Chapter 33: Hidden

Another day passes and Alex just sat down on his chair, his body had grown thin during these days. His sense of hunger had been completely overwhelmed by his need to sleep. His left hand has many cuts in it now and the blood has started to dry now.

Lily looks at this, she has been sleeping regularly, but as she looked at Alex, she couldn't help it as a sense of worry developed in her heart. She has never seen any need to be worried about him, but now, that is a whole different thing. 

She sees how Alex has become more jumpy and paranoid lately.

'He hasn't slept for four days straight. I saw blood come out of his ear one time. He is hurting his health like this.' Contemplates Lily, as she has seen him as a smart boy beyond his years, she is now seeing him do something so dumb. Bit it isn't as if she doesn't understand where he is coming from, she has seen how the Hell Portal came out of nowhere.

She can only sigh as she gets up and goes towards the bathroom. She needs a shower right now.

"Where are you going?" Asks Alex suddenly, his bloodshot eyes gazing into her own.

"Taking a shower." Says Lily simply, she has also understood something about Alex, she doesn't know if it's a recent thing, or if it has been there always. 'He is controlling… as controlling as one can be.'

She has seen Alex's act slip as his mind becomes more and more fatigued. His control tendencies slipping through his act, wanting to know everything.

...

After taking a shower Lily lies down in her bed and takes a deep breath. 

"Are you okay? What was that deep breath about?" Asks Alex as he hears Lily breathe too deeply. 'Is she mad? Sad? Stressed? What is wrong with her, is she gonna do something that might hinder me? Does she need to be killed now?'

"It's nothing, just sad again, now that you are not sleeping it's making me stressed too." Says Lily, being honest with Alex as his eye turns into a slit with a magic circle in front of it.

...

Around the middle of the night, Alex's mind starts going into short spasms of sloppiness and his brain takes naps.

Booom!

In that moment of weakness, the front door is off its hinges and even the blood cristal that Alex has used to seal it wasn't enough.

Alex was immediately on guard, but there was a split second in which his brain was catching up with the situation.

[Wind Blade Barrage]

His eyes widen as he sees a green magic circle and hears the sound of the air being cut. His eyes widen at this, he understands that the old man must be a wind mage, and he is using a Rank 2 Spell so good that it makes the wind blade invisible.

As the wind blades get closer to Alex, he tries to cast a shield spell but it is too late. 'Shìt, too slow!'

Just as the wind blades were about to hit him, a dark figure appeared in front of him.

Fwish!

Immediately, as if two knives made out of darkness easily cut the wind blades. It is Lily, her daggers are covered in a dark, shadow-like mist.

Alex's eyes widen a little at this. 'That's Ki Reinforcement.' He analyzes, by using his extensive knowledge from in-game, usually such a thing only happens when people are almost about to reach Legendary Rank and gain a so-called understanding of themselves.

'Damn, talk about talented.' Contemplates Alex, he wonders just how many innate abilities she must have to do something like this just as she entered Rank 2.

Still, he doesn't waste his time thinking about such things at the moment. He just points his palm at the old mage with a white beard and now curious eyes as he looks at Lily.

<Blood Whip>

Whish!

The whip sails through the air as it shoots towards Van.

Baam!

But it's stopped by an invisible shield as it can't penetrate it.

"Hmmm~ You are something else." Says the old man. He has his hands folded behind his back during this whole time and a friendly look on his face. But as he looks at Lily and Alex, his posture changes, his back straightens. Showing that he is a very tall man, his arms are brought to his side and the friendly look on his face is wiped off. "I guess I can no longer take it easy now, a girl with Ki Reinforcement is not something to joke at."

Alex looks at the man, he can see it, he is still relaxed and isn't necessarily worried about him and Lily being any danger to him. It's not arrogance either, it's confidence in his research.

'But still, even though he doesn't express it. He is scared of the Legendary Item that I have in my hand.' Contemplates Alex, knowing that no matter how the old man acts. Even if he can't read him, he knows just how the man would think. 

Though Alex is also worried about another thing, that invisible balloon-like shield around him. That is what makes Wind Mage's so dangerous, especially on the early ranks. Also, that ballon is like a shield around them, it is considered an almost impenetrable shield, it is used by wind mages even at higher ranks. It's like a balloon of air that, it is said that no matter how much power is used on it, no attacks will penetrate it.

Three green magic circles appear around the old man and Alex has to try and analyze the magic circles to figure out what spells are being used. 

"There are hundreds of miniature wind blades, I won't be able to cut them all." Says Lily suddenly, and Alex doesn't question her at all on how she can see the wind blades.

Instead, he touched her shoulder and whispered a spell. <Hardened Blood>...

Lily's blood hardened under her skin.

Swish!

And as the blades hit, she can handle them, but she still isn't a tank character. So she is covered in blood as large gashes appear all over her body, easily cutting through her Ki and Hard Blood Armour. Still, Alex did his best to stop her from bleeding out as he used Blood Spells on her that would help her.

He clutches the Dragon Horn in his hand and resolves himself to finally deciding to kill the old man. But he knows that using the item, as a Rank 2 will cost him, in the end though, he has no other choice but to do so.

He brings the horn to his lips and is about to use it.

Fwish!

But before he could blow into it, a blue magic circle appeared behind the old man.

[ICE SPIKE!!]

An ice spike appears and easily pierces through the old man's wind shield. Skewering him from the midsection and spraying his organs around.

The old man's beard turns to red, and his eyes widen at the unexpected attack.

He turns around and sees a plain-looking girl with brown hair and eyes. She is in her teens and wearing a white robe, signifying that she is from the Magic Academy.

'Where the hell did she come from?!! No other Mage was supposed to be in this ship!!' Wonders the old man, as he prepares to save himself, but his eyes widen as he senses branches of ice grow from the ice spike inside of him.

[Flowers Bloom]

*cough* He coughs out blood, as he feels his heart getting pierced. But the old man isn't done as he dislocates one of his teeth which has a potion inside it. 

He looks at the plain teen girl and a murderous look appears on his face. 'This bìtch, she almost killed me. Now I have to turn myself into an Undead Zombie Master to even live.'

He had been caught by surprise, but Van, as a Mage of his age, has many ways to survive such attacks. He doesn't mind turning himself into an undead just to survive. 

He narrowed his eyes at the plain-looking girl. The old man's face pales and the white on his eyes turns black, and a gray foul miasma surrounds him.

"You need to die now." Says the old man casually, without any malice in his words whatsoever. But in that split second, Alex and Lily felt chills go down their spines, while the plain-looking girl had a nervous look on her face and tears come out of her eyes.

"Why the hell did I get involved in this," the young girl muttered in terror.

===================

AN:

The old man got taken by surprise… let's see how this goes

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 Don't forget to throw some power stones :)

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