Chương 104: 103. Necro killing (3)

Rayne felt a sharp sting explode across his back. For half a second, he didn't even understand what had happened. Then the pain deepened into something far worse as the mana panther's jaws clamped onto his shoulder blades. Its teeth tore straight through the weakened parts of his armor and plunged into his flesh. Rayne cried out. The creature's weight nearly drove him to the ground as it tried to drag him down, its body made of dense, violent death mana that pulsed every second.

Then Bran shouted something behind him. An instant later, a volley of arrows slammed into the panther's side. The force of the impacts knocked the construct sideways, ripping its teeth free from Rayne's back as it was thrown across the cracked tiles. Rayne staggered forward from the sudden release, pain burning across his shoulders. But he didn't waste the opening. The moment the panther hit the ground, Rayne swung. A wide arc of death mana shot from his blade and tore straight through the construct's neck.

The panther let out a distorted growl as its body split apart. The mana holding it together unraveled instantly, dissipating into the air in ragged strands of dark energy. The construct vanished the next second. But the pain in Rayne's back remained. Warm blood ran down beneath his armor as the wound throbbed violently. He didn't hesitate. With his free hand, he yanked a health potion from his belt and uncorked it with his teeth. He gulped it down in one motion. Warm energy spread through his body immediately.

He knew it wouldn't dull the pain or repair the torn flesh immediately, but with it and [Lesser Regeneration], he wouldn't keep bleeding. Across from him, Valtheris laughed.

"You're dumb if you think that will help you," the necromancer said mockingly. Then something moved beneath his robes. Rayne barely had time to register it before a long, dark shape burst outward. A sharp tendril made of writhing necrotic flesh shot through the air like a whip. It lashed straight at Rayne and struck him before he could react. The tendril wrapped around his waist instantly, tightening like a coiling serpent.

The sudden force knocked the health potion from his hand and lifted him partially off the ground. Rayne's eyes widened, and he reacted immediately, plunging his sword down into the tendril wrapped around him. The blade bit into the dark flesh, releasing a spray of black ichor, but Valtheris barely reacted. Instead, the tendril lifted him higher into the air. Rayne felt his stomach drop as his feet left the ground completely. From his elevated position, he saw something worse.

The cracks in Valtheris' shield were closing. The barrier was repairing itself as the man poured mana into it. Just as he thought to use another [Death Strike], his party arrived. Nate and Kesh charged forward without hesitation. Both of them slammed their weapons into the tendril holding Rayne. Steel bit deep into the writhing flesh, severing chunks of it as the two men hacked repeatedly. The tendril shuddered violently under the assault. At the same time, Fredrick rushed forward toward Valtheris himself.

The noble's blade thrust through one of the remaining cracks in the shield. The strike jammed directly into the barrier's weak point, stopping the shield from closing completely. Valtheris only frowned at the sudden interference. Then his expression hardened and his robes bulged again. More tendrils burst outward from his body. Several of them whipped through the air in every direction, lashing toward Rayne's party like living spears while one shot toward Fredrick, trying to force him away from the shield.

The tendril that lashed toward him tore through the air with frightening speed, but the noble reacted just in time and threw himself to the left. The dark appendage slammed into the stone where he had been standing a moment earlier, cracking the slab apart. At the same time, another tendril shot past him. It struck John square in the chest. The impact lifted him off his feet and flung him several meters backward straight into a cluster of undead that had begun moving toward them from the swarm.

John cried out as he crashed into them, his shield barely coming up in time to stop a rusted blade that swung toward his head. But Rayne couldn't focus on that. The tendril wrapped around his waist tightened again. It constricted like a living serpent, squeezing harder and harder as if trying to crush the breath out of him. Rayne felt his ribs creak under the pressure as the necromancer attempted to break his body in half. He gritted his teeth, having no plans to die out here. Rayne forced more mana into his blade.

At the same time, he pushed mana into his other hand as well, the energy flooding into his muscles as he raised it. Then he plunged his sword down into the tendril. The blade tore deeper into the writhing flesh. And this time, Rayne followed it with punches. His mana-infused fist slammed repeatedly into the tendril wrapped around him, each strike sending small bursts of dark ichor spraying into the air. Below him, Nate and Kesh continued hacking at it as well.

Their blades bit deeper and deeper into the necrotic flesh. The tendril shuddered violently under the combined assault. Its grip loosened, just slightly, but that was enough. Rayne twisted his body and slid downward through the gap. The moment his feet touched the ground again, the tendril snapped violently through the air like an angry whip, trying to coil around him once more. But this time Rayne was ready. He stepped to the side the moment it came for him. The tendril missed him by inches.

Then he swung immediately. His blade cut cleanly across the appendage again, carving a deep gash through its surface and forcing it to recoil. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Then he lifted his gaze toward Valtheris. The necromancer's face was twisted with pure rage now. His tendrils lashed wildly through the air around him, striking at Rayne's party from every direction as if he intended to tear them apart one by one.

Behind the writhing mass of dark flesh, the shield around him flickered. It had almost repaired itself. Only three cracks remained in the barrier now—three narrow openings where Fredrick's blade and Rayne's earlier strikes had damaged it. He knew they had no time left. The cracks in the shield were already beginning to mend again, the dark mana stitching them together piece by piece. If the barrier sealed completely, they would lose their only chance to kill the necromancer.

"I'll break the shield!" Rayne shouted at once.

"Keep the tendrils at bay!" Before anyone could respond, he moved. He charged forward, pushing death mana into his blade as he prepared another [Death Strike]. The weapon trembled violently in his grip, but he kept his eyes forward. Two tendrils immediately shot toward him. They moved like striking snakes, twisting through the air as they lunged to grab him again. But Kesh intercepted the first one. He rushed in from the left and swung his sword in a brutal arc.

The blade bit deep into the tendril's surface and forced it to recoil. The second tendril came from the other side. Fredrick stepped forward to meet it, bracing behind his shield. The writhing appendage slammed against the metal with a heavy thud. Instead of retreating, the noble pushed forward. His shield forced the tendril downward, pinning it momentarily against the cracked stone. That was all the opening Rayne needed.

He vaulted over the pinned tendril, landing on the cracked slab ahead just as Valtheris tried to pull the shield together again. The necromancer's hands moved quickly, dark mana pouring into the barrier. But Rayne struck first. The arc of [Death Strike] shot forward and slammed into the weakened barrier. More cracks spread instantly across the surface, and a hole appeared as the barrier fractured further and the mana dissolved into the air. It wasn't large, but it was enough.

Rayne lunged forward immediately and forced himself through the opening. His upper body passed through the broken shield first, but the edges of the barrier burned against his legs like scorching fire. Pain shot through him as the mana tore at his armor. Rayne stumbled and hit the ground face-first. A crackling sounded ahead of him, and he rolled just in time. Lightning exploded downward where he had been a heartbeat earlier, the bolt smashing into the ground with enough force to shatter stone.

Rayne pushed himself up onto one knee and looked forward. Valtheris stood a few steps away, his ring glowing again. The next bolt came almost immediately. Rayne thrust his blade forward to block it. The lightning struck the weapon, and for a moment the sword held. Then, as he watched, the metal cracked. Fragments of the blade broke apart under the impact and clattered onto the stone floor. Rayne's eyes widened. A hollow feeling settled in his chest as he looked at the ruined weapon.

He had known the sword was already at its limit after forcing so much mana through it. But he had expected it to last at least until the fight was over. Valtheris saw the broken blade and smiled coldly.

"Now you're truly going to die," he muttered. Another spell matrix formed in his hand as the ring glow dimmed. Rayne forced himself back to his feet just as the necromancer released the attack. A bolt of death mana shot toward him, and he sidestepped at the last possible moment. The spell slammed into the weakened shield behind him, cracking more of the barrier apart with the impact. Valtheris growled in frustration. But before he could gather another spell— Rayne rushed him.

The necromancer's eyes widened in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected Rayne to close the distance without a weapon. Valtheris raised his hand again and created a smaller bolt of death mana. Rayne didn't stop. Instead, he pushed up the metal bracers covering his forearms and charged straight through the attack. The bolt struck him. It slammed into the raised bracer with a violent burst of energy. Pain shot through his arm as the metal heated instantly, but the armor absorbed most of the force.

Before Valtheris could react further, Rayne closed the distance. He pushed more mana into his fists, feeling the familiar burn travel through his arms as the energy gathered around his knuckles. Then he swung. His fist collided squarely with the necromancer's face. The impact rang through the chamber like a hammer striking metal. Valtheris's head snapped sideways and his entire body was thrown backward, sprawling toward the throne behind him. His skull slammed against its edge with a dull crack.

For a brief second, the tendrils writhing from his robes shook violently. Then they fell limp onto the ground like dead snakes. Rayne didn't waste the opening. He stepped forward immediately and grabbed Valtheris's right hand, the one covered in rings. The metal bands gleamed faintly with lingering mana. He tried to pull them free, but Valtheris moved. With his left hand, he suddenly grabbed the sword resting beside the throne and shoved it straight toward Rayne's chest.

Rayne reacted on instinct and caught the blade with his mana-infused hand. The metal bit into his palm, but the mana coating his skin held it just enough to stop the strike from going deeper. The two of them locked there for a moment. Rayne's left hand held the sword back while his right hand struggled with the necromancer's fingers, trying to tear the rings free. Valtheris gritted his teeth, his face twisted with fury and panic as he pushed against the blade.

But for all his earlier magical display, the necromancer was nowhere near Rayne's physical strength. Rayne twisted his arm. Valtheris's grip broke immediately and he cried out. The sword slipped from his hand and clattered onto the stone floor. The very next second, Rayne yanked the rings free from the necromancer's fingers. All four of them came loose at once. Two of the rings slipped from Rayne's grip and bounced across the stone floor. The other two he quickly stuffed into his pocket.

The moment the rings left Valtheris's hand, the dark shield surrounding the throne vanished instantly. Rayne heard hurried footsteps behind him as the rest of his party finally reached the throne. But he kept his focus on Valtheris and reached for his throat, ready to end him. But just as his fingers closed around the man's collar— Valtheris's eyes suddenly glowed. Rayne's instincts screamed, and he stepped back immediately.

A second later, the veins along the necromancer's left arm turned darker and bulged violently. Then it exploded. The blast erupted outward in a burst of blood, bone, and death mana. Rayne was thrown backward. His body slammed into someone behind him before both of them crashed onto the stone floor. Smoke filled the air instantly, thick with the stench of burning flesh. Rayne groaned as pain spread through his body.

His chest burned where something had struck him during the explosion, and when he touched the area he felt something wet. But he barely paid attention to it. There was no moment to do so with his mind racing. How could a hand just explode like that? Was Valtheris even human? Even as the thoughts spun through his head, Rayne forced himself upright. He needed to confirm the man was dead. Only then could he relax. The smoke slowly thinned as he looked around the platform.

His party members lay scattered across the ground, some groaning as they tried to get up. Fredrick was sprawled near the throne, clutching his shoulder. But Valtheris wasn't there. Only blood and fragments of his arm remained on the throne. Rayne's eyes narrowed as he scanned the chamber. Then he saw him. Valtheris was running. The necromancer staggered across the chamber floor, heading toward one of the open doors on the side. Blood poured from the stump of his missing arm, leaving a trail behind him.

Rayne frowned. A part of him just wanted to rest, recover, and let someone else handle it, but there was no one besides him, and Captain Edran had given him the responsibility to kill him. Hence, he took a breath and chased after him.

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