Then, a sudden loud noise behind him snapped Kang-suho out of his focus, the sound echoing sharply through the hollow castle walls.
He turned around instantly, his movements quick and tense, while his summoned bear mirrored him without hesitation.
His eyes scanned the darkness, searching for any sign of movement or danger lurking nearby. But there was nothing—no footsteps, no shifting shadows, no clear source of the sound.
The darkness beyond the throne room swallowed everything, making it impossible to tell what was real and what wasn't.
Kang-suho narrowed his eyes, uneasy as he tried to pinpoint where the noise came from. The lack of light made everything worse, pressing against his vision and dulling his senses.
Even with the faint torchlight behind him, it felt like the rest of the castle refused to be seen. He exhaled slowly, tension building in his chest as he remained on guard. The silence that followed felt heavier than the noise itself.
Then, when both he and the bear turned back—
The skeleton was no longer on the throne.
Instead, it floated mid-air, its body suspended unnaturally as if gravity had no meaning to it.
Its skull drifted forward, separating slightly from the rest of its body, until it hovered directly in front of Kang-suho's face. The empty eye sockets stared into him, unmoving, yet somehow focused. The distance between them was uncomfortably close.
"First~Class~~Dark Mage!" the archmage echoed, its voice stretched and distorted, like something trying to mimic speech.
Strands of dried, stretched flesh clung loosely to its jaw, pulling unnaturally as it spoke. The sound didn't feel right—it dragged, warped, like each word had to be forced out. There was intelligence behind it, but something about the delivery felt… off.
But it was quickly cut short with a piercing sound
"AHHHHHHH!" Kang-suho screamed, his voice bursting out in a mix of pure shock and comedic panic.
His summoned bear let out a loud roar right after, almost matching his reaction in an oddly synchronized moment.
The sudden chaos broke the tension in the strangest way possible, turning the eerie moment into something borderline absurd. Even the floating skull seemed to pause for just a fraction of a second.
Then—without thinking—
Smack.
Kang-suho slapped the skull.
The impact sent it tilting sideways, its vertebrae swaying loosely as if barely connected. Its jaw dangled awkwardly, hanging open at an unnatural angle.
For a moment, it just stayed like that, completely still, like it hadn't processed what just happened.
Then, slowly…
It lifted its bony arms.
With stiff, deliberate movements, it grabbed its own jaw and adjusted it back into place, followed by straightening its head. The motion was oddly careful, almost mechanical, like it needed to manually fix itself before continuing.
Once done, it turned its gaze back to Kang-suho.
And somehow—
It looked annoyed.
Not furious. Not enraged. Just… irritated, like it had just been inconvenienced in the most disrespectful way possible.
Kang-suho didn't hesitate this time.
His expression hardened as he pulled out his dark daggers, the blades forming in his hands with a faint, ominous glow.
The archmage noticed the dark blade almost instantly, its hollow gaze locking onto it with sudden awareness. Without hesitation, its skeletal body drifted backward, keeping a careful distance as if recognizing the threat. Its bony fingers spread open slowly, and from the empty air, a thick, ancient book materialized into its grasp. The cover was worn and cracked, engraved with strange, unreadable symbols that seemed to shift if stared at too long.
It didn't waste a second before beginning to chant, its voice echoing unnaturally through the chamber.
"Scorching~Ray!" it shrieked, the words dragging as if forced through something broken.
Its arm snapped forward, palm facing outward as mana rapidly gathered into a blazing point of energy.
The air around it distorted from the heat, flickering violently as the spell formed. Kang-suho's eyes widened, his body reacting on instinct as he prepared to move. But the spell was already complete.
A concentrated beam of fire burst forward.
It shot across the room in an instant, so fast it left behind a trail of smoke that lingered in the air. The force of it tore through the space between them, carrying enough power to incinerate anything in its path. There was no time to dodge, no time to counter.
But just before it could reach him—
The summoned bear moved.
With a powerful leap, it threw itself in front of Kang-suho, its massive body shielding him completely. The beam slammed directly into it, engulfing its form in blazing fire. For a moment, everything was consumed in light and heat.
Then the flames faded.
The bear stood there, unmoving.
On all fours, steady and unshaken. The spell that should have burned flesh to nothing had done nothing at all. Not even a mark. Its cosmic fur shimmered faintly, as if the fire had been swallowed before it could even exist.
Then it roared.
A deep, thunderous sound that echoed through the castle, filled with raw dominance. Its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth as it faced the archmage without fear.
The archmage froze.
Its jaw dropped—literally—hanging wide open in unnatural disbelief as it stared at the bear. For the first time, its movements hesitated, its composure cracking.
"Your~not a dark mage!" it stuttered, its voice now laced with something new—fear.
"Your skills~are the forbidden forms~of magi—!"