Haniard swung at Ray as he fell, his sword piercing the ground in the spot where Ray stood, leaving a small indent as he pulled it out.

Ray looked at his master with shock-filled eyes, a question plaguing his mind that he could not help but voice. “How did you get out?”, his wand flickered with a red hue as he asked.

Haniard didn’t answer, smiling faintly as the ground cracked under his feet, he lunged at his disciple, brutally sweeping at Ray’s stomach, who dodged backward, instantly aiming his wand at his master.

The wand’s wood glowed with a fierce red light, despite its original black color, and the fire crystals etched onto it lit up with a blinding light as a small fireball shot toward Haniard.

He scoffed and dodged to the side, and was about to strike at Ray again when he saw another fireball come his way, then another and another. In but a few seconds a meteor rain appeared in the sky, hundreds of fireballs descended upon Haniard, who frantically did his best to dodge.

His figure became blurry as he advanced toward Ray, whose hands were burning while holding the wand, however, he never let go. Small cracks appeared on the surface of the crystals, and the wood started to shrink as it slowly burned.

Ultimately, the rain of fire overwhelmed his master, who grunted in pain after being hit by one, momentarily stopping as cold sweat ran down his back. However, that one second of pause was more than enough for hundreds of fireballs to descend upon him, locking him in place.

Ray let out a sigh as he pulled out another talisman, surrounding him in another ‘Void Bind’ as he ripped the talisman while dashing past him.

He sighed sorrowfully as his wand let out a soft, sad screech, disintegrating into nothingness, disappearing like it never existed. I’m sorry, but overcharging you was the only way to give me a chance… I have no idea how he escaped the Void Bind and Void Devourer…

Inspecting himself, he clenched his fists and tightened his grip around his sword. Not much mana left… His boots and blade glowed with a gentle light as he sent half of his remaining mana toward his feet, and the other half toward his sword.

He disappeared from sight as dust kicked up behind him, dashing past any enemy soldier, aiming directly for the magicians, not daring to look back at his master, whose state was unknown.

His purple sword whistled through the air as it split in two, and he arrived in front of the magicians in a few seconds. The blade left a purple trail in the air as he swung it toward the magicians, still chanting with their eyes closed, their deadpan expressions never disappearing.

Ray’s heart skipped a beat as watched the magicians stand still, his eyes gleamed with hope as he prepared to cast a teleportation spell with whatever mana he had left, however…

Nothing happened. The magicians were still alive, keeping the spatial lock active. His pupils trembled as his head snapped downward, a familiar purplish hue covering his vision.

His heart dropped to his stomach as red drops fell on his blade, which now rested on the ground, his hand still clutching the hilt tightly.

He slowly turned his head to his right, where a pale faced Haniard stood with The Purple Dragon Sword, now dyed with fresh blood. Ray’s eyes snapped toward his other hand, where he held a vial with some leftover dark blood.

His face flushed red with anger, ignoring the pain pulsating through his arm he yelled at his master “Demon Blood?! You dare?!”

Haniard chuckled in response, and raised his mana-infused right leg as he said “Why wouldn’t I dare?” He kicked with an upward motion at Ray’s stomach, intending to slash him almost immediately.

However, Ray took advantage of the opportunity and used his master’s kick to propel himself backward, flying all the way to the front of his house, right before Elena, who had just finished off another wave of enemies, and his son, who was watching from the inside of the house.

“Dear!”

“Dad!”

They yelled at the same time, rushing toward Ray. Elena cast a few shields, quickly followed by Kai, who did the same in an attempt to protect his father, who lay motionless on the ground save for the heavy heaves of his chest.

Elena quickly placed her hands, which emitted a soft green glow over his body, continuously casting healing magic in the hopes of restoring his hand. However, regardless of how much she tried, how much mana she used, or how many tears fell on her husband’s body, the corrosive effect of the darkness magic in Haniard’s sword was too severe.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

*Cough*

Ray’s eyes opened slowly as he coughed lightly, and he groaned in pain as he tried to get up. An intense, sharp pain spread from his stomach and arm all throughout his body, corroding it from the inside.

He… I can’t believe it… I can’t… I can’t let it end like this!

He grunted as he struggled to raise his hand up, and a green book appeared in his hand as he barely activated his mana ring.

Elena quickly grabbed the rough textured book immediately opened it in the middle, revealing a huge hole dug into its empty pages, in which lay a brown, green-ish stone.

She quickly took it and placed it in Ray’s mouth, and he instantly swallowed it, a bright green light covered his body as the crystal stopped near his mana core, fighting off the corrosive effect of the darkness magic.

He quickly got up, propping himself on Elena’s shoulders as they glared at Haniard, who was watching them with a darkened face as his expressions twisted, and he hit himself in the stomach, throwing up black blood before wiping his mouth.

This should have gotten rid of most of the demon blood… such a shame I can’t use it for a long period of time, otherwise… He clicked his tongue as he clutched his sword, inspecting Ray’s body.

What did he just eat, to have such healing power…? Did he go to that place?! He panted as he waited for the after-effects of the demon blood to wear off.

Ray quickly downed a few more potions, smashing the vials on the ground, he retrieved a normal, iron sword from his spatial ring, brandishing it with his remaining left hand as he got used to the feeling, and enchanted it with a spell.

“This should do…” he said as he took a fighting stance, Elena following suit with her giant magic sword, and she murmured before saying:

“Combination Magic, Sharp Light.”

Her sword glowed with a faint light as its edges became sharper, and the same effect applied to the twelve swords circling her.

Both of them dashed toward Haniard, who similarly lunged at them with a maniacal expression on his face.

Ray met his purple sword, his own iron blade shattering almost instantly were it not for the enchantment he cast on it. Cracks spread all over the sword’s body as he and his master exchanged more than a dozen blows.

Elena followed right behind Ray, jumping from behind him, and swinging at Haniard, who was distracted by his disciple. He quickly cast a protection barrier as he dodged the spell, pushing Ray backward as Elena moved her huge sword with incredible speed, rays of sword light shooting everywhere each time she swung her sword

What kind of spell is this?! Haniard yelled inwardly as cracks quickly spread over his barrier, and he jumped backward as it shattered, slashing at the ground with his sword, a thick wall of earth quickly rising in front of him.

Ray pursued him relentlessly, and swung from behind the wall, destroying it into pieces, taking advantage of the dust he slashed at Haniard’s neck from a weird angle, and the sound of shattering glass rang in his ears as the barrier protecting his master broke.

A shiver ran down Haniard’s spine as he felt Elena’s warm blade approaching his back. Locked in place, he decided to block Ray’s fatal blow, arching his back in an attempt to protect his vitals as he endured the light sword’s fierce blow.

The morbid sound of tearing flesh accompanied by calming drops of dripping blood rang in their ears. A long wound appeared on his back, its edges sizzling as they cooled down.

Haniard left a trail of blood as he quickly retreated, dying the ground crimson as he stood a few meters away from Ray and Elena, glaring at them as he panted.

He sent vitality toward his wound in an attempt to close it, however, it would only heal half a centimeter at a time. He clicked his tongue and quickly pulled out a red and round pill from his spatial ring, dodging the duo’s attacks as he swallowed it.

The wound on his back started healing in mere seconds, and it completely closed up, leaving a long scar across his back.

Haniard jumped backward, and let out an ear-piercing scream as he infused mana in his voice. He flicked his wand before him, and two people looking identical to Haniard appeared in Ray and Elena’s view.

The figures quickly multiplied, dozens of them appearing in a few seconds, rushing toward the two as they brandished their sword.

“Illusion technique!” Ray exclaimed as he stepped backward, Elena carefully following him as she swung her sword at the clones, which would quickly disappear upon being cut apart.

Their heads snapped toward the side, where a sharp whistling sound approached them quickly. Elena grabbed Ray and propelled themselves backward using wind magic, the place where they stood instantly being pierced by a dark spear.

Before they could even think about it, another spear rushed in their direction, which they quickly dodged, and as they ran around the battlefield, they realized that a cloud of darkness had enveloped them completely.

Relying on their hearing and mana detection, they kept on dodging the spears as they appeared more and more often, the ground shaking every time once thrust into it.

What’s going on? This seems familiar…

Ray’s pupils widened as he suddenly realized what was happening, however, it was too late. The spears had stopped, and Elena cast a light spell that drove away the dark cloud.

A shiver ran down Ray’s back as he looked around him, noticing the multitude of spears surrounding them. He gulped and turned toward his master, who wore a faint smile on his face.

Elena’s heart dropped to her stomach upon seeing her husband’s reaction, even though she herself was unsure of what befell them.