Rollo pressed Saveth toward the far edge of the Luminarium, each strike faster and more relentless than the last. Meanwhile, Erza strategically moved back, positioning herself directly in front of one of the mirrored walls.
Her hand rested on her sheathed blade as she lowered her stance, eyes closed, preparing for a precise draw.
Marcus, observing the battle from his vantage point in midair, gave his wife a subtle nod before refocusing on Rollo, who was relentlessly pursuing Saveth.
The elusive figure flickered from one spot to another, each shift driven by the commander's unyielding pace. He didn't need to push him all the way to the edge—but it was a fortunate coincidence.
All Rollo needed was to keep him pinned near any of the mirrored barriers.
*Thud—*
Saveth's back hit one of the mirrors. His eyes widened slightly before a smirk played across his pale face.
"Oh!" he mocked, "I see now—this white space is more deceptive than it looks!"
Rollo pressed on, but Saveth raised a hand, halting him. "Oh no no no! One more step, and I'll just teleport away," he warned, a playful edge to his voice.
Rollo's brow furrowed in frustration, but he complied, sheathing his blade calmly.
Saveth's eyes narrowed as realization dawned, followed by a low, chilling laugh.
"Kehehehe, so you finally understand—no matter what you do, the outcome is always the same. Your strength is great, but you'll never catch up." He paused. "Now that you're calm, why don't we have a little cha... Why are you smirking?"
Marcus's command resonated sharply in his mind.
*Click—*
Erza drew the flames swirling around her, channeling them into her blade. In one swift, fluid motion, she unsheathed her sword, a sharp hiss cutting through the air as a blazing arc of energy shot toward the mirrored wall.
*Slash—*
The fiery arc surged forward, cutting through the air with fierce intensity. Marcus, suspended mid-air, deftly wove the threads of magic between his fingers.
A glowing magical circle materialized in front of the mirrored wall before Erza, absorbing her attack.
"Damn it…"
*Boom—*
An explosion erupted, shrouding the area in dense smoke. Erza's eyes darted to Marcus.
"Did it work?!"
Marcus's expression darkened as the smoke cleared, revealing Rollo still standing firm. He had held his ground until the last moment to avoid tipping Saveth off, enduring part of the impact himself as he blocked Erza's Arc Strike.
In the distance, Saveth reappeared, a grimace twisting his face. "N-Nice trick…" he muttered.
Setting down the worn sack, he extinguished his burning hat by patting it repeatedly. And with a deep breath, he fixed it on his head again.
"But I won't fall for that again."
"We'll see about that!" Rollo roared as he rushed toward him.
The deadly game of cat and mouse resumed.
*Slash—* *Whoosh—* *Slash—* *Whoosh—*
But this time, Saveth made sure to no longer get caught off guard. Now aware of their strategy, he kept a measured distance from the walls of the Luminarium.
Rollo's relentless pursuit couldn't match Saveth's mastery over time and space. No matter how fast he moved, the villain stayed one step ahead. With every flicker, the distance between them widened.
"I told you—I'm not falling for that again."
Before, Saveth waited for Rollo's blade—only teleporting when it was a hair's breadth from cutting him, often reappearing nearby, just to taunt him. Now, he moved much farther out of reach, vanishing the moment Rollo closed in.
"Is that all you got?" Saveth jeered.
With the element of surprise lost, Saveth effortlessly avoided the edges of the space, making it impossible for Rollo to trap him.
Realizing their plan was no longer working, Marcus' eyes met Erza's. Without a word, she unleashed a rapid series of Arc Strikes at the mirrors before her.
Saveth glanced at them, a confident smirk playing on his lips as he teleported to the center of the room. "I told you that trick won't work!"
Marcus ignored his taunts, manipulating the magical threads in his hands. A series of glowing magical circles materialized along both side walls of the space.
*Boom—* *Boom—* *Boom—* *Boom—* *Boom—*
Arc Strikes surged from every direction, shaking the room and cracking the ground. Saveth anticipated the attack and teleported out of range just in time.
But Erza's relentless barrage didn't cease, and the magical circles continued to shift, casting her attacks toward him no matter where he reappeared. The room echoed with the explosive impact of each strike.
With Rollo hot on his heels, forcing him to move from one spot to the next, Saveth found himself cornered time and time again between the onslaught and the mirrored barriers.
*Boom—* *Boom—* *Boom—* *Boom—*
The pressure mounted as the walls and ground trembled under the fierce assault. The gap was closing…
Rollo's grin widened as his blade finally grazed Saveth's neck. But in an instant, the fiend vanished again, reappearing at a safer distance.
"Tsk, this is getting annoying," Saveth muttered, irritation showing in his eyes before he disappeared entirely.
"Where did he go?!" Rollo shouted, eyes darting around. Marcus, floating above, scanned the space with eyes that glowed brilliantly, casting light across the entire Luminarium.
"You see, your plan has one glaring flaw."
A voice, cold and mocking, resonated from behind.
"It leaves you exposed, my precious golden blood."
Before Marcus could react, Saveth had emerged behind him.
*Boom—*
Suddenly an explosion erupted, black smoke billowing into the air like a rising mushroom cloud, shrouding the battlefield in shadow.
"MARCUS!" Erza screamed, her heart racing as she saw a figure plummeting out of the smoke toward the ground.
Her movement stopped entirely, and she was just about to leave her position to catch Marcus before he hit the ground—when suddenly, she heard a voice.
The familiar command snapped Rollo into action. He smirked and leapt forward without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Saveth, disoriented by Erza's Arc Strike, found himself falling uncontrollably. His mind raced on how he got hit in the first place.
Glancing upward at Marcus, his eyes suddenly widened and his lips curled into a bitter smile.
'I see, it was the ceiling.'
The top of the white space was still glowing with magical circles that Marcus had just opened up.
This is why he was positioning himself so close to the top—it was a bait from the start.
Now, Saveth knew that he shouldn't target Marcus anymore. The ground was the safest place, as it was the only surface that didn't have those mirrors.
'But first.'
He had to break the fall.
Channeling mana through his body, he extended his hand. A portal shimmered into existence below him.
*Whoosh—*
He vanished into the void, reappearing high above. Without pause, he conjured another portal above himself and fell upward, only to emerge below.
*Whoosh—* *Whoosh—*
The sequence repeated—down, up, down, up—each portal siphoning away his momentum. The air crackled with spatial energy, distorting the room as Saveth's descent slowed. His movements were fluid, almost playful, as he regained control.
Finding his balance again, he descended gracefully, fixing his hat with a smirk—and that's when he saw it!
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
Rollo's roar split the air. With both hands gripping his blade, he sliced horizontally.
*Slice—* *Whoosh—*
It was just one strike, but clean enough that a crimson fountain erupted from Saveth's severed neck, spraying the air with violent bursts of blood that painted both Rollo and the ground in splatters.
Watching Saveth's head roll across the ground, Rollo's pupils trembled as the weight of it all sank in. Before he even realized, an uncontrollable scream tore from his throat.
"YYYEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
The primal cry of victory sent shivers down Erza's spine. Tears streamed down her face as her legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to her knees.
From above, Marcus watched the battlefield with a heavy sigh of relief. His gaze lingered on Saveth's corpse, then shifted to Erza's tearful smile below. He allowed himself a small, triumphant grin.
Jan and Sophia, outside the battlefield, embraced in celebration, their cheers echoing as the mirrored walls began to fade.
Rollo stood in the clearing, still clutching his blood-soaked blade, his gaze fixed on the corpse.
*Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—*
Without hesitation, Rollo began thrusting his blade into Saveth's lifeless body.
*Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—*
Chest, abdomen, legs, arms, heart—nowhere was spared. Each thrust landed harder, blood spraying in wider arcs. With every strike, his fury surged—an unrelenting storm that had been kept inside for far too long.
*Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—* *Splash—*
"Uncle!!"
Sophia's voice broke through the chaos. She sprinted toward him, her face pale with worry. "Stop! It's over!"
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Rollo froze, his blade still embedded in the corpse. He stood motionless, chest heaving. Steam rose from his mouth in the cold air, like that of a wild beast. But even as his body stilled, his grip on the sword remained firm.
Silence—
Jan watched, uneasy. What Rollo was doing made sense—sometimes, cutting the head wasn't enough. But the anguish on his face hinted at something deeper.
*Twist—*
Finally, Rollo twisted the blade one last time, plunging it through Saveth's chest.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…"
For a while, Jan didn't know what to say. But then, he gathered his courage and asked cautiously,
"Are you okay?"
Rollo didn't answer at first. His fingers loosened slightly around his blade, his shoulders slumping. Finally, he gave a faint nod. "I'm fine. Just… empty."
"Empty?" Sophia's voice trembled. "But we won! You won! The bastard is dead! You should be happy!"
Rollo exhaled slowly, his gaze still distant. Then, for a brief moment, his expression softened as he looked at his niece. "You're right," he murmured. "I guess I'm just… tired."
From a distance, Erza's voice cut through the silence.
"Brother, it's over. Snap out of it."
Marcus approached alongside her, his glowing eyes flickering as he examined Saveth's mangled corpse. After a pause, he muttered, "It might be over, but something doesn't feel right."
Erza turned to him sharply. "What do you mean?"
Marcus's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the body. "Saveth disappeared for years. After that incident, he stopped attacking our town altogether. Why show up now?"
He turned toward Rollo. "Why come late with no army? If this wasn't part of a larger attack… then what was he really here for?"
A tense silence followed.
Erza's gaze shifted toward the worn leather sack lying beside Saveth's body. "Maybe we'll find some answers in there."
Sophia's ears perked up, curiosity lighting her face. Without hesitation, she bounded toward the sack.
"Sophia, wait—" Jan warned, reaching toward her. "Be careful—it might be dangerous."
"Dangerous? It's fine!" Sophia grinned as she reached for the sack, her fingers brushing the worn fabric. "Now, let's see... how do you open this thing?"
"Snooping around, are we? Tsk, tsk. Didn't anyone ever teach you not to pry into a dead man's secrets?"
The voice, low and mocking, cut through the air like a blade. Sophia froze, her head snapping to the side as her eyes widened in shock.
"Kehehehe..." A faint, gurgling chuckle echoed from Saveth's severed head, his lips curling into a grotesque smile. The sound reverberated, cold and unnatural, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Rollo! His body—stop him now!" Marcus roared. His glowing eyes flared as they locked onto the corpse, his panicked voice slicing through the eerie laughter.
Before Rollo could process the warning, a dark presence filled the air.
The small bottle in Saveth's suit pocket began to tremble, rising into the air. Saveth's lifeless body twitched and his fingers started moving. As if controlling the bottle, the cork snapped open with a faint pop, releasing an unsettling hiss.
*Whoosh—*
The pitch-black blood surged from the bottle, writhing unnaturally as it submerged Saveth's body. The liquid seemed alive, pulsing and coiling like serpents, binding to his flesh.
"Damn it!" Rollo snarled, yanking his sword free and driving it into Saveth's chest again and again. But each strike passed through with an eerie lack of resistance, as if he were stabbing water. The wounds sealed instantly, leaving no trace.
Frustrated, Rollo turned toward the severed head, only to be met with Saveth's twisted grin.
"Too late!"
Before Rollo could reach him, the head floated into the air, drawn toward the body now standing upright, whole again.
The effects were immediate. The jagged stump of Saveth's neck began to bubble and warp, his severed head reattaching with grotesque efficiency. Pale skin knitted itself back together, and the dark veins threading through his face pulsed as vitality returned.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then, from the darkness—
"Kehehehe…"
Saveth's lips peeled into a sharp, unnatural grin, his teeth gleaming under the blood dripping from his chin.
"I'm back."