Chapter 81: Ignite I

  Leo mentally cursed, hazel eyes scanning his surroundings for any possible opening. Both Darius and Asher used long range attacks. If he tried to run into one of the connecting hallways, he’d expose his back to them—nevermind that they were blocking the exits anyway. In the corner of his eye, Allan and Spade’s dots drew nearer on the party map.

  Darius Gillis stared down at him from the staircase, face an unreadable mask. He looked exactly like what Leo imagined when he thought of an aristocrat: cold, rigid, and detached.

  “Who are you?” the noble asked. His voice was steady and even. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  Leo swallowed, keeping his face blank as he assessed his options. He couldn’t use targeted abilities on Asher because of the bounty hunter’s personal skill, but they would work on Darius. On the flipside, [Teleport Object] could deflect Asher’s arrows, but they wouldn’t work on spells.

  He gritted his teeth. If he could just get away from his current position so he was no longer surrounded, he’d have a much better chance.

  “…I knocked the guards out,” Leo answered, purposely dodging the first two questions. Behind him, Asher spoke up.

  “He broke the manor wards.” His voice was blunt and rough.

  So they’d realized it. Darius frowned, cocking his head in thought. His hand, however, remained raised, though the glow from his last spell had faded by now.

  “You couldn’t have done that alone. Who else is with you?”

  “No one.” Leo carefully adjusted his grip on his dagger. “It’s pretty easy to break a ward stone if you know what you’re doing.” The words came out sharp and pointed. Though he couldn’t see Asher behind him, he could practically feel the bounty hunter’s eyes narrow. Darius looked thoughtful.

  “This is the one who followed you?” He spoke as if Leo wasn’t even there. To him, the former [Thief] was probably little more than a minor nuisance. A pest.

  Asher grunted in assent. “Fucker chased me halfway ‘cross the damn city.”

  “You broke the ward,” Leo retorted. “You know how many people died because of those Echoes?”

  The [Fragmentholder] heard the man snort behind him, but he was more focused on Darius. The noble’s eyes narrowed, and slowly, he descended down the staircase until he was on the ground floor in front of him.

  “Are you suggesting that you’re a vigilante out for revenge? Do you expect me to believe that?”

  Leo heard Asher pull his bow string taut.

  “You’re a fragment hunter, aren’t you.”

  The [Fragmentholder] pursed his lips. “So are you.”

  Darius stopped walking a few feet in front of him. Those dark eyes were cold, assessing. “Who else is with you?” he asked again. The tip of his finger began to glow with a dark maroon light. “How did you learn about the fragment?”

  Leo took a slow step back even as he barked out a laugh. “I already told you, no one’s with me. It’s really not that hard to break in; you might wanna work on your security.”

  Darius’s eyes narrowed. The light glowed brighter, but this time Leo was ready.

  A fraction of a second before the man fired the spell, he activated [Visual Illusion], projecting a false notification in front of his vision. It didn’t matter what it was; he just needed to draw his attention away.

  [ERROR: Class crest not found]

  Darius’s brows furrowed. “What—”

  He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence. Leo lunged, dagger pointed straight at the man.

  Before the blade could reach him, however, he heard the sound of a string snapping and spun around just in time to see an arrow flying towards him.

  Leo activated [Teleport Object] and flicked his eyes, deflecting the arrow away as a new notification flashed across his vision. The air around him heated.

  [Darius has activated the [Ignite] spell]

  With a burst of speed aided by [Sprint], Leo barely managed to throw himself to the side as the spell whizzed past his shoulder, slamming into the wall and shaking the entire entryway. A few cracks formed along the stone, the wallpaper now burnt black.

  Leo skidded along the ground, using a hand to keep himself upright as the smoke from the explosion filled his nostrils. He cursed. He’d been so close. The former [Thief] coughed. His eyes watered, but he forced them to stay open.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  It was good that he did, because almost immediately a second arrow pierced through the smoke. He barely activated [Teleport Object] in time. The projectile disappeared then reappeared, flying harmlessly into the nearby pillar. Asher gritted his teeth.

  “How the fuck are you doing that?”

  Leo didn’t bother answering. He vaulted over a jagged chunk of rubble and sprinted along the walls of the area in an attempt to reach one of the connecting corridors. Darius seemed to realize what he was doing, because another [Ignite] spell engulfed the nearest hallway in flames before he could reach it, cutting him off.

  Leo’s mind whirred. Thinking fast, he grabbed onto the closest pillar and began to climb. The surface was hard to get a grip on, but he forced himself to move as quickly as possible. The pillar would provide cover from Asher’s arrows, but the same couldn’t be said for Darius’s spells.

  Below, the maroon glow strengthened. Another spell would be coming soon. He had to move now.

  Taking a deep breath, Leo threw himself off the pillar and towards the chandelier hanging from the center of the room. For a moment in the air, he felt weightless—then gravity took hold and he was hurling towards the chandelier.

  He reached out and grabbed onto one of the curling arms. His shoulders screamed at the impact, but he didn’t let go. The chain above the chandelier creaked and the whole thing swung violently. Leo used that lingering momentum to propel himself across the room just as the next explosion went off behind him.

  [Darius has activated the [Ignite] spell]

  The [Fragmentholder] landed hard. He felt stray debris dig into his back and something snapped, but adrenaline kept him moving. He heard a loud crash as the chandelier fell to the ground. More smoke billowed up from it.

  Leo flipped over and hurled a throwing knife in Asher’s direction as the bounty hunter began to pull his bow back again. He yelled, which Leo took to mean the knife had found its target. He didn’t actually have time to check, because in the next moment a sword pierced through the smoke and swung straight towards him.

  Leo rolled over, the blade stabbing the ground where his head had just been, and scrambled onto his feet in time to parry the next strike.

  Darius stood in front of him, the noble’s sword drawn and eyes dark as he forced the blade forward. Leo’s arms shook with exertion as he struggled to stop the blade from slicing into his neck, his dagger barely managing to keep it at bay. He aimed a kick at the noble’s stomach, using the temporary distraction to shove the sword back and twist away, putting some more space between them.

  Leo’s breaths came in heavy pants. His vision was a bit blurred; he suspected he would be in a much worse state if Allan hadn’t used [Fortify] earlier. He activated [Mana Recovery] as he forced himself to assess the surroundings.

  The chandelier had landed in the center of the floor during Darius’s last attack, a bit of lingering fire burning around it and forming a rough barrier splitting the area in half. Asher stood behind the fallen chandelier wrapping his arm where Leo’s knife had sliced into it. The crude bandage was bloody, but the injury itself didn’t look serious enough to stop him for long. The [Fragmentholder] swallowed. Everything still smelled like smoke.

  Fire. Damn it, why did it have to be fire of all things? A noble manor, fire, even the sound of chains as the chandelier had fallen. It all felt like a poor mockery of his past. If he wasn’t in his current situation, Leo would laugh at how ironic it was.

  He adjusted his hold on his dagger. Darius stood watching him, assessing. Calculating. If he hadn’t thought Leo was a threat before, he did now.

  He took a step forward, then another. In a sudden burst of speed, he thrust the sword at Leo.

  [Darius has activated the [Lunge] skill]

  Leo activated [Sprint] at the same time and dodged to the side, the sword burying itself into the wall, but it looked like the noble had predicted that. His free hand surged forward, gripping onto Leo’s arm and holding him in place. His palm glowed maroon.

  He couldn’t get away in time. Leo braced himself for pain.

  A string of notifications flooded his vision.

  [Darius has activated the [Shock] spell]

  [Spade has activated [Duelist’s Challenge]. Target: Darius]

  [Spade’s damage to [Darius] boosted. Penalty applied to [Darius]’s damage when attacking another foe]

  Leo screamed. Sharp, stinging pain burst from his arm and coursed up the limb in a bolt. His muscles convulsed, his dagger falling to the ground with a clatter, and he desperately tried to wrench himself away.

  Vision blurry and ears ringing, Leo fumbled for one of the throwing knives on his belt and flung it in the direction of the noble. He didn’t see if it hit, but the vice grip on his wrist loosened enough for him to yank his arm away.

  He stumbled back, still dizzy from the shock as he struggled to process everything. Hands grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. He almost elbowed the person on instinct, but stopped when a familiar voice spoke.

  “Are you okay?” Allan’s worried voice sounded in his ears. The [Healer] raised a hand, a wave of ultramarine light washing over the cuts and scrapes he’d collected thus far.

  [Allan has activated the [Mend] spell]

  By now, the pain of the [Shock] spell was beginning to fade and he felt more aware again. Leo forced his breaths to steady.

  Closer to the collapsed chandelier, he recognized Spade trading blows with Darius, the noble’s face twisted into an uncharacteristic snarl as they fought. If the [Executioner] hadn’t activated [Duelist’s Challenge], the damage from [Shock] probably would’ve been much worse.

  The glow from [Mend] faded and Leo exhaled.

  “Thanks,” he breathed. On closer inspection, Allan had a few bloodstains on him as well, but he didn’t seem to be injured. Had he run into the guard shift? Leo’s eyes darted around the room.

  “Where’s Asher?”

  As if on cue, Leo felt the air shift. He instinctively shoved Allan back as a black-feathered arrow flew past them and embedded itself into the wall.

  On the other side of the entryway, Asher, arm now bandaged, drew another arrow from his quiver.

  Leo slowly picked up his fallen dagger, eyes never leaving the bounty hunter in silent challenge. In his peripheral vision, Allan raised his axe as well.

  He could hear the ringing of metal to his left where Spade and Darius fought. A few lingering embers glowed from the broken pillars and chandelier, outlining the five figures clustered together in the space. There was nowhere to hide.

  This was it.