Ambush

In a heartbeat, Lucas plunged into the blood world a blood red replica of he's current location. To his shock, he found that he hadn't moved at all. Right before him stood a man with a bowl cut, his eyes wide with disbelief. The mage with his hand extended outward, his face contorted in horror as he witnessed Lucas melting into a crimson puddle, disappearing as if he had never been there to begin with.

The illusion crumbled around them. The mage's spell flickered and dissipated, the mana that had been concentrated at the palm of the mans hand swirling away into nothingness. "Illusion magic," Lucas muttered, the realization hitting him like a cold wave. He silently materialized behind the startled man, seizing him by the throat with brutal efficiency. "Make a sound, and I'll snap your neck."

But before Lucas could deliver his threat, he felt a fierce impact from behind. It was Gary the cowardly gravity mage finally made he's appearance wearing the same trench coat and sneakers Lucas last saw him in. Who had been sent back after he was lied to that the skeleton was dealt with.

In an instant, Gary used his gravity magic to triple Lucas's weight, an oppressive force slammed Lucas into the ground with a deafening Thud.

 Lucas barely had time to recover as he reappeared behind Gary, seizing him by the head and driving him down hard into the earth. A resounding crack echoed through the air, sending shockwaves through the eerie silence blood splashed as Gary's head was smashed into the ground dirtying Lucas's trench coat.

Before Lucas could catch a breath, a female mage leaped gracefully from a nearby tree. She rushed to Gary's side, her hands glowing as she ran to heal his fractured skull then teleported herself and Gary away. Meanwhile, the illusionist, regaining his composure, began to weave another spell, preparing to ensnare Lucas in another deceptive haze.

But Lucas was ready this time. He broke free from the illusory chains and unsheathed his katana, revealing a blade that shimmered like liquid blood, reflecting the chaos around him. With a swift, deadly arc, he slashed at the illusionist—but in that split second, he felt a a cold skeletal arm grip around his torso. A massive skeletal figure, even more muscular than he was, had latched onto him behind that figure stood a skinny pale child being who was being carried by another muscular skeleton with a he's hand emitting purple mana.

Terror flooded Lucas's mind as Gary drew twenty purple circles with words in a language unknown to Lucas within them. using his mana Gary started to sweat as he yelled words in the same language he had wrote in. Boom! Lucas slammed face first into the ground filling he's mouth filled with dirt, dust flew in the air as Lucas's bloodied face turned back skeletal.

as Lucas was instantly immobilized Desperate for clarity, Lucas scanned his surroundings His gaze fell on the healer—the woman who had just restored Gary. She clutched a rectangular device to the side of her face, leaning in and whispering urgently into it.

Time was slipping away, and Lucas knew he had to act fast. If he didn't find a way out of this trap and turn the tide of battle, he would be doomed.