The atmosphere grew darker with each passing second, as if the light itself was retreating from what was about to unfold. The air began to stink, thick and suffocating, carrying the scent of burnt magic and decay.
Nyra, Zayden, and Rowan stood side by side. Zayden stood in the middle, gripping his sword tightly. Nyra held her dual-bladed weapon, ice blades circling around her, ready to strike. Rowan stood beside them—without any weapon.
Zayden glanced at him. "Are you going to stand like that?"
Rowan's expression remained calm. "You are the so-called commander of the Legion. I think you will be able to handle all this."
Zayden exhaled in frustration and turned his head slightly toward Nyra. "You handle the four Magisters. I'll take the fifth one—the one with the orb."
Nyra revolved one side of her dual-bladed weapon, the chain spinning with a sharp metallic sound. "I know their tricks. We've already fought them before. You manage the fifth one."
Zayden tightened his grip on his sword and stepped forward. "Then let's finish this as soon as possible."
The fifth Magister smirked as Zayden rushed toward him. At the same time, Nyra leapt into the air, swinging her weapon and launching a barrage of ice knives toward the other four Magisters.
But before the attacks could reach them, a glowing barrier formed around all five Magisters—a shield pulsing with dark energy.
Zayden's sword struck the barrier with full force, but the impact rebounded violently, throwing him backward. He landed hard on the ground, sliding across the dirt.
The Magister holding the orb laughed coldly. "Fools. Did you truly think we would let you trap us with your weak tricks again? This time, you are the ones being trapped. Watch as my Obedient Knight crushes you… until you die."
Anger flared in Zayden's eyes. As he rose to his feet, his gaze shifted slightly toward Nyra, giving her a subtle signal.
Nyra understood.
She swung her weapon and used its momentum to hover in the air. Pointing the spinning blade toward the barrier, she increased its speed. "I think," she said coldly, "the statement you just made is about to prove untrue."
The wind around her weapon began to gather violently. The air twisted and spiraled, forming a massive sphere above them a huge ball of ice encasing molten lava within, glowing fiercely from the inside.
Zayden stood beneath the enormous sphere. He raised his sword toward it. The weapon itself began to glow the spell not cast by him, but already bound within the blade.
A bolt of lightning surged from the sword and was absorbed into the sphere, creating a radiant, crackling layer around the ice and molten core.
The air trembled under its power.
Nyra's voice echoed through the battlefield as she shouted,
"Here you go, bastards."
Cedric's eyes narrowed as the sphere above them roared with crackling energy.
"You're screwed worse this time," he said coldly, his voice cutting through the chaos. Then he turned slightly toward Kael. I guess you should help them. With the presence of that orb, their magic has clearly increased. They're not on the same level we fought back in the village.
Kael kept his gaze fixed on the fifth Magister, the glowing orb reflecting in his eyes. The air around it pulsed unnaturally, like a heartbeat made of pure mana.
"Yes," Kael replied quietly. I'm feeling it too. Something unusual…
His expression darkened.
"I guess that orb is the key. To use it to summon the Knight of Obedience."
After this Nyra shoots the Ball towards the Magisters barrier and behind the ball was the Arrow 5x times bigger as it moves forward. Nyra tilted her face towards Kael saying, "You can make your arrows bigger??"
Kael replies still holding his bow in the same direction saying, "Yes I Can," and then him whispering to himself, "Well… Sometimes."
The ball finally hits the barrier, creating a big explosion. Dust and smoke was all there with a cold air. Nyra, Zayden, Kael, Cedric, Rowan all move their arms to take the blow of the wind.
Zayden says, "Did It Work?"
And Nyra replies with, "That's one of my powerful attacks and binded with your sword Destruction Spell and followed by the Arrow Kael shooted, I guess it should work."
Kael replies, "I Wish It Do," looking towards Nyra.
Then Rowan cuts through the conversation saying, "You should not have used that attack as it is destroying the Northern District and also will scare the people inside it."
As he speaks, the smoke finally is gone and they all see a big crack in the barrier but it started healing as the orb glows more. But before it gets filled again Kael aims an invisible arrow. Without the 5 Magisters noticing it enters the barrier, none of them notices.
And the 5th Magister with orb laughs and says, "As I Said Not this time non of your power will come to any use today u all are weak now infront of us."
The barrier fully heals and all Magisters now hold their hands together. The Magister with the orb moves his hand upwards and they say,
"The One Burdened With the Obedience Shall Summon As The Clock Di—"
Before he could complete the ritual, a blast from inside the barrier erupts.
All the Magisters are blown away. The orb too flies out of his hand.
One of the Magisters manages to stand up and shouts, "YOU Bastards! How Dare You Interrupt Us Between The Summoning?!"
Cedric finally manages to stop the blood flowing from his back and stands up, hovering his hand in the air as his mace appears in his hand.
He smirks and says, How dare us? Lol. We already did once. But you guys keep repeating the same shit again and again.
The other three Magisters forced themselves upright, boots grinding against the cracked stone. The one who had held the orb remained motionless, eyes open but unfocused, the faint glow around his body flickering like a dying ember.
"You will pay for this!" one of them roared.
Mana surged.
One forged a jagged spear of violet light.
Another shaped twin crescent blades that hummed like shrieking wind.
The third summoned a massive warhammer formed from condensed earth and flame.
The last conjured a thin, shimmering rapier that bent the air around its edge.
Without another word, they charged.
They all charged toward their respective targets
Rowan remained standing behind them, watching the battlefield unfold as if he were merely observing a performance. His expression did not change. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying the chaos.
Nyra met the Magister with the crescent blades head-on. She spun her dual-bladed weapon, the chain between them tightening as she swung in a wide arc. A surge of water rose from the shattered ground at her command, spiraling around her opponent before instantly freezing into thick layers of ice that attempted to bind him in place.
The Magister reacted swiftly. With a sharp cross-slash of his crescent blades, he cut cleanly through the frozen mass. Ice shattered around him.
"They are pretty sharp," Nyra said, narrowing her eyes as she adjusted her stance, "but mine are sharper."
She lunged forward again, her blades coated in frost. This time she struck with greater precision, her weapon clashing against the crescent blades with a burst of sparks and frozen fragments.
A few steps away, Kael was engaged with two Magisters at once the one wielding the violet spear and the other holding the thin rapier.
The spear thrust forward relentlessly, forcing Kael to step back again and again. The rapier user moved with calculated precision, aiming for openings in Kael's defense. With little room to draw an arrow, Kael gripped his bow horizontally, using its reinforced frame to block and deflect their attacks. The clash of magic against enchanted wood echoed sharply.
He exhaled through clenched teeth.
They have the advantage… I'm an archer. Close combat isn't where I—
The spear grazed his sleeve.
He twisted aside barely in time, the rapier slicing past his ribs.
I need distance. I need space to think—
Before he could finish the thought—
The ground trembled.
Cedric leapt into the space between them and slammed his mace into the earth. Black and red lightning exploded outward from the impact, tearing through the stone and forcing both Magisters backward. The shockwave disrupted their footing, pushing them several steps away.
"Let me help you deal with these pests," Cedric said, his voice heavy with disdain.
He lifted his mace and rested it over his shoulder, dark energy still crackling around it. The two Magisters steadied themselves after being blown back, their expressions hardened but clearly shaken by the force of the strike.
Kael straightened his posture, regaining his balance as he glanced briefly at Cedric.
As the fight continued, Zayden scanned the battlefield, his thoughts racing.
Everyone's engaged… Nyra, Kael, Cedric…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
But where is the fourth Magister? He charged with the others… I saw him.
His grip on his sword tightened.
He's not here. Did he turn invisible or what...?
That thought lingered in Zayden's mind.
At that moment, the fifth Magister—the one who had been holding the orb before—finally regained full consciousness. His eyes opened slowly. A short distance in front of him, the orb lay on the ground.
His body trembled as he forced himself to rise. He moved unsteadily, wounded and weakened, with blood slowly flowing from his head and nose. His right leg could not remain straight, causing him to limp as he stepped forward.
Despite the pain, he continued moving.
After several strained steps, he finally reached the orb. He bent down with difficulty, picked it up, and slowly moved backward toward where the clash was still taking place.
Rowan stood still, watching the clash unfold before him. His eyes followed the movements calmly as he wondered,
What is Zayden doing? I saw one of the Magisters head toward him as well. Did he finish him already?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he sensed a presence behind him.
Without hesitation, Rowan stepped forward.
The ground where he had been standing shattered instantly.
The fourth Magister emerged from the broken stone, landing lightly as fragments scattered around him. He had not gone for Zayden after all.
He smirked.
"I was noticing you from the beginning," the Magister said coldly. "You're standing still, watching all of this as if it's entertainment for you."
Rowan slowly turned to face him, a faint smile forming on his lips. He folded his hands behind his back.
"How foolish of you to make me your target," Rowan replied calmly. "Now you are the one responsible for your own suffering."
The Magister raised his empty hand into the air. A small seed materialized in his palm.
"You think you can make me suffer?" he scoffed. "Then now I will make you suffer even more."
The seed began to pulse with dark energy. In an instant, it sprouted into thick, black roots twisting violently around his arm. The ends of the roots reshaped themselves—forming grotesque mouths lined with sharp teeth.
"Take this," the Magister shouted.
The root-like mouths extended outward rapidly, lunging toward Rowan.