ELWYN KELTHYRA:

“Dagger Arts: Point Break!” Channeling mana into his weapon, Orist thrust toward the barrier, attempting desperately to break through; however, no matter how hard he tried, he was nothing more than a rat trapped in a cage. “Dammit!”

Spacial Isolation Barrier, a seventh-circle formation, was a high-tier imprisonment spell that conjured a sphere around the caster, trapping everyone inside that was within reach. It made physically passing through nearly impossible and disrupted any teleportation spells that led to the outside.

Entering the barrier was effortless for mages that reached a high-tier circle, but there were only a handful of ways to break through from within, none of which were accessible to Orist at the time.

“Are you done running?” I asked, slashing vertically. “Wind Slice.”

The wind traveling toward him split the ground in passing.

“Enhance Ability!” Knowing his only option was to dodge, he jumped to the side, but the wind colliding with the barrier caused a shockwave, raising a dust cloud that blinded him long enough for me to run up and lunge with a downward slash. Gritting his teeth, Orist pulled out another dagger and tried to block. “Defensive Arts: Fortification!”

Engulfed with crimson mana, Orist and his weapons were reinforced, ready to defend against my blow.

“How futile.” I infused my blade with Aura just before our weapons clashed, forcing him down on one knee.

“Elwyn!” He screamed my name, struggling to hold on despite me using only one hand to attack. “Stop this madness!”

“Madness?” I asked calmly, coldly staring him dead in the eye before infusing even more.

“I never wanted to harm Alice! She would’ve been safe.” I could see the look of desperation on his face as the ground underneath us cracked under pressure. “You must believe me!”

“Empowered Spell: Gust.” Blasting Orist from the side with wind guided by my free hand, he tumbled across the ground while coughing up blood. Of course, I wasn’t going to end it there, so I raised my sword into the air and conjured a sky-blue transmutation circle underneath him. “The audacity. Thunderbolt!”

“Evasive Steps!” I heard Orist’s voice as flickering light appeared from above, followed by a bolt of lightning striking down at the circle under him, causing another dust cloud to rise.

Knowing that wouldn’t kill him even if it hit directly, I slashed horizontally with mana circling the sword. “Wind Slice.”

The wind pushed back the dust, but Orist was nowhere to be seen.

“Twin Dagger Arts: Faded Step Flurry!” Orist appeared behind me as his invisibility spell disappeared.

Instead of bothering to turn and block, I propelled myself forward with wind, making him miss entirely while simultaneously creating distance between us.

I had to give him credit. Despite being at a significant disadvantage facing me head-on, he still found it within himself to do so. I wondered if he realized he couldn’t run forever and that it was only a matter of time before my attack connected.

“Why are you protecting that boy?! I don’t understand.”

“See Invisibility. Body Reinforcement. Stride. Arca–”

“Trace!” Seeing me cast spell after spell, Orist threw one of his daggers along a mana pathway in order to stop me, but such an attack was never going to connect. After deflecting his weapon, Orist summoned it back to his hand. “You’re just going to ignore me? I knew you were nothing more than a brute! King of Thysa? Ha. What a joke.”

Refusing to answer his petty taunts, I started walking toward him, forcing him to step back.

“Lightning Step.” Leaving a trail of lightning behind me, I teleported next to Orist, engaging in a prolonged exchange. Being cut even once would’ve ended catastrophically for him, so he focused on dodging and blocking rather than counterattacking. “How does it feel knowing death is imminent?”

Frustration showed on his face as the sound of steel clashing echoed around us. Each hit caused a wave of energy to crash into the surrounding trees, damaging the terrain around us.

“Backstep!” Mana gathered around his feet before he leaped backward to create distance.

Taking a deep breath, I unleashed mana from within my core and extended my hand toward him. “Whirlwind.”

Manipulating the air around Orist, who was still mid-air, wrathful wind spiraled out of control, levitating his body above the ground and tearing it to shreds while muffling his screams.

“U–Urgh! Sha– Shadow Step!” Swallowed by darkness and teleported to safety within the shade of a nearby tree, Orist fell to one knee while bathing in his own blood. With the damage already done, he struggled to lift his arms and even lost his left eye. “Greater Heal.”

Translucent leaf-green energy surged through him, healing most of his wounds, but the damage to his eye wasn’t reversible with such a simple spell.

“Clever, but not clever enough. Wind Slice!”

While the attack missed him, it cut through the tree, removing his cover.

“Greater Agility!” Orist once again empowered himself before charging at me directly, but unless he attacked from the shadows, I had the advantage regardless of distance. “Twin Dagger Arts–”

Before finishing his casting, Orist stopped himself in place after witnessing the overwhelming rippling mana surrounding me and my sword. My eyes gleamed for a second as I finally decided to get serious.

Dropping his arms to the side in the face of danger, he burst into maniacal laughter.

“To think you’d go as far as to use the Kelthyra Swordsmanship. . . You truly intend to kill me, don’t you?” His voice lost all reason as he cracked his neck before readying himself. “I won’t go down like a rabid dog! Do you hear me?!”

“Come.”

“Don’t underestimate me! Dagger Arts: Faded Step.” He teleported next to me, lunging with his dagger. “Trace!”

However, he soon understood the true strength of my swordplay, which allowed me to see changes in mana pathways, making it the perfect defensive fighting style. Dodging his relentless attacks afterward was easy.

“Twin Dagger Arts: Flurry!” He continued his onslaught, but it was all for nothing as seconds later, after deflecting one of his attacks, he lost his right arm as cold steel empowered by wind sliced through like butter. The adrenaline was the only thing that kept him going as blood gushed out of him. “Dagger Arts: Viper Blade!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

His severed arm hadn’t even reached the ground, yet he had already lashed out with a series of attacks while warping around his blade mossy green mana infused with venom that could kill a person within a minute. If anything, Orist’s tenacity was respectable at best.

Sidestepping to the left, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, getting him to drop his weapon; however, the sound of bones breaking under my grip got overshadowed by the shock of being pierced through the stomach.

The fight was over.

Letting go of his hand, I pulled the blade out and kicked him to the ground, standing above him with the tip pointing at his neck.

“Y–you really. . . did it,” he grunted in pain.

Unlucky for him, mages were more durable than the average mortal, which only prolonged his suffering.

“Orist, you were a fool to the very end. Testing your luck at every corner.”

“Screw y–” He wanted to insult me, but I stepped on his stomach and pressed my heel against the wound.

“Since the day we first met, you dared lay your lustful eyes on my wife.” My killing intent oozed out of me as mana bearing down on Orist began to suffocate him. “You plotted against us. You attacked my student and even put my daughter’s life in danger. It doesn’t matter why you did it. Just know that your suffering will be unimaginable. Healing Wave!”

Translucent leaf-green mana swept through him and merged with his body as I cast a healing spell with the intent of having him survive what I planned to do next. It was strong enough to heal minor injuries but not regrow his missing arm, making it only a matter of time before he succumbed to his wounds on his own.

Breaking a cold sweat after realizing I planned not to end it immediately, he mustered up the strength to speak. “Elwyn–”

“Astral Judgement!” Azure mana surged through my leg as I stomped down on his lower abdomen, forcing wailing screams out of Orist as his solid core shattered underneath my foot.

Had the barrier not been up, his cries would’ve traumatized every living being within the vast forest surrounding us. They say that having your core shattered felt like having your soul torn apart, as no physical wound could ever compare to the amount of suffering one endured.

His body spasmed, and his voice died out within seconds after losing his mind to the overwhelming pain, making him nothing more than a twitching corpse.

Reversing the grip around my sword, I drove the blade through his heart, ending his miserable life.

Sheathing the blade, I sighed and dispelled the surrounding barrier.

“It seems this was just the beginning,” I mumbled to myself, looking toward the west. “Alexander, you better watch yourself, for the world will come bearing down on you if they learn of your potential.”

Knowing one less threat to our family existed in the world, it was time for me to return to my wife’s side.

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

AMON:

“My, my. . . What a terrifying man.” I couldn’t help but laugh, having observed the showdown from a distance. “To think he’d train our precious pawn for what’s to come.”

“You should’ve killed him while you had the chance,” a silvery feminine voice whispered within my mind as she was connected to me through telepathy.

“Now, now. . . Don’t underestimate the Hero of Thysa.”

“Are you saying you’d lose?”

“Probably not, but unlike him, I don’t specialize in keeping my prey locked within a cage until it's slain. Besides, it’s too soon for us to expose our existence to the world.”

“Is that why you watched from afar?”

“Had I been even a bit closer, I’m afraid he’d sense my presence,” I explained, sitting on a gargantuan branch at least six kilometers away. “Not everyone is as good at hiding their presence as you are, Lady of Whispers.”

“This is why I asked if you wanted me to infiltrate Thysa instead.” She sounded annoyed.

“Let me enjoy myself a bit more while you prepare for the Grand Academy of Nuia.”

“What is there to prepare?” I heard her chuckle. “I’ve already settled all my affairs.”

“Just as I shouldn’t underestimate fighting King Elwyn in a duel, don’t go doubting the prowess of a tenth circle mage that is the Headmaster of the Academy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“That’s all I ask.” I yawned, leaning against the tree with my arms behind my head.

“It’s a shame Orist died. He was a useful tool for us to use.”

“All worn-out toys break eventually. He served his purpose, so let’s not dwell on it.”

“Are you going to recover his corpse?”

“No.”

“Why not? I’m sure he still has useful information we could learn.”

“Watching Queen Sylphena, I’ve concluded that she is potentially our greatest threat as of now. I’m sure she asked her husband to keep the corpse intact so that if it suddenly disappeared after their fight, it would mean someone was watching. That’s why King Elwyn shattered his core. Even if we were to raise him as undead, he’d be useless without magic.”

“You give them too much credit.”

“Maybe, but are you willing to take that risk?”

“Whatever. It’s your call anyway, but what of Thysa?”

“What about it?”

“You gave the Elders a demon. What’ll you do about it?”

“I’ll leave it there, for now. . . After all, my plan was for it to stir trouble in the Palace and help awaken Alexander’s gift, but Orist did us a favor by dominating a monster and setting it loose in the garden.” Crossing my arms and looking up at the sky, I grinned. “Who knows, maybe I’ll find a better use for it later. You know. When we happen to need a bit more chaos in the world.”

“Need I remind you that you’re playing with the seventh Commander’s pet?”

“That meathead is as smart as his pet. Don’t worry. I’ll handle him.”

“Amon. You’re not the most intolerable among us. Don’t die a pointless death.”

“How cute. I didn’t know you could care.”

“Ugh. . . Ignore what I said. Just go ahead and die.”

“That’s more like it.” I laughed, slowly standing up. “I was beginning to worry you’d gone soft.”

“I’ll go over my preparations for the Academy once more. What’ll you do now that the boy is back home?”

“I don’t know. Shall I see what trouble brews in Eleron?”

“If you’re not doing anything, maybe you could help me out.”

“Oh? A request?”

“I’ve been looking for the Gem of Kasalin but was unable to find it within the ruins. I guess the rumors of it might be false, but if I could get my hands on it, it’ll prove invaluable for my future missions. Think you could find it for me?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Have you forgotten our goals? We’re supposed to help each other.”

“The Gem of Kasalin is just a tool you could go without, so my time might be better spent making sure everything’s going according to plan.”

“You’re intolerable. . .”

“I thought you said I wasn’t the worst.”

“Doesn’t make you any less intolerable.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “So? What shall it be?”

“Fine. Do this for me before the Academy starts, and I shall owe you a favor. How does that sound?”

“That’s a tall order, but maybe if you let me treat you to dinner too, I’d be more inclined to help.”

“Only if you let me get a snack later.”

“We’ll discuss it over dinner.”

“Just get the gem,” she said, breaking the connection.

“Surely she likes me,” I said out loud, reaching for my pocket before pulling out a violet-colored gem. “The Gem of Kasalin, huh? I wonder why she hasn’t found it.”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.