"What?" Kaedros demanded sharply, his expression turned cold as he looked at the Keeper. "We are going to do what?"
"What is he saying again?" Taria asked, already wary.
"Something about fighting to the death," Rauk replied dryly. He was already tired from everything that been happening.
The Keeper grinned, metal fangs gleaming. "What are you afraid of? I’m very small. You could probably bend me with one hand and melt my body."
"You just said you’ve killed thousands like us before," Taria shot back, spear still ready. "And looking at you, I don’t think that’s a lie. So what are you really up to."
"That’s an exaggeration! Exaggeration! Exaggeration!" the metal thing crackled. The Keeper continued. "Don’t you want food and water? It’s inside, but first, you must fight me! Only then will you get what you want!"
They exchanged tense glances. If what the Keeper said was true, then food and water waited inside, but what else was in there? And more pressingly, how strong was the Keeper?
Kaedros, however, knew the truth, they had no choice. What else could they do? It was obvious from the beginning that something wanted them there...or him, in the first place.
The aura he was feeling around was the same as when his core was changed.
"What will it be, hmm? What?" The Keeper tilted his head, voice too eager. Kaedros had the sudden suspicion the creature wanted them to fight.
Or perhaps... it wanted them inside and was trying to bait them.
"Alright," Kaedros said firmly after a while. "We’ll fight you."
The Keeper let out a subtle breath of relief, flicking a nervous glance toward the castle behind him. "I accept your challenge."
"Are you sure about this, Kael?" Taria asked, stepping forward, placing herself in front of the group.
She used her technique and her body surged with energy, her stance sharpened, and her spear shimmered faintly with power. "I have recovered a little."
Kaedros raised his brows at her reaction. What exactly was she planning to do? Fight it alone?
"We need food. And we need somewhere, anywhere, to regroup and plan," Kaedros replied flatly, summoning a glowing fireball to his palm.
He glanced at Rauk, then he moved closer to whisper something to the two of them, they also talked to each other. "Ready?"
Rauk’s eyes turned storm-grey. "I am."
Taria launched first, legs pulsing with strength. She struck like lightning, bringing her spear down toward the Keeper’s flaming socket.
The Keeper didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he caught her spear, with one hand and lifted her like she weighed nothing, before slamming her into the ground with a clang, the ground cracking beneath her and a pained huff leaving her mouth.
Kaedros hurled his fireball at the statue, forcing it to dance back and avoid the impact.
"You alright, Taria?" he called, sending more flames to keep the Keeper at bay.
Taria groaned, rising slowly. Her waist ached, and her pride stung worse. "He’s stronger than he looks," she gritted out.
Kaedros could see it too.
The aura surrounding the statue was dense and coiled, more than enough to kill them outright. He already guessed that it was rank four or above.
And yet... it hadn’t killed them In a single breath.
"Ready?" Kaedros asked again.
Rauk nodded in focus, his eyes filled with concentration.
Kaedros hurled two fireballs to the left of the Keeper. It dodged right, exactly as planned, into a small spatial tear Rauk had been weaving.
"Got him!" Rauk grinned and fed more mana into the small rift. It was barely the size of a coin, but perfect for what came next.
A grey-rusted spatial chain coiled out and snapped around the Keeper leg, locking tight into the ground.
"What is this?!" the statue shouted, tugging violently. But the chain held fast.
"What’s that?" Taria asked.
"Spatial technique," Rauk said smugly. "My mana cultivation and path is All Spatial. I can do all things spatial, including binding space itself. And at high ranks...."
Taria’s eyes narrowed. Typical nobles and their high-tier paths ... while she was given basic spear mana cultivation.
"Good job," Kaedros said calmly, beginning to gather his true spell.
Flame spiraled from his palm and compressed. He shaped it with will and focus, slowly forming a dense, spinning arrowhead of burning fire the size of a child’s skull.
Taria stepped back as the heat intensified around them. "What is that?" she asked, shielding her face from the growing glow.
"A spell," Kaedros said. "My signature style, high compression. Small spells. Big impact." The arrowhead pulsed with barely-contained force, hovering above him.
He glanced over. "Taria, you’re not using your technique well. Concentrate everything at the tip of your sword and then strike!"
Taria blinked, confused. She backed away, joining Rauk. They both watched as Kaedros stepped toward the struggling statue.
She mulled over his words. "To the tip?"
Kaedros stopped eight feet from the Keeper. The fire arrow hovered beside him. "I know you’ll survive this."
Then he released the spell.
The arrow screamed through the air and struck.
The resulting explosion of compressed flame shattered the fog and cast light across the landscape, momentarily pushing back the surrounding dark.
Rauk winced, shielding his face as his spatial chain disintegrated in the blast. He turned to Kaedros, suspicion dawning.
This guy isn’t a newbie. He might look inexperienced. but that spell carried the weight of someone much, much higher. At first he thought he was hiding his stage within rank one but now....he wasn’t so sure.
Who was Kaedros really?
Taria stepped back with Rauk as the heat surged. But Kaedros remained still, holding the fire at bay with his will, he realized that using the other aspects of the Light of Annihilation comes easily to him.
"Are you dead?" Kaedros called out.
The fire still burned, but a voice emerged from within. "Oh. Such power in a simple spell. If I weren’t made of metal, I’d be ashes by now."
The voice chuckled softly. "This is the first time I’ve seen such weak candidates... actually work together. That’s rare."
Kaedros winced slightly. Being called weak still stung. Even if it was true compared to beings like the Keeper.
"We’re not candidates. We don’t—"
He pulled up a hasty light shield around himself.
Something slammed into him like a hammer and sent him flying across the field.