Return of the Runebound Professor-Chapter 669: What manner of magic?

Alucion made no noise as he slipped through the halls of the human building alongside three Truthseekers. A heavy blade hung at his side, weighing his hip down with what almost felt like a vortex.

A strong, constant pull tugged at his flesh as the blade absorbed the magical energy from the air around it. The weapon was a rare one — crafted specifically to deal with one of the humans’ favorite combat techniques.

It was a Soldier-killing blade. A Mageripper. The weapons were rare and few in number. Each one was inordinately expensive and never lasted for more than a few missions. Disrupting Imbuements was an immensely difficult task.

But this was not a mission in which expenses could be spared. The Greaters had chosen the greatest of the outer sect. Each of them had been specifically selected for this job, and they had been equipped as such.

For this opportunity. Success was all but guaranteed. The Herald knew all. The way was bright to him, and they had been chosen to execute his will. To bring the world closer to where it truly belonged; unfettered, unshackled.

They’d all been warned of the importance of this mission. Of the False Herald's closest warriors… and of the weapons they bore. Todd and Isabel were amongst the highest targets any Truthseekers had been assigned.

Bringing them down was of the highest priority. They could not fail. Not only because the Herald had ordained their success, but because there should have been no competition. A pair of Rank 3 human children against four demons was already overkill.

But it had not been merely four demons that had come for this mission. They had come armed with more than the Herald’s teachings and weaponry. Their weapons were more than just the claws at their fingertips and the blades at their sides.

They were armed with knowledge.

Alucion knew everything that Isabel and Todd were capable of. No element of surprise had been left to sway the roll of the dice in the children’s favor. He, along with the other demons at his sides, had been armed specifically to deal with the duo. Their fate was cast and set in metal; death was the only way into the Herald’s grace that still remained open to them.

He drew to a stop before the door they sought. The other Truthseekers came to a stop beside him. Not one of them made so much as a noise as they got into position. All of them were perfectly silent, as still as a dead lake in the middle of the night.

There would not even be a fight. All of their weaponry and preparation was merely precaution. Tonight’s task had no room for mistakes. This would be a silent execution, and then they would be on to their next and final target — the one who would be the true challenge.

One of the Truthseekers stepped forward. She let her hand brush across the doorknob.

Alucion’s hands clenched at his sides. Only his training allowed him to keep his heart from thumping faster. This was the greatest break point of their entire plan. Opening a door was not often silent. If they made noise, everything could come crumbling apart and their schedule would be ruined.

The ring on the demoness’ finger let out the faintest shimmer of light as the locking mechanism gently undid itself, sliding open without a noise.

Alucion’s lips twitched into a smile. All of his worry was for naught. The greatest opponent had already been defeated.

A gentle push from the demoness slipped the door open just enough to allow entry into the room. Her ring had already quieted its light once more, so as to not give any cause to wake the sleeping humans.

The room was as dark as the hallway. There was no sound in the air but the gentle breaths coming from the humans within the room. Alucion recognized the pattern — it was the slow rise and fall of sleep.

He gave the slightest nod to the lead Truthseeker. All they had to do now was complete their task and be on their way. The Herald would welcome two more into his fold, and then the Truthseekers would be one step closer to his grace.

They moved forward, perfectly silent.

Unnoticed.

Invisible.

The first of the Truthseekers died the moment she stepped through the door. There was only an instant of warning in the form of a dim, nearly inaudible hum. Then a flash of blue shimmered through the dark room and there was a spear point blooming from demoness’ back.

Droplets of blood splattered across Alucion’s features as, for the briefest moment, he could do nothing but stare in surprise. The faint smile was still on his face when he tasted iron on his lips.

Then the glowing spear ripped free of the demon’s chest. With it flowed a stream of shimmering blue energy, ripped from the Truthseeker’s body and swallowed into the darkness of the room beyond. The light vanished, but not before illuminating the cold features of a human girl for the briefest instant.

Isabel.

Impossible. Their breathing was there! It was abundantly clear that both of them were asleep. How is she—

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And then it struck Alucion. His senses were that of a demon. Even though he could no longer see Isabel, he could still hear her… and her breathing had not changed. There was no panic in her breath. It was almost as if she was still asleep.

“They’re awake and controlling their breathing,” Alucion snarled. “They knew of our coming! Eliminate them now. We can’t risk interference!”

He ripped the blade free from his side as he blurred into motion. If Alucion hadn’t known better, he might have assumed that they had been betrayed. Striking to kill instantly without even figuring out who was at her door was not the action of some mere child.

It matters not. Their only advantage is their surprise. Fighting in the dark is far more a detriment to humans than it is to demons. They will not catch us off guard again.

Alucion and the Truthseekers burst into the room, their weapons at the ready. He could still hear Isabel’s breath. Even the sound of her heartbeat tickled at his ears, telling him exactly where she stood.

But Isabel was not his first target. That honor went to Todd, the heartbeat standing at the other side of the room. Alucion blurred toward him, his sword streaking through the air—

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A brilliant flash of light tore through the room. But it was more than light. Fire crackled and roared as it bloomed through the air. A wall of heat slammed into Alucion’s features and he spun to the side, narrowly avoiding a thick gout of flame as it ripped through the spot where he’d been standing moments before.

Torches exploded to life all around the room, casting everything in a ruddy orange light. Heat from their ignition bit against Alucion’s skin as Todd and Isabel were both ripped into the light.

“Demons,” Todd said, his voice muffled by a thin layer of stone armor covering his body. “Not ours.”

“And here I thought we got lucky,” Isabel growled from the other side of the room. She was also clad in armor — but hers was of a far thicker and heavier stone. “I was hoping some idiot nobles decided they were done waiting around and came to finish the job. Disappointing.”

“It really is,” Todd agreed. He raised his hands into the air and struck his wrists together. Flame swirled down from the torches ringing the room to coil around him like a dragon preaparing to strike.

The two of them had been prepared for an attack.

They dare mock our order?

Alucion’s blade hummed in his hand. The torches in the air sputtered as the magic imbued into them struggled in the face of his blade. Then, one by one, they started to blink out. The heat rolling through the room faded instantly, and the fire Todd had summoned went with it.

After all, the flame hadn’t come directly from him. It was borne of an Imbued source — and when an Imbued source ran out of power, then its creations vanished as well.

He smiled as Todd’s heartbeat increased.

“What the fuck?” Todd asked. “They’re screwing with my Imbuements, Isabel! I’ve never seen magic like this.”

Then the room plunged back into darkness.

“And you never will again,” Alucion whispered. Their operations had gone awry, but no plan could be perfect. It didn’t matter. So long as the two were dead within the minute, nothing would change. “End this! I will deal with Todd. Handle the stronger one.”

The two remaining Truthseekers both charged at Isabel. She was the bigger threat, of course. The Master Rune she bore was deadly. Even the Herald was unsure as to the full extent of its strength — but two Truthseekers were more than enough to handle the girl.

As for Todd…

His bracelets clacked together in the dark.

“What did you do? How is this possible?” Todd stammered. There was a thud as a piece of his armor fell away and crunched to the ground at his feet. More fragments rained after it, crumbling away until he stood in his plain clothes once more. “My Imbuements!”

Overreliance on tools. Idiot. Imbuements are a weapon. Using them so heavily is like asking for someone to rip them away from you. All you can really rely on is your own body and the magic within it.

Unfortunately, it is too late for you to learn this lesson.

“Todd!” Isabel screamed. “Run!”

“Too late,” Alucion whispered. He darted forward. His blade flashed, moving at a speed faster than any Rank 3 human could ever hope to react to.

A heavy thunk ran down his arm as it slammed home — into a wall an inch away from Todd’s head. The blade quivered in place. There wasn’t a single drop on it. Todd had managed to move out of the way of the blow.

Surprise flickered through Alucion.

Impossible. How could a Rank 3 ever move so—

Dim red lights cut through the darkness. They streaked before Alucion, straight-edged lines tracing out to connect to each other in some strange pattern. But the lines weren’t just in the air.

They were on Todd’s skin. Like tattoos, they ran across every exposed inch of his body, from his fingertips down his arms until they vanished beneath his shirt. They covered his face. Even his eyes had not been spared, illuminated from within by square, spiraling patterns. Faint power pulsed within the lines, so contained that it was nearly impossible to detect.

“Just kidding,” Todd said. His white teeth glistened in the dark in a cold smile.

Alucion snarled. He jerked his blade free of the wall, sending it blurring for Todd’s head. The boy threw a punch at his stomach, but Alucion ignored it. He was a demon. A mere blow from a child was not worth delaying the fight over to dodge. It could simply be ignored—

Pain exploded through Alucion. He staggered back, blood splattering from between his lips as his blade spun from his hand to clatter to the ground. He stumbled, falling to the ground as agony eviscerated him from within.

He stared down at his stomach in disbelief, but there wasn’t so much as a bruise left over from Todd’s strike.

“Bit sad, isn’t it? Falling over from one punch?” Todd asked, stepping toward Alucion. His features, illuminated by the straight lines covering his body, were cold.

“What did you do? What magic is this?” Alucion wheezed, blood bubbling up from his lips faster now. It almost felt like his internal organs had been completely liquified. But Todd was a human. No human could punch like that. The only thing Todd’s magic could do was…

“An explosion,” Alucion breathed, the word slipping free of his lips alongside the blood. “You passed the explosion directly into my stomach? How is that possible?”

“Imbuements can do some crazy things,” Todd said. “Especially when you know what you’re doing with ‘em. Nice sword, by the way. You don’t mind if I take it, do you?”

More blood burst from Alucion’s lips as he tried and failed to muster up a response. His head fell back and hit the ground with a wet thunk. Darkness rapidly swallowed his vision.

The last thing he saw was a Truthseeker crumpling to the ground at Isabel’s feet, the light from her glowing blue spear illuminating the last of their number as he lay, bleeding out, beside him. All four of them had fallen. They had failed.

Then Todd’s heel slammed down on Alucion’s skull and he knew no more.