"Graaaaaagghh!"

The Lich's eyes flared as he yelled out in frustration.

He dashed from side to side as spells rained down on him. With each step, he counted silently in Goblinspeak while his yellow eyes remained stuck on the Lich's form. Defeating that thing is impossible, but he might be able to buy time for the others. He gripped his sword tightly as he steadily closed the distance through the hail of shadows and green bolts of energy.

He gasped. A bolt of shadow pierced his shoulder, yet he pressed on through the pain. The Lich was in front of him now, its green energy and dark madness singed the very air around it while he loomed over him. It raised a hand as black as the shadows that engulfed this damned place and aimed a finger at him. He raised his sword and watched as a black bolt shot towards him. It brushed against the blade of his sword as he deflected it, only to be kicked in the chest by a skeletal foot.

He rolled across the floor as bolts of green and black followed after him. Two failed to hit him but the other three struck him on the leg, the shoulder, and his arm. The adventurers rushed towards him, only to be struck by the same foul magic the Lich wielded. A sickening laugh rang out from the jaws of the Lich, its bones clattering loudly as it did so. Then he raised his arms and grasped at the empty air in front of him while black hands slithered across the floor towards them. 

"My plans will not be thwarted by a creature as lowly as a Goblin. If it was that accursed princess, I would've admitted defeat the moment she entered through those doors, but you?"

His voice was filled with contempt as he spoke and he looked down on the Goblin as he lay unconscious on the cold floor. He gripped at the Goblin's shadow with his hand and smiled.

"You are nothing. You are just a Goblin that crawled its way into my domain like a cockroach. A thief that steals the knowledge and treasures of Arluk that I have kept safely hidden in my dungeon. You are just a Goblin, a monster that is more akin to vermin. Begone!"

He aimed a [Shadow Blast] directly at the Goblin's head with a snickering grin on his face. But just as the foul magic left his hand...

"Not on my watch!"

"[Glacial Strike]!"

A sword of Elven make and a rapier covered with frost cut off his hand and struck his chest.

Roars of pure fury left his jaws as Stefan and Katherine plunged their blades deep into him while Semilia carried the Goblin away. The Black Mage snarled and disappeared into a pile of black liquid just as Stefan and Katherine slashed at the now empty spot where he was standing at. Suddenly, both of them were pinned down to the ground by the Lich's magic, foul magic bound their bodies to the movement of their shadows.

Then with a sharp flicking of the Lich's wrists, they rose from the ground like puppets. Stefan and Katherine shakily grasped their weapons while the Lich emerged out of their shadows. Their limbs moved and Stefan scowled as he saw his arms raise the sword in his hands towards Eric as he approached them. With a sharp cry, the two of them charged not towards the Lich, but Eric and Jared as they dashed towards the Lich. 

Green magic filled his body with tremendous amounts of power and he quickly summoned more Shadow Fiends around him. The crisp cry of steel rang across the room as the four adventurers fought against one another while more of his shadowy creations rose around him. Stefan let out a groan as he tried to fight against the magic, but the magic proved to be stronger than him and he felt his legs move forward quickly while his arms raised his weapon over his head.

Steel flashed through the air and he was soon locking blades with Eric as he tried to reach the Lich that controlled their movements. Sparks flew around all around them as Eric matched Stefan’s quick blows with his own. He jumped to the side to avoid the black hands that emerged out of the ground while he blocked Stefan’s thrust with his blade. He fell to one knee as he slid his blade along the edge of Stefan’s sword. But before he could disarm his fellow adventurer, he found himself unable to move from his position.

Beside him was Jared, who was also pinned down to the ground by Katherine. Beads of sweat trailed down her pale face as she tried to shake off the Lich’s control over her. Jared scoffed at her while she pressed down her knee on his face while her arms held her rapier over her head. The two of them looked at their shadows and found the Lich’s shadow over them, his will holding sway over their movements. But the creature did not stare at them and instead, it looked at creatures that ran around his chambers throwing spells and arrows at him.

More of his summons rose from the ground, yet they easily fell to the attacks directed at them.  His focus fell on the small group of girls that felled countless Shadow Fiends beneath their feet. Within an instant, he closed the distance between them and he stepped out of the shadows just in front of them. Jared shouted for them to get out of the way as the Lich prepared a spell to suck out their souls from their body.

“[Grand Fireball]!”

The Lich easily evaded the powerful spell thrown at him, but the lapse in his focus released Stefan and Katherine from his control.

“I got you now!”

“[Black Shield]”

Semilia’s arrows and Riel’s Flame Spell crashed against him, yet he simply brushed off their attacks with his powerful shield.  

But as the smoke cleared in front of him, he was instantly met by the sight of Katherine and Eric charging at him from the front. With a shrill cry, he put up the magical barrier around his body once more yet it quickly shattered as Katherine’s rapier pierced through it. Katherine quickly drew her sword and struck his eye, but it was no use. As the thin sheet of ice spread across his face, his jaws moved to cast a spell. Stefan quickly tried to stop it, but it was too late. Foul hues of green burned the air and lashed at Katherine violently and forced her to fall back from the Lich as it resorted to the magic that kept him alive for millennia.

Necromancy, magic no sound mind or sensible person would dabble in, filled the Lich’s body and mind like a flood of vile water. His hands were replaced with green imitations made of magic. But before he could finish Katherine off with a powerful blast of necromantic energy, he felt the weight of a hundred spells as it rained down on him. It burned the edges of his robes and broked parts of his body but against his power, the spells of such novices were nothing to him.

"Despair and cower under the presence of the Black Mage! [Decay]! [Drain Mana]!"

The Lich's words dispelled the spells that were being thrown at him and his eyes gleamed in the darkness of his skull as the powerful surge of magic left his body.

Within mere moments, everyone was incapacitated. Mages and Spellcasters writhed in agony at the pain of having the mana within their bodies pulled out forcefully. Their nerves were filled with the overwhelming sensation of pain as their muscles cramped and tensed with each agonizing second. Then black bolts of magic shot out from the ground and tore apart a handful of the adventurers, their flesh rotting away as the shadows wrapped around them. Riel pulled herself up and rolled away from one of the magical bolts as it struck the ground just beside her.

She aimed the staff given to her by the Goblin who was now in Semilia's arms at the Lich as it grabbed Katherine by her hair. Magic swirled around her staff as she poured mana into the simple spell and she ignored the numbing pain at the tip of her fingers. The [Fireball] flew through the air and blasted the Lich with intense heat as the ball of flame crashed against his face. His green eyes shone through the brightness of the red fires that raged around his head and glared at the young mage.

At that moment, he failed to notice Jared and Eric as they lunged at him from behind. Swords cut through his tattered robes while Stefan grabbed his other arm. Green magic poured out from his body while the shadows that held whatever remained of his bones lashed out at his attackers. But it was already too late for him. His eyes stared at the young boy and the girl that rushed towards him with their weapons. He let out a cry as their weapons pierced his body while Katherine stabbed his chest with a thrust that easily pierced through his back.

----------------------------------------

"Shadow Magic? Why do you want to focus on illusions and tricks?"

"Hah! Such things are just what petty Magicians use to con the masses. This! This is just one of the many uses of Shadowmancy... Behold!"

Ereldru'ash placed a black rock on top of the table before Y'vanna. The girl raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed.

"A rock? I can make a rock like that wit-"

"Not just any rock! It's granite that was processed with Alchemy to infuse it with Shadow Essence."

"... And what are you using it for?"

"The walls! The walls, Y'vanna! This material has the ability to absorb mana and convert it into Shadow Essence! It is revolutionary!"

Ereldru'ash smiled happily as he demonstrated the properties of the rock to his friend.

Magic flowed out of his fingers and he destroyed a large chunk of the rock with a powerful blast of magic. Y'vanna watched with a shocked expression as the black material that covered it reformed and returned the rock into its original shape. Ereldru'ash smiled proudly while he watched the large chunk he broke off reform into another rock of similar shape and size.

It was his masterpiece. A material that converted mana into a material that can repair itself and multiply indefinitely. He knew that such a material would turn Arenhein into a fortress city that no army could ever conquer. Ereldru'ash couldn't help but grin as he looked at the crude walls that wrapped around the city. If he could test the strength of his creation, then surely the King would listen to his words. 

"Your ambition really knows no bounds, Eru..."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Y'vanna smiled at him as she spoke softly. Ereldru'ash scoffed and simply tucked the original rock back into his robes.

"A great Archwizard such as I should aim for grand goals. And among those goals, the prosperity of Arluk and its people are the ones that I will achieve at all costs."

"Such bright ideals but, I wonder... Just how large of a shadow does such blinding ambition cast?"

Y'vanna looked at her friend as his shadows wrapped around his arm. He smiled at her as he waved off the worried glances she cast on him.

"Stop philosophising about my state of mind and stand up already. I'll need your help in molding the damned walls of this city."

"Grahhhaaaaaaghhhhhh!!!"

The Lich, in utter desperation, bit down on the sharp blade with his bony teeth. Their eyes widened as Katherine's rapier shattered like delicate shards of ice in the spring as silver pieces of steel rained down on the floor around them. The Lich's eyes flared as he grabbed Eric and Jared with new tendrils that shot out from his sleeve before he threw them across the floor. 

"No! Not like this! I cannot falter here! I cannot stumble upon the steps of my glorious return! I must save Arluk! I must warn them of the coming storm!"

His garbled voice made Orien and Ameera falter in their grip, and they were soon thrown against one another as the Lich thrashed his body around wildly.

"I am Ereldru'ash! The Black Mage that raised the walls of Arenhein! I am the Archwizard that stood against the Demonic host that assaulted this city and it is I that claimed victory over them! All of you are nothing!"

His voice was filled with determination as he threw off Katherine and Stefan off from him.

Moments later, he stood over them with a vicious snarl on his face. Shadows wrapped around three adventurers as they notched arrows into their bows aimed at him. It only took an instant for him to devour the mana in their bodies, leaving them as nothing more but empty husks of flesh. The floor beneath them turned black as the Lich looked at the large number of adventurers that still dared to stand against him.

The Shadow Fiends melted back into the shadows beneath their feet as the Lich released his grip on them. Immediately, their power fed into his own as he turned his attention towards Stefan and Jared. Shadow Essence boiled within him at the sight of their persistence and his green eyes narrowed at their movements. They heard the cracking of bones as the Lich took on a quicker form as he reinforced his body with his magic.

“[Alchemical Skill: Reinforcement], [Shadow Magic: Shadow Binding], [Release Spells]”

The Black Lich glowed green as the magic he cast earlier ceased immediately. He was not able to kill the many mages around him, but the mana he gathered from them will be enough.

There was something dangerous about the Swordsman in front of him, and he knew that relying on magic now will doom him. He looked at his arms and legs as they took on a more bestial form with large claws that could rend armor like dried leaves. With a low stance, he disappeared into the shadows with [Shadow Step] and charged towards Stefan with an attack aimed for his neck.

Stefan picked up his sword and dashed the moment he saw the Lich disappear, only for his feet to be held in place by shadowy hands that emerged from the floor. He looked up and saw only the foul Lich as he brought down a spell on him from above while his claws reached for his neck. He let out a groan as he twisted out of the way of the spell while he blocked the Lich’s claws with his sword. Sparks flew outward as the Lich immediately tried to claw at him once more, but Stefan was quicker than him.

"[Thrust]!"

His voice made the Lich turn, and he saw the glimmer of the Elven blade.

Stefan cut through shadows and black sludge as the Lich materialized beside him with glowing, green hands that reached towards him. He tried to dodge the Lich's claws, but the sound of tearing flesh that rotted immediately made Semilia scream loudly from afar. But Stefan wasn't dead, he tried to strike at the Lich's turned back but shadows immediately grabbed at him from the darkness.

Within moments of him falling to the ground, he was engulfed with shadows that pulled at his arms and legs. A painful pop can be heard as Stefan watched his right arm be pulled out of its socket as the Lich continued to pull at him from all directions. But before everyone could see Stefan be drawn and quartered, he flicked his head towards Jared as he threw the broken half of his spear towards him.

"Foo-"

"[Quick Strike]!"

There was a quick blur in front of him and the flying piece of steel disappeared in the air. Then he felt the pangs of electricity as Katherine twisted the steel deep into him.

"[Roaring Sla-"

"[Blinding Evisceration], [Sword of Shadow]"

Eric twisted in the air, but the black bolt that shot out from the shadow underneath him tore off a chunk of his shoulder and his arm. Katherine jumped backwards as a black spike shot out from underneath the Lich's robes.

But as she jumped backwards, another one shot out from behind her. Katherine let out a cry as the point impaled itself deep into her side. Another one of those things appeared over her head, and Katherine could only watch in silence as it fell towards her. She was prepared to block it with her hands when a green shape blasted it out of the air with a bright light that shot out of his hand. The Lich only had moments to register what just happened when he felt something slash at both of his arms. Moments later, they fell to the ground as bright, blue flames engulfed them. The Lich hissed as he watched the Goblin as it weakly pointed its sword at him, its yellow eyes screaming to him that he was ready to fight him.

All of them watched helplessly as shadows took the place of his missing arms while the large amount of mana he stole from the Spellcasters within the room repaired his body. The Goblin panted heavily as he felt the mana within his body being slowly drained away by the Lich, yet he did not falter in his stance. He could see the bright swirls of mana being sucked out of the bodies of the Spellcasters and he watched helplessly as the Lich's soul absorbed it into his body.

With a huff, he pulled his sword close to his body as he ran across the room. His heart pumped blood into his legs as he closed the distance between him and the Lich while its robes were slowly replaced with shadows. He let out a desperate cry as he took a step forward and plunged his sword into the Lich's body.

"It is useless, foul crea-"

"Miu!"

The Lich's eyes flared as a blue slime erupted out from under the Goblin's clothes.

It swallowed his shadows and wrapped around his body tightly, but its acidic body failed to do significant damage to him. Each part that melted was reformed by thick shadows made from the mana he gathered while the Slime continued to grow with each new material it ingested. The Lich's eyes darted around his sockets as he looked for the Slime's core, only to be met by the Slime's own eyes as it wrapped around his head.

While the Lich struggled to free himself from the Slime's grasp, the Goblin rushed towards him with another strike. Shadows and flesh were torn apart as the sword cut through the Lich's body cleanly. The Lich didn't fall, but both halves of his body grew black tendrils that writhed like snakes before it lashed out at the Goblin and the Slime. One of the tendrils struck the Goblin's hand and left a gaping wound on the back of his hand and would've torn it off if he didn't move it in time.

"Foul Goblin! You will know your place!"

The Lich wrapped a tendril around the Goblin's neck while necromantic energy poured out of his mouth.

"[Flash]!"

"Your light shall offer no solace in this crushing darkness"

The Lich's hand struck the Slime and its body exploded into tiny little blobs that splattered all over the floor.

Darkness overcame the flash of light the Goblin shot out from his sword. Within moments, he could feel the life from his body being strangled out of him by the Lich's cold, dead hands. He clasped at the fingers made of mana that wrapped around his neck while he kicked at the Lich. The Goblin stared into the soulless, empty pits that held the two orbs that served as his eyes and he felt only fear as they bored into his own soul.

"I wonder why you fight? Why you did not run as any other Goblin should? Is there something about you that makes you unique?"

The Lich thought to himself as he raised the Goblin's body into the air while his lower half slowly stitched itself back into place with black shadows.

"... Or perhaps you are just foolish?"

The Goblin could feel the Lich's hands slowly twisting in an effort to break his neck. He let out a cry as he punched at the Lich's face.

"Goblin!"

In a flash of brilliant white, the Lich's head was severed from his body and his hands immediately released their grip on the Goblin.

Stefan panted as he clutched the sword tightly while Orien and Ameera stood beside him. The Lich hissed and roared at them as black and green hues dragged his head back onto his shoulders. Semilia already had her last enchanted arrow pointed at him and he let out a hiss as it streaked across the air. Everyone watched as the arrow buried itself deep into the hole made by Stefan's sword that was still yet to heal before it exploded into a bright explosion of red and yellow flames.

The flames quickly died down but the Lich's face suffered tremendous amounts of damage from it. Half of his skeletal face is now gone, and much of the hood that covered his head was turned into ashes due to the flames. But before the Lich could retaliate with a spell filled with his malice and hatred, he felt a calming sensation in his once empty chest. He tried to speak, but no words or foul magic formed in his bony jaws.

"Ah... It seems I failed to take that into account."

He touched the broken blade that poked out of his chest and felt a numbing sensation at the tip of his fingers.

Behind him stood both the Goblin and Mina, who held the broked greatsword of Ludwig in her hands. Holy magic still flowed through it and the Goblin's sword drained the Lich's mana as it pierced the shrivelled up heart in its chest. The Goblin's sword cracked more and more as it absorbed the Lich's mana and the Goblin immediately let it go as the sword shattered.

The Lich's eyes flickered weakly and he had a disappointed look in his eyes as the foul magic in his body slowly disappeared. His hands disappeared and the Lich dropped to his knees as black liquid leaked out of him. Wisps of steam and smoke left his body as he huffed softly on the floor while he felt his body slowly disappearing and slipping from his grasp.

"So it is over... Arluk will fall. And I could do nothing more about it..."

"A-Arluk fell centuries ago. What are you talking about?"

Mina's words lashed out at the Lich, but he paid it no heed as he felt the bonds that held him to this world slowly fade.

"As long as I remember, Arluk will not fall. But now, who will remember the glory of Arluk? Who will carry it into the future? Who will protect it from the coming darkness? None will ever treasure the legacy of such a kingdom..." 

His voice was sombre, one that has accepted defeat. His green eyes stared at Stefan as he raised his sword over his head.

"My King, my friends, and Arluk itself... I have failed all of you. Forgive me..."

The Lich stared at the adventurers as the blade Stefan held cut through the air. With the deafening crack of brittle bone, the Lich's head rolled across the floor. 

With each soft thud, Shadow Essence leaked from its eyes and mana pulsated softly from his head. The Lich stared at the adventurers as tears rolled down his face. As he felt his body and soul being purified, he thought of Arluk and its splendor. He knew that it was gone already, for if Arluk still persisted now then it would've been facing a host of knights instead of adventurers. Instead he was defeated by adventurers that trodded and desecrated his tomb and by a Goblin, of all things. He watched his body melt away as his necromantic energy was snuffed out by the Holy Magic. 

"I chased after a light so bright that I failed to notice the shadows that stretched behind me. Maybe it was that darkness that clouded my mind, but I see now my folly..."

The green lights that floated in his head faded into the darkness of his empty skull.

"I must rest now... My job... Finished..."

His soft voice echoed within their heads as his bones turned to dust. Stefan uttered a prayer and walked over towards the pile white dust that used to be the Lich's skull. Just like that, it was over.

Ereldru'ash the Black Mage is dead and their quest finished.