The Abomination

Whoosh—

Just as Norian was warily scanning his surroundings, a figure suddenly sprang up from the ground! Cloaked entirely in shadow, Lucian's arm was infused with shadow energy, shaping it into a long, razor-sharp blade.

This strike was swift, brutal, and utterly silent!

Lucian had chosen the perfect moment to attack—Norian had just finished casting a detection spell, leaving his mental state slightly destabilized, unable to immediately summon another spell for defence or counterattack.

Yet Norian, as a seasoned third-level apprentice, reacted with impressive speed. Realizing the danger, he pivoted to avoid a fatal blow, thrusting his left arm into the path of Lucian's shadow blade while his right hand activated a spell scroll. With a quick tear, a massive ice shield materialized between them.

Lucian's eyes narrowed. Knowing the opportunity to kill Norian was slipping, he switched his target and slashed at Norian's left arm before the ice shield could fully form.

Shing—

A severed arm flew through the air.

Without wasting a second to even glance at his lost limb, Norian jumped back, his gaze chilling as he locked eyes with Lucian.

Lucian cast a glance at the dismembered arm, feeling a pang of regret. For a wizard, losing a limb wasn't necessarily a severe injury. With the right resources, it could easily be regenerated. If Norian had hesitated for even a second, Lucian would have aimed for his throat, even if it meant taking risks himself.

But Norian's instincts were razor-sharp and ruthless.

"I thought you wouldn't show up," Norian said casually. Despite the missing arm, his tone was calm, as though chatting with an old friend.

Lucian narrowed his eyes, shifting his focus to the massive creature standing behind Norian. Its oppressive aura was even more intimidating than Norian's own, and Lucian quickly recognized this nightmarish being.

It was a Stitched Beast, one of the infamous constructs originating from the ancient and bloody Wizard Empire—a quintessential creation of dark wizards. Created by stitching together corpses of humans or powerful magical beasts, Stitched Beasts were renowned for their near-indestructible bodies and destructive power. Stitched Beast required a deep mastery of necromancy and anatomical reconstruction, skills usually held only by fully-fledged wizards. Some Stitched Beasts crafted by advanced wizards were known to rival the strength of a wizard themselves. Norian's creation was clearly of the "Abomination" variant—a hulking, grotesque being known for explosive, close-range attacks.

Lucian instinctively stepped back, putting distance between himself and the creature.

With Norian and this monstrous construct surrounding him, Lucian's odds of success were dwindling fast. Should the Abomination unleash its full power, he might not make it out alive.

The construct's aura alone was overwhelming; its raw strength was on par with that of a peak third-level apprentice. And if it were to enter an enraged state, its power might approach the limits of an apprentice altogether.

Worse yet, Norian was still very much a threat. For a wizard, especially one with Norian's experience, the loss of a limb was more an inconvenience than a disadvantage.

Lucian hesitated. His shadow abilities would make it possible to retreat, and Norian might struggle to stop him. But he also knew that allowing Norian more time could spell disaster in the future. If Norian was already capable of creating an Abomination, his mastery of necromancy was dangerously close to that of a fully-fledged wizard. Within three years, Norian had a high probability of advancing to that level.

"Wait…" Lucian scrutinized the Abomination closely, quickly noticing something off about it.

"So it's still only a half-finished product." Lucian realized that he had almost been deceived by the creature's intimidating presence. The Abomination looked powerful, but it lacked a critical quality: sentience. It was essentially lifeless.

Constructing a complete Abomination required not only a powerful body but also a process known as "spirit infusion" to grant it an animating spark. Norian's creation clearly lacked independent intelligence and had to be directly controlled by Norian's mental commands.

Realizing this, Lucian melted back into the shadows.

Norian, remembering the damage Lucian had inflicted just moments before, didn't dare take any chances. He swiftly leapt onto the Abomination's broad shoulder, then summoned a spell. His body began to "melt" into the creature, eventually merging into a grotesque mound of flesh atop the Abomination's head.

The Abomination, now "inhabited" by Norian, came to life, its small head sweeping the area with baleful, green soul-fire flickering in its eyes.

*Thud. The Abomination stomped its massive foot, creating a small crater and sending cracks snaking across the ground.

Yet, finding Lucian was a different challenge. Lucian's shadow magic allowed him to slip seamlessly through the shadows in the darkened confines of the Bone Grave, evading detection. So long as he remained concealed, the Abomination's brute force couldn't reach him.

But hiding indefinitely was no solution either. Lucian could feel his frustration building. Although he could evade the Abomination, his shadow state made offensive attacks nearly impossible. Attacking with shadows alone would feel more like scraping at a wall than doing any real damage to this behemoth.

Crunch. The Abomination's grotesque, massive hand reached down, picking up the lifeless body of a fallen wizard apprentice. Its stomach split open to reveal a gaping, bloody maw, and it began consuming the corpse, bit by bit, as Lucian watched in grim silence.