Operation: Unshackled - Phase II

"Level Two Sky Magic - Thunder Flash!" Ghosteye yelled as he spread his arms wide and looked up to the sky.

Immediately, several purple and deadly lightning bolts struck down from the sky, which was weird, since we were supposed to be in an enclosed room. He must've created the lightning bolts himself, not called upon the sky to do it for him. Either way, I evaded them easily.

"You aren't the only one that can use Shadow Magic, y'know..." I whispered.

If I hid myself within the shadows using Vanishing Shadows, the lightning bolts would not be able to hit me. Inside the shadows was a separate world of nothingness, in which any other element's attacks cannot enter except for Light magic, and of course - Shadow Magic itself.

"Ah...you can use Shadow Magic as well? Interesting!" Ghosteye bellowed with a laugh. "I'm very curious...just how many elements can you use?"

I smirked. "Why don't you find out, then?"

"Hahaha! Very well!" he replied, and launched another barrage of electricity unto me.

The reason I was hiding and avoiding his attacks instead of directly consuming them and turning them into mana I could use, was that I didn't want him to know all my tricks.

In the slight chance that he does escape from here somehow, perhaps with a Magic Artifact or whatnot, I wouldn't want him to be spreading the word about my abilities. That would certainly cause a lot of trouble. Thus, I decided to save my consumption skill as a last resort. My mana was looking good so far, so I didn't have to worry about that. But even so....he was a Golden Monarch, bound to have more mana than I did. This was slowly turning into a battle of endurance, which I did not wish for.

"Hey now, this is getting boring," I taunted as I zoomed between the shadows. "We could go on forever like this. Where would be the fun in that?"

Ghosteye stopped his attacks for a moment, and seemed to consider my proposal. "You are indeed correct! What do you suggest we do then?"

This man was really an idiot. But I wasn't complaining.

"Come at me with your full power. Use whatever other elements you have up your sleeve. That would certainly spice things up, don't you think?"

Now then...if he agreed to th-

"Hahaha! Fine! Just beware that you might die in the process!" Ghosteye gave his reply almost instantly, and I didn't know whether to laugh or sigh and shake my head.

He then made some weird gestures with his hands, and chanted a spell I never would've expected.

"Level One Necromancy Magic - Skeleton Summon!"

I winced. Necromancy...a Dark Magic element. I had completely forgotten it was said that all Midnight Syndicate members possess Dark Magic. However...if skeletons are the best minions he could summon-

"Level Two Necromancy Magic - Wraith Summon!"

"Level Two Necromancy Magic - Revenant Summon!"

"Level Three Necromancy Magic - Acolyte Summon!"

Hey, hey now....

This wasn't just one or two skeletons.

This was an entire necromantic army.

Skeletons to scout, wraiths for ranged attacks, revenants as footsoldiers, and acolytes as healers.

This was a force capable of defeating a real army, let alone just me.

*****

(Yu An Xue's Perspective)

Necromancy Magic. The element of bringing the dead back to life.

Perhaps that is a misconception. It doesn't bring the dead back to life - it brings the dead back to the world of the living, but the dead will always remain dead. What necromancy really is, is using the dead as servants to do your bidding, and not letting them ever get peace.

Therefore, it was labeled as a type of Dark Magic.

...And the Midnight Syndicate specialized, in Dark Magic.

Before me, the once seemingly huge yet empty room was now filled to the brim with undead soldiers, healers, and mages alike. It was an entire necromantic army, and we were the ones that had to fight it.

I looked to Xuan Kai, and even his usual calm expression seemed to be in a grimace.

But surprisingly, that grimace soon faded away, and a devilish smile appeared on his face once more.

"Sky, Shadow, and Necromancy...are those the only elements you have?" Xuan Kai asked in a haughty tone, as if looking down on the person he was saying this to.

Ghosteye laughed and spoke threateningly. "They are all I need...to make you cower in fear."

Xuan Kai merely shrugged at the malice in his tone, and continued. "But I'm not cowering in fear right now, am I?"

He gave off a very relaxed and calm aura, as if he was resting at his own home. I couldn't see Ghosteye's expression through his mask, but this had to make him angry at least a little.

"Heheheh...we'll see about that," Ghosteye said darkly in reply.

He raised his hand, and made a move-forward' gesture with it, like a military commander.

And in response, the hundreds of undead soldiers in the room shrieked an ear-piercing battle cry, and came charging directly towards us.

*****

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

The skeletons were first, acting as scouts. Not for espionage, but to test our defense capabilities. The 3 girls, now standing on either sides of me, were at the ready to fight back against this dark force.

No point in wasting all of our mana here, so I only had one person defend at a time if possible.

I nodded towards Feng Mian, who gave a nod back in response, and began chanting. "Level One Ice Magic - Blizzard!"

Immediately, a white blanket of snow covered the area in front of us, along with a howling wind and raging blizzard that converted the entire room into a winter-like landscape.

The skeletons, being too short, were buried underneath the snow, unable to budge an inch. The revenants and acolytes were much too tall to be buried, but even then their tracks would be slowed by the snow and wind blowing against them. Even the wraiths who hovered in the air would be blinded by the fluttering snowflakes and slowed by the wind.

"Nice work, Feng Mian," I remarked honestly.

She blushed and looked away. "T-This is nothing..."

A mass scale environmental spell like this used up a lot of mana, but it was worth it. It didn't stop the undead army completely, but with one spell, we had eliminated a full race from their troops and slowed the rest. A fair trade-off, even if Feng Mian had used up all of her mana with that one attack.

"Hm...good move indeed. But you'll need more than that to stop me!" Ghosteye declared arrogantly. "Move forward, my army!"

A bloodthirsty battle cry resounded across the room once more, and I had Yu An Xue take care of them this time.

"Level Two Water Magic - Aqua Blades!" Yu An Xue chanted.

Multiple round discs made of water spinning at an insane speed formed around her, and she launched them at the incoming enemy. The discs danced between the revenants, who were crawling at the pace of a turtle thanks to the blizzard Feng Mian had set down. And before they could even react, two wraiths were dead, heads lopped cleanly off by Yu An Xue's attack.

But they didn't stop there. After eliminating all the ranged attackers of the group, the discs came flying back around to the revenants, still moving like snails through the blizzard. They were wearing armor and had thicker skin than the wraiths, but even then it wasn't enough to stop Yu An Xue's spinning rings of death.

"Level Two Magic, huh..." I murmured. "As expected of Shenzhen's number one beauty and talent."

"N-No, you are far stronger than I am," she replied meekly, tinged with a blush at the compliment. She was one of the few people that knew about my true power, after all. Feng Mian and Qing Yue had told her everything a long time ago, including how I could use all 21 Elements, and the fact that my magic differed from everyone else's - both in strength and appearance.

Seeing his entire necromantic army being massacred, Ghosteye couldn't take it anymore.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Boy, you and your allies are all exceptional talents! Have you reconsidered yet?"

I sighed. He just won't give up, will he? "No, and I never will," I replied. "They won't either," I continued, looking at the three girls.

"We've just annihilated your undead army," Feng Mian boasted. "What more do you have up your sleeve?"

"Hahaha...yes you have. It looks I will have to do some fighting myself," Ghosteye hissed dangerously.

"Come forth, my battle soul!" he yelled.

I narrowed my eyes as he raised himself from his throne, and clasped his hands together. Suddenly, a green light appeared behind the visor of his mask. He looked like a demon knight, in full armor and left eye evoking an eerie green radiance.

But that wasn't the most fearsome part.

What really gave off his powerful aura that threatened to make my knees buckle, was the projection above him.

It was a green tiger that matched his left visor, enormous and menacing. It gave a loud roar like that of a real beast, shaking the entire chamber.

But its eyes weren't just that of any tiger.

They were the eyes of a demon, staring down at its prey.