Five minutes earlier.
Nova cut through the mist, followed by the thunderous sound of hooves digging into the rocks.
"Faster! I'm sure they are preparing something." She said, her voice carrying her anticipation and fears.
"I'd like to see them try," the dullahan replied, the red light flashing through his visor narrowing. It was the first time this situation occurred, and truthfully, it amused him. After all, since his defeat sixty years ago, no one had approached his living space. Thus, he appreciated this opportunity to ease his boredom by obliterating the two fools.
A few seconds later, he spotted the floating ghost and focused on him, his mount hastening. However, he failed to notice the magic circle imprinted on the ground because of his excitement.
Smirking at their minor success, Adam's voice thundered, "Watch over her, Nova!"
With a nod, she floated away at top speed, leaving the seething dullahan in their trap.
"You dare betray our master?! Fool! Wait for me to return and devour your soul!" He roared, gritting his teeth in anger and gazing at the glowing symbols composing the circle. Yet, the foolish banshee vanished from his thoughts as he felt his strength reduce by a third.
In a hurry, he commanded his horse to carry him out under Adam's widening smirk.
'He is less intelligent than the Doppelgänger,' he thought, his eyes brightening as he gripped his weapons and launched his ethereal body towards the retreating horse.
"Julius, now!" He yelled, signalling the hiding boy to strike to reduce the ghost's strength again.
Alerted by the scream, the Dullahan's eyes scanned his surroundings, the light emitted from his visor acting like two torches in the dim passage. But he failed to find his enemy before it was too late.
"Dragon Fire Flowing Water!" Julius screamed his technique's name, his voice surprisingly coming from under the horse's belly.
Hurriedly, the guardian moved his broadsword to protect his loyal companion from the threatening Luminous Wildblade, hoping it would endure the strike from below. Unfortunately, his moves fell into the duo's prediction.
Rising from a hole, Julius punched with all his strength. Fire and water Qi melded, taking the shape of a raging dragon before colliding and passing through the horse's belly amidst sizzling sounds.
At the same time, the canyon echoed with the loud clinking of metal colliding, followed by an explosion of radiant light.
The horse neighed in pain while its rider endured the blinding light working to devour his dark armor.
"Annoying pests!" The dullahan roared, swiping his sword with enough force to disperse the blast. After a rapid glance, he jumped two meters away, abandoning his heavily bleeding mount. After all, Julius' strike had pierced its belly and burned its organs. He knew the horse was doomed.
With hate filling his eyes, he opened his mouth, "Curse of..."
However, they were well aware of his cursing abilities. In a split second, Adam rushed to Julius and hugged him.
"Curse of Eclipsed Souls." He ended as the Divine warding enchantment covered the duo.
Dark smoke rose and billowed in the mists surrounding them, trying to permeate their body and corrode their souls. Fortunately, the radiant light encasing them held firm, causing the guardian's hands to tremble in fury.
"What if curses aren't working? Necrotic Bolt!" He roared hatefully, pointing his finger at the duo. Responding to his words, a dark green flash of light cut through the mist, aiming to impale them simultaneously.
Julius reacted swiftly, jumping parallel to the ground and kicking Adam. Propelled using his big brother's body as a Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today! Simultaneously, Adam flew back a meter before stabilising himself as the necrotic bold drilled a hole behind their last location.
'That was close!' Adam exclaimed inwardly, an icy shiver running down his spine. Despite losing a third of his strength, the dullahan could launch such deadly attacks easily.
Unfortunately, their adversary was only beginning his counterattack.
Fueled by anger, he followed up with two more dark spells.
"Shadow Binds, Abyssal grip," his voice reverberated as shadows twirled and moved to ensnare Adam. Simultaneously, Julius' shadow came to life and moved to constrict the boy.
Without thinking, Adam hurled his Luminous Wildblade at Julius, causing the unaware boy's pupils to enlarge.
'Is the guardian focusing on me after I killed his horse?' He wondered, realising he was under attack while rotating his body after catching the blade. Swiftly, he plunged it into his shadow, burning the dark spell before it could harm him.
Then, he readied his arm to throw the weapon back. However, what he saw shocked him.
"No!" He screamed, his heart racing in dread as he gazed at the swirling shadows engulfing his big brother's body.
"Don't throw it back!" Adam roared, feeling his ethereal body lose its freedom. However, his eyes narrowed, glinting with a sharp light as he continued. "If you want to play with spells, let me show you mine!"
As his voice lingered, weapons encased in vibrating mana condensed one after another behind him. But he wasn't done yet!
'I'll go all out before the situation worsens,' he thought, materialising his light-blue mana cape before Julius for the first time. Then, he entirely emptied his reserves, causing the cape to dissipate as fast as it appeared. Simultaneously, two giant spearheads materialised, causing the dullahan's eyes to widen.
'That's not an apprentice spell,' he thought in alarm before screaming, "Umbral shield, cursed barrier!"
Shadows danced before him, solidifying into a thick, round barrier reinforced by repelling curses. But, his widened eyes trembled upon witnessing the spearheads spin fast enough to draw all the surrounding mist. Worse, it swirled like a hurricane around them, breaking the binding shadow under the pressure.
"Umbral shield, umbral shield, umbral shield, umbral shield," he hurriedly bolstered his defences, casting more layers of shields until his dark energy ran dry.
'He'll be out of mana after that attack, and the human kid is too weak to threaten me,' he analysed, his lips curling into a sinister smile. 'If you want to play with spells, I'll show you my close combat skills, ants.'