The armored wraith charged and Sebastian's silver sword collided against spectral claws in an explosion of sparks and up close, the creature looked even worse.
Ancient elven armor was almost visible in its translucent body but it was in jagged pieces blackened by time, while it held a rusted sword in one skeletal hand. In the other it carried an old lantern burning with pale green ghostlight, its eerie glow was illuminating a face twisted into eternal anguish beneath the broken remains of a ceremonial helm.
The wraith screamed directly into Sebastian's face.
The nearby braziers flickered violently.
Yarvik nearly stumbled backward. "That thing sounds pissed!" and Sebastian shoved forward with his shoulder, forcing the specter back before immediately ducking beneath the wraith's sword swing. The spectral blade carved through the air above him.
And it was too fast, far faster than ordinary wraiths.
Seb twisted low and slashed toward its torso.
The blade passed halfway through before the creature vanished. Sebastian's eyes widened slightly.
"Behind you!" Lune shouted.
The wraith reappeared instantly at Seb's back, lantern first.
Ghostly fire exploded outward and Sebastian reacted purely on instinct.
He spun around and caught the descending spectral sword with his own at the very last second. Sparks and pale mist erupted between the clashing weapons while the impact forced him back several steps across the ancient stone.
Faelorn's eyes narrowed immediately.
"It's phasing between strikes."
"No shite," Yarvik muttered nervously.
The wraith disappeared again.
This time Sebastian closed his eyes for a second instead of searching wildly.
Listening and feeling, then he suddenly moved sharply to the side.
A spectral blade tore through the exact place where his neck had been moments earlier.
Sebastian parried immediately after, his silver sword shrieking against the wraith's ghostly weapon as the creature materialized beside him.
The exchange became vicious after that, the wraith attacked like a phantom executioner from another age, disappearing and reappearing constantly and every strike came from impossible angles. Above. Behind. Beneath broken arches.
And every single time,
Sebastian answered with silver, and it rang endlessly through the underground city.
The witcher moved with terrifying precision, and speed turning each surprise attack aside by inches. Sparks exploded with every clash while the pale lantern light and orange flame from Seb's body illuminated the darkness in violent flashes.
The wraith vanished again.
Sebastian exhaled slowly.
There, the faintest whisper of movement, the specter emerged directly overhead, sword descending toward Seb's skull with murderous force.
Sebastian sidestepped at the final instant and drove his elbow straight through the creature's chest before slashing upward across its arm. The spectral limb holding the lantern separated briefly before reforming moments later.
"Damn thing won't stay solid for more than a second," Seb muttered.
Faelorn watched the battle with clenched teeth while blood slowly darkened his side wound.
"Can you kill it or not?"
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, I can kill it."
The wraith screamed again and vanished into mist.
This time Sebastian didn't follow, instead, he lowered his stance.
His left hand touched the stone beneath him, magic exploded outward.
Yrden.
A glowing magical circle spread instantly across the ground beneath the wraith's likely approach path, ancient runes burning bright against the ruined stone.
The specter materialized again, and immediately faltered.
For the first time, the wraith's movement slowed.
Its form flickered violently inside the trap, ghostly body dragged into partial solidity by the sign's power.
The creature realized the mistake too late.
Sebastian was already moving, he surged forward with his flame, the wraith swung desperately. Seb parried once, then stepped inside its reach completely.
His silver blade ignited with orange flame.
"One life too late for redemption," he said coldly.
The sword flashed and the wraith's head separated cleanly from its body in a single burning arc.
For one suspended moment the lantern remained glowing in the creature's severed hand.
Then the specter exploded apart into pale ash and fading ghostlight.
The lantern hit the ground first, the fire inside it died instantly.
No more screams echoed through the city, only the distant crackle of the braziers remained.
Sebastian stood still for a moment, silver sword lowered at his side while fading embers drifted around him through the cold underground air.
Behind him, nobody spoke immediately.
Because all three of them had just witnessed something absurd.
Faelorn finally broke the silence first.
"…That was some swordsmanship..."
Sebastian glanced back slightly. "Brutal training does that to a person."
Yarvik let out a shaky laugh while adjusting his helmet.
"By Gran's beard… I'm in love with this Witcher."
Lune still stared at Sebastian almost blankly.
There was awe in her expression now and something else she was trying very hard not to show too openly.
Seb sheathed his silver sword with a soft metallic click.
"Wraiths always think they're clever."
Then he finally turned fully toward them.
"That's… all of them, I think."
His gaze moved between the three of them carefully.
"You alright?"
For a second Lune looked too stunned to even answer, then she nodded quickly.
"Yes…"
Yarvik exhaled loudly and leaned against a broken pillar.
"I still can't believe this," the dwarf muttered. "We actually survived a full assault from a nasty swarm of wraiths…"
Faelorn looked toward the dark city stretching endlessly ahead of them.
His expression hardened again.
"…Which probably means this place only gets worse deeper in."
.
.
.
The underground city did not become less unsettling the deeper they ventured into it.
If anything, it became worse, as the streets widened into grand avenues lined with towering white spires cracked by age and swallowed by darkness overhead.
It felt inhabited.
Their footsteps echoed endlessly through the ruins as Sebastian led the group carefully forward, one hand resting near the hilt of his silver sword while the dim brazier light he kept igniting along the way danced across the stone streets beneath them.
Faelorn walked beside him now rather than behind.
Not because the elf commander had lost caution, but because somewhere during the last hour, caution had slowly transformed into trust.
Yarvik, meanwhile, had reached the point where he coped with terror through constant muttering.
"I swear by Mahakam," the dwarf grumbled while eyeing another towering statue overhead, "if one more bloody stone elf starts staring at me funny, I'm chopping its ankles off."
Lune smirked faintly behind him. "You'd need a ladder first."
"I'd find one if I have to."
Sebastian almost smiled at that, then he stopped walking.
Instantly, the others noticed the change immediately.
Faelorn's hand moved toward his blade. "What is it now? More wraiths?!"
Sebastian crouched slowly near the edge of the ruined street.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Interesting."
Lune stepped closer carefully. "What?"
Seb rubbed some of the dust between his fingers before looking ahead into the darkness.
"Someone's been here recently."
Yarvik blinked. "Recently?"
"Not recent enough to still be around nearby." Sebastian stood again slowly. "But recent enough that the tracks haven't fully faded."
Faelorn frowned immediately. "That's impossible."
Seb glanced sideways at him.
"My men never returned," the elf commander continued quietly. "And I know damn well none of them made it this deep into this place. They barely knew how to avoid a bear trap."
Yarvik snorted. "Aye,"
Sebastian ignored the argument, his gaze still studying the faint signs scattered through the ground.
Boot prints.
Not exactly heavy ones either.
"It doesn't have to be your men," Seb finally said.
Faelorn looked at him carefully. "Meaning?"
"In my opinion?" Sebastian's golden eyes drifted upward toward the dead city surrounding them. "This place would make an excellent hideout for a mage for example."
That earned everyone's attention immediately.
Seb continued walking slowly as he spoke.
"Think about it. Ancient elven ruins full of forgotten knowledge, old magic, hidden pathways… and monsters everywhere." His voice echoed faintly. "Wraiths, specters, probably worse things deeper below. Most normal people would never survive entering this place."
Lune crossed her arms uneasily. "Wouldn't the monsters be a danger to the mage too?"
Seb shrugged lightly.
"Depends on the mage. Some are clever enough to use creatures like these as free security." A faint smirk touched his face. "Though it'd require someone very powerful to settle down here for long."
Faelorn's eyes narrowed slightly. "A famous sorcerer perhaps?"
"Maybe."
Sebastian's expression darkened thoughtfully.
"Or even an elven sage."
That word changed the atmosphere instantly, Faelorn looked ahead into the darkness quietly. "An elven sage…" he muttered. "Haven't heard that term spoken in years."
"There aren't many left," Lune added softly.
"There were never many to begin with," Faelorn said. "True sages among the Aen Seidhe were rare even before the wars."
Seb nodded slightly.
"I'm aware."
The deeper they walked, the stranger the city became.
Some buildings appeared untouched by time entirely, while others had collapsed inward into endless black pits. Strange elven symbols decorated the walls here more frequently now, carved into pillars and archways.
And then Sebastian stopped again.
This time more abruptly.
His medallion began trembling violently against his chest, the wolf-shaped pendant rattled hard enough to grab the attention of everyone, who noticed immediately.
Lune's hand tightened around her bow. "What does that mean?"
"Magic." Seb muttered.
His eyes fixed themselves on what appeared to be an ordinary stone wall wedged between two collapsed towers.
Except it wasn't ordinary at all.
The magic radiating from it was almost irritating against his senses.
"There's an illusion here."
Yarvik stared directly at the wall for several seconds.
"…Looks like a bloody normal wall to me."
Sebastian glanced at him flatly.
"Well it's not."
Without another word, he stepped forward.
Flames ignited instantly around his fist.
Orange fire swirled violently up his arm while Faelorn instinctively stepped back.
Sebastian pulled his arm back, then punched forward.
The flaming impact crashed against the "wall" with explosive force.
Then reality distorted, the stone surface rippled unnaturally like disturbed water before the illusion shattered apart into fragments of fading magical light.
Behind it stood a massive hidden doorway with two towering elven statues stood on either side of the entrance, their faces hidden beneath hoods while swords rested point-down before them like silent guardians.
Lune's eyes widened completely.
"It really was an illusion…"
Even Faelorn looked unsettled now.
"…Well look at that.."
Yarvik stared at the hidden doorway before slowly looking back toward Sebastian.
"I've noticed something about you, witcher."
Seb raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"At this point your answer to every problem seems to be punching things with fire."
Sebastian grinned slightly.
"Well…" He looked toward the hidden entrance. "It keeps working."
Yarvik barked out a laugh.
"And I bloody love it!"
Faelorn sighed tiredly, though even he couldn't fully hide the amusement on his face anymore.
/-\
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