Chapter 91 - The Shadow of the Ancient Emperor
Threads were launched at me. The woman was furious, and in her other hand, she conjured increasingly powerful gusts of wind. I ran and spun in the air, using the wind's power to boost my agility, dodging her attacks with precision.
"FUCKING BASTARD!" she screamed in rage as the tips of her threads struck the ground and exploded with the force of the wind.
I dodged through the sea of threads, but suddenly, spikes of earth were fired in my direction.
The earth mage.
My reflexes kicked in, and with a quick spin, I used the wind to propel myself away from the deadly spikes. The terrain around me was becoming increasingly treacherous, with threads and spikes coming at me from all sides.
The earth mage and the Lady of the Threads were coordinating their attacks, trying to corner me.
I evaded the spikes, running as the threads lashed out at me. I quickly grabbed the corpse of the fire mage and used it as a shield while advancing with the sword I had taken from the dead mage. I closed in on the earth mage and hurled the corpse at him.
"Fuck you! You're dead, kid!" he shouted, raising a stone barrier to protect himself from the impact.
Isabelle swooped down from the ceiling, launching herself at me.
I swiftly sheathed my sword.
"I'm going to kill you!" she screamed, furious.
"Thunder Cloak!" I activated my spell, sending sparks coursing through my body, increasing my speed. Using the wind's momentum, I charged toward her.
When her dagger came at me, I deflected it with my elbow and then jumped, striking her chin with my knee.
"AH!" she cried out, but I kept hold of her arm and, in mid-air, spun and hurled her away.
'Boom!' She crashed violently against a wall.
Below me, the earth mage appeared with his axe. I clapped my hands, generating a wind explosion with the power of thunder's roar, sending him crashing hard to the ground.
He hit the floor, and I leaped down, grabbing my sword with determination.
'Bam!' The wind reinforced the blade as I struck the ground, but he managed to dodge at the last second.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" he ranted madly, sending spiked balls flying at me. I ran toward him, dodging the deadliest ones and batting away those I could.
Using the power of thunder, I let the energy course through my body, increasing my speed. I surprised the mage by closing in with a sudden burst of momentum.
"What!?" he shouted, bewildered.
The mage raised his axe, and our weapons clashed. I diverted my blade downward, trying to pin his axe to the ground, but he quickly spun to the other side and blasted the earth with one hand.
I made a swift movement, kicking up dust into the air, using the wind to disperse it, and dodged his strike.
I pulled back and launched myself into the air.
The earth mage pointed his hand at me, and from the ground, numerous spikes shot up in my direction.
"This is the Thunder Impulse!" Using the ceiling as a foothold, I propelled myself at full speed, generating a wind explosion from my feet. I twisted in the air, spinning my body 360 degrees, transforming into a tornado as I closed in on him.
'Slash!' I passed by him, slashing with my blade, which detonated in a mix of wind and thunder.
"FUUUUUCK!" he screamed.
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In front of me, an arm fell, severed from the body.
Blood began to gush, and he clutched the wound, screaming in agony.
Desperate, the mage covered the gaping hole where his arm had been with stone, grasping his axe with difficulty.
"Where's the man who was shouting that he'd kill me?" I asked, my voice dripping with contempt.
Enraged, he started running toward me.
"AHHHHHH!" he screamed, as several stone columns grew around me, launching spikes in all directions.
I leaped into the air to dodge, and he approached, forming a large stone arm in place of his severed one, ready to strike.
I halted in mid-air, standing on the wind, and revealed my hand, glowing blue.
"This is the pinnacle of sound explosion power!"
"BOOM!" A massive wind explosion, mixed with a deafening sound, erupted as I generated concentrated thunder within my fist.
The wind blast was enormous, and what remained of the windows and wooden doors were all shattered. This was the power of the Thunder and Wind combination. The earth mage was sent flying, crashing to the ground, caught in the explosion.
He hit the bottom of the crater, and the floor collapsed, sending him plummeting to a lower level of the mansion.
I followed the earth mage through the hole, tugging on one of the wires still attached to the unconscious Isabelle.
"Wake up! I didn’t tell you to sleep!" I yanked on the wires, electrocuting them, and tossed her into the hole.
Now, both of them were lying on the floor below, while I stood at the top of the hole, staring down at them.
Isabelle:
"Damn it!" I struggled to my feet, feeling like several parts of my body were broken. Blood trickled from my nose, and the pain was intense. I glanced to the side and saw that Paul wasn't in much better shape. He had lost an arm, and his body was covered in wounds. He was breathing heavily, spitting blood with each breath.
Looking around, I realized we had fallen into the dungeon area. The boy stood at the top, illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the shattered ceiling of the mansion.
"WHAT IS THIS!?" His voice echoed off the walls, causing them to tremble.
What’s happening to me!?
My hands, the ones I used to control the metal wires, began to tremble, refusing to obey.
Paul struggled to his feet. The boy jumped down, landing on our level.
"What is this place?" he asked, clearly irritated.
"Shut up, you piece of shit!" I shouted, trying to regain control.
"ANSWER ME!" he demanded, and Paul collapsed to the ground as if the force of his voice had knocked him over.
The boy's voice sent shivers down my spine, and a strange pressure filled the air, almost forcing me to give in and collapse.
"This is our playground," I said, laughing, trying to maintain my composure.
There were bodies of girls and other victims, all bearing signs of torture. They were tied to the pillars around us. The boy looked at me with those dark, piercing eyes.
"What... what is this!?" I asked, feeling my body freeze up. He began walking through the area, turning his back on us.
"We have to kill him..." I murmured to Paul, feeling the desperation rise.
The boy ignored us, moving toward the victims, observing them in silence.
"You haven't realized it, Isabelle..." Paul said weakly.
"Realized what?"
"Since the fight started... none of us have landed a single hit on him... he's completely unscathed," Paul replied, and I replayed the entire fight in my mind.
Impossible!
I stared at the boy in disbelief.
He doesn’t have a single scratch!
The boy continued to ignore us.
"Silence!" he ordered, and I obeyed automatically, not understanding how.
He turned to face us, his expression growing even darker.
"You've managed to piss me off!" Every step he took sent lightning crackling from his body, striking the walls and causing the entire place to shake. The ceiling began to collapse, and debris rained down around us.
With difficulty, I got to my feet, and Paul did the same. The boy lowered the black mask that covered half of his face.
"There’s no reason to wear this anymore. You won’t live," he said.
I let out a disbelieving laugh.
"The damn brat who spent the day cleaning shit? Hahaha," I started laughing, unable to believe the situation.
He stepped forward.
"The shit I cleaned will be more useful to nature than what will happen to your corpse," he said, walking toward me.
Paul moved to attack him, but the boy snapped his fingers.
'ZAP!' A bolt of lightning shot toward Paul, sending him flying back. The boy drew his sword and walked slowly toward Paul.
He passed by me, moving leisurely, but I couldn’t react, even with him giving me his back.
"Your time has come," he said, staring down at Paul, who was barely managing to stand.
My partner was severely burned, nearly unrecognizable, charred by the lightning. The boy plunged his sword into Paul.
"I pierced your lung. You’ll suffocate and die soon... I want you to think of every life you took while the pain of your charred body consumes you and drowning in your own blood kills you," the boy said, twisting the sword and slicing Paul's face.
"I’ve also blinded you. I want you to die in complete darkness," he added, turning his gaze to me.
He began walking toward me. My body couldn’t respond, and I could see the sparks running through his body, growing in intensity.
"Y-you... you," I tried to say, but I fell backward.
I started crawling away from him, but he kept walking, never speeding up his pace.
"You really are a superior noble, aren’t you?" I asked in desperation. "You must be! Just like you said this afternoon."
He kept ignoring me, drawing closer. I was on the ground, looking up at that stern face, which already seemed to have passed judgment.
"I surrender!" I screamed. "By the law of the kingdom, a criminal of my level, if they surrender, can be judged and condemned. You can imprison me and use me as an example," I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear.
The silence hung heavy as he stared at me.
"You’re the ruler. You can do that. You can imprison me," I continued, desperately trying to find a way out.
"You’ve made a small mistake... I’m not a ruler..."
He grabbed me by the throat.
"I’m a DICTATOR!"