'What the hell just happened?' Richard's eyes flickered as he tried to comprehend the sight before him.
He was barely able to follow the Skulker's rush toward Prince Kaiser, only for a black scythe to pop out of nowhere and slice through the Mage. It was akin to slicing a thin piece of butter with a really hot knife. The cut was just too clean.
Sighting the Skulker's innards on the ground, Richard had to turn his face away for a second or two and stick his tongue out dryly. That would be his first time seeing someone's insides, even though he lived in the backend of New Orleans.
In fact, today would be his first time to experience a lot of things, excluding the magical powers. For one, standing by the side-lines and helplessly watching someone else fight for him, was a situation he never thought possible. But due to his weak, mana-less body, he had no choice but to stand still.
He was also surprised by Elora's skilfulness and quick wits. If she had to take each men one on one and not collectively, she might have come out victorious in every round.
He heard a soft moan and retracted his gaze back to Elora beside him. Leaning heavily on him, she moaned again with closed eyes, while her hand tried to cover the hole in her forearm.
Richard's eyes dilated and he helped her to the foot of a tree, where he gently sat her down. He pulled off his jacket and tried to tear it, but the leather was too thick.
It was as he struggled to do this that he felt the ground beneath him grumble tersely. Still crouched before the princess, he turned his gaze to the side. He was glad he turned to look in time.
The shadows under the two halves of the blue-haired Skulker, turned a darker shade of black. They squirmed like a thick goo of pool, before rising upwards like a set of razor-sharp teeth. They surrounded each half and bit at them in an instant. Then they sank back to the ground, the halves and organs disappearing out of sight.
Since the body parts that created them were no longer existent, the shadows faded under the sunlight.
'He can even control the shadows of dead people?' Richard questioned in thought. The answer was right in front of him, but it was still too hard to believe.
He was really eager to see what the prince would do next, but another strained moan from Elora stole his attention once again.
"Sorry, I'm trying to rip this jacket, but it's just too..." He turned his head at her and paused as he saw her holding up a black scarf, the Dune's insignia embroidered on it in gold.
He figure she had had tucked it in her coat before they left for the woods. With a sigh, he reluctantly reached for her waiting hand and collected the scarf. They felt really soft and puffy.
He hurriedly moved closer to her and wrapped the scarf around the gaping hole in her forearm. He tied it into a tight knot, prompting a painful groan from Elora.
"Sorry," he muttered in sympathy as his hands hovered over her clawed bicep.
Prince Kaiser looked toward the other Skulker. The latter's brown hair was quite dirty. Some strands were twisted and taut, like spikes.
Noticing his twitching claws, Kaiser sighed, "Don't be foolish like the other one was. I asked a simple question and I need a simple answer. Why is that so hard to understand?"
"We can't tell you what we know. He'd kill us," the trembling Ice Mage said with a raised voice.
"First of all, what makes you think I'll let you live if you don't tell me?" Kaiser scoffed tersely. "And secondly, who is going to kill you if you talk?"
The Ice Mage and the Skulker shared a quick, disturbed glance. They retracted their gaze back to the surprisingly-calm prince, and remained silent.
"They're probably referring to Master Hendrik!" Richard hollered from where he was.
Kaiser hummed and took a glance at the lad. Or rather he checked to see how his sister was faring. He pulled back his eyes and focused them on the Mages before him.
"Mind your business and do what I told you to, Greylock. No one asked you to talk," Kaiser said, slowly lifting his right palm as though he was carrying an invincible object that weighed a ton.
Richard rolled his eyes as he retorted inwardly, 'He's so arrogant. No wonder Maya left him.'
The Skulker's shadow deepened and twirled beneath him whilst rising slowly like a whirlpool. It covered his lower body and he was constrained to a spot.
Agitated and scared for his life, he flicked his head to the side and yelled at his partner, "Are you just going to stand there and watch me get mutilated by my own shadow?"
The Ice Mage flinched as he gave a stuttering response, shifting his gaze from Kaiser to the Skulker in a back and forth rhythm, "But he's the prince. There's nothing I can do."
"Stop talking like a coward!" the Skulker retorted. "You're the strongest among us! Don't be fooled by his royal status."
"Enough," Kaiser raised his hand a little higher and curled it to a tight fist.
The Skulker's twirling shadow developed sharp edges as it rose higher and encapsulated him like a cocoon. What followed were multiple thuds, slashing and stabbing noises, and then a loud scream. The twirling cocoon would elongate randomly from every side as the Skulker tried to break free, but it was pointless.
The struggling and screaming stopped after ten more seconds, allowing silence to waft into the atmosphere. Kaiser uncurled his fist and flicked his wrist downward.
The twirling shadow sank back to the ground and vanished without a trace.
At this point, the Ice Mage could hear his own palpitating heart. He was aggrieved by the loss of his comrades, but the fear of Prince Kaiser was much greater. With his Mana Path, he could probably last a few minutes against Kaiser and even find time to flee, but his emotions and psyche were in complete disarray. This was all under the influence of the Prince's overwhelming aura.
However, he couldn't concede to Kaiser's request. Master Hendrik was more powerful and apathetic than the prince was. Kaiser was stronger than the Ice Mage, no doubt, but Hendrik was a Master. Not only was he decades older, his Mage Path was frightening.
"I knew you were different," Kaiser walked toward the Ice Mage, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Like I said earlier, tell me what you know and I might spare you some compassion."
"I can't," the Ice Mage stuttered, exuding cold wisps of air from his body. He had come to an abrupt conclusion. He rather let Kaiser kill him here with his comrades, than for Master Hendrik to show up and do it himself.
Noticing the white fumes crystallizing around the Ice Mage, Kaiser shook his head in melancholy, "I guess I was wrong."
"Just take her away and leave me alone!" the Ice Mage hollered, condensing the moisture surrounding him into spikes of ice. He fisted his hands, compressing them further till they were as thin as needles. Then he flicked his wrists at the prince.
The hundreds of spikes around him shot forward, cutting through the air speedily.
A small smirk crept up on Kaiser's lip. He removed his hands from his pockets and leaned forward. With a short dispersion of air, he was gone like the wind, charging at the ice spikes head on.
He had no form of protection whatsoever, surprising the Ice Mage. He had expected the prince to defend himself with his shadow or something.
But Kaiser was bored and wanted to show the Ice Mage that one's strength wasn't necessarily dependent on flashy magical attacks. There were other use for magic, like physical argumentation.
Though one wouldn't become as strong, agile or as fast as the Berserkers, it was still a spell that had helped a lot of Mages whenever they were running low on Mana.
Kaiser moved haphazardly across the woods, dodging every spike with fine precision. He scaled through the flurry and caught the Ice Mage by the neck. He didn't stop until the Ice Mage had gone through three consecutive trees.
He halted afterward, pinning the latter against another tree. His eyes turned dark as he glared at the choking Mage, "Start talking before I lose my temper."
"I can't," the Ice Mage repeated, struggling to break free. He shut his eyes close after a few seconds and let out a cold breath.
Kaiser's eyes dilated and he let go of the man's neck, jumping back swiftly.
Icicles jutted out of the man's body, extending for about two metres. The Ice Mage coughed out some blood before his head dropped lifelessly.
Kaiser rubbed his glabella in exasperation as he saw the icicles turn red from the blood that drooled out of the holes in the Mage's body.
'He sacrificed himself by turning the water in his body into ice,' Kaiser noted inwardly, quite impressed by the Mage's skill. 'But for him to commit suicide so easily, is Master Hendrik really that scary?'
Rubbing his chin, he turned and walked back to where he left Richard and his sister. From his Academy memories, he could only remember Master Hendrik as a grumpy old man that was very lazy to teach.
Moving Richard aside with his leg, he crouched before his sister and placed his thumbs on her forehead. He closed his eyes and recited an inaudible spell.
Nothing happened and he groaned, "Why is this so hard?"
'There's actually something that's hard for him to do?' Richard pondered inwardly as he watched Kaiser struggle to cast the spell, whatever it was.
Kaiser stood up after a few more futile attempts. He faced Richard with lowered brows, "You're an Invoker, right?"
Richard simply nodded, rising to his feet.
"Then sing her a healing spell. Even if it's to stop the bleeding," Kaiser nudged his head his head toward his sister before walking away.
"But--" Richard tried to interject but Kaiser paid no attention to him. He sighed heavily and looked down at his classmate. She had lost the strength to open her mouth and express her pain. He had to do something before she lost the strength to stay alive.
He crouched before her once more, channelling the rest of his little mana and singing a simple spell that came to him at that very moment.
Meanwhile, Kaiser had brought out the Fire Mage out of his shadow. But the latter had done the unthinkable. He had burned himself to death with his own flames.
'Is it really Master Hendrik they're afraid of, or someone else?' Kaiser pinched his nose bridge as he thought the situation through.
His ears twitched at the voice of his sister.
"Kaiser..." her voice was quite coarse, but it was better than before.
He turned immediately to see Richard helping her to her feet.
"You actually did it, Greylock. At least you're not totally useless," he said, with no particular expression as he walked over to his sister.
Watching Kaiser lift Elora and carrying her in his arms, Richard rolled his eyes, "I'll take that as a thank you."