Chapter 76: Regret

The battle raged on, and Robert found himself facing an enemy who had once been his comrade and ally Woltuk.

The latter had summoned one of his monstrous creations: the Grootslang, a nightmarish fusion of a mammoth and a big tall serpent.

The beast, as swift as it was massive, let out a high-pitched scream piercing the air with its howl: "KYAAA!"

From its enormous jaws poured a shimmering pink liquid.

Instinctively Robert knew, he could parry this attack with his sword but his instincts told him to dodge.

He leaped backward.

The liquid once it hit the ground, instantly dissolved the rock beneath it.

Woltuk perched on the back of his creature, burst into laughter.

 "WAHAHA! Well played, Robert! If you'd been hit, you'd be dead in less than three seconds this toxin devours anything organic even a strong knight like you."

Robert, wounded and covered in blood, kept his distance, panting heavily his mind raced.

"How do I defeat this abomination? It's too resistant to my attacks should I take out Woltuk first?"

But he quickly dismissed the idea shaking his head.

 "No, even if I kill him, this creature would still be a problem worse yet it could escape and wreak havoc on other battlefields i can't let that happen."

Seeing Robert's hesitation, Woltuk raised his black scepter and incanted:

 "Magma Wave!"

A massive wave of burning magma surged forward in a straight line turning everything to ashes in its path.

In response Robert invoked:

 "Aquasphere!"

A large sphere of water formed around him, dissipating the flames and protecting him.

However thick smoke now enveloped the battlefield, drastically reducing visibility.

Suddenly a rapid movement in the mist.

The Grootslang's massive tail appeared out of nowhere and struck Robert violently, sending him crashing several meters away.

 "KWAAH!"

Robert spat blood, his body bruised from the impact.

As he struggled to rise he remembered a crucial detail under the beast's torso, he had seen a strange purple mark.

 "That spot... Could it be its heart? Its weak point?" he thought, gasping for breath.

In this desperate situation, Robert staked everything on this one observation.

Robert struggled to his feet and ran at full speed toward Woltuk and the Grootslang.

Woltuk, watching his adversary, burst into mocking laughter.

"WAHAHAHA! You're running toward your own death, Robert! I won't stop you."

The creature let out a shrill cry and spat its toxic pink liquid again. At the same time, Woltuk raised his scepter and incanted:

 "Gravity Control!"

Robert felt his body grow heavy, as if a mountain were pressing down on his shoulders.

His progress slowed, but he didn't stop.

 "Now!" Robert shouted.

He used all of his remaining magic to summon Water Lance, a sharp water weapon.

Focusing his strength, he hurled the lance with perfect precision.

The lance flew through the air at high speed, piercing the purple mark beneath the Grootslang's body the beast howled:

 "RYAAAA!"

Its massive body collapsed heavily onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

Woltuk seeing his creature felled fixed Robert with a gaze full of rage.

 "How dare you?! You'll pay for this, Robert!"

The dark mage summoned his ultimate spell: Magma Sphere.

Four enormous spheres of incandescent magma were created and hurled simultaneously.

Robert though injured, concentrated his remaining magic and incanted:

 "Water Avalanche!"

A massive torrent of water surged in front of him, followed by a Water Twister.

The two combined spells extinguished the magma spheres in a hiss of scalding steam.

As Woltuk prepared another attack Robert, taking advantage of a brief opening used Water Arrow.

A liquid arrow formed and flew with lightning speed, piercing the dark mage's chest.

 "Guh...!" Woltuk murmured, falling to his knees.

The dark mage collapsed, defeated.

Exhausted, Robert planted his sword into the ground to keep himself upright.

The pain and fatigue weighed heavily on every movement.

He whispered, almost inaudibly:

 "A such error, Woltuk… I really wished you had stayed on the right path."

The silence was broken by the sound of rapid footsteps.

A group of soldiers arrived at the scene, led by a man with red hair and a scar over his eye Marcus.

The marks of his own battle were visible, but he stood tall and alert.

Upon seeing Robert's condition, Marcus approached and asked:

 "So... The dark mage, he's...?"

Robert turned his gaze away, not saying a word that was enough for Marcus to understand.

After a moment of silence Marcus placed a hand on Robert's shoulder and said in a measured tone:

"Let's join the others."

Without another word Robert followed Marcus and the soldiers.

They left the area leaving behind the smoldering ruins, the Grootslang's corpse, and Woltuk's lifeless body.