Jiro was taken aback by the sudden change. Why had his construct acted against him?
He tried to use his magic to control it, but found that there was a much more powerful force wrestling his control over the construct away from him, and it was winning!
"Argh!" Jiro held his head as a sharp pain flashed through his skull and his connection with the magic construct was torn apart. The backlash was painful and he was barely able to keep it together, but his training from the White Empire kicked in and held him together.
"YOU BRAT!" Jiro held up his staff and pointed forward while beginning to mutter an incantation. Meanwhile, his other construct struck again. The attack was blocked off once more by the converted magic construct that was now getting back up. Its armor was rapidly turning a rust-like shade, and the mana that was within its gaps was turning black and tainted with Dark Magic.
A wide grin uncontrollably spread over Raven's face as he faced Jiro. Now, with the magic constructs taken are of, he could focus all his attention on Jiro.
Whoosh!
Black flames burned over Raven's forearms as a cloud of darkness began to creep upon his mind. He did not notice the subtle changes that began to occur in the depths of his mind, as they were too minute for someone like him without experience to notice.
Fwoom!
Orbs of fire began to bloom around Jiro as his incantation grew heavier and more intense. His gaze turned sharp and he pointed with his hands, sending the orbs of fire hurling forward. They zeroed in on Raven, chasing after him even as he dodged. Occasionally, one would crash into a tree and explode into a flurry of hot flames as Raven used the surroundings as cover.
Swish!
Jiro cut off his incantation and rolled on the floor to dodge the dagger that came flying out of the shadows. His pupils constricted as he realized that the dagger had not come from Raven's position.
'A fake?' Jiro was confused. He had barely been able to react in time. He looked behind him and saw the dagger pinned to a tree that was quickly becoming engulfed in black flames.
'Not a fake! But how?!' He was about to continue his incantations when Raven suddenly switched tactics and dashed straight at Jiro. Jiro grunted in surprise, but he had expected Raven to try and take advantage of his surprise. Thankfully, he was not without a response.
There was too little time for him to chant a spell, but he had some other means to respond instantly to threats in close range. He flicked his wrist and a palm sized medallion appeared in his grasp. He held it up and pointed it at Raven, pouring his mana into it.
"Be gone!"
A powerful gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and struck at Raven. However, instead of hitting him, it passed through him, causing the form of his body to waver and collapse.
'Hiss!' Jiro drew in a deep breath as he realized his mistake. He turned around in fright, but it was too late. Raven loomed over him, and the black dagger that had been embedded in the tree trunk moments ago was now in his hands.
Whoosh!
The sound of the wind parting as Raven swung his hand down sounded in Jiro's ears as he was just barely able to move to the side. The dagger, which should have buried itself in the depths of his skull, was now stabbed deep into the area between his shoulder and neck.
"ARGH!" A scalding, burning pain erupted within Jiro's body as a plume of black flames instantly bloomed from the area. It did not burn him physically, but he could feel something inside of him undergoing harrowing pains.
He fell forward, his upper body flopping weakly against the ground. His eyes were scrunched up in pain as he tried to gather himself. However, he knew that he had already lost. He had managed to dodge the fatal blow, but in the end, he was still at the mercy of this Dark Magic practitioner.
"P-please... Spare my life." Jiro cracked open an eye to look at Raven who was standing over him. At that moment, he suddenly froze as his eyes looked behind Raven. He could see a faint silhouette of some being wreathed in black smoke standing behind Raven. He could not clearly see who or what it was, but he knew one thing!
Terrifying!
The aura he felt from that being was absolutely terrifying! It was so bad that his eyes began to roll up to the back of his skull, but the constant pulses of pain from the dagger stabbed into the spot between his neck and shoulder drew him back each and every time he nearly slipped into unconsciousness.
"A pointless plea. You wouldn't have spared my life." Raven grunted and squatted. As he came closer, Jiro was able to see that Raven's eyes had turned entirely black. He could not see any feature of his eyes like earlier before.
Raven reached forward and pulled out the dagger from Jiro's shoulder. The absence of the dagger immediately caused a copious amount of black blood to spill out of the wound. He examined the dagger for a moment before he held it to Jiro's neck.
"May you suffer eternally." Raven whispered before drawing the dagger across Jiro's neck. He stood up amidst the gurgling sounds and turned to walk away. Around him, the trees and grass kept on burning, the result of the fireballs that had been hurled around by Jiro as they fought.
Jiro could only helplessly look at Raven's back, knowing his fate was already sealed. His eyes slowly lost their light as he gave up hope.
However, in the last moment, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the dark figure from earlier looking down at him. It held out a hand toward Jiro's body. Jiro felt his perspective slowly shift as everything went dark. All he knew was that the coldness of death had truly embraced him.