The Runic Alchemist

He spared a quick glance toward Sam. The guy was moving skillfully, dodging and weaving through Moondancer's attacks, keeping her distracted and frustrated. Despite her repeated attempts to break free and target Damian, Sam held her attention. Though her black arrows and javelins came relentlessly toward him once in a while, Damian's speed had increased to the point where he dodged them all with ease.

The Spellsword summoned his flying blade back into his grasp, leaping high into the air. Twisting, razor-sharp winds spiraled around him, and a massive crimson aura trailed behind him like a bloody cape. He descended on Damian with lethal intent.

Damian stood his ground, not flinching, not moving a muscle, and instead continued drawing his runic circles. As the Spellsword entered a ten-meter range, Damian activated the spell. It was a simple wormhole, powered by over seven liters of liquid mana—a vast amount coursing through his body.

The wormhole materialized instantly. The Spellsword, unable to stop his momentum, hurtled directly into it. Damian sealed the wormhole in the same moment. Its exit point? Straight up, as far as the eye—or the spell—could perceive.

Damian had personally tested the spell and found that its range was limited only by sight—at least in theory. In practice, no matter how much mana he poured into it, the spell couldn't extend beyond the planet's atmosphere. Even with more than 30 mana threads channeling power, his body couldn't generate mana fast enough to push it further.

Technically, such a feat shouldn't even be possible, as no human could see that far into the sky. However, the spell appeared to rely on some other condition he had yet to fully understand. Regardless, it worked.

This time, the spell left the Spellsword 10,000 meters above the ground, with no simple means of flight.

God bless his soul.

Of course, the stunt didn't go unnoticed. Both the Emperor and the last remaining third-ranker—positioned at the back of the army—came barreling toward him afterwards. Damian paid them no mind, instead flying straight toward Sam and Moondancer. A quick glance at the others revealed they were halfway through. Just two or three more minutes, and this mess would be over.

Sam was being chased by four of Moondancer's dark creatures, while she herself flew atop a fifth, heading straight for Damian. To make her task easier, he flew directly toward her. She frantically searched for the uniformed man, but he was nowhere in sight. A wave of déjà vu hit her—then, in a scream of frustration, she unleashed hundreds of sharp, pitch-black arrows at him with full force.
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She pursued him, continuing her barrage, but nothing could penetrate the barrier. As he neared Sam, Damian slightly opened the barrier and unleashed the spell he had learned from Vidalia. Five massive flaming birds soared into existence, effortlessly melting the dark creatures in their path. The fifth bird even veered toward Moondancer, halting her pursuit of Damian.

Damian landed beside Sam, who was breathing heavily. Taking advantage of the brief moment, Sam quickly downed the recovery potions Damian had given him, replenishing both his mana and stamina. He had exhausted all his lightning in a relentless assault of bolts against Moondancer.

"Didn't I tell you to call for help if you needed it?" Damian asked, casting a healing spell over Sam. He avoided fully restoring Sam's wounds, knowing it would drain his own mana and stamina.

"You looked busy…" Sam replied, wheezing.

"I'll give you more lightning," Damian said firmly. "Go get everyone with your speed and then return to Reize."

"But… she… you…" Sam stammered, but Damian cut him off.

"I can handle her. Go help the others. The faster this ends, the faster we can leave."

Sam nodded reluctantly. Damian casted a lightning spell, recharging Sam's body with lightning. Once Sam had finished his potions, he released a few parting lightning bolts and bizarre lightning daggers as a final gift to Moondancer before racing off.

Using the flames from his spear, he blocked Moondancer's path to Sam passing by. But she was also unwilling to pursue him further; instead, she complied and began summoning a fresh barrage of javelins to throw at Damian.

As soon as she released the last of the javelins, Damian opened a wormhole beneath his feet and emerged right behind her. She sensed him immediately, spinning around to unleash a massive wave of darkness in an attempt to repel him. However, his light orb illuminated everything, weakening her shadows. Damian pushed through the wave of darkness with some effort of his spear releasing a bright, hot stream of fire; his blood-red spear heading straight to pierce her chest. At the last moment, she moved slightly, and the spear struck her shoulder instead.

Damian paid no attention to where the spear had struck. Instead, he unleashed a torrent of flames, fueled by an immense surge of mana, pouring directly into her body. She somehow managed to block much of it, but the wound in her shoulder began to ooze pure darkness, a sign that she was struggling to maintain control.

"You dare attack me?! You filthy little bug!" Moondancer cursed as she formed a black sword, aiming to pierce him. But Damian was faster, creating a thick air shield to deflect her strike. Despite the injury, she wasn't about to back down—her strength still surpassed his. The darkness seeping from her wound began to shift, breaking into thousands of tiny bugs, which charged at him.

Disgusted, Damian recoiled, leaping back to avoid the creepy swarm. He kept his distance, quickly sending a flame pillar runic circle beneath her feet. Her dark creatures were still coming for him, but he activated the flame pillar at once. The pillar burst forth, massive and thick, with a radius over 15 meters, engulfing both Moondancer and her minions in searing flames.

With the Emperor drawing nearer, Damian knew he needed to end this quickly. If not finish her off, then at least make her so preoccupied with saving herself that the escape could happen.

Meanwhile, Sam was darting around the battlefield, dispatching Empire soldiers and rescuing the freed people, carrying them one by one toward the waygate. More soldiers had gathered, and while his friends were still holding their ground, they were struggling under the increasing pressure. Damian estimated no more than a minute and a half before the waygate could be closed.