Armand wasted no time and charged towards Herman, his fists surrounded by a burning reddish aura. Herman, despite his imposing size, moved with a surprising agility. He dodged Armand's first blow with disconcerting ease and riposted immediately. His fist, wrapped in magical chains, slammed into Armand. He barely managed to block the attack with his arms, but the shock sent him reeling back several metres.

Meanwhile, Carolina, despite Bojan's weight, was moving as fast as she could down the corridor. She was desperately looking for a place where they could hide and heal Bojan. The basement, shaken by the previous tremors, was now a pile of debris and collapsed corridors. She finally found a small, half-collapsed recess where they could hide temporarily. She placed him gently on the ground and took out a green flask that Armand had given to her. Bojan, half-conscious, grunted in pain as he tried to right himself.

"Drink this, Bojan. It'll help you," Carolina said, her voice trembling with concern.

He opened his eyes with difficulty and slowly drank the green potion that she was handing him. His wounds began to close slightly, but he was still far from being in fighting shape. Carolina remained at his side, anxiously surveying the surroundings.

Herman, for his part, gave Armand no respite. He multiplied his attacks, using his chains like whips. Armand struggled to keep up, each blow weakening his greenish aura that protected him from the chains that absorbed his energy.

"You're persistent, kid, I'll give you that," Herman sneered, his chains tightening around his arms. "But you're still just a rookie, I can feel it."

Armand gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't beat Herman by brute force alone. He had to find a strategy that might surprise him. He took a step back, trying to buy time to think.

Herman didn't give him the chance. He threw his chains, which twisted in the air towards Armand. He barely dodged, feeling the energy of the chains brush against his aura. He had to find a solution quickly, before his strength deserted him completely.

He could barely stand, his legs trembling under the weight of Herman's relentless attacks. Each blow he managed to dodge was followed by another, even faster and more powerful. His attempts to counterattack were systematically countered by the chains, which seemed to anticipate every move he made. The green glow of his aura began to flicker little by little.

"I won't let you... win..." murmured Armand through his clenched teeth, trying to summon up courage.

Herman laughed harder, his voice echoing down the corridor. He leapt forward, his chains spreading out around him like tentacles. Armand threw up his arms to protect himself, but the impact was too strong. He was thrown backwards, smashing into the wall behind him. The pain spread through his body as his aura dissipated with the shock.

"Armand!" shouted Carolina from their hiding place, anguish breaking her voice. She wanted to run to help him, but she knew it would be useless knowing she couldn't use magic. She had to protect Bojan, who was slowly recovering thanks to the potion.

Armand sat up painfully, his eyes fixed on Herman. He knew he was running out of time. If he didn't find a way to turn things around quickly, he wouldn't survive this fight.

"Just so you know, I'm sparing myself voluntarily," he said, stepping towards him with a terrifying smile. "I need to let off steam and make the one who's the cause of this humiliation you've inflicted on me by messing up this place."

Armand, exhausted, took a deep breath. He couldn't afford to flinch now, even if his body was screaming in pain. He had to hold on, for Carolina and Bojan. An idea germinated in his mind. He had a chance, a small chance, but he had to take it. Wrapping himself in a blue aura, he concentrated a rest of the corridor's almost exhausted surrounding magic into his legs. He had to be faster.

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Herman, noticing this, stopped and burst out laughing. "You really think you can still do something, kid? Look at you, you're at the end of your rope."

Armand ignored his provocation. He channeled his blue aura around his legs, ready to run. He knew Herman was expecting a frontal attack, so he had to surprise the warden.

"Come on then, if you dare," Herman challenged, opening his arms wide as if to welcome the supposed attack.

Armand pretended to charge straight ahead, but at the last moment made a lateral leap, using a paving stone that had fallen from the ceiling to propel himself. He knew Herman was watching him, but hoped this move would catch him off guard.

Herman threw his chains, which clattered to the ground, narrowly missing Armand as he ran around him, sliding his right hand along the floor. With all the strength he could muster, he then aimed at Herman's flank, striking with the speed he'd gained without consuming too much energy. The impact staggered the director, but only for a moment.

Herman turned, furious. "You're resourceful, I'll give you that," he said as the veins on his forehead looked ready to explode. "But it won't be enough."

He swept the air with his chains, forcing Armand to back away again, dodging them all. Giving him no respite, he charged towards him, screaming in rage. Armand remained focused and fired a ball of indigo magic from his fingertips, which the warden dodged, finding this move insignificant. The ball exploded over his shoulder without doing any damage.

Just as Herman was about to strike him, Armand brought his hands together and immediately opened them, revealing an indigo rift which he enlarged as he stretched out his arms. The warden's speed was too great for him to stop, and his fist rushed into the breach before exiting through the gap on his shoulder that had formed when the indigo ball had exploded.

Herman then hit himself in the face with all his might and was slammed headlong into the wall. Armand grinned as he saw the warden embedded in the wall by his own power. The warden straightened up, holding his face as his mouth spat blood. His rage had increased tenfold and his body was tense.

However, he remained lucid enough to notice something: a light indigo smoke caressed the ground, forming a circle exactly where Armand had run earlier. Herman quickly realized he was up to something, and drew a handful of twirling chains from his body, which came to attach themselves to the walls and what was left of the corridor ceiling, elevating him despite his weight.

"Do you really think your little tricks are going to be enough to stop me?" he roared, suspended by his chains. His eyes burned with rage, and he seemed ready to do anything to crush Armand.

Out of breath, Armand tried to maintain his calm. "I don't underestimate you, and that's why I have no choice but to use these 'little tricks' to defeat you."

In the midst of his rage, the warden burst out laughing and his chains began to move, clinging to the wall and ceiling like a spider. Two of his chains wrapped around his arms, causing his muscles to swell. Armand repositioned himself and, still enveloped in his indigo aura, snapped his fingers as he raised his arm, activating the huge rift in the floor.

"He really thinks he's an octopus," Armand said quietly.

"I had a feeling you were up to something with that. How do you expect to hit me high?!" he shouted as he charged.

"That's not a problem!" replied Armand, creating a small gap in front of him with his left hand as he concentrated all the magic he could into his right fist. His aura and eyes turned red, and the magic around his fist intensified.

"Eat my indigo refraction, you bastard!" he shouted, punching through his rift. Herman, still in full swing towards him, didn't immediately understand what he'd just done, and quickly looked under his feet, where the large rift in the ground was. His eyes widened as he saw Armand's fist come through the gap, quadrupling in size and impossible to dodge in its current position.

He struck Herman right in the middle between the stomach and the torso, causing him to cough up mucus and blood. The blow, of phenomenal power, knocked him up to the ceiling before propelling him even higher, reaching the upper floors before crashing down on the second floor. On the ground, his chains lay motionless around him.

Armand fell to his knees, exhausted. He breathed hard while Carolina ran to him, her eyes filled with tears of relief.

"You... you did it!" she exclaimed, helping him to stand up.

"We've got to leave as soon as possible," he murmured weakly.

"Huh?"

He looked toward the ceiling, his gaze still alert. "I highly doubt that that blow got him."

On the second floor of the fortress's main building, Herman still lay on the ground while frightened prisoners remained around him, not daring to approach him despite his condition.

"Do you think he's still alive?" whispered one of the prisoners.

"I don't know, but who could have done this to the warden? He's certainly a monster!"

Their questioning quickly ceased as Herman began to move again. He put his hand on his stomach and coughed up blood, which dripped down his chin. He then placed his hand on his head to regain his composure, and his chains began to move on their own. They dug into the ceiling and pulled Herman up, helping him to his feet.

He took an instinctive step to keep his balance, and the chains came back to him. "That little brat... His junk magic. I'm beginning to understand what kind of guy he is," he growled.

He looked around and noticed the crowd of prisoners, terrified by his mere presence. A thought occurred to him when he saw them, and he smiled just thinking about it. A bloody smile, terribly terrifying. "You are going to be useful to me, you miserable wretches."

End of chapter 18.