Two men sat next to each other at the bar of a tavern. It was relatively loud and busy, filled with men and women making conversation and drinking carelessly, as well as plenty of those simply quietly drowning their sorrows.
"So, you're going to betray us?" One of the men dressed in a black robe and a solid, dark green cape said calmly.
The other man, dressed in a pure white robe and cloak tapped the counter of the bar signaling the bartender for another drink, "I'm not sure." The man caught the glass that slid down the counter, nonchalantly waved at the bartender to show his thanks, and gazed down at the deep brown alcoholic liquid. "What would you do?"
"You're going to ask a potential enemy for advice?" The man dressed in black let out a mocking scoff, "You've grown soft Nicholas."
The man in white became tense briefly and gave the other man a deathly glare before letting out a sigh of resignation and returning to deeply gazing into his glass. "Maybe... maybe I have."
The man in black downed the last half of alcohol in his glass and signaled the bartender the same way Nicholas did. Calmly, the man said, "You've been around long enough to know what'll happen if you leave." Despite the noise of the rest of the bar, the silence and tension between the two of them was palpable. A glass came sliding in the direction of the two men again, and the man in black caught it. "You will die," The man said grimly, cutting the silence and shattering the serene, calmness he had from before.
Nicholas didn't respond and the two of them sat in silence, save for the occasional sip of their glass. After tens of minutes passed, Nicholas put down his empty cup on the table and began to stand from his seat.
"I haven't seen you; your whereabouts are unknown. There are rumors flying around about a man in a white robe without a crest or marking, but they are the gossip of housewives at best," The man in black suddenly spoke up calmly still looking down at his glass, "The moment you leave is the moment I will be on the hunt for you."
Nicholas smiled gently, turned his back to the man in black, and called out to him as he walked out of the tavern, "Drinks on you."
"Heh, that's exactly like him," The man muttered to himself. He slapped several bills onto the counter and proceeded to follow Nicholas outside, but he knew today wouldn't be the day he would see Nicholas again.
----
The moment Nicholas stepped outside he found himself on a bustling street in broad daylight filled with people of all ages. It calmed him knowing that the town was peaceful, and would likely stay that way. Nicholas made his way down the street until he found an alleyway nestled between two large buildings. He turned into the alleyway and promptly disappeared.
Nicholas was instantly 50 meters in the air directly above the alleyway he was just in. And, in the very next instant, he moved 50 meters west still in the air. Nicholas was instantly closing tremendous distances in seconds. He moved from over the city, to over open grasslands, to over forests, and finally to the entrance of another city, all in less than a minute. Upon landing himself by a tree a fair bit away from the entrance of the city, Nicholas laid down on the grass breathing heavily.
Maybe… I should've stopped earlier, Nicholas thought to himself as his exhaustion began to kick in.
The sun was still high in the air and Nicholas felt the heat lingering. Luckily, the tree provided ample shade, and Nicholas simply laid in comfort for a short time.
Just when I thought it was all over…
However, it was a short lived comfort as Nicholas sat up and looked down at the road that led to the enormous gate entrance of the city that was barricaded with stone walls.
Holt, the City of Stone. The city was well known for being a prosperous city that was right at the crossroads of several major trade routes. Its location was also well suited for living as the land was fertile and the city was built along a nearby river. However, its prosperity came at extremely high risks. Holt's high stone walls were a clear sign of its capable defenses as well as its war-torn history.
Nicholas' body began to tense up. He'd been trying to suppress his mana more than usual, but he knew that after teleporting, traces of mana almost always leaked out a bit before stabilizing. He was already mentally prepared for the worst, so he wasn't surprised, but he hoped that it wouldn't have had to come down to the worst case scenario.
Emanating from the center of the city, a large pool of mana was gathering up. It was Holt's strongest defense, and at the same time, it was one that only few knew of. The mana was building up at a tremendous rate, starting off as nothing but a balloon, but erupting to a size that cover the entirety of the city in a short span of time. The mana flowed and weaved like a piece of fabric in the air, but it was clear and emanated a faint black aura. It was a warning, a warning that only a select few who could even detect the mana would understand.
Nicholas stood up after watching the massive pool of mana swirl over the city for a bit. The moment he tried to cast magic, he would be attacked. He could feel an immense amount of pressure, as if he was being searched for and narrowed down slowly. Nicholas, without another thought, teleported to an open grassland nearby.
And just as he expected, in front of him, several meters away, stood a woman in a thin, white sundress, a pair of sandals, and a long black cloak void of any markings on it. Her jet black hair was tied in a pony tail and reached to about her shoulders. The woman stood glaring directly into Nicholas' eyes with her arms folded. Her eyes showed neither concern nor fear.
"What is the White Mage doing here?" The woman demanded an answer in a sharp tone.
"Don't you think you sound just a bit tense Arietta? But, that's not even the most surprising thing here. I never came expecting to see the great Black Mage donned in a white dress," Nicholas spoke in a casual tone completely ignoring the woman's question.
Arietta continued her intense glare and showed no signs of having a casual conversation, "Answer me, or I will kill you on spot."
Nicholas instantly dropped his smile and, after a moment, replied back in a callous, serious tone, "The Kingdom must fall; the ideals of the Uncrowned Kings are flawed. I will stop the plan." Nicholas glared back with cold, ruthless eyes.
With her arms still folded, the ground around Arietta began to glow a light blue. "As the Black Mage, I will kill you Nicholas. You've betrayed us, and that is unforgivable," she spoke as if reciting lines: automated and emotionless.
Teleporting was not only useless, but suicidal, as he knew Arietta would know to trace, disrupt and kill him mid teleport. He'd hope it didn't come down to this, but Nicholas did not waver; he stood and the ground around him began to glow a faint white. "I'm sorry," Nicholas whispered to himself.
Without a moment of hesitation, Nicholas swiped his arm across the air while taking a leap backwards distancing himself from Arietta, and a blinding pillar of light appeared from the sky and engulfed the area Arietta stood in. Shortly after, a massive explosion occurred at the area where the ray of light had marked. The result was simply a large gust of air combined with a wave of dust and bits of grass, and standing with her arms still crossed was Arietta unfazed and without a scratch.
The two of them still had the same cold, ruthless looks as they stared at one another, as if expecting this result. But, the tension didn't last long. Nicholas broke into a stride and charged with his body leaning forward and his arms to his side. As he ran, far smaller beams of light than before of about several centimeters in size began to rain down onto Arietta.
----
'Divine rain' was it? Arietta moved backwards gracefully dodging the beams of light. She noticed that Nicholas was closing in on her rapidly, but showed no signs of panic. It's about time I got serious as well.
With a final leap backwards, Arietta closed her eyes and upon landing, a black translucent dome, several meters in diameter, enveloped Arietta like a barrier. She stood there, with her eyes still closed, and what seemed to be a small black sphere of mana, the size of a fist began to orbit around her within the barrier. Countless beams of light rained down on Arietta, but each one dissipated as it came on contact with the barrier.
Arietta's Black Barrier was infamous on the battlefield, for those who fought against her, for being able to repel almost all long ranged attacked, be it magic or physical. And the orb that circled around her was a catalyst that was building and refining mana, which was symbolic of a summoning or a powerful spell being prepared.
This was already over before it even began, Arietta silently thought to herself.
----
Nicholas closed in on Arietta and once he reached the dome, he began to run alongside it. Nicholas's right hand illuminated a blinding white light and he ran his hand along the surface of the barrier leaving behind a searing white line. It didn't take long before the Black Barrier sustained too much irreparable, structural damage from Nicholas' growing cut, and as a result, it dissipated, turning into what looked like a black mist filling the air. Quick and efficient, Nicholas wasted no time; he quickly ran through the mist to flank Arietta from the back. He cleared his way through the mist and stopped his Divine rain as he entered into an area that was noticeably darker. The pressure... is immense, Nicholas thought to himself while cringing ever so slightly as he attempted to adjust himself to the foreign atmosphere.
It was dark, but Nicholas could see her back; Arietta still stood firm and unwavering, but the difference from just moments ago was that she emanated a dense, pitch black aura around her. It looked like she was being engulfed in a raging black flame, and above her the black sphere that was circling her was floating in the air above her. He was almost in arms reach, but suddenly, he dramatically slowed down his pace. He staggered out from his forward leaning dash and recovered his balance before finally transitioning into slow, pained steps. He could feel energy being drained from him. The pressure that Arietta's mana forced onto him just be being close to her was beyond anything he'd ever felt; it was as if he was walking through a waterfall, but far worse.
Nicholas gritted his teeth and slowly stretched out his arm as Arietta's shoulder was less than a meter away, but Nicholas was hardly moving at all. In addition to the downward force that weighed on him, while the 'black fire' that raged around Arietta caused no physical pain, every flicker and flame that Nicholas came in contact with ate at his mana and drove Nicholas further and further into exhaustion.
I guess this is over, Nicholas solemnly thought to himself as he extended his arm despite his vision beginning to blur.
The orb that Arietta had summoned was a catalyst for one of her most powerful spells, the Abyss, a field of crushing mana. With her as its primary source, any outside source of mana that came in contact with the flames around her would be rapidly drained. It was a deadly field spell that could kill mages instantly just from the downwards pressure of the dense magic, let alone the flames that surrounded her. Few who survive encounters with her have passed on rumors of her Black Barrier, but even less know that it was not her Black Barrier that crowned her the title of the Black Mage, but her other spells such as the Abyss.
----
Suddenly, Arietta opened her scornful eyes slowly and dejectedly as she felt the weight of a hand on her shoulder. However, she knew this would happen; she simply wasn't prepared to fight an Uncrowned King on short notice.
She whispered in a cold hostile tone, "Finish me."
"So be it," Nicholas responded sharply.
The Abyss disappeared, and with it the flames that surrounded Arietta dissipated and the area returned to its brighter former color. The pressure was gone and Nicholas' mana ceased from being drained. Then, Arietta's body began to faintly glow a white light. The light that outlined her body connected with a pillar of light that shot down from the sky and onto Arietta. The column of light that submerged Arietta became increasingly brighter until finally, the light expanded and grew in intensity enough so that she could not be seen at all.
The magic that swallowed up Arietta was one of Nicholas' deadliest spell: Gateway. By binding his mana directly to another person's mana via direct touch, he suppresses the person's ability to use magic. In addition, the binding of his mana to the other person's creates the strongest possible linkage outside of his own body to strike the person with his White Light with maximum intensity and no chance to escape. The White Light causes no physical harm, but like Arietta's 'black flames' from her Abyss, it rapidly burns the mana reserve of the person until possibly empty and thus causes death.
Nicholas turned around and with a deep sigh and began his walk towards Holt. The light behind him vanished just as he turned and left behind was the body of Arietta lying on the ground.
