The Runic Alchemist

"There is something I want to say, Damian…" Reize said, stepping closer to him.

Damian stopped his work and gave her his full attention. But she wasn't saying anything at all. Was it something awkward or uncomfortable for her to bring up? He didn't push her, simply waiting for her to gather the courage to speak.

At last, she did. "Have you thought this thing through?"

"About what?" He wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to.

"The waygate.. Bringing Land Breaker back.. Maybe it's not such a good idea," she replied hesitantly.

That was odd. Reize was always the first to dive headfirst into crazy, wacky experiments. Seeing her suddenly question their goal made Damian wonder if he was missing something. After all, this was something he had never been a hundred percent sure about himself. But the advantages outweigh the problems it could bring so he was willing to give it a try. Also he had already made a mana contract agreeing to it.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.@@novelbin@@

"I.." She hesitated, glancing around. "There are some things.."

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However, she instantly stopped when her eyes landed on someone in the distance. Damian followed her gaze and saw Thunderclaw. The man was staring right at them.

Damian's paranoid mind immediately went into overdrive. The mana signature he had noticed that night! Something was definitely going on with Thunderclaw and Reize. He made a mental note to keep an eye on that bastard, but for now, he opened his liquid mana containers, launching a flight spell. Grabbing Reize, he flew to the top of the giant sword's pommel, where there was plenty of space to stand.

Letting her go, he turned to face her. "What was that? Say it clearly. Don't worry about anyone. You know I'll protect you with everything I have."

"I know.." she said with utmost warmth, but then her expression shifted, as if she had just made a difficult decision. "But I can't say it."

"Why? You were just about to tell me something. What the hell is up with you and that Thunder-whatever piece of shit?" Damian asked, his frustration growing.

"Nothing.." She looked away. "I just.. I just feel like bringing him back might not be the best decision. He's so powerful—what if we can't contain whatever monsters follow him?"

She was dodging the question. Why was she avoiding it? What the fuck was going on?

Damian grabbed her by the waist and flew back down. The moment they landed near the smithies, he turned toward Thunderclaw, who stood near his tent in the distance. Reize understood what was going through his mind and in a hurry grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Damian, don't! You'll make them your enemies!" she cried.

"I don't care.."

Damian simply walked away from her, eyes locked on Thunderclaw. Even though they were over a hundred meters apart, he could see the man still looking in their direction. If Reize wasn't going to tell him the truth, he would get it out of Thunderclaw himself.

Launching into the air at high speed, Damian shot straight toward the bastard. Thunderclaw's eyes widened, and he immediately raised his hands, aura flaring to defend against the sudden attack. The others nearby noticed the surge of—Damian's rising bloodlust mixed with Thunderclaw's aura—and soon, chaos spread through the camp. Every third ranker present stopped whatever they were doing and rushed toward them, flying or running at full speed.

The sun was just setting, but the entire camp was ablaze with light from the many smithies working at full power.

Damian activated every piece of his armor, all runic circles flared up enhancing his body with aura, soon he was covered head to toe in a menacing, uncontrolled, fiery-black aura. Only his face remained visible. Seeing Thunderclaw channel even more aura into his hands, preparing to counter, Damian launched two of the seven hovering runic circles around him.

They were modified attraction runes—purely powered by liquid mana at his hand, they locked onto Thunderclaw's arms, pulling them apart as though invisible shackles had forced his hands away and bound him to the sides. His wide eyes reflected his desperation as he fought to resist, but it was useless. The force was too strong, Damian had poured a lot of mana into it and was still powering it. His arms were yanked to his sides, leaving his entire body exposed.

Damian reached him within seconds, grabbed him by the throat, and shot toward the desert sands outside the tents.

By now, the other third rankers had caught up. Damian was still faster, but after dragging Thunderclaw's face through the sand for a few hundred meters, he felt several powerful forces clamp down on him.

Runefather. Bloodedge. Hellseeker. Even Mindseer.

They had all stopped his charge, grabbing onto him with raw force. Yet despite their combined strength, they still couldn't pry his hand off Thunderclaw's throat.

It took both Hellseeker and Runefather, their hands clad in thick layers of aura, to finally wrench his grip free. Thunderclaw collapsed to his knees, coughing violently, trying to spit out the sand he had been dragged through.

"What the fuck is going on with you and Reize?" Damian roared. "Answer me this second, or these dunes will be your grave forever!"

Seeing him talk instead of continuing attacking, the Highswords around him let go, though they remained close, ready to intervene.

At that moment, Sunkeeper landed beside them, her sharp gaze burning into Damian.

"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded.

Damian ignored her completely, his eyes locked onto Thunderclaw, who was still struggling to breathe.

"The fuck are you talking about, kid?!"

'Cough'

"I've done nothing to her!" Thunderclaw finally managed, his hands still crackling with aura.

Bloodedge immediately stepped between them, his sword drawn.

Then, as if choreographed, one by one, all the third rankers surrounding them unsheathed their weapons. The electric hum of their aura-charged blades filled the air.

Thunderclaw stared at Bloodedge in definace.

Worldscribe and Sunkeeper were glaring daggers at each other.

Silverspell, standing behind Sunkeeper, and Hellseeker, across from him, were locked in an intense standoff of their own.

The tension was about to explode.