"Why?" I asked Asit.

My dearest friend and lover; the loss had brought her closer. Gave us the strength to move forward, but now all have shattered.

"I want to live," he said, stone-faced.

There is remorse in his eyes and guilt, but there is also resolved to live. He is going to do anything for that, including kill his friend.

'I had been so blind,' I thought, looking at the blade buried in my chest.

I should have seen it. There were the signs, but I had chosen to ignore them. I shouldn't have and it would have saved me this pain.

Azure Arc.

The spell materialized directly in front of him. His eyes widened in shock.

He reacted fast as he removed his sword, but by the time he did, the arc had reached him.

He might have some chance if he had removed the sword from my chest instantly. Even then, the chances were low given the distance and the spell being a Grade IV.

It might not be as powerful as others, but it is enough to kill a traitorous bastard like him.

Pachac!

The wind arc reached his neck and decapitated him. I saw his head and shock in his eyes.

Tears streamed down from cheeks. I wanted to, but I controlled my emotions.

It is a battlefield, not my home where I could let go.

I turned and saw the Yegson, who had a shock in his eyes.

"I had not expected you to have a death-evading skill," he said, and I smiled.

I wish.

I didn't have a death-evading skill. I would have really liked one, but unfortunately, I did not.

What I have, however, is a heart on the right side of my chest instead of the left. Nobody knows about it, and I would rather not tell anyone.

It's the reason why his skill didn't work. Asit had rare sealing skill; it would seal people's power as long as he pierced his blade into one of five vital organs.

His blade pierced my chest, not my heart. Making the skill useless.

Still, the injury is serious and currently, the shamanic magic holding it back.

It activated on its own as I received a serious injury, but it wouldn't be enough. I would need to drink the potion to control it.

Though it will come later; there are enemies to deal with.

"No worries; I will finish the job," said Yegson, and his staff lit up. He is less than five meters away from me; it would be hard to defend against his spell, especially in my condition.

However, I am not worried as much as I should be.

My staff lit up at the same time and this time, I didn't wait for his spell to reveal to cast an appropriate defensive spell.

I had got the signal. This means, there is only one spell, I need to cast and hope it will hit.

The necromancer's spell is nearly ready when his expression changes, and I sling the spell at him.

It is a spell, that usually does not work. It is the first spell mages are trained to guard against, and most mages can do it easily.

Hun!

Though, this time, it worked.

The necromancer's staff dimmed as the spell broken, while the man in all black clothes appeared beside him with a dagger crossing half a distance toward his neck.

There was fear in Yegson's eyes, but not terror, and I didn't take long to realize why.

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A thick protective armor of bone appeared on the man. Covering him from head to toe.

It's not something, he had cast. I didn't see a spell scroll eighter; it's likely a protection tool. The spell inside it triggered as it sensed the host's life in danger.

It seemed powerful, and the dagger might not be able to pierce through it.

Which would be bad. Seeing Yegson had already started casting a spell.

I am casting disruption, but it's not working. Yegson isn't surprised anymore.

He is fully focused on his survival.

I looked at the assassin and found him grinning instead of worried as his blade touched the bone armor and, to the horror of Yegson, cut through it effortlessly.

Pachac!

A wet sound rang out as the head of the Yegson flew high, with shock and unwillingness in it.

They were the last emotions in his eyes, before the shine abruptly disappeared. It happened slowly with most people, even when they got decapitated.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but wonder whether he would return as a lich.

There is a saying among mages. Prepare for revenge when you kill a necromancer.

I pushed that thought away and turned to the assassin, who was already moving toward the three enemies who had started to run away.

I quickly moved and started casting spells at them, while drinking a healing potion.

I am still shocked by the death of Yegson. How easily, he was able to cut his neck.

That protection wasn't weak; I had felt its power. It's something, that might have been able to take the attack from General Stone head-on, but the assassin cut through it.

I quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on the enemies who were running.

"Are you ok?" I asked as Urag got up.

Those attacks weren't easy to defend. If he didn't have the right skill and enhancement from his shaman, he wouldn't have been able to survive it.

"I am," he said, casting a glance at Asit before moving toward enemy powerhouses.

The undead begin to gather around them and those three got together. Defending against anything Mr. Jon throws at them.

He is powerful, but not powerful enough to cut through that defense easily as he did.

It is either a useful skill with a long cooldown or having some help.

A shaman magic or something else.

I nearly collapsed as I cast a spell. Seeing that, I stopped and took out another bottle of potion.

It is not a man or healing potion.

As I drank it; I started to feel better and within seconds; the weakness had vanished.

The weakness began to disappear. It's the same as mana potion with the essence. I could have drunk, the common potion, but I needed a quick effect.

There are three enemy powerhouses to kill.

Tang!

I was about to cast a spell as I started to feel better when I heard the bell.

Someone rang it.

I had heard it a couple of times in distinct sounds throughout the battle, but not from our battle.

If I am not wrong, then it is like whistles we have. Each means different things. It could be informing the death of Yegson or asking for help or something.

It's better that we quickly finish these powerhouses and move.

Pachack!

The Azure Arc cut, the burly man into two while Urag stunned him with the shield.

"I surrender," "Me too," said the man and woman, one after another.

I am surprised. They might have kept fighting if there had been two more Urag's, but with me and no mage of their own, they know how small their chances of survival are.

Mr. Jon stopped. He took out a small dagger and cut it. They didn't resist it.

That would be utterly idiotic; they understood it. With me, there is no escape.

Their veins began to turn dark purple, but I didn't much glance at it. My thoughts were on the dagger, or rather, the things attached to it.

I saw something. He tried to hide it, but that thing was big, and I had Clear Eyes cast on my eyes.

It shocked me, but I controlled my emotions.

If it is what I see it is, then it seems like, the young aren't as simple as he seemed to be.

He has secrets, big secrets.

I put that information in the secure compartment of my mind and closed it.

Deciding to focus on the battle, which is far from over.

More enemies decided to surrender, while some fought. They were killed within minutes.

As for those who surrendered. Mr. Jon nicked them and made them unconscious, before throwing them into a house that looked to be in good condition.

"The poison?" asked Urag as we gathered, and our men bandaged and healed themselves.

We have a priestess with us; she is a young girl of around twenty. It was her second. She was scared, but held on and was now healing people.

"It had a validity of eight hours after that. They will die if not fed the antidote," replied Mr. Jon.

"What about enemies feeding them an antidote or using a skill or spell to heal them?" I asked.

"Only we have an antidote and as for skill or spell, it needs to be powerful enough and very specific to deal with this poison," he replied with a faint inside smile appearing on his face.

A moment later, he turned into a shadow and merged with mine.

"It's really a great skill; even I can't sense him despite being so close," said Urag and I couldn't help but nod.

He had merged with my shadow, and I could barely sense him. That would become faint until I couldn't sense him unless I concentrated.

This is a skill that enhances stealth with passing time.

Still, that wouldn't have been enough to keep him undetected from powerful necromancers like Yegson; they are good at detecting life.

It was because of my spells. That didn't let even a single investigative spell touch me.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

The moment our people finish with healing, we will move. It will be Urags' decision where we will move. He is the leader, now that Asit is dead.

It hurts to think about him. He was a traitor, but also a friend, whom I am going to miss a lot.

"To the closest whi"

He was saying something when he suddenly stopped.

I stopped, and everyone stopped as a feeling spread over us. Some shook visibly, and to some, it affected them so much that their knees started shaking.

Two collapsed on the group, while others looked in fear.

Some seemed to understand what it is and the fear in their eyes amplified, but there is also a question in them.

"It is what I am, thinking it is right?" asked Urag with his voice shaking.

To that, I nodded.