"Liam! You still had energy left?!" Arlene asked, her voice a mixture of surprise and relief.
"N-No, it's not me..." Liam replied before collapsing to the ground, his body drained of all strength.
His words left everyone puzzled, but before anyone could question further, the sound of footsteps echoed behind them as Arlo slowly walked past, making his way to the front of the barrier.
"Ha..." Arlo sighed inwardly before turning to face the group, his gaze hollow and determined. "Decide now if you want to live… Do you swear to keep everything that's about to happen to yourself?"
"Huh?" Arlene blurted out, with a confused look. "What're you-"
"I swear," Argus responded quickly, his voice firm and resolute.
"I also swear," Alexander added, his tone equally steadfast.
"I don't know what's happening, but... I swear too..." Liam muttered from the floor, struggling to catch his breath.
"Arlene." Arlo called out to her, his gaze cold and unwavering.
Startled by Arlo's sudden change in demeanor, Arlene flinched. "What's with you? Why are you looking at us like that?" she demanded.
Arlo seemed unaware of the cold expression he wore until she pointed it out.
"Ah... right. Sorry. I remembered something unpleasant..." Arlo slowly turned around, his eyes fixed on the flames crashing against the barrier. "My last party died, you see... I should've died with them but instead of helping them, I ran. I ran for my life..."
Arlo lowered his head, staring at the open grimoire in his hand before continuing. "I don't want to run away again... so I'll ask one last time. Do you swear?"
After hearing this, Arlene unclenched her fists and responded. "...Fine, I swear."
"Alright, then just sit tight in here," Arlo said as the surge of flames continued to pass around them.
The group watched in astonishment as the barrier split into two the moment Arlo stepped out, a smaller barrier enveloping him as he disappeared into the sea of flames.
Inside the raging inferno, Arlo glanced back in the direction he had come from. The flames obscured his view of the others, just as they were unable to see him.
'Those guys still haven't realized that what I'm using is magic. They probably think it's my ability, but they're not entirely sure,' Arlo thought to himself as he began flipping through the pages of his grimoire, searching for a new spell. 'I need something to block their view from inside the barrier so they can't see me using magic. And I need to find it quickly before the Wyvern's flame attack dissipates-'
Arlo's thoughts were abruptly cut short as his eyes landed on a page containing exactly what he was looking for. Without hesitation, he began chanting the incantation.
-
"That guy... what the hell happened to him, wasn't he just an F-Rank Hunter?" Arlene asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. "And what's with that sudden change in his attitude?! And-"
"Hey, something strange is happening," Liam muttered from within the barrier, his gaze fixed on the barrier itself.
Everyone's attention turned to the barrier as they watched a veil of darkness slowly begin to envelop it, obscuring their view of the events unfolding outside.
"W-What is this?!" Arlene exclaimed, visibly startled by the unexpected development.
[Intermediate Class Dark Magic: Dark Veil.]
As the sea of flames subsided, Arlo stood facing the barrier where the others were sheltered, now completely shrouded in darkness, just as he had intended.
[Dark Magic Unlocked.]
'Looks like the spell worked... that's good,' Arlo thought to himself, his gaze shifting to the Wyvern flying overhead, its powerful wings beating the air with each mighty flap. 'Now I don't have to worry about which spell to use.'
Seeing that the barriers remained on the ground, the Wyvern prepared to unleash another wave of flames from the air, its throat swelling as it gathered the necessary energy.
Simultaneously, Arlo began chanting his own spell to disrupt the Wyvern's attack, a blue magic circle appearing before his outstretched hand. Although the Wyvern's flames couldn't penetrate the barrier, the group wouldn't be able to withstand much more of the intense heat radiating from the inferno.
As Arlo's spell neared its completion, a large, swirling ball of water began to form in front of the magic circle, churning with intensity. The Wyvern was nearly finished gathering the flames it needed, but Arlo was faster.
[MP: 43 -> 42%]
"Intermediate Class Water Magic: Water Cannon-"
His words were cut short as the powerful sphere of water erupted from the magic circle, hurtling straight towards the airborne Wyvern.
Crash!
The Wyvern, preoccupied with charging its attack, had no means to evade the water cannon as it slammed into its body, pushing it back through the air and disrupting the attack it had been preparing.
The creature's gaze and glare shifted to Arlo, who was now running away from the barrier, leading the Wyvern's attention away from the others. He was already in the midst of chanting another spell, focusing on drawing the monster's ire.
'Of course, the water cannon wasn't enough to damage it, but it was the fastest spell I could release to stop its attack. Now, I'm going on the offensive-'
Arlo's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as the Wyvern suddenly dove from the sky, its massive form hurtling straight towards him with terrifying speed and purpose.
Arlo, nowhere near as fast or powerful as Argus or Alexander, could only watch in terror as the Wyvern closed the distance between them in mere seconds.
Realizing that the creature had abandoned its breath attack in favor of a frontal assault, Arlo quickly canceled his chant and began pouring his magic power into reinforcing his barrier.
[MP: 42% -> 40%]
'Calm down, I have a reinforced barrier up-'
*Shatter!*
Arlo's eyes widened in shock as the Wyvern crashed through the barrier with its momentum, shattering it in a single, devastating motion. The creature's hard skull slammed into Arlo, sending him flying through the air before he skidded to a stop against the chamber's walls.
Pain wracked his entire body, his limbs trembling as he clutched his grimoire. Fortunately, the barrier had absorbed most of the Wyvern's momentum before the impact.
[HP: 100% -> 60%]
With his back pressed against the wall, Arlo stood motionless, his mouth moving as he recited the chant from memory, not even glancing at the spell in his book.
The closed grimoire in his hand began to emit a soft, yellow glow as a magic circle of the same color appeared beneath his feet. Meanwhile, the Wyvern hurtled towards him, its wings propelling it forward at an incredible speed.