Chapter 1155: The Demon and The Sorcerer [Part 5]

Chapter 1155 – The Demon and The Sorcerer [Part 5]

He slowed.

Runa did the same.

The corridor ahead was empty.

No growling. No scratching. No movement in the alcoves.

Even the demons behind them had stopped pursuing.

Lux’s eyes narrowed.

That was never a good sign.

[Unknown energy signature proximity increasing.]

Lux felt it now without the system.

Pressure.

The power beneath the fortress had been heavy before, but this was different.

They were close. So close.

Runa’s ears flattened. "You feel that?"

"Yes."

The next section of corridor opened into a circular chamber.

Broken statues surrounded the room. Chains covered the walls, each engraved with royal runes. A massive sealed doorway stood opposite them, its surface blackened by centuries of accumulated demonic energy.

Lux stepped into the chamber.

One step.

Two.

Then his instincts screamed.

"Runa!"

He grabbed her waist.

-BOOOOOOM!

Something struck the corridor behind them.

Stone exploded.

Lux threw himself sideways with Runa in his arms as a wave of dark-red energy ripped through the exact place they had been standing.

They hit the floor and rolled.

Lux’s wings snapped outward.

He landed on one knee, both daggers already raised.

Dust filled the chamber.

Chunks of stone rained from the ceiling.

Runa pushed herself upright beside him.

Her eyes widened. "That wasn’t one of those demons."

"No."

Lux stared through the dust.

His smile vanished.

The low-level creatures had attacked because they were hungry.

That attack had been aimed.

Calculated.

Powerful enough to tear through reinforced royal stone.

Something moved beyond the dust cloud.

A silhouette emerged. Large. Humanoid.

And unlike the stray demons they had slaughtered upstairs, this thing carried enough power that Lux could feel it pressing against his skin.

His system flashed crimson.

[Warning.]

[High-level hostile entity detected.]

Lux rose, rotating both daggers in his hands. "Looks like," he murmured, red eyes narrowing, "we found the actual guard."

The guard apparently had no interest in introductions.

The silhouette vanished.

It simply ceased being where Lux had seen it.

His instincts screamed before his eyes could catch up. "Barrier!"

Black-gold energy erupted around Lux and Runa.

Something slammed into the barrier.

The entire chamber convulsed.

Cracks shot across the floor beneath Lux’s boots. Broken statues toppled from their pedestals, and the impact drove his barrier backward several meters, boots carving twin trenches through the stone.

Runa braced behind him. "What the hell—?!"

"Good question."

The barrier groaned.

Lux saw nothing beyond it except dust.

Then...

-CRACK!

A second impact struck from the left.

The barrier warped inward.

Lux’s expression changed.

This wasn’t merely strong. It was fast.

The first attack hadn’t even finished throwing dust into the air before the second arrived.

[Barrier integrity: 81%.]

[Correction: 64%.]

Lux released the barrier and moved.

A fraction of a second later, something tore through the space where his chest had been.

The wall behind him exploded.

Lux teleported.

Darkness folded around him and Runa.

They reappeared ten meters away. "Stay behind me."

"I can fight."

"I know."

Another pressure wave ripped through the dust.

Lux shoved Runa downward.

A dark-red blade of energy screamed over their heads and sliced through three stone pillars.

The ceiling shuddered.

"That’s precisely why I need you alive enough to do it."

He pushed himself upright.

The attacker came again.

Still no face. No words.

Kaelmor’s employees had absolutely terrible hospitality standards.

Lux brought his twin daggers together. Steel met something invisible.

His arms jolted.

For the briefest instant, he saw the outline of a weapon.

Then it disappeared again.

Lux twisted his wrist, redirected the strike and stabbed with his second dagger.

Nothing.

The attacker had already moved.

A kick struck Lux’s side.

His armor absorbed most of it.

Most.

He still flew.

His wing smashed through the remains of a statue before he corrected himself midair and landed in a crouch.

Runa charged toward the attacker.

"Don’t!"

Too late.

She punched.

The silhouette slipped around her fist and struck toward her throat.

Lux’s eyes flashed. "Telekinesis."

Invisible force seized Runa around the waist and ripped her backward.

The enemy’s claws passed centimeters from her neck.

Runa landed beside Lux. She touched her throat. "...Fine."

Lux glanced at her. "What?"

"I’ll stay behind you."

The attacker vanished again.

Lux smiled.

Now he was irritated.

Speed?

Really?

They wanted to talk about speed with him?

"All right." He rolled his shoulders. "Agility."

[Agility activated.]

Power flooded his muscles.

The world changed.

Dust slowed.

Individual fragments of stone became visible tumbling through the air. Runa’s hair seemed to drift rather than whip around her face.

And somewhere inside that slowed chaos...

There.

Lux saw it.

A distortion.

Moving.

Fast.

His grin returned. "Oh, you don’t talk speed to me."

He vanished.

His dagger met the attacker’s weapon halfway across the chamber.

The creature recoiled.

Lux didn’t let it escape.

Teleportation.

He appeared above it.

His second dagger descended.

-CLANG!

Blocked.

The attacker twisted and kicked.

Lux crossed his forearms.

Impact.

He slid backward, immediately teleported again and appeared behind it.

Slash.

The creature ducked.

Counter.

Lux leaned aside.

A claw grazed his cheek.

A thin line of blood appeared.

[Minor injury detected.]

"I’m aware."

The creature lunged.

Lux met it.

For several seconds, the chamber became incomprehensible.

Metal screamed.

Dark-red energy flashed.

Black light burst across broken stone as Lux and the unknown attacker crossed the room faster than Runa could comfortably follow.

One moment they were near the sealed doorway.

The next...

-BOOM!

They collided against a pillar.

Lux teleported.

The creature followed through sheer speed.

His dagger swept toward its throat.

Blocked.

The enemy’s weapon stabbed toward his abdomen.

Barrier.

A small shield appeared precisely between blade and armor.

Lux smiled directly into the darkness where he suspected the creature’s face should be. "Found your rhythm."

He released the barrier.

Telekinesis struck immediately afterward.

The invisible force hit the creature sideways.

It stumbled.

Only half a step.

Enough.

Lux’s wing slammed into its chest.

The attacker flew backward.

But before Lux could pursue...

Dark-red energy exploded from its body.

Lux threw up another Barrier.

The blast struck.

Stone shattered around him. ℯ𝕝.

Runa crouched behind the shield, arms covering her face. "Does it ever stop attacking?!"

"I appreciate its work ethic."