Chapter 20

Killian moved forward and swung his sword to the left, hitting the skull of a skeleton and slamming it down on the ground.

His eyes shifted on to where the noise came from momentarily.

Kai, who was behind Killian shouted, “Watch out!”

The skeleton who emerged from the caves sprung itself to the front attacking Killian.

“Argh!” Killian’s sword came intact with the skeleton’s swords as he barely defended himself.

The skeleton's hollow voice came out as it tried to overpower Killian, but he held its ground. Unlike the rest of the skeleton, its eyes shone brightly and it had seals all around its back and arms.

It slid back before attacking Killian in a wide arc that the knight dodged by rolling before hitting its leg.

Both of them kept at it as Killian put all his strength to defend against the powered up skeleton.

“Lord Arzan, I will handle it. You go and assist the others,” Killian shouted out as he hit the skeleton's skull with the back of his sword, making it stumble back.

“Okay!”

Knowing that Killian could handle the skeleton, Kai shifted his attention to find out the location of the necromancer.

His eyes wandered around the cave openings.

Which one could it be?

He knew it was hiding in one, but where? Before he could pinpoint, a guard’s cry came from behind.

He turned around to see the hovering figures of the skeletons over a single guard. The skeletons were approaching him with flails in their hands.

Quickly, he drew a structure to do a [Gust] spell.

A rush of wind blew from both of his hands and hit the skeletons in a wide arc.

A few of them flew into the air, hitting wilted tree trunks in the process. He finished the rest off with a few fiery bolts as the flames engulfed them as they gritted their teeth in pain, before falling on the ground.

He felt a wave of exhaustion hit him since he didn't have that large of a corpus to keep draining, but he ignored it, knowing the battle was far from over.

“Lord Arzan, t-thank you!”

His attention was pulled back due to a guard who looked like he had already given up on surviving as he bowed.

Kai nodded back and focused on his surroundings.

Another loud shout came from one of the caves. This time, it sounded clearer and louder.

Kai prepared for yet another skeleton to pop out. His eyes squinted as he tried to look inside the dark caves. But he could only see thick blackness.

The next second, something emerged. It wasn't a skeleton like Kai had initially assumed.

“Lord Arzan, that's…” Killian said after breaking down the skull of the powered up skeleton that he had been fighting.

His eyes were glued to the figure that emerged out of the caves. Kai couldn't reply as his eyes were fixed on the same figure.

Tendrils of smoke curled around his silhouette. His face was obscured by the hood of the cloak, therefore it was hard to make out his features. Yet, Kai could see hints of pale skin and sunken eyes gleaming faintly at him.

The air thickened with a smell—a peculiar blend of ancient soil, decay and corpses, like the musty odour of long forgotten tombs mixed with freshly turned soil.

In his hand, he held a staff made of wood. A dark, wild energy was crippling from it as he started walking forward.

With each step, the staff tapped against the floor.

He stopped halfway and stood to look at the remaining skeletal soldiers who were fighting with the guards.

The dark energy started swirling around the staff as he continued to say inaudible things. The energy in his hands continued to grow as his aura started emanating visibly.

The mana around him moved towards the skeletons as the glistening flames in their eyes grew.

Kai realised what was happening.

The necromancer was doing a spell to power up the remaining skeletons.

The skeletons who were struggling with the guards suddenly gained strength and moved with a fervour.

“They’re suddenly moving faster!” Palman yelled, fighting against a skeleton warrior.

He was gripping the sword with both of his hands, trying to hit the skeleton who swiftly dodged every strike. It swung its axe in the air and hit his sword with a loud metallic noise. Palman stumbled back as his sword fell on the ground.

Effortlessly, the skeleton started taking steps towards him, hoping to finish him off.

Palman rolled on the ground and dodged a hit before moving towards his sword, but he wasn't fast enough. Another attack came his way, making him stroll back as the axe dug into the ground.

Kai’s eyebrows raised in alert, watching all that.

He ran towards Palman and picked up the sword that was on the floor and ran behind the skeleton and attacked it on its lower back. In a split second, he hit the same spot once more.

The skeleton turned back. The fire in its eyes crackled, this time, Kai could swore he felt the heat that came from them.

“Palman, move back!”

He said as the skeleton moved its axe to strike his neck. Sliding back to dodge the attack, he cast a [Fire Bolt].

A bolt of fire emerged out of his palms, attempting to pierce through the skeletal figure. It hit its upper shoulder and left a darkened mark there, but the skeleton kept standing, grinning at Kai.

He frowned.

A simple bolt of fire couldn’t kill the skeleton like he was able to before. The seals on its back shone with a glint as it moved to swing the axe.

He took a few steps back and started drawing the structure of a 2nd circle spell called [Inferno]. He knew the power up the skeleton had received was temporary, but he needed to finish it soon.

The spell would take twice the mana he needed to cast a bolt of fire, but he had to try.

As soon as the last lines of the structure completed, he pushed mana and cast the spell.

“[Astrum Inferno!]”

With the incantation, he extended his palm towards the skeleton who looked up in surprise as a medium sized ball of inferno pierced through the air and hit its skull with a loud noise.

The skeleton used its axe to block it, but it charred the bones as the skeleton cried out.

It worked.

Kai saw the skeleton bursting into flames as soon as the inferno hit it. The flames spread to the grass around it as the whole area burned.

Without a pause, he lifted his hand again and cast the same spell, hitting two other skeletons who were ganging up on a few guards.

They both got hit by the flames and ended up dead. Or whatever was possible for an undead.

“There are only a few skeletons left! Stall for time and wait for them to make a mistake. Follow Killian's lead!”

He shouted out as a skeletal figure fell on his feet.

The skull was disconnected from its body as it struggled to stand up. Its bony hands continued to hit on the hardened floor.

He looked back and saw Killian fighting the skeletal figures. It was him who had sent a skeleton flying through air without its skull in contact.

Good strategy. Kai thought and looked at him.

Killian could manage without him for a while, Kai decided.

He threw a bolt of fire at the skeleton struggling in front of his feet, ending it.

“Foolish child,” The necromancer’s cackle echoed from an unseen corner. It was not standing in front of the caves anymore. “You shouldn't have walked here to disturb me.”

Kai looked everywhere for the location of the voice before he turned towards his right and saw the necromancer standing with his staff.

Seems like I finally gathered its attention!

The necromancer’s eyes flickered at Kai and he grinned mockingly. Then, he took a step towards Kai.

His lips broadened, smiling for an unknown reason.

“You are going to die here!” the necromancer yelled as Kai launched a [Fire Bolt] up at him.

A transparent shield blocked the spell and two skeletons moved to intercept Kai.

He dodged an axe cleaving through the air and kicked the skeleton's leg before using another bolt at it.

It hit it right in the face, taking its skull. The second one moved with a sword, but Kai was already used to their movements.

A few more bolts were enough for it too.

Once they were done, he looked up at the necromancer who clicked his tongue.

Kai charged towards it, preparing another spell, but the necromancer tapped his sword and he halted in his steps.

A grim mist immediately swirled the surrounding area. It was the same spell the necromancer had used to disrupt them when they had been moving to the caves.

The mist clawed at Kai’s vision, swallowing the battlefield as a whole.

A subtle panic filled his chest, but he quelled it.

He couldn’t see nor hear anything, so he stayed still on his feet.

It seemed like a 2nd circle spell going by the effectiveness by which the necromancer had cast it, and the strength he had displayed till now.

Blindness. Deafness. Kai was in the middle of them. He could sense movements around him, and his instincts said that the necromancer could attack from anywhere.

From his right, a fist of nothingness came intact with his face as he stumbled back.

The hell?

Another punch came from the opposite side, but he bent down, avoiding the attack.

“When I’m done with you, you will be a good slave. I have no doubt that your strength will be put to good use!”

With each word, the necromancer somehow managed to throw a blow in his way. Kai ducked all those blows, but a few still managed to hit as he tried his best to find out where the necromancer was.

Where is he going to come from again? I need to think and do something.

With the mist around, the amount of spells that might work were low and he had maybe enough mana for one spell. Two, if he really pushed out every little bit of it.

Still, he had to figure out a spell that might work in this situation. Thinking through the vast arrays of spells he had collected over decades, he decided on one that might truly help him out — A measly 1st circle spell.

He immediately pushed the last bits of mana from his heart to form a spell structure. Each line was developed hastily as he looked around for the necromancer to attack again.

The eerie darkness continued to swirl around him, as he felt the movements of necromancers behind him and barely dodged a punch.

One more line.

Kai formed another line on his spell structure as he rolled on the ground, slowly powering it up in his hands. What was left for him to do was to cast the spell before another punch hit him.

“[Vethra Luminas!]”

He muttered the incantation as his hands shone, powering up the spell with words of power as something moved behind him.

He turned back just in time and felt a punch right in his face, but managed to touch the necromancer's hand before he faded away in the mist.

Kai scrunched his back as his legs shook from the mana drain he was feeling, but he managed to stand as a smile formed on his lips.

He took a breath and looked at the mist around it. Before, he sensed nothing, but now he felt something moving in the back of his mind.

His mark was working as expected and the necromancer seemed to be moving towards him to strike at him again.

Kai blinked his eyes and prepared for him to appear right in front of him and looked towards his left just as the necromancer prepared to punch him.

He dodged the punch swiftly this time and kicked at the necromancer who stumbled on the ground.

The next second, Kai grunted as he punched him again, pushing him down on the ground.

The necromancers' magic faltered as the spell structure holding the mist together broke.

A shriek, raw and primal ripped through the silence as dark aura surrounded the necromancer suddenly, making Kai take a step back.

In front of his eyes, he saw the necromancer shift his flesh as his skin blackened and his eyes bulged. Part of his face seemed to resemble an undead suddenly, closely resembling the weaver.

Kai realised it was transforming into one of the first stages of being a lich and his mind turned to think of a way to stop it.

Realising there was only one way, he inhaled and cast a strike of wind, taking mana out from his life force to power up the spell structure.

“[Wind SPear]!”

Kai’s hand flew in the air, aiming at the morphing creature. The wind shaped like a spear flew in the air. Sharp and straight, it headed for the necromancer, cutting his head off the body from the neck.

The visceral cries stopped immediately.

Kai took a moment to see that the creature the necromancer had morphed into actually died. It didn’t move an inch, therefore he took a sigh of relief before looking around.

The skeletons were all dead and the guards and Killian were looking at him. They had taken care of them, but he could see a lot of dead bodies on the ground.

Kai sighed before he sprawled on the floor, exhausted and out of mana.

***

The guards’ bodies laid on the ground lifelessly. Kai’s frown deepened as he continued to look at the dried blood on the grass.

It had been three hours since the fight ended and he had barely kept himself going.

He felt a weight on his shoulders and his mana was just enough for him to not pass out.

If he could, he wanted nothing more than to rest, but there were more important matters to deal with.

“What are we going to do with them?” Killian asked, looking at the corpses.

“We will take them to the city and give them a proper funeral. We can’t just leave them here,” he said and looked at Killian.

Killian nodded, gritting his teeth and looking back to the caves.

“We haven't found anyone who disappeared around these parts. We have checked the surroundings and only the caves are left,” he said, his eyes shifting back to Kai. “They are probably there since the necromancer was using it as a dwelling.”

“Let’s head inside then.”