Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Seeing the undead in dark armour dashing across the plains at incredible speeds, Kasper York’s expression grew increasingly grim.

He was now in a very dire situation. Dealing with one Mana Vortex Magus was already challenging enough, and now… yet another had joined the fray.

Who knew how many more might be lurking nearby?

In the next instant, a ruthless gleam flashed in Kasper’s eyes.

Without turning around, he screamed, ”You three, scatter! I will hold these two off! Do not look back... no matter what!”

In the next instant, he rapidly began weaving hand seals to attack the charging undead.

But before he could even finish his action, the dome of bones in front of him suddenly rumbled. And then…

It exploded into a surging tide of razor-sharp bones aimed straight at him!

Kaspar’s eyes widened. He instantly shifted the focus of his spell and altered the hand seals. Just before the torrent struck, he completed the final hand seal, slammed his palms together, and interlocked his fingers.

Rank 3 Spell: Dome of Protection!

The shield manifested just in time as the wave of bones enveloped him. Inside the bone, Kasper’s face turned ashen.

The attack was relentless. The bones battered the mana barrier like a storm, blotting out even the sunlight.

This is bad…

Gritting his teeth, he funneled mana to maintain the spell, resisting the vicious assault. But the longer it went on, the more dread gripped his heart.

His mana continued to drain away from his reserves as he fiercely resisted the onslaught of the necromancer’s attack.

If this goes on, the Princess will…

He didn’t even dare to finish that thought.

Every second inside the mana dome drained his reserves, and with each heartbeat, the chance of Anna and the others’ survival dwindled.

Worse, the longer he stayed on the defensive, the more time he gave the necromancer and his Rank 3 undead to converge on him.

”Damn it!” he cursed aloud. ”How did it come to this?!”

Right at that moment…

He noticed it.

Sunlight was beginning to filter through the bony maelstrom. The barrage was finally losing steam.

But with that relief came another problem...

Cracks had begun forming on the surface of the mana barrier.

Whether the bones gave out first or the dome collapsed, it made little difference. He would soon face not one, but two Mana Vortex-level forces.

And yet, there was one critical oversight in his calculations:

Zashi’s undead creature…

Why would it wait for the wave of bones to dissipate?

BAM!!

A thunderous crash echoed across the battlefield.

In a suicidal charge, the armored undead burst through the wall of bones and swung its warhammer at the mana barrier.

Under Kasper’s astonished gaze, the undead knight, who now looked like a humanoid porcupine with its body riddled with sharp, white bones, rammed through the mana barrier, then took another swing at him.

Eyes wide with horror, Kasper was unable to cast a defensive spell on time and could only coat his arms with mana and defend against the vicious attack at the last possible moment.

The blow shattered his defenses.

Bones in his arms snapped like twigs as the impact hurled him dozens of meters through the air. Blood sprayed through his mouth before he miserably crashed near Anna’s battlefield.

With that single blow, the tides of battle had shifted.

Anna, Ada, and Daryl turned towards him with panic and nervousness etched all over their faces.

”Kasper!!”

That brief moment of distraction was all Hayes Ballard needed.

Without hesitating a moment longer, he cast a hastening spell on himself and appeared before the trio in the blink of an eye.

First, he delivered a flying knee straight at Anna’s face. She was standing at the forefront of the formation, so she was naturally his primary target. Moreover, she was also the strongest of the trio!

But before his knee could even graze her face, the amulet she had around her neck flared to life, conjuring a thin barrier that absorbed part of the blow.

Hayes Ballard’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but he still followed through with his attack.

Although the force of the attack was cut down by half, Anna was still sent flying away.

Ballard didn’t pause.

Next, he ducked low and swept Ada’s legs out from under her. But before she could hit the ground, he viciously grabbed her by the face and slammed her down with brutal force!

Without wasting another breath, he took a quick step towards Daryl, landing a crushing elbow to the man’s solar plexus, causing his body to crumple like a shrimp.

Ballard then followed through with a brutal upper-cut to his chin, instantly knocking him out.

Less than one second…

That was all it took for Hayes Ballard to incapacitate the three Mana Liquefaction Magi!

Ada and Daryl were knocked out cold. Anna, on the other hand, remained conscious because of the strange defensive artifact that had shielded her at the last moment.

”You’re full of surprises, wench!”

Blood streamed down the crimson-haired princess’s nose as she struggled to get to her feet. Furthermore, Ballard’s knee kick to her head had caused her to feel greatly disoriented, making her vision hazy.

She turned to her right and squinted her eyes.

”Kasper…” she muttered weakly.

The old man was on his knees, the bones on his arms shattered and jutting out of his flesh, covering his hands in blood.

Needless to say, he would be unable to cast spells until his arms were healed.

She turned to her left.

”Ada… Daryl…”

Her friends lay motionless on the ground. Ada’s head had caved into the ground, and she didn’t know whether she was alive or not. As for Daryl, he seemed to be barely holding on.

She finally managed to stand on her feet. Taking deep breaths, she pointed her sword, which had lost its flames, at the blond Magus.

Her ruby eyes blazed with hatred and fury, and she spat through gritted teeth, ”Who… who are you? What do you want from us?”

Hayes Ballard grinned from ear to ear. ”You still have some fight left in you, eh?”

Anna’s gaze shifted to the motionless bodies of her friends. Her heart blazed with unprecedented anger, and the next moment, her sword was reignited in flames again.

Her lips parted, and she coldly muttered, ”I’ll die fighting if it’s the last thing I do.”

***

Inside the narrow pass, Rowan and his wife ran with all their might.

At some point, he had taken his daughter from Carla’s arms, allowing her to preserve her strength.

Now, with both children cradled in his arms, he charged forward through the darkness of the pass.

Tears streamed down his face as he kept repeating in his mind:

Forgive me, Master… I abandoned Lady Anna… I am a coward…

His breathing grew ragged, each inhale sharp and painful, but he didn’t stop.

He couldn’t stop.

Running was the only thing left he could do.

Suddenly, her wife’s foot caught on a jagged rock, and she collapsed onto the stone path with a cry.

”Carla!” Rowan froze in his footsteps and hurriedly turned around in a panic. ”Are you alright?!”

”…Yes,” Carla mustered a single word in between her silent sobs.

This whole ordeal had taken a great toll on her. It had pushed her to the edge.

The oppressive darkness, the sounds of battle behind them, the crushing weight of helplessness...

It was all too much!

She didn’t even know if she and her family could make it out alive.

But she had to at least try!

She couldn’t give up… not yet…

Clenching her jaw, she fought against the wave of exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her. She forced herself to stand, staggering to her feet.

She turned to her husband and gave a faint, yet resolute nod.

”I’m… I’m—”

But the rest of her words never came.

Her eyes widened in shock, her entire body shuddered, and then... she fell down on the ground again, trembling in terror.

Rowan’s heart sank. He felt a chill crawl down his spine.

Something was wrong...

Terribly wrong!

Slowly, almost mechanically, he turned to follow the direction of Carla’s terrified gaze.

And there it was…

Another towering undead creature, draped in dark, weathered armor.

It said nothing.

It simply stood there, blocking their way.

Rowan’s breath caught in his throat, and that’s when he knew...

He wasn’t going to make it to the other end of the pass.