Chapter 41

"Should've just risked getting into a fight with that stupid witch." Shade sighs as he marches through a darkened tunnel. "Oh well, too late now I guess…"

He lightly twirled his sword a bit, bored by the rather non existent challenge this area posed to him, it was still surprising how powerful he'd become in such a short amount of time.

Hopefully that dark sorcerer would be more of a challenge.

Shade stops in his tracks as he sees a couple of Lucent's legion moving towards him, weapons at the ready and clear killer intent in their eyes.

With a sigh he shakes his head and puts his sword away, opting to just reach out his free hand instead.

"Fall." with a snap of his fingers a pulse of magic raced through the area, washing over every creature both living and dead.

In the seconds following the command about 20 health bars popped up around him… and then quickly depleted to 0.

He honestly couldn't help but let out an amused whistle at this. "Man, you guys are really trying to keep your buddy safe, too bad it's not of your own free will." Casually he walks over the bodies and up to a set of double wooden doors, carefully placing his hand upon it.

Much to his surprise there was a fierce pain that shot through his hand, making him pull away quickly and look down, only barely catching the red sparks that danced off his hand.

"That's… no, that's not possible." Shade muttered before placing his hand on the door once more, now holding it in place as a magic circle appeared.

This magic circle was unlike anything he'd ever seen, bright red in nature yet not fire, no it was some form of primal electricity from the earliest days of Velstan.

It was the kind of ancient magic that no one should know now.

"Alright, now I see why I was needed…" Shade sighs before snapping and breaking the seal with ease and kicking in the door, earning a surprised scream from the one waiting inside.

The room wasn't anything special, in fact it was the usual chamber Shade had seen thousands of times before.

A dark, earthen floor with walls leading to a domed ceiling made of the tree's interior.

Yet now he found himself face to face with someone he'd never seen before.

A new curiosity.

A new anomaly.

A new light to be snuffed out.

The person towards the back of the room was a strange one, strange even for this world.

It was a child, adorned with messy and dirty purple hair, bright blue eyes and dirty dark sorcerer robes.

The familiar marking of the Fell Blood Cult was on them, yet could this truly be right?

No, this kid was nothing more than bait, that much was clear… but where…

"Flame Wreath!" a new voice shouts out, a large magic circle appearing underneath Shade as he's ensnared in a spinning dome of fire.

The voice laughs as this happens, emerging from their pool of shadows behind the child, as if exiting a body of water.

"It worked, It really worked! I KILLED A LORD HUNTER!" they shouted joyously, now dancing in place. "I knew using that useless kid as bait was the right move!"

The fool danced on as the inferno raged on, the kid shrinking back in fear as they saw a growing figure amidst the flames.

Yet, unaware of the danger the fool just kept dancing, celebrating their victory until a single word crushed their dreams.

"Fall."

In that instance an overwhelming pressure weighed down on the cultist, being forced to their hands and knees as it felt like the world itself was caving in on them.

It became nearly impossible to breathe as time stretched out, a horrifying laugh ringing in their ears as they looked at the inferno before them.

The Lord Hunter emerged from the raging flames unscathed, an amused look on his face as the embers slid right off his cloak.

"Impressive, Flame Wreath is a spell you don't see often… but it's still far too weak to be useful on someone like me." Shade slowly walks up to the cultist, gazing down at them coldly. "Now for those people though… you probably could've killed a couple, which is why you can't be permitted to survive."

Silently he raises his right hand above his head, index and middle finger raised while the rest remain shut.

In one fluid motion he brings it down, a trail of azure blue light being left behind.

Once again only a single word leaves his mouth for this spell.

"Severance."

There's silence for a moment, then a quiet thud as the cultist falls over, their eyes now cold and lifeless.

Where once a soul had resided, now only an empty husk remained.

With a sigh Shade shook his head and snapped once more, causing the body to catch on fire. "May you find some form of peace in the Creator's Rebirth."

Well that was one problem dealt with… only one more remained now.

Quietly Shade looked towards the child, who seemed surprisingly calm at the situation, though if they were with the Fell Blood Cult who knows what else they've seen.

Wait, if they're actually with the cult then…

"You know what this means, right?" Shade asks the child, crossing his arms. "The death of your master."

The child stops and thinks for a moment, solemnly nodding. "That, by the laws of the Grandmaster, you're my master now."

Great, just great, more baggage.

That damned Witch had to have known about this, this is the kind of trick she would pull.

Forcing yet another wildcard into play.

With yet another heavy sigh Shade just turns around. "Yup, so come on, I'm not going to wait forever."

Quickly the kid stands up and moves to his side, though clearly slightly nervous.

How the hell was he going to explain this to anyone back at base? Hopefully her holiness would be understanding, last thing he needed was another long lecture after all this.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Shade asks while drawing a magic circle in the air. "Can't call you kid forever."

"Wynn… my parents called me Wynn." she solemnly states, a bit of a bad memory being brought up.

"Right, well come on Wynn." Suddenly a gateway made of fog opens up before the two of them, startling Wynn as she moves slightly closer to Shade. "Don't worry, it's safe, and there's a warm meal waiting for you on the other side, okay?"

Wynn nods, but doesn't seem to let go of Shade's cloak in the slightest.

Though he can't blame her, not everyday you see this kind of spell.

With one last glance around the room to double check his work Shade nods and turns to the gate, now knowing he accomplished what he was sent to do.

Now it was just up to the others if they'd make it through this area alive or not.

"Let's see how far your resolve will take you, Ryder."