Chapter 425: Archmage (11)
Slowly, Mordra raised her head.
Her entire body trembled as she lifted her gaze to meet mine, her silver eyes burning with a mixture of anger and frustration.
"Even in death..." she said through clenched teeth, "...that fool still insists on making stupid decisions."
Fool?
My thoughts immediately drifted back to what had just happened inside that strange void. Then it clicked.
Earlier, Mordra had explained that the fragment of Aster within me would resist Drugar if he ever attempted to seize control of my body.
She had just tried to do exactly the same thing.
The only difference was that the fragment hadn’t cared who the intruder was. It had rejected her just as mercilessly.
The realization settled heavily in my chest.
So that was her plan.
She wasn’t simply testing me or trying to intimidate me.
She had intended to take my body for herself because she no longer believed I could be trusted to carry out the responsibility she thought had been placed upon me.
"Bitch..." I cursed inwardly.
The more I thought about it, the tighter my jaw became.
Ariel noticed the anger on my face and immediately spoke.
"We cannot win this fight, Eli," she said quietly. "It’s best we leave."
I didn’t answer.
My eyes never left Mordra.
She staggered for a brief moment before forcing herself upright. Despite the blood staining the corner of her lips and the damage she’d just suffered, the pressure radiating from her presence hadn’t weakened enough to make me believe I stood a chance against her.
"If I cannot steal your body..." she said, her voice cold and unwavering, "...then I’ll simply destroy it and reshape it into one that suits my purposes."
The words had barely left her mouth when I heard it.
CLANK!
A heavy metallic footstep echoed from somewhere behind me. Then another. And another.
I instinctively turned, and the sight I saw made my jaw drop.
The rows of undead knights that I’d seen earlier standing motionless were no longer statues.
One after another, they entered Mordras chamber, rusted weapons gripped tightly in skeletal hands as they advanced toward us with slow, disciplined movements. Their empty eye sockets glowed with pale light, and the sound of steel scraping against stone filled the chamber.
The sight instantly snapped me out of my resentment.
Right.
Now wasn’t the time to let my emotions take over.
Getting angry at Mordra wouldn’t change the fact that I was hopelessly outmatched. Surviving would.
I didn’t waste a single second.
The moment an opening presented itself, I activated [Leap].
The chamber disappeared.
An instant later, I reappeared outside the tomb, the cold air slamming into my face. Before my feet could even touch the ground, I immediately activated [Warp], launching myself far into the sky and putting an enormous distance between myself and the tomb.
The landscape blurred beneath me.
Normally, I would’ve warped straight back to the clan. But I didn’t.
After everything that had just happened, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that Mordra had some way of tracking me. Maybe through the fragment. Maybe through something else entirely. I didn’t know, and I wasn’t willing to gamble the lives of everyone in my clan on the assumption that she couldn’t.
If she followed me...I’d be delivering the danger directly to them.
As gravity pulled me back toward the ground, I activated [Warp] again just before landing, instantly covering another massive stretch of land.
Only after putting even more distance between us did Ariel finally break the silence.
"What happened back there?!"
I let out a slow breath.
"That mad woman tried to take control of my body."
"What?!" Ariel exclaimed, her voice rising in disbelief.
I activated [Warp] once again, crossing another vast stretch of land in the blink of an eye.
The wind howled past us before silence settled in once more.
Ariel suddenly clacked her teeth in annoyance.
"I told you not to provoke her, didn’t I?"
I kept my eyes on the horizon as I answered.
"You also told me the tomb contained treasure and that it was worth speaking to her. So if we’re assigning blame, this is both our fault."
She immediately shook her head.
"No. Her wanting to kill you happened because you couldn’t be humble."
I let out a quiet snort.
"If I’d never met her, none of this would’ve happened."
Ariel turned to stare at me.
"Are you blaming me?"
"No." I shook my head. "I’m saying neither of us made perfect decisions. We both have our share of the blame."
She puffed out her cheeks.
"Yours is bigger!" she shot back.
I clicked my tongue as we continued to fall, then activated [Warp] again before we reached the ground.
The scenery changed in an instant.
Ariel was right.
Maybe I shouldn’t have provoked Mordra.
But even now, I couldn’t bring myself to regret making my position clear. If I hadn’t drawn that line today, then sooner or later someone else would’ve decided my life belonged to them. Drugar wanted to use me. Mordra wanted to use me. The Order had expected me to shoulder a responsibility I never asked for.
I refused.
No matter who stood before me, I would not become anyone’s pawn. Even if holding onto that conviction eventually cost me my life.
As for the trip...
I hadn’t walked away with the treasure I’d originally come for. Instead, I’d gained something far more valuable.
The truth behind the System and Drugar.
None of it was good news, but at least I was no longer stumbling around in the dark. For the first time since arriving in this world, I had a much clearer understanding of what I was truly up against and what I needed to do moving forward.
I activated [Warp] once more. But...the instant I emerged from the jump, every instinct in my body screamed.
Something was behind me.
I spun around without hesitation just as the space behind me distorted, tearing open into a dark portal whose edges rippled like liquid shadow.
Then, without the slightest warning, a skeletal fist clad in battered black armor exploded out of the portal, hurtling straight toward me.