*clop* clop*
The sound of Alvin's footsteps resonated through the dark tuneel as he advanced. Apparently, he had kicked Lark a little too hard, and the latter had crashed through about two more walls.
Even as he crossed the tunnels through the hole that Lark had made with his body, he was more than a bit surprised to notice traces of metal as well as magical reinforcements within the walls.
At this, one would wonder just how much force Alvin needed to apply to send a human flying through three reinforced walls?! The answer to that was simple. An A-rank's fusion magic was just that strong.
'wow. I knew the guild took this place seriously, but this is....' Alvin thought idly as he approached his target.
The tunnels originally had lighting, but Alvin was now releasing all of his aura without holding back. The fluctuations were enough to shatter some of the magical lighting equipment, making the tunnel dark.
The frosty aura generated from his ice fusion also filled the space with a very eerie atmosphere. Alvin could not see anything in the dark, but he could aptly determine the position of his target thanks to his honed Mana sensing abilities. The light from the other tunnels also seeped into the tunnel from the sizeably large hole in the wall.
Lark slowly attempted pulling himself up. The kick seemed to have dealt more than a little damage to the noble and blood seeped from the corner of his lips. As his eyes fell upon the slowly approaching Alvin, they began to emit an incredible rage. He was glaring at the blue haired ice mage.
"Since you and I don't seem to be capable of coexising. Why don't we settle it right here and now!" Lark spat, bloodlusted.
"I have no problems with that, but how does a weakling B-rank like you intend to fight me?" Alvin asked. At this moment, he was exuding the same overbearing aura of the count. Lark hated this fact and it was obvious from the scowl that refused to leave his face.
Using the walls as a sort of support, Lark slowly but steadily dragged himself up to a standing posture, his hands still gripping at his damaged ribs.
He tried to stand on his own, by leaving the walls and balancing on his own two feet. But the sharp pain resulting from that put an unceremonious stop to his attempts, sending him hurling right back down to the floor whole gripping his injured rib area. He tried this again, but was again rewarded with a similar result—falling down with a pained groan.
He tried again and again, falling right back down to the floor each time he attempted to stand. He could use magic, all fine and good, but he was still bound by his humanly limitations.
He had been hit square in the ribs by an A-rank mage who had enforced his physicals with the aid of fusion magic. No man could painlessly move with a broken rib cage.
The results were obvious from the moment that the two individuals stared down at each other. The gap between a B-rank and an A-rank was far too wide, Lark never stood a chance.
During all this, Alvin had stopped advancing forward and just wordlessly watched on with his frostily cold eyes and indifferent face. It was like he was witnessing the desperate final struggles of a mere bug as his entire expression possessed a feel of arrogance. It was this very arrogance that vexed Lark the most.
'i-it is the same as last time..he is looking down on me again! how dare he?!' Lark thought as he peered at Alvin from the corner of his eyes while kneeling defenselessly on the floor.
A fellow human who had been normal and raised as a commoner was looking down on him like so. He would not ever stand for it! His pride as a noble and man would never let him and this was reflected in the way his venomous glare obtained even more animosity.
He looked utterly blood lusted as a very spiteful memory resurfaced, his eyes practically screamed 'die!' at Alvin as he recalled that one day in the past.
Alvin stared at Lark's sorry figure with his uncaring eyes, and after a few more moments of what seemed like careful examination, he decided to speak.
"Pathetic." Alvin uttered. Not too loudly or too softly, just enough for Lark to hear.
The demeaning words rang in Lark's head several times over as his eyes widened with surprise at the suddeness of the statement. The surprised look soon transformed....no, mutated into an indescribably horrific one.
That was the height of it! He would not take such literally blatant insults lying down!
"Y-you bastard!!" Lark spat. Even more venomously than before as he finally dipped his hand into his pockets to retrieve a black bottle that seemed to be wrapped in a paper talisman.
Alvin squinted his eyes a bit, to get a better look at the small black container which was giving off an eerie vibe. And when he did, a hint of fear permeated his arrogant facade as his eyes trembled a bit.
't-that's...'
Just what was this black bottle that it would make even an A-rank like Alvin feel fear?
Gritting his teeth, Lark gathered enough strength and sat up. His back against the hard cold wall which stood lifelessly behind him.
"I..I did not think that I would have to use it THIS early but, I guess I don't have a choice." Lark said in between hard breaths and slowly brought the black bottle to his mouth.
"Fool! There is nothing to gain from this!" Alvin lashed out. He seemed to recognize the constituents of the bottle, whatever it was.
Ignoring the ice mage's complaints, Lark stuck the bottle cap between his teeth and pulled outward, opening up the formerly closed bottle. The putrid stench of it's constituents wafted into Lark's nostrils, but he ignored it.
Lark gazed at the smelly and suspicious black liquid that filled the bottle and then at Alvin. A smile formed on his face as he took pleasure from the obviously distressed ice mage who was about to take action. Reverting his gaze back to the bottle, he brought the container up to his lips in an attempt to empty it in one gulp. It was taking so long because his injury greatly hampered his movements.
"Idiot! Do you even know what that is?! Are you even aware of the consquence of taking it?!" Alvin yelled as ice Mana began to react with the ambient mana generating a frosty reaction.
"Che...ice spear." Alvin muttered.
The ice began to take form. And in a speed that seemed nigh instantaneous, a spear made purely of ice formed. Alvin's casting speed was already commendable, but it was something else entirely when he was casting that particular spell.
Pushing his dominant leg forward, he assumed a javelin throwing stance. In a Swift motion, he threw his arm forward, letting go of the object which he was holding and sending it hurling towards Lark at breakneck speeds.
*Fwoosh*
*Stab*
The spear flew and stabbed into Lark's arm, painfully penetrating his flesh and pinning it to the wall. But it was already to late.
*Crack*
A cracking sound resonated through the walls of the tunnel as the black bottle fell to the ground and shattered. No substance flowed out though as it had already been emptied.
*Gulp*
Alvin's face became even more tensed as a drop of sweat trailed down his face. Lark had already drank the liquid.
'it happened several years ago. During the dark era when the mage association was still in it's early stages, the contracting of demons and the formation of dark churches and religious were rampant then. It was during that same era when a very influential dark faction known as [The seekers of the end] introduced the drug known as the [Draught].' Alvin recalled as tendrils of dark red lightening began to appear on Lark's body, and a very malevolent aura writhed around his being.
'banned in all the villages, towns, cities and countries in Illustria, the Draught is a drug which grants the user an exponential increase in magical power, but at a cost. The mage association, especially the one hailed as the greatest mage in all of history, saint Charles Xavier fought hard against this particular drug. And by now, it had stopped circulating....or at least, it was supposed to. Just how did he get his hands on this.' Alvin thought as Lark's aura grew more evil by the second.
A dark energy rose up from his being as his body increased slightly in volume. His irises turned a horrific red as veins bulged all over his body, his mouth widened as he let out a deafening roar that could instill a primordial fear into the very soul of any ordinary human.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!!"
The raw maliciousness that was engrained into the mad shout not only made the tunnels tremble violently, but it also seemed to penetrate the tunnels' walls and reach the individuals who were engaged in combat elsewhere.
'sh*t! He actually drank it! I-i don't think I can beat him now.....' Alvin thought. The fight was yet to commence, but Alvin was already falling into the abyss of despair. That was how strong Lark was now, that was how potent the Draught was.
He was now able to throw an A-rank like Alvin into the jaws of depravity with nothing but his aura. It was even worse when looking directly into his eyes. There was no doubt about it, Lark had now become a true monster.
"Aaaaa, that feels much better." Lark said with a seemingly refreshed tone as he stood up and flexed his body in a way that would not have been possible if his ribs were truly broken.
'what the hell....' Alvin thought. He was well aware that the drugs had healing properties, but actually watching it happen was no different from an absolute freak show.
"Alright then..." Lark said, and threateningly jammed his fist together while beeming an utterly mischievous grin.
Mana began to emanate from Lark's body as he cast fusion magic.
Magma suddenly materialized from thin air and wrapped itself around his body. The magma sizzeled and popped in a dangerous fashion, so much that the ground underneath him began to melt and break apart due to the high heat.
"N-no way.." Alvin unknowingly uttered. His shock was justified though as what he was currently witnessing was NOT supposed to be possible for a mere B-rank, even A-rank's could hardly achieve this feat.
Lark had just activated the second stage of fusion magic, also known as [assimilation].
A/N:
Well people, it seems it has finally happened. Ngl, reading for exams as well as writing exams as well as writing a novel is extremely hard. I might fall sick at this rate...
Anyways, special thank to Ifeoma_nora for voting for me with ps. Thanks!!!!