The man managed recover his movement as the raging storm approached. Pointing his sword, symbols on the blade stated glowing in a green light.
The tip of the blade contacted the spell, instantly dispersing it.
Luke was flabbergasted, he could not believe, that he dispelled a 3rd rank magic that easily.
- Was this your desperate attempt to finish me???, you would have work if you didn't resort to wind magic.
The remains of the wind were circling around the sword. The masked man noticed Luke's gaze on it.
- OH, you're curious about this? It was a gift from our newest sponsor, S rank artifact, blade of set.
Artifacts.
Mysterious ancient objects of immense power, nobody knows how they came to exist, only that they are mainly found in labyrinths or ruins. They are less versatile compared to the man-made magic tools, but they are stronger in terms of power, also they never run out of mana.
'I'm almost out of mana and the princess can barely stand up while this guy still has juice to spare'.
He threw a vial of poison along with a smoke grenade, the liquid instantly evaporated, mixing with the smoke, creating a poison fog. The strategy proved to be little effective as the wind spread out from the sword containing the fog in a whirlwind around the blade.
Luke used this opening to grab the princess to escape, he launched a fireball at the blade.
- Nice try brat bu….
*BOMMMMM
The fog erupted into a massive explosion, generating a burst of purple flames engulfing the mask man. along with some nearby trees.
'I didn't believe the guy at first, but it actually exploded'.
When Luke bought his tools, the seller told him that if he combined the poison with the smoke and set it on fire it would result in an intense fire, as the mix of both was highly flammable.
When he asked who made those, seller simply said he got form a mad alchemist but didn't believe when he was told of the effects, and he never tried to confirm.
'The forest fire should call some attention.'
The silver haired boy quickly retreated deeper into the forest, hoping that the flames at least immobilize him.
He looked back, only to spot a burst of wind carrying the purple flames into the sky, it was sign that the man hadn't died.
'Still, I bought some time to plan my next step'.
**
-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Painful screams echoed throughout the forest, at its center, a man engulfed by purple flames moved erratically. Seconds ago, he was making a pair of noble children suffer and now he was being burned alive by some petty little trick.
'I'm going to kill them if it's the last thing I do!!!
Fueled by his rage, managed to grasp a little bit of his conscience, summoning the wind with his artifact, he created a whirlwind, carrying the flames in his body up into the sky.
Once the flames subsided, it revealed his appearance. His clothes were burned in several places reaving his body filled with scars and fresh burns, his mash had been completely burnt revealing his might filled with deep scars as if it had been carved.
His face, now half melted, showed an expression of intense hatred.
- I'LL FUCKING KILL BOTH OF YOU BRATS, YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!!!
**
- Release me…
- Calm down princess, once I find a safe spot, I'll let you down.
Deep into the forest, Luke was standing on top of a tree with the princess on his shoulders. She was badly hurt, but still had some strength to keep punching Luke.
Luckily, he still had some mana left to maintain his body strengthening but it wasn't going to last long.
'That guy must be pissed right now, he is surely looking for us'.
Luke took a deep breath, he got down and returned to running.
A few minutes later, he found a large tree, dropping the princess on the trunk, he took out the rest of his potions. He drank 2 of them leaving one for her.
However, she bluntly refused to drink with a clear disgusted look.
Luke was starting to get annoyed.
-Look your highness, you've got a lot of injuries, this a mana recovery potion, drink it so you can get some energy back.
- I refuse, who knows what you've put in there.
- tsk fine then.
He got a bit closer, she began to crawl back in fear.
-Wh-what are you doing??
He extended his hand, a bright green light engulfed her body, the cuts spread throughout her body began to disappear and her expression became a lot clear.
It took a more mana than expected but he managed completely heal her.
-Better now?
She examined her body in amazement and responded with a simple nod.
He then took the potion he saved for her, emptying the bottle in one go.
Layal looked at the boy with a blank expression.
- What?? You said you weren't going to drink. I'm not going to waste this.
*Sigh
She shook her head and got up, proceeding into the direction they came from.
Luke hurriedly got in front of her.
- Hey where are you going???
- None of your business.
Her monotonous response popped a vein in Luke's forehead.
- That guy is still out here looking for you and he's clearly angry. We either need to keep hiding or work together to fight him.
At that moment, she stopped and turned around to face Luke, with the same condescending expression on her face.
- I see, and why should I work with you?
The silver-haired boy raised and eyebrow ai her question?
-What do you mean?
- You are just a 1st rank mage, you would just be a burden if we fight him, also how can I be sure that you won't try to take advantage of me during the fight?
-Then why would i…
- Yes, you've rescued me twice and healed me which I'm grateful for, but I'm not convinced, you could just be pretending to be nice then capture me for yourself or give me to those kidnapers.
Luke could not believe the word that came out of her mouth. Of course, such thoughts were normal for Layla who had a traumatizing experience with the opposite sex when she was younger.
Luke had some idea of hat happened based on deduction but fought she would be able to make a rational decision and not be swayed by her feelings.
'She knows she can't win alone, and the chaos in the capital hasn't been quelled so the knights won't be coming, right now working together is the best choice'.
He also had the option to use her as bait and run away, but his conscience wouldn't allow him to sleep at night, not to mention the chaos it would cause if a member of the royal family went missing.
- Your highness, if I want to kidnap you I would have done so when your unconscious and if I was working with them I would have attacked you when you were fighting a while ago. I believe that's at least enough reason to..
She bluntly interrupted Luke.
- I decide when its enough! You men are always the same, acting sweet like those in fairytales, but in reality, you are just waiting for me let my guard down so you can have your way with…
*SLAP
-Huh?