Chapter 34: Facing the Old Man

There was nothing around Adrian except a barren, rocky mountain stretching as far as he could see. There wasn't a single tree, bush, or even a patch of grass growing between the rocks. He stood there for a while, observing the area before looking up at the sky. The moon was slowly rising, while the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

Adrian began walking slowly across the rocks, carefully scanning his surroundings. For several seconds, the only sound he could hear was the wind hitting the sides of the mountain. Then he suddenly stopped and muttered to himself, "Strange..."

He looked around again, but there was no sound of birds or insects, and he couldn't find any signs of animals. The area was unnaturally quiet, as if this land had been dead for a very long time.

Adrian narrowed his eyes as Vitar's words suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Didn't you like the venison?"

He stopped walking and repeated the words in his head. Then he remembered something else Vitar had said.

"It's fresh venison."

Adrian's eyes widened slightly. He looked around again, but this time he wasn't looking like a tired man. He was looking for anything that didn't make sense.

A rocky mountain with no plants. No water nearby. No animal tracks anywhere...

Then where had the deer come from?

Adrian remained silent for a few seconds as the details he had ignored before slowly came together in his mind—the dusty house, the spider webs covering the ceiling, the furniture that looked like it hadn't been used in years, and then the fresh meat Vitar had served them.

He suddenly raised his head, his pupils widening.

"Impossible..."

The next moment, Adrian sprinted toward the house with all his strength. His feet nearly slipped over the rocks from how fast he was moving. When he reached the door, he pushed it open halfway.

But the door suddenly slammed shut in his face.

Adrian instinctively stepped back and quickly turned around.

Vitar was standing directly behind him.

He stood there calmly, wearing the same smile that had remained on his face since they first met.

Anger burned in Adrian's eyes as he shouted at him, "Who are you?! What do you want from us?!"

The old man smiled slightly wider and calmly replied, "Me? I'm just an old mage... living alone in a house on top of the mountain."

"Enough with the lies!" Adrian shouted, pointing toward the house. "This house has been abandoned for years. Dust covers everything, spider webs fill every corner, and there's no sign that anyone has been living here."

He then pointed toward the mountains surrounding them and continued angrily, "And this place is completely lifeless. There are no trees, no grass, and not a single animal. So where did you get the venison you fed us?"

Silence followed.

Vitar stared at him for several seconds without changing his expression. Then a small, sinister smile appeared on his lips.

At that exact moment, a loud crash came from inside the house.

Adrian quickly turned toward the window, and the moment he saw what was inside, his face went pale.

Dan and Grandfather Nicholas had collapsed on the table without moving, while the cups and plates had fallen around them.

"Dan...!"

Adrian rushed toward the door, but he couldn't open it.

At the same time, a sharp dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him. His vision became blurry, and his body staggered backward. He placed a hand against his head as he struggled to breathe.

Vitar remained where he was, silently watching him.

The dizziness grew stronger until the ground seemed to sway beneath Adrian's feet. He placed one hand on his head and used the other to support himself against the side of the house, trying to keep himself from falling.

But his body was slowly losing its strength.

Adrian raised his head with difficulty and glared at Vitar with angry eyes.

"What... did you... do to them?"

The old man's smile didn't change. He simply walked toward Adrian and calmly said, "Don't worry..."

"It's just poison. It won't kill you. It will only paralyze your body and make you lose consciousness."

Adrian's eyes widened as he looked through the window at Dan and Grandfather Nicholas lying motionless on the table. He tried to move toward them, but his legs refused to respond. He fell to one knee and coughed violently, gripping the dirt with all his strength as anger began to rise inside him.

"You... bastard..."

He muttered the words through clenched teeth as his breathing gradually became faster. Vitar noticed the change, stopped walking, and began watching him closely.

Suddenly, thick black smoke started rising from Adrian's body. His hair lifted from the energy surrounding him, and the air began shaking violently. Small stones rose from the ground and started spinning around him.

For the first time, Vitar's eyes widened. He took a step back and silently watched the scene.

The black energy grew denser until it completely covered Adrian's body. He slowly opened his eyes, and the whites of his eyes had turned completely black.

At the same moment, the Flagerum suddenly appeared in his hands as if it had been summoned from nothing.

Vitar was stunned. His eyes focused more on the weapon than on Adrian himself.

"Impossible..." he thought in disbelief. "I saw this weapon lying on the battlefield. How... did he bring it here?"

He continued staring at the Flagerum for a few moments before a smile appeared on his face, mixing curiosity with admiration.

Adrian slowly raised his head. His eyes were cold and terrifying. He tightened his grip on the Flagerum as its seven leather whips began stretching and transforming into their combat form, producing a sharp sound that cut through the air.

Adrian tightened his fingers around the handle and suddenly charged at Vitar without hesitation. The seven whips shot through the air like living creatures. They twisted around each other for a moment before suddenly spreading apart, attacking Vitar from seven different directions at once.

Vitar didn't retreat. He simply stood there, calmly watching the attack approach. Then he shifted his body slightly to the right, allowing the first whip to pass beside his shoulder. He bent down just enough for the second to pass over his head, then turned halfway, letting the third whip tear through the space where he had been standing moments earlier.

The attacks continued without stopping. Each whip cut through the air with a sharp sound, leaving behind a black trail that looked like a small tear in space. Adrian kept increasing the speed of his attacks, trying not to give Vitar even a single chance to counter.

But Vitar didn't even raise a hand.

He moved with calm, measured steps, bending, turning, and shifting his body as he avoided the whips one after another by the smallest margins.

Adrian narrowed his eyes and suddenly pulled his arm back with force.

At that moment, the seven whips turned and came back from behind Vitar, attempting to trap him from both sides.

For the first time, the old man moved quickly.

He pushed off the ground with the tip of his foot and jumped over the whips. Then, for a brief moment, he placed one foot on top of one of them and used it as a platform to launch himself toward a higher rock.

Adrian quickly raised his head and swung the Flagerum toward the rock.

But the attack came before he could even think.

The rock exploded into dozens of pieces, but Vitar had already left it before the attack reached him.

The rocks scattered down the mountain like rain. As they began falling, Vitar caught one of them with his hand, turned his body, and threw it with tremendous force.

The rock wasn't aimed at Adrian.

It was aimed at one of the whips.

The rock struck the whip, knocking it off course and sending it crashing into another whip. The seven whips became tangled together for a single moment.

But that moment was enough.

Vitar suddenly appeared in front of Adrian and pushed his palm against his chest.

The push wasn't even particularly strong.

Yet Adrian's body was sent several meters backward. His feet slid across the rocks before he finally regained his balance.

Adrian slowly raised his head, breathing harder than he had at the beginning of the fight.

Vitar, however, was still standing in the same place. His clothes hadn't even been torn.

Silence settled between them for several seconds.

Then Adrian tightened his grip on the Flagerum once again.

This time, Adrian didn't charge forward immediately. Instead, he began circling his opponent slowly, his eyes fixed on Vitar's feet and shoulders as if he were trying to read his movements for the first time. At the same time, the seven whips moved slowly around him like snakes preparing to strike.

Suddenly, the anger that had filled Adrian's attacks disappeared, replaced by a strange calmness. Vitar, meanwhile, raised the corner of his mouth into a small smile before slightly bending his knees and preparing for the next attack.

Adrian charged one last time, but this time his attack wasn't blind like it had been at the beginning. His eyes watched every movement, every twitch of Vitar's shoulders, and every step he took across the rocks. As the fight continued, Adrian's body gradually became accustomed to the power flowing through him, and his movements became smoother and faster than they had been moments ago.

Vitar moved as usual, trying to avoid the first attack, but Adrian didn't follow him. Instead, he swung the Flagerum in a full circle around his body, sending the seven whips in different directions as they wrapped around the massive rocks scattered across the mountain peak.

The next moment, Adrian pulled the whips with all his strength.

The mountain shook violently. The rocks were ripped from the ground and shot toward Vitar from every direction, trapping him inside a massive storm of rocks and dust.

Vitar jumped over the first rock, kicked the second away, and slipped effortlessly between the third and fourth. But Adrian had been waiting for exactly that moment.

He swung the Flagerum again.

One of the massive rocks exploded before it could reach Vitar, turning into a storm of fragments that filled the sky.

But the fragments weren't the real attack.

They were only a distraction hiding the seventh whip.

The whip shot out from the center of the dust like a black snake and wrapped around Vitar's leg before he could notice it.

His eyes widened.

Before he could break free, Adrian pulled with all his strength.

For the first time since the fight began, Vitar lost his balance.

At the same moment, Adrian charged toward him at a speed he had never reached before. Thick black smoke rose from his body as the sound of the Flagerum echoed across the mountain like the roar of a beast that had just awakened.

Adrian gripped the weapon with both hands, jumped high into the air, and brought it down with all his strength directly toward Vitar's chest.

A massive explosion erupted.

The mountain peak shook violently as a powerful shockwave swept through the area, sending the remaining rocks flying while dust completely covered the battlefield.

Silence followed.

The only sound that remained was the noise of rocks rolling down the mountain slopes.

Adrian stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the thick cloud of dust.

One second passed.

Then another.

Slowly, the dust began to clear.

Vitar was lying on the ground inside a deep crater created by the impact. He remained completely still.

Adrian breathed heavily and lowered the Flagerum to his side, but he never took his eyes off Vitar.

Suddenly, a low laugh came from inside the crater.

Adrian's breathing stopped.

The laughter slowly grew louder.

After a few moments, Vitar raised his hand and placed it over his face. Bright blue cracks appeared between his fingers and quickly spread across his face and neck, as if his skin could no longer hold together.

His skin began to crack and peel away, with pieces falling one after another like an old mask breaking apart.

As the skin fell away, his thin body slowly began to change, revealing another body beneath it—much taller and broader, with powerful muscles bulging beneath pale skin that had a cold gray tone.

Long black hair flowed down to the middle of his back, mixed with faintly glowing blue strands. Two thin horns emerged from the sides of his head, their deep blue color matching the strands in his hair. They curved backward and extended past his shoulders.

His eyes were completely white, with no pupils at all.

He slowly stood up and brushed the dust from his shoulders. His long black coat split apart, revealing dark armor covering his chest, with black plates covered in faint blue patterns. A wide leather belt wrapped around his waist, with torn pieces of cloth hanging from it and moving in the wind across the mountain peak.

He raised his head and looked toward Adrian.

Then a calm smile appeared on his face.

But it wasn't the smile of the old man who had stood before Adrian moments ago.

It was the smile of someone who had lived through countless wars.

For the first time, Adrian realized that the real battle had only just begun.