(In Ancient Lorrelith) "...Restless spirit... shadow beyond this world..."
Facing the ghoul and "Lohak" charging at him from left and right like twin calamities, Leon hastily recited his incantation. His voice, tinged with panic, grew more rapid and less composed with each word.
The magic circle's range was still too small—barely ten meters in diameter, a distance crossed in mere seconds. The towering undead warrior was the first to charge forward.
Leon didn't dodge; in front of him lay another pre-dug trap.
The heavy footsteps of the ghoul knight struck the thin vine-covered net, instantly giving way beneath it. The knight fell with a clatter of armor, landing in the pit. Its upper body sprawled awkwardly at the edge of the hole.
Seeing the hulking undead knight fall, Leon barely had time to feel relieved when, with a sudden rush of wind, a black shadow loomed large in his vision.
What?!
There was no time to react. Although he instinctively turned his head, the incoming object still struck his shoulder with terrifying force. Leon cried out in pain, losing balance and toppling backward.
The moment he hit the ground, his shoulder throbbed as if struck by a cannonball, sharp pain spreading as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. It was only then that Leon noticed the object that had hit him.
It was the severed head of a living corpse—previously carried by Lohak.
But that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was that his nearly completed incantation had been interrupted!
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Leon rolled away instinctively, quickly tumbling twice to the side before standing up and looking ahead. The sword-wielding Lohak was already closing in, mere steps away.
In panic, Leon could only retreat frantically. Fortunately, Lohak, mid-swing with a fierce slash, suddenly tripped over something and fell hard to the ground.
Seizing the moment, Leon dashed madly past the fallen Lohak, sprinting toward the other side of the magic circle.
The banishing rune incantation had to be completed quickly, or all would be lost.
As he ran back into the circle, Leon caught a glimpse of what had tripped Lohak—one of the undead knight's hands had reached out from the pit, grabbing Lohak's ankle.
The undead, half-submerged in the trap, used Lohak as leverage. It braced against the edge and kicked off the dirt walls with its feet. The boy's body was dragged backward, and with a heavy leap, the armored ghoul knight launched itself out of the hole, pulling Lohak along.
The knight landed with a resounding thud and, wasting no time, swung its sword at the prone Lohak.
To the maddened undead, even a demon host was still a living, breathing creature.
Clang!
The deafening clash of metal rang out. Lohak, his body now tainted by the Rage Demon's corruption, caught the knight's overwhelming blow with a reverse grip. His inhuman strength twisted the undead knight's blade aside, exposing its torso.
Lohak's instincts took over as he pivoted his sword with feral precision, driving it into the knight's chest.
Clang!
The sword struck the knight's breastplate, the tip shattering under the force, but the blow sent the ghoul staggering backward. The knight retreated several paces before regaining balance, its dented armor bearing a crater-like mark where Lohak had struck.
The immense force not only dented the armor but twisted Lohak's right wrist into an unnatural angle.
Fueled by unyielding rage, Lohak's blood-red eyes glared with hatred. The vile power coursing through him rapidly snapped his wrist back into place, emitting a chilling series of cracks. Rising from the ground with a hunched, demonic posture, he exhaled heavily, bloodied saliva dripping from his fang-like teeth.
"Die!—All of you, die!!!"
With a guttural roar, Lohak charged, his blade—chipped and oozing blackened ichor—slicing through the air as he hurled himself toward his enemies. To his blood-mad eyes, the ghoul knight was no longer an undead foe; it was one of the loathsome Cantadar raiders.
The undead knight instinctively shifted into a defensive stance, its skeletal reflexes raising its ornate sword.
It held its blade upright, positioning the tip toward the raging boy's advance.
Unwittingly stepping into the knight's sword range, Lohak brought his broken weapon down in a ferocious arc, intent on cleaving the "murderer" in two.
But the ghoul knight moved with surprising agility, sidestepping the attack and shifting its blade in a sharp thrust.
Screech!
Sparks flew as Lohak barely managed to parry, his crude technique clashing against the knight's calculated riposte.
The exchange wasn't over yet.
Had the knight been alive, its next move might have been a clean, precise follow-up, ending Lohak with a single cut.
But driven solely by physical memory, the undead shifted into rigidly mechanical swordplay, using its crossguard to push Lohak's blade aside and drive forward. Its blade angled downward in a deadly arc, aimed for Lohak's neck—
Barely in time, Lohak managed to twist his body and raise his sword horizontally to block.
Blades locked, the clash erupted in a fierce metallic screech. But the difference in height and strength left Lohak struggling, his blade gradually pressed downward by the knight's superior force.
Sensing his opponent's unstable stance, the ghoul knight suddenly raised its sword and drove a brutal knee into Lohak's midsection.
The blow forced a guttural cry from Lohak as his body froze momentarily. But the knee strike was only the prelude to a crushing overhead slash.
Boom!
The devastating impact drove Lohak to his knees, the ground beneath him cracking from the force. His legs snapped under the strain, yet the corrupted strength of the demon's host barely held him together.
Though badly wounded, Lohak roared in defiance, his body a twisted, monstrous vessel for the demon's fury.
Releasing his grip on the sword, Lohak grabbed the knight's greaves with clawed hands, his inhuman strength yanking the undead off balance.
With a loud crash, the armored knight fell to the ground.
Lohak lunged like a feral beast, wrenching the embedded sword from his own shoulder as the undead knight flailed.
Before the ghoul could recover, Lohak's savage strength drove the sword deep into its armor, cleaving through a joint. With a guttural howl, Lohak ripped the knight's right arm off entirely, the severed limb clattering to the ground along with its sword.
Yet his reckless strength left him vulnerable; as Lohak staggered sideways, the ghoul's remaining fist delivered a bone-crushing blow, slamming the boy to the ground.
Despite his monstrous power, the weight of the knight's armor and its undead strength still outmatched Lohak's corrupted frame.
The knight seized its chance, grappling Lohak from behind. Its knee pressed into his back, its armored boot pinning his sword arm, and its gauntleted hand gripped his throat.
A slight twist, and it would all be over.
The ghoul's ghostly eyes flickered with dark glee as it prepared to crush the life out of its prey.
—Until a cold gleam flashed through the air.
Azerian, holding the knight's ornate sword, struck from behind with a decisive slash.
The knight's head flew from its shoulders, landing with a dull thud.
The sudden decapitation halted the undead's movements.
It didn't die but lost its sense of connection to its body. Confused, the ghoul instinctively reached for its severed head, searching in vain.
The brief pause allowed Lohak to break free from its grip.
Azerian wasted no time reveling in his success. Realizing the danger of his demonic companion, he wisely turned and fled.
Lohak snarled, tossing the headless ghoul aside. Blinded by rage, he swung his sword mercilessly, reducing the undead to a pile of shattered armor and dismembered limbs.
At last, Leon finished reciting the final words of the banishing rune's incantation.
Brilliant light erupted from the circle, glyphs ascending into the air to form a luminous barrier.
The half-demonic boy, standing amidst the ruins of his enemy, turned his blood-stained eyes toward the glowing runes beneath him.
The demon realized the trap too late.