Chapter 7 : The Guardian
Chapter 7 : The Guardian.
She was about to pass out when, suddenly, she noticed a dark figure moving among the trees. The silhouette was indistinct and seemed to be observing the fight, but a deep fear paralyzed her.
— No... it can't be... — Lyra wondered, as despair enveloped her like a suffocating fog. The figure was getting closer, and the terror in her heart intensified.
Could it be another victim?
The darkness finally overtook her. Lyra's vision dissolved into shadows, and the last thing she saw was that figure moving swiftly as her consciousness completely faded.
Calmly watched as the guardian reformed. The creature, made of pure mana, was like a mirror of the environment, absorbing the energy around it to grow stronger with each passing second.
The greenish glow of the clearing, saturated by the high concentration of mana, seemed to dance around them. The mage knew that despite his skill and experience, this fight would test his ability to adapt.
The creature didn't hesitate. Its first attack was direct and brutal.
A massive arm of mana shot toward him with overwhelming force, slicing through the air like thunder. The mage quickly raised a thin mana barrier around his body, dispersing part of the impact, but the blow was too heavy. The force pushed him backward, his feet digging into the forest floor.
He adjusted his stance, feeling the flow of mana around and within him. The creature advanced again, this time with both arms raised, delivering two crushing overhead blows.
The ground trembled with intensity, Instead of casting complex spells, Aslam opted for a more refined approach.
With a simple hand gesture, he released a small stream of mana that seemed insignificant at first glance, but upon hitting the guardian, it began to corrode its form like acid.
The creature hesitated for a moment, its particles trembling as it felt the sudden invasion of superior mana.
The guardian turned to him with a fierce glow in its eyes. Its heavy movements began to grow more precise, more controlled. It then sensed the change in its attack pattern.
"It's adapting..." he realized. The creature abandoned its slow, massive strikes and began focusing on faster attacks, charging with surprising speed for something of its size.
More and more, it refined its style, realizing that speed gave it a greater advantage than brute strength.
For his part, adjusted to each new movement of the guardian. He deftly dodged the rapid attacks, but he could feel the creature becoming more dangerous.
The creature then spun suddenly, releasing a sharp arm of condensed mana that grazed Aslam, slicing open a wound on his arm.
He clenched his teeth. The guardian was adapting too quickly.
Blood trickled down his clothing, staining the fabric red. Aslam looked at the wound, his eyes fixed on the blood for a brief moment.
"How long has it been since I felt something like this?" he thought, a slight smile curling his lips.
After that he focused on the very essence of mana around and within him. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he channeled his internal energy, allowing the flow of mana to surge through his body like a roaring river.
His breathing became deep and controlled, every cell in his body vibrating in sync with the mana around him. He expanded his senses to their fullest, feeling the environment, the guardian, and every thread of energy interweaving in the clearing.
The guardian didn't wait. In a fraction of a second, it launched a ferocious attack, its arms transforming into sharp blades of pure mana, slicing through the air toward him with lethal precision.
In response, using only small bursts of refined mana to boost his speed.
He dodged the first strike, ducked to avoid the second, and on the third attack, he concentrated his own mana into a thin layer around his arm.
He delivered a direct blow with his closed hand, using the condensed mana as a weapon, striking the creature's arm with precision.
The impact reverberated, and the guardian recoiled for a moment, its blades distorting and vibrating from the shock.
But the creature was adapting. Soon, it returned to the attack with even more force, its mana blades now transforming into fast spirals, attempting to surround Aslam from all sides.
He sensed the movement and quickly activated a simple internal strengthening spell, enhancing his reflexes. His internal mana flowed like water through his muscles and bones, making his movements more precise and agile.
The creature, realizing that speed wasn't enough, made a surprise attack.
Aslam leaped, spinning in the air to dodge an upward strike, and in the middle of the movement, he concentrated a small sphere of refined mana in the palm of his hand.
With a swift gesture, he launched the sphere at the creature, which intercepted it with an arm, but in doing so, one of its structures became destabilized.
"It's getting faster... but that won't be enough," he thought as his feet touched the ground again.
Even so, the guardian didn't stop. It lunged forward in a final attack, concentrating all its energy into a single point, trying to crush the young mage with an avalanche of condensed mana.
However, already prepared, all the mana accumulated within was focused, refined even further, and tightly condensed into the palms."
With a controlled and precise gesture, he delivered a direct strike against the central point of the creature's attack. The clash of the two energies reverberated like thunder through the forest, shaking the surrounding trees.
For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped. The two forces collided with immense intensity, but then, the guardian's structure began to shatter.
The creature roared in agony, its form of pure mana fracturing into thousands of shimmering particles, until nothing was left but a faint glow floating in the air.
Remained standing, breathing calmly, watching the last particles of the creature dissipate.
His body was still energized, the mana flowing more intensely and controlled than ever. He had surpassed his own limits, now at the mid-level of the Second Ring, without even realizing when it had happened.
The battlefield was now silent, except for the sound of heavy breathing and the faint crackling of mana in the air, still dissipating after the guardian's destruction.
The creature's body dissolved into mana particles that floated like tiny fragments of light, slowly disappearing into the surroundings.
Aslam, drenched in sweat and with several cuts on his body, breathed heavily, feeling the weight of the intense combat. He had used a significant portion of his energy, and even for someone of his caliber, the battle had been exhausting.
Before him, the defeated guardian had fallen, and at the center of the room, a relic began to reveal itself. A bright glow took the place where the creature had fallen.
The bluish light pulsed rhythmically, as if still alive with the condensed energy of the mana that once fed the guardian. With effort, Aslam walked toward the center of the room, his heavy footsteps echoing against the cold stone floor.
The relic emerged from the shadows, slowly floating in the air. An orb, glowing and surrounded by a dense and powerful flow of mana, began to materialize. Aslam felt the power of that orb even before he got close.
It was the source of all the energy that had sustained the guardian and fed the environment. The mana of the entire place was concentrated within that artifact.
He approached, observing the orb with a mix of fascination and caution.
The relic shone with an unusual intensity, and he could feel the flow of mana being drained from the surrounding environment, as if the orb were absorbing everything that remained of energy in the place.
"So... this is what the guardian was protecting," Aslam thought, raising his hand cautiously.
He extended his fingers near the orb, without touching it, merely sensing the flow of mana that emanated from it.
"This relic... contains immense power, but it's also unstable. I can't use it directly. I need to balance the mana."
With a precise movement, he surrounded the orb with a thin layer of his own mana, stabilizing the oscillations of energy running through the artifact's surface.
"This should hold for now," he murmured, looking at the orb one last time before sealing it inside a hidden dimensional space.
His body was still sore. Despite the victory, he felt the effects of the fight. The exhaustion weighed on him.
Sweat trickled down his face, mixing with the dried blood from the cuts he had suffered during the battle. He smiled faintly, touching the side of his face where a superficial wound still stung.
"How long has it been since I felt something like this..." he thought, a tired and almost nostalgic smile appearing on his lips. Even in the exhaustion and pain, there was satisfaction in facing a worthy opponent, and that guardian had tested his limits, forcing him to evolve in the midst of battle.
He took a deep breath, regaining his composure before looking at the three unconscious bodies around the room.
Aslam walked slowly toward them, beginning with Lyra. Kneeling beside her, he observed her irregular breathing. The young mage had expended all her internal mana, leaving her body on the brink of total collapse. He extended a hand, enveloping it with a small amount of refined mana, stabilizing the flow of energy within her.
— "You were brave," he murmured, feeling the weak response of mana returning to her body. "But you weren't prepared for a place like this."
He repeated the same process with Kellen and Melina, carefully channeling his mana to restore some of their energy. It wasn't a complete healing, but it would be enough to keep them stable until they awoke.
His body felt heavy, each movement slower than the last, yet there was a firm refusal to leave any of them in danger.
As he finished the process with Kellen, the last drop of his own mana was expended to stabilize him.
Breathing slowly, he tried to contain the exhaustion that had finally caught up with him.
"Even after all these years... there are still limits," he thought, feeling a small pang of self-criticism. The combat, the evolution... everything came at a price, and now he bore the weight of that effort.
He knew he could push on longer if necessary, but the battle against the guardian had forced him to expend more energy than anticipated.
Every cut, every impact was etched into his body, even as his mind remained sharp as ever.
Still weary, he reached into his bag and retrieved three small potions. His fingers, still trembling from the fight, carefully opened the bottles.
He placed one next to each of the adventurers — a crystalline vial containing a potent healing potion, enough to stabilize their bodies and restore some of their strength.
"This should be enough to help you recover until your companions arrive," he thought, watching the injured bodies.
There was an awareness that despite their strength, they still had much to learn before venturing into such places again. They could not rely solely on luck.
As he moved toward the exit, a movement behind him caught his attention. The sound of ragged breathing and someone stirring among the adventurers made him stop.
Turning his head slightly, curiosity piqued, he wondered who had regained consciousness.
It was Lyra, the mage. She struggled to rise, her eyes half-open and bewildered, still clouded by exhaustion and shock from the recent battle. Her hand trembled as she tried to support herself.
— W-who... who are you? — Lyra's voice emerged weakly, almost a whisper. There was disbelief and fear in her expression, unsure whether the man before her was a savior or a threat.
A brief glance was cast her way, calm yet intense. There was no intention to linger. Without revealing much, he answered calmly and directly:
— Focus on recovering. The rest of your companions will arrive soon.
— You're lucky. — he murmured, observing them one last time before stepping away.
— "The luck of still being alive."
His tone was gentle, yet carried a quiet authority. There was nothing more to say.
She blinked, still trying to process what had happened. Before she could form another question, exhaustion overwhelmed her once more. Her eyes closed again, and she fainted.