Lich

The Lich had definitely accomplished what he had set out to do as all attention was now focused on him. The first response he received was a deluge of spells poured upon him. Looking over at the castle wall, he saw a number of wizards standing there, led by two Archwizards.

“Lich, how dare you step in these lands! As Count of this fiefdom, I order you to return to whence you came or else face the consequences.”

One of the Archwizards, now identified as Count Fenwick Vlark, once again gathered the wizards to conjure up a myriad of spells while the Knight Captains leapt from the makeshift fortification the knights had set up to defend against the undead wave.

The Lich made no action as he was soon surrounded by the combined might of seven Intermediate-Level Combatants, including five Knight Captains and two Archwizards. All of the eyes held an unshakable resolve to see this matter through to the end.

Mateo took this chance to step back and meld into the army of demons. He took this moment to observe the Lich. Just the demonic energy that this undead nightmare emanated made him feel a sense of helplessness, quelling any thoughts of rebellion. He took a glance at his other classmates who completely ignored his retreat as all their focus was likewise cemented upon the Demon General.

Just like himself, they all were thoroughly suppressed by the Lich’s mere presence. Their faces went pale, as only pure willpower kept their legs under control.

Turning his attention back to the impending confrontation, he saw as the knights charged at the Lich in a unified front as the two Archwizards charged their spells. The Lich did not fight them directly but instead sent a few of his undead to oppose them. The Lich, maybe due to seeking entertainment, only sent five of his undead to face the Knight captains, equally matching their numbers.

All five of the undead possessed intermediate-level strength, revealing their true identity: they were the Lich’s Death Knights. The five pairs quickly clashed and the Lich watched as the humans struggled. He quickly got the reaction he desired as the human collective kept glancing between the Death Knights he had sent forth and the dozens of remaining Death Knights standing behind him.

The Archwizards took this moment to release the spells they had been preparing with the support of the dozen wizards around them. Count Fenwick’s spell took the form of a giant sword made of blue flames. While the other one was a giant green magic circle that took shape in the air.

The magic circle spun as roots shot up from the ground around the Lich and bound him in their embrace. The Lich merely watched on in interest, not even resisting the constricting spell cast on him.

“This is your one chance, don’t waste it.”

With those words from the Lich, the giant flame sword cleaved down towards the bound Skeleton. It smashed down upon his skull before the flames engulfed his entire being. Everyone watched with bated breath as the blue flames raged where the Lich had stood. After a few seconds the mana that fueled the spell was used up and the flames started to extinguish.

Once the flames disappeared and the smoke dispersed everyone was shocked to see a giant sphere made of bones. The bones were thoroughly charred, but still held together. It was only the occupant’s own actions that caused the barrier to crumble around him, revealing the unscathed Lich.

“It was a good attempt. Unfortunately for you, it was not enough.”

The Lich then proceeded to raise his boney hand and point his finger at the figures on top of the wall. As everyone looked upon the Lich in fear of the next moment, they were left confused when nothing happened. They moved their gazes from the Lich’s outstretched finger back to his face, only to see that he was no longer looking at the Count and the others on top of the wall.

While everyone else was left wondering what had grabbed the Demon General’s attention, Mateo felt a chill run down his spine as he met the hollow eyesockets of the Lich. The Lich lowered his hand and instead motioned for several other undead of his to take charge instead. The Undead that stepped forward were also wearing robes like the Lich, Undead Wizards, with two of them radiating the undead aura equivalent to an Archwizard.

The Lich then disappeared from the spot and Mateo now found himself looking up at the skull of the figure in front of him, whose skeletal hand was currently grasping Mateo’s wrist.

“That sigil.”

At first Mateo thought that the Lich was talking about the one on the palm of his hand, the demonic face, but instead the Lich was looking at the back of his hand. The Lich fed his own demonic energy into the back of Mateo’s hand, causing the smiling lips to become visible.

“So it was her sigil after all.”

“You know her? Who is she?”

Mateo had always felt that the female demon who had given him the sigil was not just some run of the mill Demon Lieutenant. It was unusual that the words of a single Demon Lieutenant would gain him the trust of all the other demons. Tilch had never even questioned or tested him. The very first time they met, the demon immediately revealed everything to him and included Mateo into their plans. Now even the Lich was showing him attention, someone whose standing was far above some mere Demon Lieutenant.

The Lich snorted and released his wrist.

“You don’t need to know. The only thing you must keep in mind is to not betray her trust or cause her to lose interest in you.”

“Sir Demon General, do you have any orders for me?”

“Soon your other classmates will arrive, lead the demons and my undead to fight them.”

Mateo’s eyes went wide at the sudden acquisition of such authority on this battlefield. He also took note of Lich's words, his classmates would be here soon. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak up.

“There’s an oath keeper among them, Gerard, don’t underestimate him. There's also a party led by a priest, their whole purpose is to counter you.”

The Lich gave him a long hard stare, but unlike what Mateo had expected, the Lich did not brush his words off or ridicule him.

“I know of the Gerard you speak of. Do not worry, there is not a single one of us who would be ignorant enough to ignore a threat like him. However, he is still far too green, he has yet to reach his full potential.”

“Are you going to kill him?”

“Not yet, his continued existence serves a different purpose.”

With those words the Lich once again vanished. Instead he appeared at the fringes of the battlefield, awaiting his opponent. Just as he said, not even five minutes later numerous figures broke through and entered the clearing. At the front leading them all was Gerard.

Mateo knew he had to step forward now, especially with the concentrated gazes of all the demons and undead focused upon him. At some point the Demon Lieutenants and Death Knights that were not currently fighting the Knight Captains had come to his side.

“Tilch, take some demons and undead and hold down Blair’s and my party. Take another Demon Lieutenant and two Death Knights with you.”

With those words Tilch immediately led a sizable force to suppress the already weary Heroes. Mateo then pointed out two more Demon Lieutenants he was meeting for the first time.

“You two, take half the undead and demons and suppress the normal knights, the rest will follow me to fight the heroes who have just arrived alongside Lord Lich. Avoid the Oath Keeper.”

With his brisk commands the army split in half as Mateo led what remained to confront the Hero reinforcements. The newcomers also saw his actions and separated to confront his legion of demons and undead, with only Gerard and Jessica confronting the Lich.

Mateo directed the Demon Lieutenants and Death Knights to pair up into groups of two and confront the Party Leaders while the others attacked the party members. Mateo now found himself confronted with Fredrick, a Knight Captain Party Leader.

Now free to fully utilize his earth magic without the hindrance of a barrier underneath him, Mateo repeatedly cast spells beneath the martial artist's feet. Fredrick on the other hand was able to avoid everything perfectly with his footwork.

In mere moments the unarmed combatant got in close enough that Mateo had to meet the man with his sword. Honestly, Fredrick was the one he least wanted to face, due to the purpose of the party he led. Fredrick was the party leader of the Anti-Hero party, the very party that Duncan had been a member of before Mateo killed him.

Without even knowing it, Fredrick was now fighting to avenge his comrade.