"Fuck, they have a necromancer with them."
A loud voice echoed as the assailants, who had come to attack Raze and his group, suddenly grew far more chaotic than before.
It had barely been a few minutes since the battle had begun but after the initial skirmish, Luna had finally decided to reveal her true power.
Only now did Raze understand why the Baron had assigned this group instead of sending his own knights… he must have known that Luna was the Priestess of the Church of Lokrah.
She was a necromancer.
From what Luna had taught him, there were six main churches that worshipped different gods, beings said to have been born when the universe itself took its very first breath.
And rarely, among those who worshiped them, a god would grant revelation and power. Those who received such blessings became priests or priestesses of their church, sometimes even embodying the holy attributes of that god.
This was one of the methods Luna had suggested to him to awaken an affinity but what she hadn't told him was that she, herself, was one of those chosen ones.
She had received the attributes of darkness and if that wasn't all, she had awakened one of the rarest effects of darkness elements, necromancy. She could raise the shadows of the dead to fight at her side and that very scene was now unfolding right before Raze's eyes as Luna began her chant.
"Oh great god, Lokrah."
"I, your loyal follower, call upon your domain."
"Grant me the power of darkness…"
"So I may make the light of my vile enemies vanish."
The moment her words echoed, a suffocating dark aura erupted outward. Shadows began to rise up from the ground itself, taking shape as twisted silhouettes of beasts and humans who had once died in this forest.
The assassins froze for a brief moment but their leader quickly spoke, "Kill the necromancer first."
His voice was steady and calm as if reassuring his subordinates that the situation was still under control.
Seeing the element of darkness in action was something entirely new to Raze. In his previous world, there were no churches, no gods to worship… nothing except the Emperor himself. He wasn't even sure if any elements named Darkness or Light even existed there.
All he knew was that a person could only heal themselves with the potion made from ancient alchemy.
But then again, most of the information about higher ranks had been hidden from him to ensure he couldn't leak anything if he were ever captured. He had been isolated from other humans and even the books given to him were stripped of such knowledge for the very same reason.
Still… from the limited understanding he possessed, he was certain of one thing. Someone at Luna's rank shouldn't have been able to wield power on this level and yet, she was doing exactly that right before his eyes.
'How could the Skyfall Dynasty even call a place like this "backwater"?'
In some ways, especially in magical development, this world felt even more advanced to a certain extent and that made him wonder…
'Were the restrictions surrounding this world meant to protect this world from the outside?'
'Or were they meant to protect the outside… from this world?'
Even as Raze was lost in his analysis the battle continued.
John and Gretta made sure to protect Luna as she used her necromancy and wind elemental attack to absolutely destroy the enemies.
Lena, the support mage buffers the warriors while providing shields at critical times to save them from long distance attack.
While Kyle healed even minor injuries and stayed on standby.
Will and Maya safeguarded the carriage and only attacked when someone got close to it.
The team composition was so perfect that Raze was sure there wouldn't be any problems… he was sure the enemies would either die… or run away once the situation became hopeless but for some unknown reason he still couldn't shrug off the discomfort he felt.
And right on a cue, his perception enhanced by his Zenith Physique suddenly tingled as the mana within the carriage turned strange as if warming him of danger.
His gaze snapped toward Ellara and Lyla and in that very moment, his body moved.
He lunged toward them. To them, it looked like he was attacking. Their eyes widened in shock as Lyla, being a warrior, reacted on instinct, pulling out her dagger and stabbing it into his arm.
Blood spilled instantly but Raze didn't even flinch. He shoved them both away with all his strength, throwing them out of the carriage as his own arm bled freely.
"Raze…?" Ellara muttered, her voice trembling. "What are you doing?"
Her eyes looked… betrayed.
The moment they hit the ground, every battle around them stopped and all eyes turned toward him.
"Lena, shield now."
He didn't give any explanation and ordered without hesitation.
Lena was shocked for a moment but reacted instantly, as multiple shields appeared around her allies…
Right on cue, the carriage shattered into fragments as countless small spikes burst outward, flying in every direction, aiming to impale everyone nearby.
The multiple protective barriers Lena had created shielded all the allies while a few of the close-by enemies were pierced with spikes mercilessly.
The shields shimmered violently under the impact as her nose started bleeding from the sheer strain of creating so many at the same time.
The attack had been so precise and efficient that even the Green core mages hadn't felt it but Raze, a boy who had just started his journey had somehow sensed it.
Before everyone could even properly understand anything, a calm and almost disappointed voice echoed lazily. "Tch.. tch, you all were supposed to die without resisting, such a drag."
A man walked out of the forest, his hands were in his pocket and his face was partially covered by the hooded cloak.
A streak of blazing orange hair was visible underneath it but more than that, the strength he had stood out.
"An expert rank mage…?"