Chapter 137 - Shadow Warlock

The shielders lay around the room in a defeated state. In a single attack, their line of defence had been obliterated and left Adder and the warriors he commanded, out in the open.

The shadowy figure let out another deep sigh. “Humans are as weak as I remember, I suppose there won’t be any time to test my new spells. I’ll end things quickly and return to my studies.”

He raised a hand and a large magic circle appeared over his palm, it shone with a dazzling red glow and summoned a single flame at its centre.

“Spirit of Wrath, heed my call and bring out an almighty flame to destroy these humans. Scarlet Inferno.” He stated plainly.

“That chant…it’s just like the magic we use?” Adder observed.

With a single wave of his hand, the flame at the end of his floating pentagram came to life. It flickered with a lively flutter and burst forth as a beam of fire.

Adder's eyes widened as the potent glare of mana shot towards his ranks. He waved his arm and with a commanding tone, screamed for his shielders to take cover. “FALL BACK!”

The beam of fire decimated half the adventurers in its way and carved its fiery mark into the Tower's surface. The large open space they had been fighting in was enveloped with steam from the blast. The ground was littered with cracks and a path of burning red magma remained.

Adder’s mouth hung open but his attention was stolen by the tepid tone of the shadowy mage. Three large magic circles appeared around him as his hand rose into the air.

“T-three…?!” Adder panicked.

He balled his fists and let off a furious expression as the magic circles aimed at his group. They lit up with the powerful glow of the sun and continued to shine as the mage cast out his next attack.

“Spirit of Wrath, heed my call once more and destroy–” The mage's chant was cut short by a sudden blur of speed.

He was amid a chant and didn’t have enough time to counter, as he stopped and attempted to change his chant, a thin silver blade pierced his arm and purple blood ran down his sleeve.

“Blood? He actually bled from that, what’s going on?!” Adder questioned.

Olivia had landed an attack on the mage, the first attack on him since the fight began. She gripped the handle of her sword and drove it further but the ends of the mage's robe flew around her.

The moment his robes moved, the magic circles above him faded away.

Adder watched as the fierce struggle unfolded. The wicked scowl on his face shifted into a nervous grin as the magic circles disappeared. He gripped the sides of his head as a realisation made its way through his mind.

“I see…so that’s how it is then.” He muttered.

Olivia pulled back, she released her sword from the shadowy spectre's arm and the ends of his robe turned its attention from Olivia to him. The ends of his robe wrapped around him and in an instant, he was surrounded by its endless coverage. A massive shadowy ball was all that remained.

“He’s protecting himself, don’t give him the chance to recover!” Adder suddenly turned and faced the woman behind him. “Lily!” he called out.

Lily, who had been supporting from the rear suddenly snapped to attention and was given a fright. “Y-yes uh…yes sir!”

“Light magic, cast it at that sphere to draw him out! As much as you can.”

“Yes sir, right away!” She responded.

A magic circle appeared in the air in front of her, it exuded a powerful golden light as the intricate details and patterns inside its ring formed.

“Spirit of Envy, heed my call and deliver a just sentence on this monster…with everything I have, I beg of you to defeat it! Luminous Beam!”

The details of her magic circle were complete and expanded out to a size larger than her body. Her eyes twitched and every part of her body had been taxed by the burden of its power left her weak in the knees. After a slight stumble, she regained her composure and aimed the magical circle towards the shadowy sphere at the centre of the room. She poured everything she had into it and a powerful beam of light was born.

The beam struck the sphere and cut through its surface like butter. From its destroyed husk, a man wrapped in purple robes with long hair fell from the air and hovered down to the floor.

“This is why I’m not suited for battle at all…Ilinore really shouldn’t have insisted like that.” He muttered.

The shadowy figure patted off the dust and marks from his robes and adjusted his hood back over his head. His gaze gravitated to the many swords, axes and spears that surrounded him from every angle.

“We know you’re not human but who…no, what exactly are you?”

Adder walked through the crowd of adventurers and stood behind the perimeter of weapons aimed at the shadowy figure. He aimed his finger at the demon and summoned the scariest expression he could.

“I’m a demon. Larc, the shadow warlock.” The mage replied.

Adder, as well as everyone else in the room, looked at the mage with wide eyes. Countless murmurs were shared between the warriors as soon as the words left the demon's mouth.

“So it’s true, you’re a monster able to speak human tongue.” Adder’s eyes sharpened. “Why did you answer that so easily? Do you not understand what position you’re in, monster?” Adder asked.

Larc’s apathetic stare remained unattached from Adder, it constantly drifted from person to person as if it were some pastime for him to entertain himself with.

“I understand well, you are the humans, this is the Tower and you all…will meet your end soon,” Larc stated calmly.

Adder’s teeth clenched down harder but right before he could say anything, Larc finally showed a sign of life in his expression. His eyes shot towards the tunnel entrance, the one he had been guarding the entire time.

‘Eshnar’s released her full power, already? It seems my time here has come to an end, not that it matters much to me. These humans won’t be much of a threat with the barrier still up.’ Larc thought.

The mage's body melted into the shadows and slipped past their feet, he rushed to the end of the room by bouncing from shadow to shadow until he appeared on the other side of the magic barrier.

“This should stop them enough for me to aid Eshnar in escaping. Sigh…I don’t understand you at all my master, why did you allow that beast woman into our ranks in the first place?” Larc pondered as he floated further into the tunnel.

Adder turned his sights on the escaping mage and formed a tight fist on both sides of his body. “Damn it!” He cursed.

Olivia shot to the barrier and slammed her fists against its solid build, a wave of light pulsed out from around her fists but the barrier hadn't weakened in the slightest.

After throwing a few punches to the wall of magic, her knees bent and she knelt in front of it with her head lowered.

“Rei…!”

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Author Notes:

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