A hooded man wearing a faceless mask with a strange runic symbols written on it's sides stood behind him. The cultist looked on his back and saw the owner of the cold voice.
"I was expecting one from the light bearers, but I did not expect that the great Balthazar himself would come." The cultist conjured his staff and pointed it towards Balthazar. He then saw a glittering amulet hanging on his neck.
"A warding talisman eh, so you know about our magic. But a mere talisman and potions would not be enough I'm afraid." The rest of the cultist gathered around Balthazar, but the latter did not feel concerned that he is outnumbered and surrounded. Instead he moved closer.
'These lot don't look like me at all' Balthazar said to himself.
"Soon you'll be" Balthazar said as he slowly approach the cultist.
"I'll be what?" The cultist asked.
"Afraid". This made the cultist sweat a little but at the same time mad. A faint light shines on the edge of his staff and a lightning bolt appeared and head towards Balthazar. But the latter easily avoided it at point blank range. 'How?!'
The Lightning bolt was not slow, Balthazar was just too fast. No mage can dodge the speed of that lightning, they can block it with spells of their own, but to dodge it at point blank range. If Balthazar was a master of martial arts, then there was a high chance of dodging it. But he is not.
The cultist quickly jumped away from Balthazar and casts another spell, the spell helps him blink a few distance away from Balthazar. "Not just an expert in alchemy but also in close quarter combat, I'm impress sir Balthazar"
"I do not need your praises." Balthazar grabbed a flask from his satchel and threw it on the ground. A vine started to grow rapidly on the ground and binds a few of the cultist. The remaining jumped away from the growing vines. Balthazar threw another flask towards the cultist that evaded the vines. The cultist reacted quickly and stroke flask that came flying towards him. But after he strikes it with his magic, the flask exploded and fragments of metal flew hitting a majority of the cultist.
"So this is the power of your alchemy, and to see it for myself. Such honor" The cultist who were just watching as his followers were being slaughtered gave praise to the power of his foes alchemy prowess. "But that's it, your alchemy will not match the power that was given to me" the ring of the cultist glowed in bright dark green, then the same aura covered his body. The life force of the bound cultist still on the vined was sucked away by the green light. Balthazar saw this and toss an amulet towards Zaiyan protecting her from the magic. Zaiyen with her hands still bound, crawl closer to Alfred's body.
"Foul magic!" Balthazar saw as the man continued to absorb the life of all living thing that surrounded the cultist, even plants and worms on the ground were not spared. Balthazar subconsciously tried to activate his magic but nothing came out. 'That null magic is still activated huh."
"Now then sir Balthazar, Be afraid of you was it? hahaha, Now it's my turn to say the same thing!" The cultist's masked broke, revealing his face that was remade by his magic.
"Your alchemy. Test it against me!" The cultist declared.
"Test it on you? No, I'm way passed testing phase." Balthazar leap towards the cultist and grabbed yet another flask. The cultist shoots him with a green beam but Balthazar evaded it again midair. The cultist saw an opening, this time, Balthazar wont be able to dodge it. The cultist shoots a green lightning bolt towards Balthazar. But the latter took another flask from his satchel and threw it below him. The blast of the flask launched Balthazar to the air, thus dodging the cultist's attack.
Balthazar throws the flask that he was holding before towards the cultist. "It wont work this time!" the cultist did not block the attack, instead he leaped backwards and evaded it. BOOM!. A smoke screen! he covered his mouth and scanned the area. Another flask was thrown behind him. Another smoke screen! the cultist was getting annoyed by his tricks, so when yet another flask was thrown to him, he did not dodge it this time and stroke it with his magic. When the flask exploded, a blinding light hit his eyes.
The cultist covered his eyes with both of his hands, then he felt a strong pain onto his stomach. Balthazar's kick sent him flying to the other side of the street. Soon he felt that his strength was leaving his body and the green aura that covered him started to fade. 'He tricked me! that was no ordinary smoke screen!'