He had - very narrowly - dodged my attack, so only his mask's long beak was broken. However...that was enough.

"Hah...that was close, I must admit," Plague said, taking a few breathers to recompose himself. Once he was done, he exhaled deeply, and continued. "But alas, no cigar."

I looked at him, a triumphant look on my face. "Kuku...are you sure about that?"

Plague crossed his arms, and probably narrowed his eyes underneath that now-broken mask of his. "What are you implying?"

"Your mask is broken...have you forgotten? We're standing in poison right now," I said with a snicker.

Plague remained silent for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Are you dumb, boy?! I only wear my mask to remain anonymous. Even without it, I'm completely immune to my own poison!"

Seeing him laugh so arrogantly, I couldn't help but shake my head. "No, Plague...I wasn't talking about your poison. I was talking about mine."

"Huh? What are you tal-Ngh!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the Midnight Syndicate member collapsed to the ground, gasping and choking. "Grngh...w-what did you do...?!"

I smirked and shrugged. "Like I said, you're standing defenselessly in poison. Why are you so surprised that you would be infected?"

"I-Impossible...I am immune to my own poison...I created it myself, so I know every single ingredient, and obviously how to counter it! I know I ate the antidote before entering this gas...why is this happening?!" Plague screamed in agony.

"Eh...every single ingredient, you say?" I echoed amusedly - the hunter and prey had reversed their roles. "Aren't you a master of using poison? Then you should know every brand of concocted, furnished poison has their own unique mixture and configuration of herbs and such. Even one tiny difference in the mixture would change the poison completely, rendering all prepared antidotes useless."

"N-No way...you mean you threw in your own poison into mine?!" Plague yelled, clawing at his own throat from agony. "That is ridiculous...I never saw you do anything of the sort, not to mention you don't even have the Poison Element...ngh...!"

"Kuku...remember that 'flashbang' from earlier? The one you called useless?" I said, smiling like the handsome devil himself. Indeed - earlier, when Mei Gui cast Illumination, I took advantage of Plague's momentary blindness and cast a small amount of my own poison into Plague's, using Venom Strike - Level One Poison Magic.

Seeing his shocked complexion, I chuckled and continued. "Also...who told you I can't use Poison Magic?"

"X-Xuan Yang...wait, you're shitting me..." Plague seemed to have realized his mistake, and fell to the ground.

That's right...your mistake was listening to that idiot. Both of you are morons who think everything you see on the surface is the truth. Golden Monarchs my ass, you have the mental age of a 5 year old. Still...it seems that even Golden Monarchs can't do anything if poison gets in their body, huh? Well, to be fair, the poison I used was imbued with and amplified by Chaos energy, so no normal antidote would work, but still.

"It's over, bastard," I murmured, then walked closer to him condescendingly, despite still safely remaining in my Mizu Shield. "Oh, but don't worry about being lonely...I'll have the rest of the Midnight Syndicate join you in the burning depths of hell soon enough."

And just like that, Plague's body trembled once more, before flopping back to the ground, never to move ever again.