The path ahead was clear, yet it felt impossible to proceed. It was as though an invisible wall barred the way. Luke, who had been on high alert, quickly recognized the obstacle before him for what it was—a magical barrier.
"How tireso."
Luke clenched his fist tightly, just as Theo had done earlier. A violet spark crackled from his hand.
A resounding explosion echoed through the air once again. Cracks of an alien nature spread across space, and fragnts of a translucent barrier, faintly glowing, scattered in all directions.
As the barrier shattered, Luke stepped forward slowly. Then, he abruptly stopped as he sensed a presence he hadn’t noticed before. Straight ahead stood a figure cloaked in black robes.
The foreboding aura that had perated the area since he approached emanated heavily from this figure. Luke instinctively knew who they were—the mastermind behind the smuggling ring and the one responsible for the brutal slaughter of those imprisoned.
"Why are you just standing there, staring?"
Luke's voice echoed slowly through the cavern.
"Did you not expect anyone to make it this far?"
"...I didn’t," ca a chilling voice from beneath the hood. Yet sothing about them felt oddly familiar, as though Luke had encountered them before. His right hand tingled uncomfortably, almost burning.
"And I certainly don’t plan to let you leave alive."
Luke’s thoughts were abruptly cut short as the figure extended their arm. Thick, black pillars erupted from the walls on either side, hurtling toward him with trendous force.
"That might’ve hurt," Luke muttered as he leapt back, landing gracefully. Where he had stood monts earlier, the sharp ends of the black pillars were now entangled, crossing chaotically. If he hadn’t moved in ti, he might have ended up skewered like a barbecue.
"Let ask you sothing first. That furry beast—you’re the one who smuggled it in, aren’t you?"
The figure offered no answer, instead clenching their hand once more. The ground rumbled as similar black pillars rose again, but this ti their shapes shifted fluidly, forming flexible forms with wolf-like heads at their ends.
The wolves lunged at Luke, snapping at his throat, but he effortlessly dodged to the side without breaking a sweat.
"Looks like catching you cos first," he muttered.
It was clear the figure had no intention of engaging in conversation. They launched another round of attacks, similar to the first. Each ti, Luke evaded with ease, leaping lightly out of harm's way.
"Do you plan to keep running forever?" the figure mocked, their voice dripping with scorn.
"Not at all."
That was all Luke said. He suddenly propelled himself off the ground with incredible force. The figure, startled by the sudden movent, summoned more of the black pillars, but they failed to reach him.
Luke's evasive maneuvers had grown sharper and faster. It was as if he knew exactly where the attacks would co from. Moreover, he was closing the distance between them with each dodge.
"In any fight, knowing your enemy is the most crucial thing."
"What...?"
Before the figure could react further, the flash of silver hair in their field of vision disappeared.
"They teach you that in your first year at the academy."
Luke’s voice ca from behind them. He had moved swiftly and precisely, evading detection to close the gap and grab the figure by the neck. Reaching up, he yanked the hood off, intending to see their face, but a chilling sensation swept over him as a shadow lood overhead.
A massive golem, forged of stone, stood above him, its colossal fist raised to strike. The fist, easily weighing several tons, descended before it could reach its target. Luke extended his hand, conjuring a small barrier to intercept the blow while placing his other hand against the solid stone surface.
With a surge of power, the golem froze in place, then shattered like fragile glass slipping from a hand. The explosion sent shards of stone flying in all directions, one grazing Luke’s right cheek as it passed.
"Ah."
Luke’s low growl resonated in the now-empty space around him. The figure had already escaped his grasp and moved so distance away.
"So, barrier magic isn’t your specialty after all," he mused.
Mages typically excelled in one type of magic. Luke specialized in elental magic, wielding electricity and ice. Theo focused on fire and physical enhancent. Pale imbued lifeless objects with speed and force. In battles between mages, identifying the opponent’s magic type was crucial for devising counterasures.
Given the nurous barriers Luke had encountered on his way here, he had assud the figure’s expertise lay in barriers. It seed a fitting skill for soone who lurked in the shadows, orchestrating cris undetected.
"So, you’re a summoner?" Luke concluded.
His realization ca as he reflected on the golem. Summoning must be their primary strength.
Dust filled the air again after the golem’s destruction. As the haze cleared, Luke saw the figure’s silhouette reappear through the thinning smoke. With a few deliberate gestures, he waved away the lingering dust, restoring visibility.
When the smoke finally dispersed, Luke smirked as he caught a clear view of his opponent’s face.
"Well, this is lucky. I’ve been running into summoners more often than I expected."
"...."
"Let ask you sothing—do you have a sibling? You look a lot like soone I’ve t before."
The hood had long since been removed, partly due to Luke’s actions and partly because the earlier explosion’s shockwave had made it impossible for the figure to keep it on.
Half of their face was blackened, distorted to the point of being barely human. Luke recognized such a grotesque appearance from his final battle in the mvern War.
"So it’s true. My comrade must’ve fallen into your hands."
"Not a sibling, but a comrade? Is that supposed to be so trendy costu you lot are into these days?"
Luke asked with a casual laugh, though his mind was racing. The summoner he encountered before had been one of mvern’s pawns. This opponent referred to them as a "comrade." Did that an this individual had also been sent by mvern?
No, that seed unlikely. mvern had completely submitted to the Empire after the last war, even accepting the humiliating terms of a so-called peace treaty. In fact, mvern had initiated the war because they had no desire for a treaty with the Empire in the first place.
For mvern to orchestrate sothing like this now, there would be no advantage for them. Besides, the circumstances that had brought him here—monster smuggling and the presence of an unidentified creature—were vastly different from the mvern conflict.
"I was really hoping this would turn out to be sothing simple..."
Luke sighed deeply, having pieced his thoughts together.
"Is this really the ti to be so relaxed?"
The summoner placed their hand on the ground, and a loud rumbling followed. Surrounding Luke were five more golems, much larger and clearly more powerful than the previous one.
"If our commander-in-chief saw this, they’d probably faint."
Luke crouched slightly, picking up five stones from the ground. Each was neither too large nor too small. He leapt into action without hesitation.
When it ca to magic, strengths always ca with weaknesses. Large creatures like these golems were undeniably powerful, but they were slow.
"Here, try this on for size."
And speed was Luke's forte.
With a detached tone, Luke muttered as he deftly dodged the swinging fists of the golems, shoving a stone into each of their massive bodies. Once all five stones were embedded within the golems, Luke jumped back, snapping his fingers lightly.
A crackling current surged from the stones, culminating in a massive explosion that enveloped the golems.
Watching his creations crumble into fiery wreckage, the summoner stood dumbfounded. Despite summoning multiple golems, not a single one had managed to land a hit, let alone inflict any real damage. They were so caught off guard that they failed to notice Luke’s predatory gaze.
"Urgh!"
Before the summoner could react, Luke seized them by the throat and slamd them against the wall.
"If we’re being honest, your comrade was a lot stronger than you."
Luke’s voice was devoid of emotion, which only made it more unnerving.
"I have a hundred questions to ask you... But first, why don’t you release the prisoners locked up down that side path?"
"From the start, I thought sothing was strange about you."
The summoner glared at Luke, even as their breathing grew labored under his tightening grip. They raised a hand, grasping Luke’s right wrist.
"That right hand of yours... Did my comrade hurt it?"
"What are you—"
Luke’s sentence was cut short as he suddenly grit his teeth. Black energy emanated from the summoner’s hand, slithering like smoke as it seeped into Luke’s arm.
For a mont, the excruciating pain threatened to overwhelm him.
"Dammit..."
Luke's hand began to writhe unnaturally, grotesque and misshapen, before sharp black spikes erupted from his palm.
With a burst of black smoke, flesh and blood sprayed in all directions. If Luke hadn’t released the summoner in ti, he might have lost his entire right hand on the spot.
"Sha. I was so close to severing it," the summoner taunted.
Luke glanced down at his right hand. It was riddled with holes, the bones exposed beneath the shredded flesh. The hand had completely lost feeling, and his right arm was powerless, tainted by the summoner’s magic.
The searing pain threatened to cloud his thoughts. Blood dripped steadily from his hand, pooling at his feet. The chill in the air made it seem as though the blood might freeze.
"Hey. Are you an idiot?"
"...What?"
"You’ve got two hands, don’t you? Or can’t you tell with only half a face?"
Luke smirked, raising his left hand. Ignoring his mangled right hand, he lunged at the summoner with his left.
Even in the face of such agony, Luke’s gaze remained fixed on his target. His expression resembled that of a beast, relentless and ready to tear into its prey, even in death.
"Argh!"
The summoner, terrified by Luke's unhinged determination, let out a desperate scream. Black pillars erupted from the wall they were pressed against, surging forth in a chaotic mass. They extended rcilessly, aiming to pierce Luke’s body from every direction.
Although Luke had acted first, the summoner's assault of black pillars quickly closed the distance, threatening to strike him down before he could land his blow.
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