"You really have a knack for surprises, kid. Cutting off the flow of mana to my magic like that. It's impressive, albeit baffling. Yet, it won't save you. This is where your journey ends!"
With that grim proclamation, Wayde shattered Ryan's expectations. Instead of telekinesis or his family techniques, Wayde delved into conventional magic, an arena where Ryan was at a complete disadvantage.
"You can't cut off the flow of mana to a fireball that's about the blow up in your face!"
Laughing, Wayde unleashed a barrage of explosive fireballs towards Ryan. The young mage scrambled to evade them, the blasts searing his skin and launching him like a ragdoll.
Amidst the fiery onslaught, colossal spikes erupted from the ground. Reacting with agility, Ryan narrowly escaped impalement but still suffered a deep gash on his leg.
"This is just basic Elemental Magic. Did you never even attend a Mage Academy?" Wayde sneered.
Wayde felt as though he secured his victory, and so began to torment Ryan in his final moments. Each time Ryan neared defeat, Wayde switched styles of magic, demonstrating his mastery.
"This is that magic technique that the Water Golem had used," Wayde laughed, conjuring a stream of water that struck Ryan's abdomen and launched him tumbling back.
Blurting out a curdle of blood, Ryan was struggling to draw in enough mana to reinforce his body or evade Wayde's variety of attacks.
However, despite the state his body was in, his mind was working faster than ever before.
Ryan's mind churned - how did the applications of magic used by Wayde and the golems work?
There must also be some sort of authority regulating mages on Earth since Wayde mentioned Mage Academies and different mage families.
That raised another query: what would transpire if he ever managed to return? The caveat, however, was a looming 'if.'
Trying to learn from or replicate the barrage of spells coming his way was futile for Ryan. His body was an expanse of agony, wounds layering his frame. His mana pathways pulsed sluggishly, pleading with him to give up.
Exhaustion tugged at Ryan.
But even as darkness encroached, his spirit remained unbroken.
'There must be a way. Wayde's running low on mana, and maybe I could...'
As if Wayde could read his mind, he laughed. "There's no way for you to defeat me, kid. This is it. I've had my fun with you and gotten you back for that punch. Now I'll end you with an attack worthy of being called the final attack of Wayde Qidius."
Conjuring the last of the mana remaining in his mana core, Wayde merged multiple forms of magic into a single attack. An orb of pure mana began to materialise between his hands as he strained himself to complete the attack.
Elemental Blast!
Ryan was frozen in place, unable to move and hopeless on the precipice of Wayde's imminent final strike. Time seemed to stretch, each heartbeat a drumroll to the inevitable climax. In the grip of this impending catastrophe, memories flickered before his eyes.
'I guess your life really does flash before your eyes.'
In a swift movement, Wayde thrust the orb towards Ryan, and it began to expand exponentially. It was as powerful as an explosive missile, and Ryan doubted he would have been able to dodge it even if his body wasn't in tatters.
But as the storm bore down upon him, a whispered plea echoed in his mind – a plea for hope, a way to survive.
'Is this the end...?'
-
Wayde's ultimate attack surged with overwhelming potency, making evasion or fortification feel futile.
That was if Ryan could even get his battered body to move.
He felt as though the mana around him had become sluggish, no longer responding to his calling.
'Damn it!' The very air crackled with impending devastation.
Inwardly, frustration and defiance mingled as Ryan grappled with his impending fate. Dying so young and so soon after discovering magic was a bitter pill to swallow, even as he tried to accept it.
'I'm can't die, not now...' As the Elemental Blast closed in, Ryan's determination to survive surged. He wasn't prepared to concede to oblivion, not when his life still held countless possibilities.
He couldn't let it end here, in a violent whirlwind of mana conjured by his insane companion turned adversary.
The prospect of falling to Wayde gnawed at his determination.
With the weight of his circumstances pressing down, a wry, yet oddly comforting thought flickered through Ryan's mind.
'I'm the main character, so I'll have some sort of plot armour, right?'
In the face of certain doom, Ryan clung to the fanciful notion that everything would work out.
But no matter how hard he thought about it, nothing was coming to mind apart from...
The Warlock.
'Why does this asshole keep coming to mind?' he cursed internally.
But then it struck him.
'Wait...'
'Is it maybe because...?'
Boom!
Wayde's devastating attack sent shockwaves through the underground labyrinth, its foundations quivering under the assault. The sheer force of the blow carved a chasm into the earth, creating a massive crater that seemed to swallow the surroundings.
In the wake of the cataclysmic impact, dust and debris billowed into the air, enshrouding the scene in an ethereal veil of chaos. Lingering mana sparked and danced, weaving through the haze like vengeful spirits.
Meanwhile, the attack's aftermath reflected on the raggedy mage, with Wayde now stumbling gracelessly to the ground, his strength spent and his magical aura flickering like a dying flame.
"I didn't think I would have to use so much mana against that kid. He was more impressive than I thought. All that's left is to kill that elf bit..."
His muttered thoughts were abruptly cut short by a bone-chilling scream that echoed throughout the underground opening. As the residual smoke and dust began to settle, a figure emerged from the haze, a form crafted from tenacity and sheer willpower.
Ryan stood amidst the destruction, a testament to his unyielding spirit. His once-stalwart attire was now in tatters, each scrap telling a tale of fire and force. His skin bore the scorch marks of fiery assaults, while the toll of Wayde's relentless barrage was evident in the contusions and cuts that littered his frame.
Yet, despite this physical devastation, Ryan's eyes burned with a fervour that defied his battered state. In his hand, a shard of debris had become a makeshift weapon, the jagged edge stained with both his resolve and the remnants of the battle.
Ryan had acted ruthlessly with a resolve that even he didn't expect from himself, thrusting the bloodied spike into Wayde's back a second time.
Meanwhile, the raggedy mage's pained screams painted the air as a discordant symphony of agony and retribution.
For all Wayde's prowess and cruelty, he faltered at the taste of his own medicine, the agony a stark reminder of the pain he had inflicted on others. It was poetic. The tables finally turned on the sadistic mage, his vaunted arrogance shattered in the face of his own suffering...