Baston almost forgot about the explosion incident at Prius Academy.
Although he had nearly died that day, the puppet had saved him by blocking the impact of the blast. The memory remained vivid for a while, but as the time passed and the new troubles piled up, the event gradually faded into the back of his mind.
It had been a long time since then, yet the fate had a strange sense of timing.
The unfinished matter had returned, and this time, he had a troubling feeling that the things would not end so easily.
While running through the streets toward the Carpel Inn, his thoughts were filled with unease. If he failed to kill the dark wizard, the quest might remain incomplete forever.
Unlike the previous encounter, he no longer had any reliable support. Back then, the circumstances had worked in his favor, but now, everything depended on his own actions.
As these thoughts circled inside his mind, he arrived near the Carpel Inn. What greeted him was the devastation. After dealing with Viktor before, he thought the guards would handle everything around.
However, he was deeply wrong about his own guess.
The building looked far worse than he had expected. Half of the Carpel Inn had already collapsed.
The broken beams and the shattered walls were scattered everywhere and the remaining structure creaked ominously as if it might crumble at any moment.
The dust drifted through the air like a gray fog. The smell of burnt wood and melted stone lingered heavily in the air.
Baston slowed his steps slightly as he approached the perimeter of the ruined inn. Even from a distance, he could still feel the faint tremor of unstable magic that was rippling through the surroundings.
This was not the aftermath of an ordinary battle.
The explosion magic always left chaotic mana behind but what he sensed now was far more violent. It was as if the very air had been torn apart and crudely stitched back together.
The small sparks of unstable energy flickered occasionally among the broken stones before disappearing again.
For a brief moment, he felt the same chill that he had experienced during the incident at Prius Academy. Back then, the explosion had been so sudden that he barely had time to react.
The memory of that deafening blast and the blinding flash of destruction resurfaced vividly in his mind.
If the puppet had not been standing in front of him at that exact moment, his body would have been reduced to nothing more than scattered ashes.
Even now, recalling that moment made his spine feel cold. Yet, the strange part was not the memory itself. It was the similarity toward the event.
The unstable magical residue that was surrounding the Carpel Inn felt eerily familiar, almost identical to the remnants that were left behind by the explosion at the academy.
If he did not know better, he might have believed it was just a coincidence for both of the incidents.
"Can I kill him?" he thought hesitantly.
Despite the destruction, Baston was relieved to see that the surrounding streets had been evacuated. Most civilians had already fled, leaving only the forces that were tasked with handling the situation.
The dozens of knights and wizards had surrounded a single figure that was standing amidst the ruins. The dark wizard was truly a type of calamity.
From the looks of it, there had already been a fierce clash before he arrived. Although he didn't see any corpses that were lying around, the tense expressions of the knights and wizards told a different story.
They had fought and they had failed.
At the center of the ruined courtyard, the dark wizard stood calmly as if the destruction around him meant nothing. His robes were torn and stained with soot yet the sinister smile on his face remained unchanged.
"Why?" the dark wizard said mockingly, "Don't you want to capture me?"
His voice echoed across the silent ruins, "What are you waiting for?"
"You damn scourge!" one of the knights shouted angrily, "Do you think we won't dare?!"
The dark wizard slowly turned his head, "You dare to scold me?"
A faint ripple of dark magic spread from his hand. The moment Baston saw the spell forming, his pupils shrank. He recognized it immediately and the black sparks began blinking around the knight's body.
"WATCH OUT!"
Before the spell could fully activate, several wizards reacted instantly. They raised their staffs and cast counter-magic toward the knight.
The streams of mana collided in midair. The dark energy and defensive spells clashed violently before canceling each other out. The black sparks flickered and finally vanished.
The knight staggered backward and his face had turned pale. He knew very well that he had just escaped the death.
If the surrounding wizards had reacted even a second slower, his body would have been torn apart by the explosion spell.
The dark wizard clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Tch..."
Even though the attack had failed, his grin only grew wider.
Meanwhile, the encircling forces remained frozen. Everyone wanted to attack but something restrained them. Baston narrowed his eyes because something was not right.
He hadn't been present during the earlier battle, so he had no idea what exactly had happened before his arrival. Without information, acting recklessly would only get him killed.
Quietly, he slipped into a narrow alley nearby. Hidden from the sight, he summoned the puppet from the old book and its body quickly transformed.
Its shape shifted into armor and within few seconds, it had taken the appearance of one of the soldiers that were guarding the area.
The disguised puppet walked calmly toward the gathering troops and blended into their ranks. Then, it approached one of the nearby soldiers.
"Hey…" the puppet whispered, scratching its head awkwardly, "Why isn't anyone attacking the dark wizard? It looks like we're just waiting…"
The soldier immediately smacked the puppet's helmet, "Are you stupid? Didn't you hear his threat earlier?"
The puppet blinked, "What threat? Sorry, it was too chaotic earlier and I didn't hear it clearly."
The soldier leaned closer and lowered his voice, "That damn dark wizard threatened to blow everything around here to pieces if we move any closer."
The puppet stiffened, "What?"
"At first, the captain didn't believe him," the soldier continued, "He ordered an attack anyway."
The soldier pointed toward the destroyed building, "And then, that happened…"
The puppet looked toward the shattered half of the Carpel Inn. It was no wonder there was a huge difference after he went back.
"With just a flick of his hand," the soldier said grimly, "Half of the building collapsed."
The puppet swallowed, "But, this place has protective magic on the structure, right?"
"Exactly…" the soldier nodded with lingering fear, "And he still destroyed it like it was nothing."
He sighed heavily, "That dark magic is completely different from normal spells. None of us understand it properly. In the end, we can only be careful toward such person."
"If we make a mistake," the soldier muttered, "This entire street might disappear."
The puppet slowly nodded, "I see… What is the plan now?"
"We wait…" the soldier replied, "The captain said that the reinforcements are on the way. When they arrive, we'll assist from the back."
The puppet stepped away after that. At the moments later, Baston quietly recalled the puppet back into the old book.
The information he obtained was extremely useful.
Unlike the dark wizard that he had previously encountered within the Xavierius family area, this one specialized in the explosions.
His combat style was simple but terrifying. Anything that approached him would be risked of being obliterated instantly.
He rubbed his chin, "This is troublesome…"
He had to kill the dark wizard but the current situation made that nearly impossible. There were too many witnesses after all.
If he attacked directly, his identity might be exposed. More importantly, he wasn't confident that he could win.
The dark wizard clearly possessed superior mastery over explosive magic. If he tried to fight using similar techniques, he might end up destroying himself instead.
A surprise attack was possible but even that carried the enormous risks. Before he could finish thinking, a cold voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
"You shall die…"
A pillar of flame burst from the ground beneath the dark wizard.
The attack came without warning and the dark wizard reacted instantly. He leaped away just before the fire erupted beneath his feet. The pillar soon shattered apart in midair.
From within the broken flames, dozens of fire snakes emerged. They twisted and slithered through the air like living creatures. It was fast, precise, and relentless.
The dark wizard frowned after encountering such troublesome magic.
The flames chased him relentlessly, forcing him to dodge repeatedly. Because of that, he could no longer concentrate on casting his explosion spells. By then, the same mysterious voice rang out again.
"Knights… Archers..."
The surrounding troops immediately sprang into action. The knights grabbed bows and pulled their arrows back. Their aura flowed along the arrowheads.
"Release!"
The dozens of arrows shot toward the fleeing dark wizard. In response, the dark wizard detonated a small explosion around himself.
The blast knocked the arrows off course but the fire snakes were still chasing him.
"Wizards… Projectile magic…"
Soon, the fireballs, water needles, and wind blades were hurled toward the enemy. The magic attacks rained down from every direction.
The dark wizard quickly erected a magic barrier. For a few seconds, the barrier held before it shattered. The spells struck him directly and the flames from the fire snakes wrapped around his body.
"ARRGHHH!!!"
The dark wizard screamed. The dark energy surged from his body as he desperately extinguished the flames.
When the fire disappeared, his condition looked miserable. His skin had been badly burned and his hair was half gone, but strangely, he was still smiling.
Eventually, Baston felt his heart sink. The dark wizard began gathering a terrifying amount of dark magic.
"This…"
His mind flashed back to the Prius Academy incident. It was the same pattern and the same energy before the worst occurred.
"Is he going to explode himself…?"
Before anyone could react, a figure suddenly appeared behind the dark wizard.
It was a girl. Her movements were calm and graceful. She raised one hand and formed a glowing cube of magic.
The cube instantly surrounded the dark wizard then she flicked her wrist. It rose into the sky and a second later, the loud voice was heard.
"BOOM…"
An explosion occurred inside the cube yet something felt not right. There was no shockwave and no tremor. The cube miraculously contained everything.
When the girl lowered her hand, the cube slowly floated back down. Inside it, the dark wizard was still alive.
Even more shocking, his wounds were gone and the burns had vanished. He looked almost completely healed. An uproar spread among the surrounding forces.
How was that possible?
The dark magic always carried the consequences but this dark wizard seemed to escape them entirely.
The dark wizard attempted to cast another spell, but inside the cube, his magic simply wouldn't activate. He was trapped and helpless.
At that moment, a middle-aged man approached the girl and bowed deeply. The soldiers gasped because the man was well known throughout this city. He was actually the governor of Luminos City.
If someone like him bowed, then the girl's identity could only be one thing.
"What are you all doing?" the governor shouted, "The royal Princess Riquel is standing before you! Show your respect!"
Everyone immediately knelt, "We greet Your Highness, Princess Riquel!"
The princess simply smiled lightly, "It's fine… I came here only for a quiet vacation."
She glanced at the trapped dark wizard, "Unfortunately, such trouble decided to appear..."
The governor sighed, "Even our detection magic failed to notice him. This is truly a disgrace for Luminos City."
Princess Riquel chuckled softly, "Don't be so hard on yourself. As long as the casualties remain low, the situation is acceptable."
While the conversation continued, the surrounding soldiers couldn't help stealing the glances at the princess. She was breathtakingly beautiful and almost unreal.
Baston looked at her too.
At first, it was just his own curiosity. But few seconds later, something strange happened. He couldn't look away. His heart began beating faster and his thoughts became hazy.
Several minutes passed before he finally snapped out of it. The cold sweat ran down his back.
"That's not normal..."
No matter how beautiful someone was, such overwhelming fascination didn't make sense unless something mysterious and unrecognizable had worked silently toward him.
"It's magic..."
Without hesitation, he summoned a puppet and switched places with it. His real body retreated inside the old book. Only after isolating himself did his mind fully recover.
"That girl is quite dangerous…"
Meanwhile, two puppets emerged. One held the old book while the other transformed into a small rat and began sneaking toward the princess.
He needed more information.
If the dark wizard was taken away somewhere, killing him would become much harder.
For him, the best opportunity was right here. But between the princess and the governor, there was almost no opening.
To deal with such situation, it seemed he must do more than usual. He tried gathering mana and a complicated magic began forming within the empty space before him.
"This might cause trouble later but I have no choice..."
For the first time since arriving in Luminos City, he prepared to reveal his combined magic.