After casting my new innate spell on the mission target, I stepped back and observed him from afar…
The Body Impact was already cruel by nature, capable of causing severe damage to internal organs, but because it was cast at the same time the Red Sage was casting his advanced spell, it caused him to suffer even more damage and severe side effects.
To be honest, I really don't know how he could still be standing and conscious…
This entire mission originated from Master Baron Bones's obsession with collecting an ever-growing number of puppets to further enhance his power and influence. And whenever he chose a very dangerous target, our group tasked us with supporting him and collaborating in the target's capture…
It was the same with Master Zima, Master Golden, Master Greed… They were the most difficult because they always had many subordinates around them.
Capturing the Master of the Horadrim Alliance was very easy; we simply said we wanted to buy one of his Experimental Relics and lured him away. Of course, we bought the items we needed from them, but the Master was a freebie, as he entered Baron Bones Tower of his own free will.
The Master of the Shadow Society was the same, but he was lured into the Tower with the promise of obtaining something he very much desired.
Besides the Master of the Horadrim Alliance and the new puppet Vitarys, three other Masters weren't here today. They were assisting and protecting Alyxia's operations in Essos.
But do we really need that much help just to deal with the Red Sage? Baron Bones is deeply afraid of this group… He personally had the Pope follow John, who was confirmed by the Garden of Beasts as a powerful Master, and several powerful figures from Asshai were hired to kill or distract the other Masters of the Order of Sages…
I confess that they are all talented and promising young people, but wasn't spending so much on this barrier just to restrict their escape, communication, and limit the Red Sage's strongest element a waste?
We learned from the traitorous apprentices and information leaks that he also has an affinity for Earth.
But when he disappeared for over 30 years and returned, we immediately noticed that his peculiar red eyes were now completely black. Baron Bones and I knew he had either changed race or become a Shadowmancer…
The final question was: What would his new powers be?
He forced Master Golden to his knees with some kind of invisible force similar to powerful telekinesis… And he disappeared from Baron Bones's shop without a trace, as if his body, which had been there, had been nothing more than an illusion from the beginning.
But it wasn't an illusion; he sat on the shop's benches, picked up and ate merchandise from the shelves, and even touched several items…
I confess I laughed when I heard about Master Golden's humiliation… But for Baron Bones, all of this served as fuel to put Rafael at the top of the list to become a new puppet for our group. According to our leader, this would also nip in the bud the rise of a new, very powerful organization...
Then we arrived at the present moment, a massive trap, meticulously detailed and perfectly timed...
While he was surrounded, the Red Sage drew his Valyrian Steel shortsword, and to my surprise, he stopped breathing heavily as if it were all an act... Of course, the blow Vitarys had dealt was still bleeding, and that should have weakened him somewhat.
But how had he healed himself from the effects of my innate spell? There was no sign of healing magic. Before I could conclude, he shouted at all of us...
"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE?"
"COME ON!!!"
The first sentence was quite arrogant for the situation he found himself in...
But the second sentence came out with a different timbre of voice...
As soon as the words reached my ears, my armor reacted, clearing my mind and preventing any effect that power had...
A voice-related power... Could it be a variation of "Taunt"?
Affinity with the body! Not only that, but some kind of innate spell involving the voice…
My reaction was too slow, and before I could say anything, everyone on the battlefield went into a frenzy and charged at the Red Sage, except for me and Baron Bones, who were immune…
Master Zima abandoned his duties protecting the barrier altar and began running toward Rafael as he began casting a high-level spell. Master Atrium canceled his flight in the sky, wrapped himself in his shadow, and attacked alongside Greed and Golden using physical attacks.
The undead were affected, but Baron Bones's control over them was firm and strong. They stopped attacking a second after their master.
Rafael only had time to cast two Earth spells that created two stone coffins around the Order's apprentices before Zima's spell swept an entire 50-meter area around him with a high-level poisonous mist...
I jumped away from the poison mist before it affected me too much; my new armor was already purging the little that touched my body...
The nearby undead were unaffected, and Rafael resurfaced away from the poisonous mist rising from the ground. As soon as he appeared, he pointed his swordless hand at the barrier altar and threw several stone spears at it.
"Hey, Baron Bones, control Zima!"
I shouted at the Necromancer, and he responded angrily:
"What do you think I'm trying to do?"
The Puppet Master's Special Relic appeared floating beside him, and Zima finally snapped out of the rage Rafael had inflicted.
The stone spears hit the altar, but an additional barrier placed by Master Atrium easily stopped this first attack.
Soon, the three Puppet Masters approached the Red Sage, their eyes bloodshot in their rage.
Greed enveloped himself in a stone skin spell and began punching Rafael.
Golden's skin turned golden as it enveloped itself in pure gold, and he tried to kick him in the head.
The Red Sage was fighting differently than usual… Before, his style had been more reminiscent of a magical swordsman when he fought the Val Brothers, but now he fought like a humanoid beast, trading wounds for wounds and ignoring most of the blows he received as long as he could deal even more damage with counterattacks.
Master Atrium, still under the influence of taunt, tried to grab him from behind, but was struck by a strong elbow to the abdomen, sending him flying. Before he could get too far from the blow, Rafael threw his Valyrian Steel shortsword, piercing the Shadow Society's Master Shadowmancer's head and making him the first to die in this ambush…
How did he do it? Did he have Shadow Lock activated? But there was no sign of his artifacts…
I ignored my thoughts and tried to reach the Red Sage, who didn't stop after Atrium's death. Surprising everyone within the barrier, he spat long streams of flame from his mouth, burning Golden's golden skin almost to the point of melting it.
But before he could, I finally got close and used two tentacles from my armor to pull the two Masters away from him…
The Red Sage looked at me, smiling, as I restrained Greed and Golden with their skin partially melted.
The red-hilted shortsword that had been thrust into Master Atrium's skull disappeared, returning to his hand.
And he began to run toward me.
Just as the worst was about to happen to me and the two out-of-control Masters, Baron Bones's Vengeful Spirit possessed the Red Sage. The Undead Knight made a powerful lunge from behind and wounded his dominant arm, causing him to drop his shortsword to the ground.
The Senior Lich cast the Bone Binding restraining spell, binding and pinning Rafael to the ground. Finally, the powerful, armored giant used his enormous hammer to crush both of his knees with a single blow, ensuring he would no longer be able to stand.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Baron Bones had finally regained control of Greed and Golden. I also advanced to restrain Rafael, who, even with all these restraints, was still roaring and struggling against the possession, and was slowly cracking the bones of the Lich's restraining spell.
It seemed I was wrong and owed Baron Bones an apology… Rafael was like a cornered beast. If that fire-breathing spell could melt even the gold on Master Golden's armor under such elemental restraints, how strong was he without them?
AN:Shadow Block is the basic shadow affinity spell capable of disabling artifacts. It's the same "problematic" spell that was imbued into the Mage-Slaying Arrows in the incident that killed Ted...
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