The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family

Crimson light flooded the corridor as Nicholas arrived, his runic blade intercepting Myrith's dagger with perfect timing. The impact created a shockwave that cracked the stone floor beneath them, amber and crimson energies colliding in a blinding flash that threw both combatants back several paces.

"Nicholas?" Alexandra gasped, recognizing her unexpected ally despite the glowing runic patterns covering his exposed skin.

Nicholas didn't take his eyes off Myrith, whose expression had shifted from confidence to wary calculation. "Get to the chamber," he instructed Alexandra, his voice steady despite the crimson energy coursing visibly through the runic pathways beneath his skin. "I'll handle her."

"The Ancestral Circuit," Myrith observed, genuine surprise evident in her voice. "A technique lost since the Third Age." Her eyes narrowed, studying the precise patterns that covered his exposed skin. "How does one so young possess such forbidden knowledge?"

Nicholas offered no explanation. Instead, he adjusted his stance, the crimson runes along his forearms pulsing with increased intensity as he prepared his next move. His silence seemed to unsettle Myrith more than any response could have.

Her surprise transformed into something resembling reverence. "The Blinded Prophet foretold one who would walk between lives." She took a step back, ritual dagger lowering slightly. "You are known to us, Chronos-Walker."

Nicholas showed no reaction to the title, though Alexandra could see tension in his stance. "I won't let you take Klaus."

"It is already done," Myrith replied with absolute certainty.

Behind them, cultists streamed into the now-open Frost Chamber. Alexandra immediately abandoned the confrontation, rushing toward the doors with desperate speed. Nicholas wanted to follow but couldn't risk turning his back on Myrith, whose amber energy had intensified around her ritual dagger once more.

"Your runic techniques are impressive," Myrith acknowledged. "But they burn through life energy at an unsustainable rate. You cannot maintain the Ancestral Circuit indefinitely."

Nicholas knew she was right. Already he could feel the runic pathways burning beneath his skin, each pulse of crimson energy extracting a physical toll. But he only needed to delay her long enough for Alexandra to reach Klaus.

"I don't need indefinite," he replied, shifting his stance. "I just need enough."

Crimson light blazed from his runic patterns as he activated the Third Gate technique—a dangerous overload that would grant temporary advantage at significant cost. The air around him vibrated with tangible energy, dust particles suspended mid-fall as reality itself seemed to bend in response to the power flowing through his modified body.

Nicholas moved.

One moment he stood ten paces from Myrith, the next he materialized at her flank, blade already completing its arc before she could fully register his disappearance from her field of vision. Only instinct saved her, amber energy erupting from her ritual scars to form a partial barrier that deflected his strike by millimeters.

"Impossible," she hissed, amber light flaring as she pivoted to face him.

Nicholas didn't pause. His blade became a crimson blur, each strike precisely calculated to exploit the millisecond gaps in her defenses. The corridor filled with the sound of clashing energies—not metal against metal, but fundamental forces colliding in ways that distorted the air itself. Each impact released a pulse of pressure that cracked the stone walls and floor around them.

Myrith's ritual dagger transformed, elongating into a whip-like appendage that curved around Nicholas's guard. He anticipated the maneuver, crimson energy flaring along his blade as he executed a counter-technique that seemed to fold space itself. The ritual dagger's extension passed through empty air where he had been a heartbeat before.

Nicholas reappeared above her, descending with blade extended. Myrith rolled aside, but not before his crimson edge sliced through her shoulder, drawing first blood. Amber energy immediately flowed to seal the wound, but not before a spray of crimson painted the corridor wall.

"You fight with techniques no living being should possess," Myrith observed, genuine wariness entering her voice. Her ritual dagger reformed, splitting into multiple serpentine appendages that whirled around her like a living shield.

Nicholas landed with perfect balance, his runic patterns pulsing brighter as he diverted additional energy to his legs. The stone beneath his feet cracked from the pressure as he launched himself forward once more, his blade meeting the serpentine appendages with precision that shouldn't have been possible at such speeds.

Each strike severed an amber tendril, crimson energy disrupting the ritual dagger's transformations. The corridor filled with particles of dissolving amber light as Nicholas systematically dismantled Myrith's defenses, his movements flowing with inhuman grace. Not the stilted techniques of modern combat schools, but something older—movements optimized across uncounted repetitions to achieve perfect efficiency.

Myrith adapted quickly, abandoning her failing defensive pattern for a direct counter-offensive. Amber energy condensed around her hands, forming gauntlets of pure power that moved with the same liquid grace as her ritual dagger. She struck with devastating force, each blow powerful enough to shatter stone.

Nicholas met her assault with a defensive technique that created a spiraling barrier of crimson energy around his body. Amber and crimson energies clashed in visible shockwaves, the fundamentally different systems creating unstable reactions where they met. Each collision released a burst of force that shook the corridor, dust and debris raining from the ceiling as the structure itself protested the unnatural energies being manipulated within its confines.

"Fascinating," Myrith observed, scientific curiosity momentarily overriding combat focus. "Your blood-based runic system operates on completely different principles from our amber enhancement. The interactions are... unpredictable."

Nicholas exploited her brief distraction, his runic blade slicing through her amber gauntlet with perfect precision. The construct shattered like glass, crimson energy disrupting its fundamental structure. Amber light dispersed in a shower of glowing particles as Myrith staggered back, momentarily vulnerable.

His follow-up strike would have ended the confrontation had Myrith not executed an emergency spatial distortion—a technique that temporarily folded reality around her, shifting her position three paces to the left in an instant. Nicholas's blade cut through empty air, crimson energy dissipating harmlessly as his target disappeared.

Myrith's expression hardened, scientific interest replaced by cold calculation. "Enough observation. The Worthy One awaits his destiny."

She launched a counter-offensive, amber energy intensifying around her as she executed a complex sequence of attacks. The ritual scars covering her body glowed with increasing brightness, temporarily transforming her into a being of pure amber light. Each strike left afterimages in the air, reality itself struggling to process the speed and force of her movements.

Nicholas met each attack with crimson-enhanced precision, the runic patterns along his arms pulsing brighter with each impact. Where Myrith relied on raw power, Nicholas countered with perfect efficiency—no wasted motion, no unnecessary force, every action calculated to maximize effect while minimizing energy expenditure.

Behind them, Alexandra had reached the Frost Chamber's entrance. Inside, chaos had erupted. Four Beast Emperor researchers, led by Head Researcher Thale, frantically worked to restore the chamber's disrupted preservation field while defending against the intruders. Their specialized equipment—brought from the Beast Emperor's domain over the past year—hummed with unstable energy as the cult's amber techniques interfered with their operation.

"Maintain the containment field!" Thale shouted, her mixed Lionhart-Raikra heritage evident in her golden eyes and distinctive bone structure. Despite being deprived of mana enhancement by the null field, she wielded what appeared to be a specialized staff of Beast Emperor design that pulsed with faint energy.

Six cultists had already formed a circle around the central platform where Klaus lay, their chanting creating a harmonic resonance that made the air itself vibrate. The chamber's blue-white preservation runes flickered erratically, disrupted by amber energy flowing from specialized devices positioned around the perimeter.

"Get away from him!" Alexandra shouted, engaging the nearest cultist with renewed determination despite her injuries.

Her blade found its mark, but two more immediately intercepted her. She fought with everything she had left, but fatigue and blood loss had taken their toll. A blow to her leg sent her stumbling, another caught her across the back as she tried to recover.

Across the chamber, Researcher Thale and her team were similarly overwhelmed. One researcher already lay motionless on the floor, another staggered back with a ritual dagger embedded in his shoulder. Thale herself fought with surprising skill for a scientist, her specialized staff crackling with energy that somehow functioned despite the null field—likely utilizing alternative channels similar to the cultists' own techniques.

"The preservation matrix is collapsing!" warned one of the remaining researchers, desperately adjusting controls on a crystalline device. "We can't maintain stability!"

In the corridor, Nicholas and Myrith continued their deadly dance. Each exchange of blows created visible distortions where crimson and amber energies collided. The air between them had become a battlefield of opposing forces, reality itself strained by techniques it was never designed to contain.

Myrith launched a particularly vicious assault, amber energy condensing into a spear-like construct that shot toward Nicholas with impossible speed. He pivoted, body bending at an angle that should have broken human bones, the amber spear passing so close it severed several strands of his hair.

His counter-attack exploited the millisecond opening her failed strike created. Crimson energy surged along his blade as he executed a technique that seemed to compress space between them. Suddenly he was inside her guard, blade already completing its arc toward her throat.

Myrith's eyes widened in genuine shock at the unexpected proximity. Only a desperate defensive maneuver saved her life—amber energy erupting from her ritual scars to form a hasty shield between her throat and Nicholas's blade. The crimson edge cut through the barrier but lost momentum, stopping just short of lethal contact. Blood welled from a shallow cut across her neck, amber light struggling to seal the wound.

"You fight beyond mortal limits," Myrith acknowledged, genuine respect entering her voice as she disengaged, creating distance between them once more. "Few have breached my defenses in decades."

Nicholas offered no response, his focus absolute as he maintained the Third Gate's activation. The runic patterns along his arms had begun to burn brighter, an indication that the technique was approaching its sustainable limit. Yet his stance betrayed no weakness, his movements showing no deterioration despite the toll being extracted from his body.

His blade traced a complex pattern through the air, a technique designed to create momentary openings in an opponent's defense. Myrith countered with uncanny anticipation, her ritual energies meeting his at precise points to neutralize the pattern before it could fully form.

"Your training is impressive," Myrith conceded. "But insufficient."

The ritual-scarred woman suddenly changed her approach, amber energy intensifying around her weapon. The dagger elongated, transforming into a whip-like apparition that moved with serpentine intelligence. The living weapon curved around Nicholas's guard, scoring a painful gash across his ribs before he could adjust his defense.

Nicholas did not gasp or flinch despite the wound. His body simply adjusted, crimson energy flowing to the injured area while his fighting style shifted to compensate for the new limitation. The living dagger retracted, resuming solid form in Myrith's hand.

A pulse of energy from the Frost Chamber interrupted their deadly exchange—a harmonic resonance that both combatants recognized immediately. The extraction ritual had reached its culmination.

Nicholas sensed the shift in energy patterns, a surge of amber light from the Frost Chamber followed by movement toward the estate's eastern wing. The extraction had succeeded; the cultists were already escaping with Klaus.

His momentary distraction cost him. Myrith's ritual dagger slipped past his guard, slicing across his chest and disrupting one of the primary runic pathways of the Ancestral Circuit. Crimson light flickered as the energy flow destabilized, forcing Nicholas to disengage.

"You feel it, don't you?" Myrith observed, amber light pulsing around her ritual dagger. "The prophecy unfolds as written. The Worthy One goes to his destiny."

Nicholas adjusted his stance, compensating for the damaged runic pathway. "There's nothing inevitable about kidnapping an unconscious boy for your deranged rituals," he replied, though internally he calculated his rapidly diminishing options.

The extraction team was already moving Klaus through the estate's eastern wing, likely toward pre-established escape routes. The Ancestral Circuit couldn't maintain his enhanced capabilities much longer—not with a primary pathway disrupted. And Myrith stood between him and pursuit.

Inside the Frost Chamber, Alexandra struggled to her feet, blood flowing from multiple wounds as she attempted one final advance. A cultist's ritual dagger struck her hand, forcing her to drop her sword. Another blow to her temple sent her to her knees, vision blurring from the impact.

"Take the Worthy One to the rendezvous point," ordered the lead cultist as Klaus's unconscious form floated toward the chamber entrance, suspended in amber light. "The High Priest awaits."

Researcher Thale made a desperate lunge toward Klaus, her specialized staff striking with surprising force. "You will not take him!" she cried, golden eyes blazing with determination that reflected her mixed heritage.

Three cultists intercepted her, ritual daggers flashing with amber light. One sliced across her abdomen, another pierced her shoulder. The third strike would have killed her had she not deflected it with her staff at the last possible moment. Instead, it opened a deep gash along her side, dropping her to her knees as blood pooled beneath her.

"The Beast Emperor will hunt you to the ends of the continent," she gasped, fighting to remain conscious as the cultists passed by with their prize. "There is nowhere you can hide him."

Through wavering consciousness, Alexandra watched as Klaus's unconscious form floated past, surrounded by amber light and escorted by chanting cultists. His silver hair moved as if underwater, his expression unchanged from the peaceful stasis he'd maintained for the past year.

"Klaus," she whispered, reaching out a bloodied hand as darkness encroached on her vision. "I'm sorry."

Her last sight before unconsciousness claimed her was her cousin being carried away by the extraction team, his body glowing with amber light as they disappeared through the Frost Chamber's doors.