Failed Binding

The Black Horrall Snake's eyes gleamed with a wicked, almost human-like, mocking expression. It was a mockery of humanity itself, a creature of the Abyss that had learned to mimic the cruelty of the world above.

In a sudden burst, an overwhelming surge of Spiritual Force exploded, instantly repelling the green light. The eruption of Spiritual Force was cataclysmic, a seismic shockwave of power that defied the laws of nature. It struck like a thunderclap, a visceral explosion of energy that threatened to tear apart the very fabric of the secret plane.

The contract spell formation in midair detonated with an ear-splitting roar, shattering into a thousand shards of arcane energy. The force of the explosion was like a hurricane, a maelstrom of magic that consumed everything in its path.

Bosain's chest bore the full brunt of the impact, as if a thousand sledgehammers had descended upon him simultaneously. He was sent hurtling through the air, a ragdoll in the grip of some unseen titan. Large chunks of silver armor were torn from his body, revealing the raw, torn flesh beneath.

Crimson blood erupted from Bosain's mouth in a gruesome geyser, painting the cave in a macabre tapestry of gore. It was a violent symphony of agony, a brutal reminder of the price paid for meddling in the affairs of the Great Magus Serholm.

"The backlash from the contract! It killed Bosain!" Leylin's voice rang out, a lone cry in the chaos of battle.

When a contract with a powerful creature failed, the consequences were dire. Magicians would often suffer a backlash on their Spiritual Force, a torrent of pain that threatened to consume them. But in this instance, there was more than just the Spiritual Force backlash; there was the malevolent assault of the creature's own Spiritual Force.

Bosain's arcane core had been shattered, torn apart by the sheer magnitude of the Black Horrall Snake's power. And in the cruel dance of fate, the magic artifact connected to that Spiritual Force had also been rent asunder.

As Bosain was flung through the air, a blinding white protection rune emerged from his body. It pulsed with an otherworldly radiance, an ethereal glow that seemed to defy the laws of mortality.

The milky white light was resplendent, a beacon of hope in the midst of the abyssal darkness. It bathed Bosain in its sacred embrace, knitting together his shattered form with unnatural speed. Even his Spiritual Force was restored to a level where he wouldn't faint from exhaustion.

Bosain had been literally brought back from the dead thanks to this incredible item, and Leylin was more than a little disappointed that he had survived.

'A single-use healing rune. One capable of healing even an arcane core... This is the kind of advantage only an heir from one of the top Magi Houses can enjoy.' Leylin's eyes narrowed, a spark of recognition in their depths.

Such runes were treasures of immeasurable value, crafted from rare resources and requiring the magic and spiritual prowess of an official Light Magus. Even someone like Bosain couldn't possess an abundance of them. One rune was already so expensive that even an official Magus would kill for it.

But Leylin wouldn't be impressed by this. He knew that despite the rune's miraculous effects, Bosain had been pushed to the brink. It had forced him to expend his most precious trump card, a testament to the direness of his situation.

The synthesizer of the protection rune had toiled over it, pouring countless resources and power into its creation. It was a lifeline that could only be used once, and Bosain had burned that bridge in a desperate bid to survive.

"What the hell just happened, Leylin?!" Merlin watched in disbelief as Bosain was sent hurtling backward, his form wreathed in an aura of divine light.

"Are you blind, deaf, or both?" Leylin's mask faltered. "The contract binding has failed. Hurry and kill this damned black snake!" Leylin's voice crackled with urgency as he drew a Shifting Dagger from from his waist, as it adopted the form of an exquisite golden cross blade. With a swift incantation, the blade was ensconced in an icy aura.

Frost Alchemy Runes adorned the blade, a testament to Leylin's mastery of the arcane arts. These runes transformed the weapon into a temporary vessel of devastating power, a force to be reckoned with even among low-grade magic artifacts.

Leylin's old dagger had indeed been lost during the Bloodbath, but within the hallowed halls of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, replacements were as plentiful as leaves on a tree. Especially for him, who was now considered the top genius at the academy.

The frost greatsword now in Leylin's grasp radiated an aura of bone-chilling cold that drew the gaze of Merlin and Bosain. It was a weapon of death, a harbinger of doom that promised to bring an end to the black serpent's reign of terror.

Leylin found himself in an unexpected predicament, all thanks to Bosain's rash actions and his own miscalculations. It was a glaring reminder of how he had underestimated the hidden reservoirs of Mana Energy harbored by the enigmatic Black Horall Snake. The creature possessed a unique ability to conceal its energy fluctuations, making it virtually impossible for Aralis and Leylin, at their current skill levels, to gauge its true power potential.

While Leylin remained confident that the snake posed no imminent threat, he lacked a precise understanding of its current power status. Thus, when Bosain attempted to restrain the serpent, it was provoked into a furious and violent response. This, in turn, would nullify any positive influence Leylin's Mankestre DNA might have had on the creature, leaving him with no choice but to confront it forcefully.

The situation demanded immediate action to pacify the enraged serpent, and Leylin had resolved to do just that.

'I knew it!' Merlin's thoughts raced as he witnessed Leylin's formidable arsenal. 'Surviving the Bloodbath must have granted Leylin some hidden abilities...'

"Keep binding him as best you can, Merlin. I'm going in." Leylin locked eyes with the Black Horrall Snake, its serpentine form still ensnared in the tendrils of green vines and water warms.

With a surge of Spiritual Force that bordered on madness, the Black Horrall Snake writhed and contorted, its massive body pulsating with raw, untamed power.

The water arms dispersed into a giant puddle, and countless vines snapped like brittle twigs, their once-vicious grip reduced to mere echoes of their former strength. Merlin could only watch in dismay as his painstakingly woven restraints began to crumble like a sandcastle before the rising tide.

"Hurry! I can't hold on much longer!" Merlin's voice trembled with desperation as he struggled to maintain control over the weakening bonds.

"Cross Blade Slash!" Leylin's chiseled muscles swelled with power, his body expanding as if he were a titan of old.

[Your Grand Knight Secret Skill has been succesfully activated, Doctor! Physical stats increased at the cost of Vitality.] Aralis's slightly mechanical voice reported the transformation, a testament to the magnitude of Leylin's might.

During his three years in Extreme Night City, Leylin had not only acquired the Grand Knight Scroll from Viscount Jackson. No, he had also developed a secret knight technique, a power that transcended mortal limits. This was no mere Killing Move; it was a symphony of destruction, a masterpiece of combat honed to perfection.

Combining Neela's Secret Skill, and the sword techniques of Viscount Jackson, a Grand Knight of unparalleled skill, with his own cross blade mastery, Leylin had forged a secret technique of great potency.

Now, as Leylin stood on the precipice of battle, his secret technique had reached the pinnacle of its potential. The side effects had been minimized, and the raw power it unleashed was nothing short of cataclysmic.

With a thunderous roar, Leylin launched himself into the air, the frost greatsword held high above his head.

Two arcs of deathly cold energy streaked across the cave, intersecting in a violent clash of elements. The resulting collision formed a colossal 'X' in the air, a symbol of impending doom that hung like a shadow over the Black Horrall Snake.

The icy 'X' cleaved through the snake's neck with merciless precision, rending scales and flesh alike. A frigid shroud enveloped the wound, freezing the blood that oozed from it into a grotesque tableau of death.

The Black Horrall Snake let out a primal, agonized scream, its form writhing in sheer torment. It thrashed wildly, breaking free from even more of the restraining vines.

"Good! Maintain the pressure! A few more strikes, and we can bring this abomination to its knees!" Bosain's eyes gleamed with determination, a glint of hope in the midst of the chaos. He was still recovering his strength, as he drank potion after potion.

But the Black Horrall Snake was not one to yield so easily. It was a creature born of darkness and despair, a survivor in the brutal theater of the Abyss.

After its initial frenzy, the Black Horrall Snake's form strangely calmed, and a malevolent aura surrounded it.

The scales on its body emitted a sinister black energy, a dark resonance that sent shivers down Bosain and Merlin's spine.

"This is the energy of the Darkness element! Be cautious…" Leylin's warning came just in time, a lifeline in the face of impending doom.

But they were too late.

Without warning, the Black Horrall Snake's body began to change. It started with its scales, which turned transparent like shards of glass. Then its skin followed suit, becoming ethereal and insubstantial.

Flesh gave way to emptiness, and even its bones vanished into the void.

In a matter of moments, the Black Horrall Snake had become a phantom, a specter that defied the laws of existence.

"What is this? A concealment spell?!" Bosain wondered aloud, his voice filled with disbelief.

"It's not a spell of concealment," Leylin replied, his voice tense with urgency. "It's an ability that renders it invulnerable to attacks while in shade mode!"

The countless vines that had once ensnared the serpent fell to the ground, grasping at empty air.

"A spell with an effect like this?" Merlin's voice wavered with uncertainty. "This is no Rank 0 magic; it bears the mark of an official Magus! But why did it not use this power earlier?"

"Because the cost is too great, and it can't withstand it a second time," Leylin surmised. The Shadow Stealth was an innate ability that the Black Horrall Snake had developed during its maturation, a last-resort skill that it had preserved during its regression.

The spell's effects were akin to that of a Rank 1 spell, a potent shield that rendered the snake impervious to harm while concealed.

Leylin couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what the creature could achieve in its fully matured state. It was a harbinger of death, a Mysterious Entity so powerful that could strike from the shadows with impunity.

"I doubt even Professor Dorotte would stand a chance against it..." Merlin muttered, a chill running down his spine.

"Merlin, get a hold of yourself! We will form the triangular defensive formation!" Leylin's voice echoed through the cave, a call to arms in the face of an invisible adversary.

Merlin immediately rushed to Leylin's side, his face etched with only faint determination. Even Bosain, his expression grim, joined their ranks.

The three of them assumed their positions at the corners of the defensive formation, their bodies enveloped in a cocoon of vines and a dangerous poisonous mist cast by Leylin. It was a desperate gambit, a last-ditch effort to shield themselves from the looming threat.

This was a tactic they had devised in anticipation of an unseen enemy, a contingency plan born of necessity.

An invisible foe was the most insidious of adversaries, a terror that defied reason and logic. Leylin's heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the surroundings, his senses strained to their limits. He wished that he could experience this fight using his full power, but this challenge was interesting enough on its own right.

The cave was bathed in the harsh light of their spells, casting long, eerie shadows across the barren expanse. The floor was littered with dried mud, a stark contrast to the brutal carnage that had unfolded mere moments ago.

Scales and diluted puddles of blood bore witness to the battle that had raged within these walls, a testament to the savagery of the creature.

But there was no sign of the Black Horrall Snake.

"Be vigilant; this is akin to a Rank 1 Shadow element spell—Shadow Stealth," Bosain cautioned, his voice tinged with anxiety.

Leylin nodded in agreement. "We can't afford to let our guard down. The snake is still here, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike."

Merlin clenched his fists, frustration etched on his face. He lashed out with the vines, attempting to flush out their elusive foe, but the darkness yielded no answers.

"What should we do? Wait for it to reappear?" Merlin's voice wavered with uncertainty as he continued to probe the granite walls with his spells.

"Snake-like creatures are known for their patience and cunning," Leylin replied. "It won't simply vanish; it's biding its time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to slaughter us."

Leylin's voice was a whisper in the oppressive silence, a reminder of the peril they faced.

The tension in the air was palpable, a suffocating weight that threatened to crush their spirits. The unknown, the unseen, it was the deadliest adversary of all.

But Bosain couldn't afford to let fear paralyze him. He knew that in the secret plane, hesitation was a death sentence.

"What should we do, Leylin?" Merlin's voice trembled with uncertainty as he clutched the magic artifact wand in his hand.

Leylin's mind raced, his thoughts a maelstrom of possibilities. He couldn't rely on the Aralis or detection spells; their adversary had transcended the boundaries of magic.

A sudden, instinctual warning surged through Leylin's veins, a primal sense of danger that sent shivers down his spine.

Without hesitation, Leylin rolled away from his previous position, a split-second decision that would prove to be their salvation.

In the spot where Leylin had stood mere moments ago, the Black Horrall Snake materialized from thin air, its form coalescing with malevolent intent.

With a savage lunge, the snake's massive head clamped down on Merlin, who had been standing dangerously close to Leylin's former location.

Half of his body disappeared into the serpent's gaping maw, swallowed whole by the abyssal terror.

An earth-shattering explosion erupted from within the snake's jaws, a storm of purple lightning that engulfed the creature's head.

A powerful shockwave rippled through the cave, a maelstrom of electric destruction that threatened to consume all in its path.

"It's Merlin! He detonated his magic artifact before being devoured... Fuck this..." Bosain's voice cracked with sorrow and despair, his heart heavy with the weight of their losses.

As for Leylin, on his handsome face was a bright, self-satisfied smile as if he had been told a piece of good news. In truth, he was not doing his best to defeat the snake, as he also had the goal of gathering combat data which would aid his investigations later. The fact that Merlin had died horribly was an added bonus to him.

Only Bosain remained, but Leylin judged him too high-profile to be wasted as mere cannon fodder.