"Daniel!!" Carl shouted in rage as he hid behind one of the massive columns in the underground opening, the giant lava golem seemed to be incapable of exiting the lava pool however it was the least of their worries right now.
Leon did not hesitate also ducking behind a column as he struggled to calm himself down, it was the first time he had seen someone die, his trembling hands were being covered in dust as he traced his hands on the rock column while hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on. His thoughts were a mess right now and he just wanted to get out of here.
The world was rough but he was just 19 years old, clearly unequipped to handle the rush of emotions and drastic change in the situation.
"Daniel. What are you doing?!" Carl shouted once more, he and Leon hid behind columns close to the opening caused by the lava ball while a voice drifted from the pillars ahead.
" Was this not the plan captain? I mean this was bound to happen. I just sped up things a bit." Daniel laughed as he drew his bow string again, it was the first time Leon was hearing his voice however listening in on the conversation he was shocked, he did not know what was going but his gut told him that he had to bide his time and let events unfold as is.
" Nathaniel why don't you come out as well?!" Daniel shouted his voice reverberating throughout the carven. Water balls instead hit the column he hid behind as he tucked his body down.
"Ben, is that you?" Daniel said whilst coughing using his hand to waft the dust. " I gotta say you are one sick bastard, you knew Wilson did not have much affinity for earth magic yet you still let him use guardian fortress. If not for his light magic he might have lost his magic already!" Daniel chuckled as he spoke.
" Keep yapping you bastard!" Ben said as he covered himself with a ward of mana. The situation had taken a turn where the men held a blade at each other's throat.
Lava poured in from the opening flowing into the area, Carl rapidly though of multiple plans to escape his current predicament.
" Carl what's going on?!" Leon shouted from where he hid, at first he thought Daniel had gone rogue but seeing Ben as well his curiosity had gotten the best of him.
No one replied to his question, his presence seemingly negligible. Earth spears rose from all columns piercing at whoever stood close by, Leon, Carl and Daniel quickly distanced themselves however in doing so exposed themselves.
" Inferno!" Daniel was hit by fire magic but not before he fired his own mana arrows. The force of the explosion threw him into the distance. Fire balls also made their way to Leon and Carl seeking to end them both.
'Shit.' Carl cursed, "Don't push your luck Wilson!!" A shield and sword emerged from his storage bag as he slashed as the incoming attack. Leon however ran the fire ball hit where he stood the force of the explosion hitting his back, he hit a column face first falling unconscious. His head bled from the cut right above his eye.
"Water magic; Water lances!" Ben chanted as a dozen water lanced appeared in front of the column he hid behind, the lanced shot forward curving homing in on their targets while Ben's face grew paler, his throbbing head made it hard to think as he sat down channeling all of his remaining mana into the magic ward protecting him.
Carl raised his sword whilst his aura flowed on his sword, he took a firm stance as the lance hit the sword almost throwing it out of his hands, his hands shook at the mere impact however with reinforcement magic he barely bore the brunt of the attack.
Wilson however was unfortunate as the lance pierced through his mana barrier impaling his heart, he coughed as hit body fell down blood spraying onto the pillar. Arrows hit the lance only changing its direction as Daniel jumped left. The lance hit the ground, Daniel let arrows lose aiming at where everyone hid.
The lance and arrows hit Leons's body or rather where it was supposed to be, his body had somehow disappeared amidst he chaos, where unknown. But nobody paid attention, the conflict had reached the climax.
Daniel's burnt right half body could only hold out for long, only his left right side still had some facial features, his brown hair on the right had turned bald with burnt flesh forming scars like worms wiggling on his head, he had only one eye remaining. It took will to move his mangled right arm.
He was impaled by Carl's sword, his quiver had run out of arrows making him a sitting duck, Carl sneaked behind him ending his life. Carl leaned on the pillar as he took heavy breaths but he knew he could not rest for long. Ben was most likely taking mana potions to replenish his strength.
Carl took a glance a column in the distance he could feel the mana in the air concentrated at that column however he did not rush advancing, with his guard up he approached. His sword rested on top his shield as he took steps forward.
Water blades struck his ankles, he slashed his sword downwards. His armor shins proved hard to pierce. " Give up Ben, its over." Carl said, he was right Ben thought. He knew there was little chance to escape however a grin emerged on his face as he thought of a radical plan.
Mana surged as Carl halted his steps, he turned serious, it seems the fight was not yet over. His caution however turned into disbelief as more mana surged. He had no idea what was coming only that something big was about to happen. He instantly retreated by then it was too late.
The mana rings at Ben's heart had collided signaling the end of his path as a rank three magic apprentice, 28 years of effort exploded as the mana rings collided blowing anything in a radius of 9 meters around him to smithereens.
"Fuck!" Carl shouted, the blast hit him at point blank. The cavern shook as cracks formed in the pillars. Mana entered his body running rampant destroying his warrior circuits. He crashed several meters away from the source, blood seeped out from his mouth tainting the ground.
" Haa, haa." His gasps for breath like candle flickering at the brush of wind. Carl's right hand rummaged his storage bag, his conscious was slipping, a green potion was taken out of the bag, its light green indicating the lowest tier of healing potion.
He uncorked the bottle, plunging it into his mouth greedily swallowing the potion. His mind started to regain clarity as he took out more bottles of healing potions. Taking each one without care. Minutes passed by and half an hour later when the potions had taken effect he stood up. He supported his feeble body on the pillars as his eyes bore witness to the destruction.
"At least the path forward was not destroyed." Craters decorated the ground as the aftermath of their battle. Lava flowed ever so gently into those craters. Carl shook his head, his job was done so he moved towards the exit.
He limped across the dark corridor leaning on the walls for support. His armor was obliterated, only the sword in his hand remained. He was lucky, he thought. Ben, the bastard had chosen to explode his magic heart. It was a ridiculous notion such that few in history had ever done it.
His body moved at the opening, his moment of respite was taken away by the incoming bottles mid-air. He slashed at the incoming bottles, ideally avoiding them completely was best however the corridor provided narrow space to evade.
Smoke quickly filled the corridor as he burst out jumping into the air, this was followed by thrashing about as he rolled down the mountain. "cough-cough." Blood dripped down his lips, it was poison. He quickly tried searching for an antidote however his hand was decapitated by the short sword of the man before him in one swift motion.
" Your dead Nathaniel! Dead!" Carl said as his blurry eyes recognized the figure standing before him. " Do you think Rodrick will let you go? Never!" Carl adjusted his body leaning back, he was dying.
" I know." Nathaniel said looking down the man before him. " Lavender is probably keeping watch over the entrance." Nathaniel said, he seemed to have long understood the situation in fact one could say he had prepared for it.
" So you knew huh?" Carl chuckled in response. since that was the case no more words were necessary. " Tell me this then when did you figure it out." Carl asked genuinely.
" Do you think I did not give him the info expecting such an outcome. Greed was how I knew. Nothing ever seems enough for your kind. Once all of you heard the contents of the mission I'm sure you began making plans contacting other forces once you laid eyes one the labyrinth. I simply pretended not to notice. As for Lavender, don't waste your hope who knows if he is still alive." Nathaniel said as he slashed his sword splitting the head of the man in half.
This was his gift to the man who had helped reaffirm his ambitions and goals, a swift death rather than death by the wraith poison he had inhaled.