Chapter 9

"Wow." At this point, even I had to be impressed at her skills.

She eliminated three hundred undead almost single handedly. A feat that even the most experienced of knights would find difficult.

Though she had me protecting her and that gave her leeway to cast her most powerful spells without worrying, it's not something anyone can do.

"If you have this much firepower, they why do you need me?"

"Preparing this spell takes a large amount of time and I have to focus all my attention when casting it." Katarina brought out a bottle using the same trick earlier and dumped the contents down her throat.

"When's the knight going to show up?" She asked and I placed a finger to my lips and did some rough calculations and replied,

"In about two more waves or so. Undead knights are special existences on par with liches so we're going to have to cause enough of a ruckus to bring one to the surface. Luckily with your magic, we wouldn't have any issues on that side."

"I understand."

Using the brief time before the next wave started, we performed our own unique methods of recovery. Mine was breathing techniques. Katarina's was dumping recovery potions, potions that get rid of their after effects, and potions to increase recovery rate. 

Even one of those potions would cost an average family a month of their income to purchase and she was drinking them like water.

Truly the style of a nouveau rich.

"Umm... Sai." I heard Katarina call out from behind me and when I turned around, I paused and then kicked off the ground with my hands outstretched as I tried to grab her. 

As for why, the light of a teleportation magic circle was visible beneath her. And I know it was one because I fell prey to it many times.

"Katarina!" I screamed and light engulfed her and when it dispersed, she was gone.

What do I do? My father's gonna kill me.

...

"A tomb?" Katarina picked herself off the ground and took in the area that the circle dropped her.

It was an underground cavern and from what she could see, it was most likely just a sniff as a small city.

'I've never heard of a place like this in the field. Just where did that circle bring me?'

She had heard of traps that randomly teleport someone but never imagined she would encounter it while resting.

'If I was in top shape, I would probably have noticed it.' Katarina frowned at this turn of events.

'And when I was so close to finishing up my magic.' Katarina's ruler magic is not considered a mental attack. It simply raises one's goodwill and willingness to serve her. 

It takes a long time to take effect but it is near impossible to guard against.

She could use it as an attack but the effect is halved and it takes a lot of mental energy to use it that way.

After observing said and reading his files, she came up with the most effective personality to earn his trust.

'Most of it was my actual personality though. The best lie is one that contains a hint of truth.'

'But the main problem is where I am.' One of the most dangerous things about teleportation traps is that they could randomly take someone anywhere in the field.

"I just have to pray I'm still somewhere close to the surface." Katarina said and stood up from the ground and dusted her clothes.

As she took a step forward, a stifling presence assaulted her causing her body to freeze up.

'What is that?' she gritted her teeth and endures the pressure and slowly turned her head back to see a pale faced boy looking at her.

"It's rare someone makes it down here. Guess I'll have a little fun." The boy was dressed in long dark robes and a cold smile decorated his face as he took slow but constant steps towards her.

Death. That was what Katarina's instincts screamed as he approached her.

'Even if it's death,' Katarina clenched her hands and when she opened it, a silver dagger appeared in her hands.

"... I don't plan on giving in."

And with that, she lunges at the boy and swing the dagger at him.

"Interesting." The boy's smile remained as he lifted a finger and blocked the strike.

Instead of panicking, Katarina calmly pressed the dagger and silver smoke poured into the area robbing both parties of light.

Katarina hopped backwards and gained some distance and pressed a hand against her chest to calm her heart as she activated another spell she placed in the weapon.

She immediately followed up with a teleportation spell and prayed her preparations earned her enough time as she constructed the magic circle.

"That's a neat trick." Katarina's heart sunk as the smoke in the room was sucked towards the boy's location and was turned into a small silver ball in his hands.

By his feet lay fragments of a chain that was a result of the spell she cast earlier.

"Sorry, but there's no escape for you." The boy's smile was still present but she could sense another emotion contained in it. Curiosity.

'Is this the end?' Katarina felt regret well up in her and she gritted her teeth and banished that emotion and roused her magic to cast her trump card.

The boy hadn't interrupted her casting of her teleportation magic which meant he still had the leisure to watch her.

'In other words, he has absolute confidence in his strength.' 

In a one on one match, Katarina would lose hundred out of hundred matches. It if it was just escape...

"Ruler magic, forced domination." Katarina's eyes shone with a mysterious light as she activated her true magic.

Forced domination skips the gradual process of the magic and forcefully tries to take over the targets mind.

Even if the effects were mild, her ruler magic was still a mental type magic. It should be able to disrupt the opponents consciousness even a little.

Or so she thought.

"Magic that strikes directly at the mind. What an interesting magic." If there was any difference in the boys state, it was that his brows twitched and that was it.

'That didn't have any effect!?' seeing here trump card unable to do anything to her opponent made the reality of the situation sink in and Katarina gritted her teeth, unwilling to accept it.

"It was nice and all playing with you so I guess I'll kill you now." As the last syllable echoed in the room, Katarina felt her stomach burn up and she looked down to see a blackish looking flame burning her clothes and the area underneath.

"Arrggh!" Katarina groaned as the flames kicked her skin and she redirected her mans to the area to slow it down.

Shockingly, the flames devoured the mana and even increased in intensity now burning her entire abdominal area. She felt the pain sap strength from her legs and she knelt on the ground as gasps leaked out of her.

"It's useless. Those flames feed on mana so the more you use the more they grow." The boy said and continued waking to her.

'In that case, I'll...' Katarina strengthened her hand and used it to rip of the pieces of flesh and threw it to the ground before it could spread to her hand.

After repeating a few more times, what was left was a bloodied area that was full with tear marks and blood.

Katarina spread her hands and cast healing magic over the area and closed the wounds before standing up with her feet shaming and looked at the boy who had arrived in front her her.

She felt her body go numb from the pressure he was emitting and even breathing became a hundred times more difficult and she just barely managed to keep standing as a final act of defiance.

"Your soul looks like it would be able to bear it."

"What are you talking about?" She squeezed her lips open and forced those words out and the boy chuckled and reached out to her head.

"I'm actually an expert in soul magic and you seem like the perfect lab rat to test my techniques on."

Katarina could do nothing but look in as the hand inched closer to her head and prepared herself for her death.

"I'm coming in!"