"Shut up !" the king's voice was resolute as he addressed the depraved necromancer. "Raith, I will never compromise with you. I will fight you to the very end, unless death takes me first!" With his words, the king signaled an attack, and the soldiers surged forward, clashing fiercely with the ogres.

Ethan, standing guard beside the king and the innocent princess, now revealed his astonishing swordsmanship. Each swift strike of his blade drew the blood of an ogre, and I witnessed him single-handedly behead two ogres, a feat that normally required three or four men.

The battle raged on. Despite their strength, the ogres could not withstand the relentless assault of the well-trained soldiers for long. Soon, Raith's ogre army lay decimated, though not without heavy losses on both sides. Yet, what puzzled me was Raith's indifference; he made no move to aid his troops with magic. He merely observed, calm and unmoved, even as the soldiers encircled him, their weapons poised.

"You truly refuse my offer? I promise to cherish my beautiful young bride. And I will rule your kingdom—naturally, in my own way," the necromancer spoke slowly, his unhurried demeanor startling in its calmness, as if the destruction of his army meant nothing to him. As he spoke, his vile gaze lingered on the young girl, a twisted appreciation in his eyes for one so young. It was clear that his pact with the dark forces had warped not just his power but his very sense of beauty—a true aberration.

Surrounded by over thirty weapons, with archers, mages, and clerics ready to strike, Raith remained unfazed. Although these mages and clerics were not highly skilled, the combined force of their magic would overwhelm even a powerful necromancer, particularly one who had not yet used any defensive spells.

"Give up!" the king shouted triumphantly. His forces had gained control, with only a few ogres left resisting in the distance, the rest reduced to lifeless corpses. The mages and clerics had Raith completely surrounded. "Unless you cross my corpse, you shall gain nothing!"

Raith's twisted laughter echoed through the battlefield, his grotesque face even more distorted. "Very well, then. I shall take everything after I step over your corpse!" He licked his lips, eyeing the young princess with perverse anticipation.

The apprentices began chanting their spells, preparing for an attack. Given Raith's calmness, it was clear he feared no physical assault; weapons were likely ineffective against him—only magic could harm him. But something felt wrong—Raith was too composed, too at ease.

Then it hit me—he was an illusion. "It's a mirage—look at his feet, there's no shadow!" I shouted. Normally, such a trick would have been easy to detect, but hidden among the towering ogres, his lack of a shadow had gone unnoticed. Now, everyone was too focused on his face, watching for any movement of his lips, failing to realize that this calmness stemmed from an illusion.

Dozens of low-level spells launched simultaneously, dispelling the mirage in an instant—but at the cost of half the apprentices' energy.

As the illusion faded, the mages were left stunned. This was beyond their expectations. Everyone scanned the area, searching for the necromancer's true location. Among them, only I noticed a faint, barely audible chant—a whisper that no one else would still be uttering, as there was no longer a target. Except one—the necromancer!

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He had been hiding all along, using an advanced invisibility spell, controlling the illusion to draw all attention to himself.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot skyward from the air, followed by clouds forming out of nothingness, filling the sky. I recognized the spell—chain lightning, a powerful magic only the most formidable mages could cast. It would obliterate everyone here, friend and foe alike, leaving nothing but ashes. He intended to annihilate us all, and I had no time to stop him.

I rushed forward, grabbing a steel spear from a nearby soldier. With only moments to spare, I had no intention of dying here. I drove the spear into the ground with all my strength and dropped to the ground beside it, shouting, "Everyone, get down!" As I hit the ground, I pulled Brian down with me.

Lightning crashed from the sky. I didn't know how the others fared, but I knew the metal spear beside me would absorb the strikes, grounding the electricity. Though I was still slightly shocked, it wasn't fatal.

"That was close!" I said as I stood up, Brian rising beside me. Looking around, I saw that things weren't as bad as I feared. Thanks to my shout, many had dropped to the ground—people tend to follow the last command they hear in such moments. Those who didn't or were too far away were reduced to charred remains. When I got to my feet, only two others were still standing—the necromancer and the princess.

Raith stood in the center, his eyes betraying surprise as he looked at me. He should have been shocked; even if anyone survived, they should have been half-dead. He was a mage who focused solely on magic power, unlike me. The princess stood by his side, her body encased in a glowing energy field that had protected her and restricted her movements.

The survivors rose to their feet, including the king and Ethan. Although the spell hadn’t killed everyone as Raith intended, it had inflicted heavy damage—at least a hundred men were beyond saving, their bodies completely burned to ash.

Things didn’t seem as dire as they could have been, except for one thing—Raith had taken notice of me.

"How rare—to find such a skilled mage here… You must be the king’s personal guard. But your luck ends today, for this is the last time you'll see the light of day!"

As Raith spoke, Ethan lunged forward, his sword aimed at the necromancer’s neck. But Raith didn’t flinch; the deadly blade merely glanced off, some unseen force protecting him from harm. Though the strike failed, Ethan achieved his true goal—rescuing the princess from Raith’s grasp.

I focused my mind; it was time to act. As I chanted, magic power gathered around my hand. I planned to test him with a paralyzing spell. Though Raith was immensely powerful, he had to have a weakness—nothing in this world is flawless, not even immortality. If I could paralyze him, I could attack him slowly. However, I had no intention of fighting for the king; Raith was none of my concern. In truth, if it weren’t for his sudden appearance, I’d never have encountered him. Magic was draining, and I only intended to stall him with the paralysis spell and then make my escape. In my estimation, a third-level spell like this should hold him for about thirty seconds—long enough for me to flee.

But Raith had no intention of letting me off easily. Without hesitation, he drew a scroll from his robe and unfurled it before anyone could react. A wisp of smoke rose from the scroll—a sure sign the spell had been cast.

The world around us plunged into darkness, so complete that I could see nothing. The panicked noises told me it wasn’t just my imagination. I had never seen this spell before—perhaps it was one of Raith’s own creations. Amidst the chaos, just as I was about to complete the paralysis spell, something heavy struck my head, and then…nothing.